Wednesday, January 8th we truly set off on the start of the adventure we were looking forward to. We left Buenos Aires early in the morning for a charter flight to Ushuaia, Argentina which is the most southern most city in the world and where we embark on the ship to Antarctica. Upon arrival in Ushuaia we drove through the town where 75% of the population is less than 25 years old due to an incentive program by the government to move here which has brought many young families. We then went on a scenic drive through the most southern forest where the trees though being old are not very big due to the climate which only ranges from 0 to 10 degrees all year round. Boarding a catamaran we took a sail on the Beagle Channel to see some of the surrounding area and bird life. Unfortunately the weather was not too cooperative so visibility was not the best. At 5 PM came the moment we were waiting for as we boarded the National Geographic Explorer for our trip south. Our first hurdle would be to cross the Drake Passage which is known as one of the most unprotected bodies of water in the world and is referred to as the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake. Hoping for the Drake Lake we were informed at our briefing before we left the dock that we were in for more of a Drake Shake for the first night which definitely influenced by dinner choices. An hour out we had to return to port for a medical evacuation as the hotel manager had a medical crisis and had to be transferred to an ICU. Fortunately he recovered well. Our first night at sea was very rolly and many passengers were suffering but fortunately Eric and I did have any ill effects though one did have to be careful all day Thursday when walking around the ship as she continued to rock and roll. Friday the 10th the seas are much calmer and the level of excitement high as we are due to reach the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica after lunch.
A rainy look at Ushuaia
The southern most forest on the planet
Peat bogs are interspersed amongst the trees in the forest
The trees were a mix of evergreen and deciduous with only two different varieties
They refer to this as the end of the trans American highway
Looking up Beagle Channel
Hundreds of cormorants covered the rocks and many people were sure they were seeing their first penguins and most did not have the heart to correct them
Sea lions greeting us on our way by
Saying farewell to Ushuaia as we get ready to leave the harbour
Eric enjoying a champagne as we sail away to Antarctica
Lovely quote
These waves were at our window on the second floor up
Many were practicing their photography skills on the petrols. We were kept busy with many interesting lectures
Petrols followed the ship in large numbers
Albatross kept us entertained for a lot of the journey
Chart shows where we are going. Does not look far but takes two full days to do the crossing and I believe to some it seemed infinitely longer
Yes it is very cold out here!
The excitement mounts as e must be getting closer
No land yet but these are our first iceberg sightings
No comments:
Post a Comment