30th of January – 2nd of February – Homebound

The crossing from the Falklands to Ushuaia only took a full day late on the first evening we arrived back in port in heavy winds after a not as gentle as usual crossing. During the crossing we were given information on when we were to leave the ship the following morning – unfortunately I had been given the early flight out so I had to leave early, before most people were up meaning I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to a fraction of those I wanted to say goodbye to.

Looking back while sailing through the Beagle Channel.

I arrived back in BA and checked into my hotel and rested. I had planned on grabbing (another) steak dinner when here, but realized that the amounts of good food from the past 3 weeks started to make itself known and I felt completely full despite only having a small breakfast on the ship. I was flying out in the late afternoon so the following morning I had a short back in the national park I also visited when I had arrived from home, I hadn’t brought my camera equipment as I just wanted to walk and relax and I hadn’t expected to see anything that would grab my attention. Colour me surprised when leaving the park, I spotted a humming bird buzzing around a tree. Something a long lens would have been perfect for. Oh, well.

Grabbed a cab to the airport, checked in, boarded in a timely manner and once again I received the royal treatment on the flight home. I probably got even more sleep than on the last flight, and gently woken up by a crew member shaking my shoulder informing me it was time for breakfast. Spent my layover in the first class terminal again, and nearing the time of expected departure one of the attendants came over with a grave look on her face. I was expecting to be told that the flight had been cancelled, but instead she was so very sorry to inform me that my flight had been delayed 10 minutes. How horrible!  As I was the only one from the terminal getting on that flight the driver drove me to the gate in a Porsche Carrera, very comfortable I must say. Took the elevator up from the tarmac as before, got pushed past the entire queue and put in my seat. 

It’s going to be tough getting back to monkey class after this!

And that was a very successful trip over and done with. The sightings were amazing – especially the wildlife! The orca sightings are going to stick with me, and the fact that despite the vulnerable status we saw so many of the various albatrosses! We were told not to get our hopes up, especially with the wandering as it is rare (which was also why it was so frustrating visiting the toilet on the first sighting!), but the numbers we saw were astonishing, even several of the guides were very surprised by the numbers that were logged. 

Big thanks to Dr. Alex Cowan (expedition leader), Neil Rabjohn (assistant expedition leader/naturalist), Kevin Morgan (naturalist), Ignacio Canepa (naturalist), Osi Sharaf (naturalist), Scott Macphail (naturalist/historian), Lyn Mair (ornithologist), Rex Nelson (zodiac technician), Gerard Baker (historian/BBC documentary maker), Pablo Cantua (musician), Daniel Urriza (kayak assistant), Sarah Keenan (kayak master), Matt Burnaby (camping master), Paul Glendell (photograoher) and José Aguilar (ship’s doctor). Big thanks to captain Gilles Cader and hotel manager Gabor Ferencz. And finally big thanks to Randale, Jerome, Louie, Albert, Jay, Joel and the rest of the crew that made the trip as memorable as it ended up being, You guys are amazing!

So much awesomeness in one photo. 

Back row: Osi Sharaf (naturalist), Lyn Mair (ornithologist), Paul Glendell (photograoher), Pablo Cantua (musician), Sarah Keenan (kayak master), Matt Burnaby (camping master), Neil Rabjohn (assistant expedition leader/naturalist), Kevin Morgan (naturalist), Scott Macphail (naturalist/historian)

Front row: José Aguilar (ship’s doctor), Gerard Baker (historian/BBC Documentary maker), Rex Nelson (zodiac technician), Ignacio Canepa (naturalist), Alex Cowan (expedition leader), Daniel Urriza (kayak assistant)

Thanks to Bec, Naomi, Ceres, Andrea, Chris, Alex, Steve, David, Michaela and everyone else who I should have mentioned but haven’t for being such a great group of people making the trip as terrific as it was. I hope I get to see you all again some time.

Full album can be found here.

8th – 11th of January – Leaving home and returning south

The plan was to fly to Buenos Aires where I’d spend 2 nights before getting on another plane to Ushuaia. And having decided to splurge so I had gotten first class tickets on my flights to BA. Having a layover in Frankfurt I left the main terminal building and walked over to the first class terminal where I checked in. Very few people come over here, likely because it’s a bit inconvenient to get to. So for the amount of people here it’s quite a large building with a fully stocked bar, a la carte and buffet restaurant, snacks of various kinds, beds and showers. All included in your first class ticket of course. Starting off with a few hours’ sleep and a shower I followed up with a delicious dinner and multiple snacks before getting picked up with 4 other people and driven straight to the gate. Here we got the elevator up to the long boarding queue, got pushed past and straight on board where we were personally welcomed by the cabin crew. Lufthansa has quite a few high-end Porsches and Mercedes to shuttle their passengers around like this. 

The view of the plane on arrival at the gate.

Reaching my seat I was presented with champagne and nuts, amenity kit, pajamas and slippers, and after takeoff I was presented with more champagne and a snack while waiting for my food. The table was made with a cloth, salt- and pepper shakers, cutlery, bread rolls and drinks – just like in any other normal restaurant. I went with a selection of starters and their classical caviar which was served with a generous glass of vodka (one might as well go all in). it was an amazing start. It was followed up by tournedos and apple crumble (which, was all something I had selected from their menu). After a glass of port I went out to change into the pajamas and returning they had made my seat into a bed. After a few movies I managed to get 6 good hours of sleep before waking up and having breakfast. Rarely has a 13hour flight been this comfortable.

On arrival in BA immigration took close to an hour of waiting, but when arriving in the baggage retrieval area the first class luggage had already been collected and a crew member was just waiting for it to be picked up. Quite a different experience than travelling among the rest of the plebs…

To be honest I don’t find BA particularly interesting, but having 2 days in the city did mean I’d have the chance of two steak dinners so in the end the extended layover wasn’t too bad. On arrival I ended up walking around in a small national park near the hotel. It was along the side of a small island (it actually takes up half the island if not more) and the vegetation meant that you lost the sound of traffic when walking around there. Being along the water you could get a mild breeze at times, very helpful against the blistering heat. 

The following day, still full from yesterday’s dinner, I had a slow morning before heading out on a 5-hour walk and ending up in the Grand Mausoleum Park. It was quite interesting walking around and seeing the huge variety in design and level of maintenance of the various mausoleums. I returned to the hotel and had – of course – my second steak dinner.

To get to Ushuaia we had a flight at 0745 on the following morning so at 0530 we checked out from our hotel and left for the airport. Fortunately, we’d be departing from the smaller domestic airport so transport between the airport and hotel was significantly shorter than from the international airport. The flight was 3½ hours with no hiccups on the way and on arrival in Ushuaia we were fortunate enough to be able to check in right away at our hotel there.

After checking in I decided to go for a walk. Having been here before I don’t really feel there is much to do having seen the prison museum so my aim was just to kill time. Going outside I realized that the weather was fairly nice with comfortable temperatures so I ended up changing my mind and went for a run instead. Following the roads in a southbound direction you reached a viewpoint with views of the channel and Ushuaia. Coming back I circled around a small local airstrip before returning to the hotel. I was nice getting a bit out of the town as there were two large cruise ships that had unloaded all their passengers so it was getting quite crowded. 

Return to the deep south

Coming back from my most recent trip to the Arctic I was already looking forward to returning to the ship. As the number of tours and destinations are limited when going on the ship I am finding it more and more difficult to justify going on more trips with it as I have by now almost been at all its destinations.

Almost. Almost.

There are a select few tours that bring you past the Falkland Islands and South Georgia so I can't write off the expedition tours yet. Obviously! And timing your departure right during the year you'll get to see the penguins with all the new chicks.

So I didn't really have a choice.

10th - 11th of January, 2020

Arriving in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I stay one night before flying south to Ushuaia. Needless to say, steak is on the menu.

12th - 15th of January

Board the ship and leave Ushuaia, going east towards the Falklands. We'll be spending a few days at the Falklands, (hopefully) seeing an abundance of penguins and black-browed albatrosses.

16th - 21st of January

Continuing east we again spend a few days on the sea before arriving at South Georgia where we will, depending on weather, spend four days exploring. The highlight of the trip will be the large colony of king penguins, but also historical sites will be visited (whaling stations, Shackleton's grave etc.).

22nd - 23rd of January

We point the ship south, leave South Georgia and head towards Antarctica.

24th - 28th of January

At the Antarctica peninsula we will be spending as much time as possible off the ship and the in zodiacs or on land, exploring, enjoying the beautiful views and the large numbers of penguins that will be running/waddling around minding their own business and largely ignoring us.

29th - 31st of January

Heading back north, leaving Antarctica behind and returning to Ushuaia where I will be flying out on disembarkation day to Buenos Aires. I haven't sorted out tickets to and from Argentina yet but I am not expecting to spend more than maybe an extra night there before leaving. Have to get another steak, but have to get back to work, too, unfortunately.

Compared to the previous tours I've done on the ship we will be spending quite a lot of time just crossing water, but that is unavoidable when you want to visit remote islands so I expect it to be worth it. If nothing else I am crossing my fingers that the extra time spent out in the open means more chances of seeing whales and other ocean mammals which I haven't had much chance of yet. (Orcas.I am talking about orcas).