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).

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.

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.