Departure and Buenos Aires
It still feels like a dream, but Lara and I are off on the grand adventure that we’ve planned for almost two years – an expedition cruise to Antarctica. Many people have asked, “why Antarctica?” I can’t say it was very high on my bucket list. I have followed a couple of photographers for a little while. One of them is Nick Page. I happened to have bought some tutorials from him a couple of years ago, which got me on to his mailing list. He announced in March of 2023 that he was leading a trip to Antarctica, and we jumped at the chance. We had not way of knowing where we would be in 2 years, but it was too enticing to pass up.
Here we are, nearly 2 years after putting down our deposits, and the trip is upon us. After days of packing and re-packing, trying to fit 2 weeks of “cold” weather gear into the smallest possible suitcases, and debating and re-debating what equipment would be the most valuable on the trip, it was finally time to go.
Our first stop was in Buenos Aires. We only spent a day and a half in the city, mostly as an opportunity to rest and stretch our legs before making the hop to Ushuaia. We did a ton of walking, and saw most of the typical sites people visit in Buenos Aires. We knew it would be warm, since this is summer in the southern hemisphere, but neither of us were prepared for 97º heat index! The first day we did a walking tour around the Puerto Madero neighborhood, where we saw the Teatro Colon, the Casa Rosada (the Argentine President’s residence), and the San Telmo markets.
The next day, we visited the Recolleta Cemetary, jam packed with ornate mausoleums, very similar to the Pere-Lachaise cemetary in Paris. Cemetaries aren’t normally our thing, but places like these are unique. From there, we walked the to Japanese Gardens, which are reported to be the largest such gardens outside of Japan. Next up was the “Grand Splendid” Ateneo book store, which has been repurposed from an opera house.
We then headed back for the hotel, or at least we though so. We took a wrong turn and ended up crossing the entire San Telmo market again before getting turned back around. By the time we got to the hotel, the heat, the miles, and the jet lag were catching up to us. Time for another nice dinner, and then off to bed. The Uber would be picking us up at our hotel at 5:15 in the morning for the flight to our next stop – Ushuaia.
Ushuaia and Disembarcation
Ushuaia is known as Fin del Mundo (the end of the world). It is the southernmost city in the world, and a huge hub for cruising. Many of the voyages to Antarctica leave from here, but there are other cruises that make this a stop as well. It’s a beautiful place, surrounded by mountains in every direction, and smack dab in the middle of the Beagle Channel. The Beagle forms the border between Argentina and Chile, so now we can at least claim to have seen Chile.
The cruise line shuttle was waiting for us near baggage claim. Thirty minutes later, we were at the Arakur resort. The Arakur is a luxury hotel tucked up in the mountains with a view of the Beagle and mountains all around. We took the arrival day fairly easy. We grabbed lunch in the hotel restaurant and then hiked around the trails on the nature preserve on the hotel grounds.
We met with the rest of our group at 6:00 for dinner and some drinks. It is an eclectic bunch. Most were our age. A few were older. A common theme stood out that most of the group had traveled extensively. Most of them had been on photography trips with Nick or Greg before. Several of them had been on multiple trips. We’re not just talking about trips to your favorite local photo scene. Indonesia, Madagascar, South Africa, the Faroe Islands, and Svalbard, just to name a few. I guess this stuff can be addictive! Slightly intimidating, but, it’s a fun group.
The next morning we met for a more formal meet and greet, and then went on a group hike in Tierra del Fuego national park. We hiked the Senda Costera trail, which runs about 5 miles along the short of the Beagle channel. There were several gorgeous views along the way, but this was mainly an opportunity to stretch our legs before getting on the boat the next day.
Monday was departure day, but first, Lara and I wanted to squeeze in one more activity. We road the “End of the World” train, which would take us back into the national park. The train is also called the Prison Train, because it was originally built to transport prisoners from the prison in town to the fields where they labored by cutting down trees and milling wood. We saw a different side of the park this time. I wouldn’t call this a “must do” if you’re in the area, but it’s a relatively easy way to see some secluded parts of the park.
Our guide on this visit, Carlo, was fun and informative. At the end of the tour he made a toast with Legui, a traditional Argentine liquor made from sugar cane. It wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, I chose to walk around the site for a bit and managed to drop my camera while taking one last picture. It wasn’t a big fall, but it damaged my lens to the point were it wouldn’t function. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was about to leave for the trip of a lifetime in just a couple of hours, and my workhorse lens wouldn’t function!
There wasn’t really anything I could do about it, so we soldiered on and went back into town for a late lunch before boarding the ship. We got on the bus at about 4:00 and were whisked over to the port. Everything was a whirlwind from that point on. Safety briefings, emergency procedures, an overview of the trip, and then dinner. The expedition leader informed us that the weather in the Drake was going to be nasty, well, his actual word was “exciting”. We were filled with trepidation, despite having taken the prescription strength motion sickness medication.
Of course, we knew that the ship wouldn’t leave unless it was safe. Sure enough, around 7:00, we pulled out of port and headed down the Beagle towards Cape Horn. The water was calm as we went to bed, but during the night, it was all sorts of rocking and rolling. We were informed to place anything of value on the floor so it wouldn’t get damaged falling off of a shelf. We thought we did well, but some of the decorations in the room still found their way to the floor in the night. In particular, there was a moment where the whole ship shuddered before making this gigantic roll. I don’t think the weather was as bad as forecast, but still, we must have seen 15-20 foot swells. That was enough to claim we have experienced the Drake!
Tuesday was a sailing day. We have never experienced anything like this. Nothing but blue ocean as far as you could see in any direction, and the waves were still there. The ship’s crew filled the day with science, history, photography and ornithology presentations. That helped pass the time, but you could definitely see some green faces around the passengers – including me.
During the night, we crossed the Antarctic Threshold, the mixing zone between the relatively warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans into the frigid Southern ocean. Thankfully, once we were past the threshold, the waves calmed significantly. We received our mandatory Zodiac training, and a few more presentations, but by this time we were getting close to our destination. We spotted our first iceberg at about 12:00, then several pods of humpacks surrounded us. Finally, around 3:00 we spotted the first hint of land. It was just a small island, but it was a major psychological hurdle. We’re almost there!
