As we made our way south through Tierra del Fuego, the large island reluctantly shared by Argentina and Chile, it was clear that the 'land of fire' really is the end of the world due to its isolated location and inaccessibility. Neither of us had been this far south before. Prior to the 1800s, passing ships named this land as they spotted the glow of distant shoreline campfires of the indigenous peoples.

When we arrived in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, it was dark, cold and snowy and we were pleased to settle in to our cosy home-stay for the next few days . Originally established as a penal colony, Ushuaia became a key naval base in 1950. The charismatic small city lies on the shores of the Beagle Channel with a spectacular backdrop of the Fuegan Andes and is as far south as roads go on Earth.

A highlight of Ushuaia was the excellent Museo Maritimo with its distinctive layout in an old prison that once held up to 700 inmates. Various wings of the prison have been renovated with old cells now hosting interesting exhibits, including an informative section on Antarctica expeditions. However, the part we enjoyed the most (actually not Sophie!) was the unrestored prison wing which, lit by moonlight, just before closing time was rather spooky. On receiving our ticket to the museum, we were told that it was valid for 48 hours (hooray!) so decided to get our money's worth by returning the following day to avoid the gales outside. There was a lot of information to digest!

Having spent the first two days either reading about how 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas' or tasting the Beagle beer, we were very pleased to finally see the sunshine and appreciate Ushuaia's setting. During the negotiation stages for our imminent Antarctica trip, we managed to wangle a helicopter flight over the city and surrounding valleys as part of our deal. It was an exciting experience as we were treated to spectacular views.

We spent an afternoon walking up to the Glacier Martial, which demonstrated to us just how dramatic and changeable the weather can be in these parts. The views down the valley across the city to the Beagle Channel were impressive as we scrambled up loose moraine in search of the source of the glacier (not much remains of it now).

Onward journey aboard the icebreaker M/V Ushuaia to Antarctica...!