26th – 27th – Returning home

The entire trip home went without a hitch and according to plan. I got picked up at the hotel at 1130, got to the airport, had to wrap my backpacks now that somebody stole my flight bag, checked in and rested while waiting to board and take off. Got to see plenty of movies which resulted in me feeling like a zombie during my 5-hour layover in Madrid. Made it on board the next flight and fell asleep even before they started the security briefing. Woke up when the album I was listening to was ending, found another and instantly fell back to sleep until we arrived in Copenhagen.

And that was it.

It’s hard to describe how amazing this trip was. I had expected it to be something like the one to Svalbard but different, and while that was correct I wasn’t prepared for how different it actually was. The size of everything, the ice, icebergs was all so overwhelming. It’s hard to put down on photos the magnificence of it all. And all the fluffy fluffballs!

To my big surprise there were quite a few young people as opposed to my trip to Svalbard. There must have been at least 30 people below 40 years on this trip which made the parties and bar visits much more interesting as there was so much more energy. This also meant that a lot more Facebook connections were established the days after returning to Ushuaia which meant after coming home I asked around and suddenly I had a copy of the wakeup call that had been auctioned off in my possession. Success!

Big thanks to Jonathan R. Green (expedition leader), Lauren Farmer (assistant expedition leader), Mark Dalpes (kayak guide), Bismarck Sommerfelt (zodiac technician), Osi Shahaf (naturalist), Blaise Guld (musician), Scott MacPhail (historian), Kevin Morgan (marine biologist), Guy Esparon (naturalist), Gerard Baker (camping guide/naturalist), Dr. Alex Cowan (geologist), Lyn Mair (ornithologist), Dr. Annette Bombosch (marine biologist), Dr. Susie Newtown (ship's doctor), Renato Granieri (photographer) and Dr. Brent S. Stewart (scientist in residence/lecturer). Big thanks to the crew members Andriy Domanin (Captain), as always stunning Josi Silva (Hotel Manager), Margaret “I’m completing my 7 month long tour on this ship the 13^th of December and when I get picked up by my husband at the airport I’m going to be so indecent” Krzyzelewski (Deck Cadet) and the remaining 48 crew members I don’t know/remember the name of (bartenders, waiters, housekeeping etc.). 

Extra big thanks should be given to the captain and the crew on the bridge for some mighty fine sailing through ice where things got a bit intense, but was handled very well and got us where we wanted to be and gave us some absolutely stunning views on the way. Big thanks to you all!

Big thanks to Chris, Rebecca, Jessica, Page, Innis, Christine, Kiki, Jane, Simon, Emily, Peter, and everyone else I haven’t mentioned but should have. You were all a terrific bunch of people and were definitely part of the reason why the trip ending up being so amazing. I hope we’ll get to meet again, and considering a Facebook group for a possible reunion tour in 2018 has been created, maybe… 

This trip's guides. I unfortunately didn't get to take a group photo but luckily we were given an official one with the trip logs.

Back: Mark Dalpes (kayak guide), Bismarck Sommerfelt (zodiac technician), Osi Shahaf (naturalist), Blaise Guld (musician), Scott MacPhail (historian)

Middle: Kevin Morgan (marine biologist), Guy Esparon (naturalist), Lauren Farmer (assistant expedition leader), Jonathan R. Green (expedition leader), Gerard Baker (camping guide/naturalist), Dr. Alex Cowan (geologist)

Front: Lyn Mair (ornithologist), Dr. Annette Bombosch (marine biologist), Dr. Susie Newtown (ship's doctor), Renato Granieri (photographer), Dr. Brent S. Stewart (scientist in residence/lecturer)

Full album can be found here.

24th – 25th – Buenos Aires

The party on the ship last night was great. Because the average age of passengers on this trip was so much lower than the trip to Svalbard there was much more going on all the time and much more energy. Great fun was had. A guide who had been on the ship on Svalbard but not this showed up during the evening as he would be joining the ship the rest of the season until March. That was a fun surprise.

In the morning we got up at 0630 and bags we didn’t want to carry ourselves were handed over before 0700. Breakfast was had and depending on when you were flying out during the day (if at all) busses were ready to bring you to the airport in a timely fashion. I had, together with a few others, a couple of hours in Ushuaia. Ushuaia is not a town interesting enough to hang out in – especially not in the early morning.

I flew to Buenos Aires (together with maybe 30 others from the ship), transferred to the hotel, checked in and completely crashed the moment I entered the room. Complete fatigue. I had planned on spending the second day in BA to take the ferry on a day trip to Uruguay and felt every single grain of energy seep out. I still took a walk to the ferry terminal to see if I could find some information but at that point all info was closed and I was none the wiser. Returning trying to find a place to eat I completely randomly bumped into the guy that had been my roommate in Ushuaia and tent buddy when camping. He had been on an earlier flight but had a night in BA before returning home. He had already had dinner but he still joined me to a restaurant where I had a bite to eat while he had another beer. We agreed to meet for breakfast at his hotel the following day at 0900, making it easier for him as he would be leaving at 1030.

We met, had breakfast and (once again) said our goodbyes.

I then had a walk around seeing the city until I in the afternoon arrived back at the hotel, rested and realized that two others from the ship were in the vicinity. This resulted in us going out for dinner together, letting me enjoy another slab of meat before returning home.

Walking around BA was weird; I had gotten used to the fresh, clean, cold air, the weather and the light in Antarctica and am now in big-city dirt and pollution, noise, crowds and heat. I miss the cold – the Antarctic cold, not the cold that is waiting for me at home.

Obelisco de Buenos Aires.

I am guessing as a tourist taking this photo is just as cheesy as taking a photo of the Little Mermaid.

23rd – The expedition ends

We were woken up at around 0645 as planned with the notification that we would be passing by the Horn around 0720. Every single story there is about people going around the cape involves storms, high waves and generally bad conditions. Calm sea, barely any wind. It was nice.

Coming up to the Horn in fantastic conditions.

The small island to the far right is furthest south point.

Two human made structures can just be seen on the two small hills in the center; to the left is a statue of an albatros 

(with the albatros being in negative space) and to the right a light house.

From then on we sailed through the Beagle Channel, continuing the nice condition we were not getting used to and steadily getting rid of layers. In the mean time we watched a movie about a vessel The Peking in 1929 rounding the Horn in some absolutely terrifying weather, disembarkation instructions, lunch and generally spending time outside to get the last sights before arriving in Ushuaia. Magellanic penguins and dolphins were high points. Unfortunately the dolphins followed in the wake of the bow which was very unsuitable for the long lens I had with me at the time and when returning with a shorter lens they had naturally disappeared. We passed by Puerto Williams, the most southerly town in the world and even got to see some fur seals resting on the base of a buoy.

Unfortunately the best photo I have of the dolphins.

Magellanic penguins.

Resting fur seals.

At 1800 we had goodbye drinks with the captain and we got to say thanks to the crew (or rather those we have been in closest contact with and representatives for the rest). Then the traditional auction was held and like last year I was very interested in the flag which I didn’t win when on Svalbard. What I hadn’t prepared myself for was to see the winning bid reach 620USD. What is wrong with people? At least it all goes to charity. They also auctioned a recording of our expedition leader doing a custom wakeup call. That went for 250USD, bid by a group of girls. I had hoped that the recording had been made public for all but I understand why they chose to do it like this instead.

Dinner was had successfully (as usual) and after that people either went into Ushuaia (we had docked during dinner) or went out back to the bar on the ship.

Me with Jonathan Green, the expedition leader.

During the last night's party several guides joined Blaise Guld on the stage for a song or two. Here Gerard Baker.

13th – The expedition begins

We were in no rush in the morning and despite of that I woke up at 0600 and could barely sleep anymore. We handed in our big bags at 0830, had breakfast, relaxed and checked out an hour later.

In an attempt to pass time until 1430 we went to the local prison museum which also had a bit of general and maritime history and a small art gallery. The museum parts were surprisingly interesting – we ended up spending close to 2½ hours there before we came back outside.

One of the prison blocks.

A building at the main street had been pimped with a prisoner escape.

From there we found a place for lunch (where we spotted two G people, likely two of our guides) and returned to the hotel to hang out until we were to go to the meeting point where we would be picked up to go to the ship. We arrived, boarded the bus and drove for 5 minutes to the ship. It would have been faster and easier to walk directly to the ship from the hotel but due to it being a secured port it was easier for all parties that we got taken through in bus loads and not individually.

At the end of the world and getting the first glimpse of the ship.

From there we finally boarded. It felt good to be back. I even got recognized by a few guides who had also been on the ship in Svalbard and by the hotel manager. As I said: It felt good to be back!

We had the necessary welcome briefings, introductions and safety instructions and when the latter was completed the ship took off from the port and dinner was served at 1900 as always and it easily lived up to my memory.

Ushuaia seen from the ship.

The hotel manager Josi Silva welcoming us on board.

Our expedition leader, Jonathan R. Green, welcoming us and introducing the staff.

They are expecting 2-4 meter waves when crossing the Drake, highest mid-day tomorrow. Not bad conditions at all considering how the Drake can be at times. They don’t expect it to get worse and if that turns out to be true it will indeed be an easy crossing.

12th – Going south

We were picked up at 0700 at the hotel – due to last night’s dinner I chose to skip an early breakfast. The drive to the domestic airport was short at things were easy when we found the correct sport to hand in our luggage. And things were made easier by the fact that we had already been checked in.

In spite of the airline’s reputation we took off on schedule and 3½ hours later we arrived in Ushuaia. We arrived in 8°C and while it wasn’t unexpected it was a bit of a change from Buenos Aires’ more than 25°C. My checked-in backpack made it too, which was nice. The flight bag in which my backpack had been put in didn’t. It was gone. The backpack had the luggage tag on as if the flight bag never existed. I don’t think I have ever been this weirded out before.

We arrived at 1230 on schedule and an hour later we were checking in at our hotel for the night. My roommate and I had a walk around the town but apart from the main street there wasn’t much to see. To my big surprise none of the equipment shops had or knew what a flight bag was so I didn’t manage to retrieve a replacement for my lost one.

Dolphin gull.

Direct translation of the sign at the entrance at the port; "Forbidden mooring of English pirate ships". I assume that if you arrive in a French pirate ship it's fine.

Read it and laugh. The English name for the islands is, as people know, The Falklands, but no matter where you look in Argentina, even when written in English the Spanish name, the Malvinas, is used. This is an official sign. What they are actually saying is the same as if when entering Copenhagen you would see signs saying "Skåne [southern Sweden] is included in the jurisdiction of Copenhagen. At the same time we should remember Skåne since 1719 has been under the illegal occupation of Sweden".

Basically the Argentinians are butthurt over the fact that they have no control over The Falklands but that it is, in fact, British. And that they got their asses handed to them in 1982.

We had lunch, walked some more, met with some of the others we had transferred from the airport with but decided to go separate ways for dinner. Roommate and I went and had king crab (with cheese and as a paella. I was tempted to have just the crab whole, but the amount and price put me off) before heading back to the hotel near 2200 and settled in for the day.

We will have to hand over our bags at 0900 tomorrow to have them sent to the ship, check out at 1000, kill time until we meet at 1430 to get our access cards for the ship and in the and gather at 1530 to finally go to the ship and board. I am so excited!

Memorial for the soldiers fallen in the Falkland war.

10th – 11th – Departure

The two-hour flight from Copenhagen to Heathrow went without a hitch as one might reasonably expect. I arrived around 1600 and had about 6 hours to kill until my connecting flight. I spent the time looking around in terminal 5 where I arrived and was to depart from and ended up at Wagamama for dinner. Note to self; Chili Ramen in Heathrow is more chili than in Copenhagen. Much more.

The gate didn’t appear until a little more than an hour before departure and as expected we were a bit delayed departing. It obviously didn’t help that they didn’t start boarding less than half an hour before the scheduled take-off. Apart from the flight being 13 hours long (technically it was probably closer to 12 as we were an hour delayed when departing but still arrived on time) things went quite nicely. I didn’t get much sleep – as usual – but I did get to watch a few movies on the way; Our kind of Traitor, Secret Life of Pets, Legend of Tarzan and Angry Birds (not too proud of that one but it did have some nice – i.e. silly – puns spread out).

Arriving in Buenos Aires the queue through immigration was long but it went, together with the luggage pick-up, without any problems. I was picked up as expected and driven straight to my hotel.

As I arrived around 1100-1130 I wasn’t able to check in yet so I went on a walk for a couple of hours before returning and getting my room. I asked them if they had any information or documents waiting for me concerning pickup tomorrow and flight to Ushuaia but I received the same answer as when I arrived; nope, nothing.

I had a much needed shower, shave and brushing of teeth until I got a bit impatient, put some money on my Skype account (the minimum I could put on was a ridiculously large amount relative to what I needed) and called the G Adventures office. I was put on hold while they conferred with the office in BA (sorry, guys – for some reason I couldn’t find that number but only the US one!) and when returning to the phone I was informed that the hotel had received the necessary information yesterday. We had barely finished our call when my room phone rang and guess what? The reception had “just received” the necessary information for me! We had a briefing at 1700; we are 4 people being picked up at 0700 to fly out to Ushuaia 2 hours later on a 3½ hours flight.

Being in Argentina I couldn’t not have steak for dinner. I was recommended a place by our G contact close to the hotel. I got there and just managed to get a table for one (it was a popular place among the locals, always a good sign) and before even ordering I had already received a bowl of bread rolls, beans in chili, and three dips; olive/chili/garlic/sour, tomato salsa and spinach/green/sour. As it took a while, about half an hour, for the food to arrive I ended up eating more of it than I care to admit. It was a great start. 450g bife de chorizo and what I thought was boiled potatoes with a bit of sour cream drizzled with bacon turned out to be a huge baked potato with a massive glob of cream cheese, a generous amount of bacon bits and grated cheese on top. Vegetable, dairy and protein. Totally healthy.

I had also ordered a glass of wine without specifying what kind. Imagine the biggest glass of wine you’ve had and I can with near full certainty guarantee this was still closer to being half a bottle than any puny glass you have in mind. To my surprise it was a really, really good wine so I was bracing myself to having to face a bill for an expensive wine.

My ½ liter water cost 42 pesos.

My wine cost 38 pesos.

I love Argentina.

The polar opposite

So... I think this is a first. Only days after making reservations for two trips a third pops up. Woops. It wasn't even planned - not this early, at least - but I realized that if I wanted to go within the next 1½ years I shouldn't wait too long otherwise the cheap tickets would be sold out.

I mentioned previously that the trip to Svalbard would be the priciest trip I will be going on by far. So what do I do? Find the only destination more expensive - because that makes sense. Luckily the travel agent lets customers split up payments otherwise it would not have been possible for me to make any reservations. Again a cool trip I have wanted to go on but you know.. Money available and price isn't always compatible. But now it looked like I might get a break so yes, it was unavoidable.

The trip isn't until November next year and because of that it isn't possible to get plane tickets as ticket sites normally won't let you purchase more than 364 days in advance. So the tour description will be a bit more vague than usual.

10th? - 11th of November 2016

Fly out of Copenhagen to Buenos Aires.

12th of November

After spending a night in Buenos Aires I get picked up and brought to the airport from where I fly to Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world. Here I get to spend the rest of the day taking in the sights of the end of the world.

13th - 23rd of November

In the afternoon we embark the MS Expedition (same one, actually, which will be bringing me around Svalbard) and sail south, crossing the Drake Passage followed by 6 days where we explore the wildlife and scenery of Antarctica around Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands. The goal is to be able to get ashore twice a day to get a closer look of penguins and generally keep an eye out for whales and seals feeding. After the 6 days we will be heading back north to the mainland.

24th of November

Arriving last night we have breakfast on the ship before disembarking. Flight back to Buenos Aires late morning or early afternoon.

25th - ? November

Flying back home from Buenos Aires, but as I have no flight plans yet I am thinking of maybe spending a couple of days in the city. We'll see.

There were surprisingly large variety of expeditions to Antarctica and some of them would be bringing us past by the Falklands and South Georgia and while it was tempting, there was something very, very sobering about the price. So, I'll take a limited edition of "only" passing by Antarctica, but I'm fine with that.