Well, Mother Nature conspired to keep us off of the ocean today. The Beagle Channel, named after the HMS Beagle - which was the ship Charles Darwin was on - was very choppy with very high winds. The captain of the small catamaran that we were supposed to go on would not go so we changed our plans and headed up into the forest. Our destination is the Tierra del Fuego National Forest above the city. The name means "land of fire" and this comes from the early days of sea travel when the natives used to light huge bonfires to attract passing ships to trade goods with them. It was said back then that the area at night around Ushuaia looked like it was all on fire. As we stop at the shore of the Beagle Channel we are able to view a crested caracara feeding on a fish carcass. There are a few ash-headed geese there and also one lone kelp goose. Out in the bay we see a Southern sea lion searching for fish. We then move deeper into the forest in search of the Patagonian woodpecker, the largest of it's species. We are lucky enough to find a pair of birds busily pecking at a tree trunk in search of insect larvae. Visiting the National Forest has given me a different experience that what I have had on the journey so far, but an interesting one at that.

10 PM Ushuaia, Argentina
I have packed all of my bags and set them outside of my cabin door for transport back to the airport. I look back on my past journey to Antarctica and feel that it has been one that I will never forget. The chance to see Antarctic penguins in their natural environment and see firsthand the hardships that they endure in their daily lives has left me with a greater appreciation of what we do at SeaWorld. I have over 20 hours of flying before I arrive home to San Antonio, Texas and I cannot wait to see my family and friends and share all of my experiences. I hope that everyone who has read my journal has enjoyed it as much as I have had writing each day about my experiences. Until my next adventure I wish you all well. See you at SeaWorld!

Rob Yordi