Across the Drake Passage to Antarctica
12 Days of Christmas (Antarctic version)
The outward journey
We left London on Tuesday 14 December 2004, and flew with Aerolíneas Argentinas to Buenos Aires. We had to change planes in Madrid, and the total journey time was about 14 hours. We were fortunate enough to get a good deal on an upgrade to business class, so arrived in Buenos Aires early in the morning of 15 December feeling reasonably refreshed. It would be pretty horrible doing a journey like that travelling in cattle class.
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Buenos Aires
We had two days in Buenos Aires, staying at the Sofitel. The hotel was lovely, and we would wholeheartedly recommend it. One of the best things about Buenos Aires is the beef. It claims to be the best in the world, and although we haven't tried all the beef in the world, it's not hard to believe it. It is certainly the best we've ever tasted. It's lucky we didn't go a couple of years ago, before Adam gave up his vegetarian diet. Eating in Buenos Aires would not be fun for vegetarians, but is a real treat for meat-eaters.
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Ushuaia (first visit)
From Buenos Aires we flew to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. Ushuaia is a strange place, perhaps best described as a cross between a wild-west frontier town and a tacky English seaside resort. If that sounds negative, it's not meant to be. We liked Ushuaia. We spent one night there, at the Hotel Cap Polonio. This is not where we would have chosen to stay had we booked earlier before the other hotels were full, and we probably wouldn't stay there again given the choice.
To look at Erick's website with great pictures and descriptions of Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego (among other places) click here
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Across the Drake Passage to Antarctica
On the afternoon of 18 December, we boarded the Grigoriy Mikheev to begin our Antarctic cruise. This was where the fun really started. The staff of Oceanwide Expeditions (who run the ship) made us feel very welcome, and although there is something faintly scary about getting on such a small boat to go to such a remote place, we were quickly put at our ease.
It took about 2 days for us to cross the Drake Passage. We were lucky that the weather was reasonably calm, as the Drake Passage can be a real seasickness-fest. As it happened, Carolyn was absolutely fine throughout, and Adam also managed to avoid being seasick, although had to spend some of the time lying in the cabin with his eyes shut just to make sure. (See our top tips on how to avoid seasickness.) During the crossing we passed the time by watching the many sea-birds (albatrosses, petrels, terns etc) and listening to interesting lectures about Antarctica given by our knowledgeable expedition staff.
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In Antarctica
20 December
The good weather on our outward crossing meant that we made landfall at the South Shetland Islands early and were in time to make our first landing in the afternoon of Sunday 20 December on Greenwich Island near the (unoccupied) Arturo Prat station. We saw our first seals and gentoo and chinstrap penguins.
21 December
Overnight we sailed through the Antarctic Sound into the Weddell Sea and made our first landing of 21 December at Paulet Island, where there is a huge colony of Adélie penguins. After lunch we sailed northwest to make a landing on the actual continent at Brown Bluff, seeing more Adélies as well as a large colony of gentoo penguins. Then we retraced our route through the Antarctic Sound, sailing past numerous large tabular icebergs that probably originated from the Ronne or Larsen ice shelves in the Weddell Sea.
22 December
Our planned landings at Hannah Point on Livingstone Island in the South Shetlands, and on Deception Island, had to be cancelled owing to serious storms. We sailed into the caldera of Deception Island (no mean feat to get the ship through the narrow passage of Neptune's Bellows in such bad weather) and anchored in Whaler's Bay, but the weather made a landing impossible. We had to abandon our plans for the day and sailed on to the Peninsula hoping for better conditions.
23 December
To make up for yesterday's disappointment, four trips were scheduled for today. Before breakfast we landed on tiny Orne Island in the Gerlache Strait. Spectacular views and a small chinstrap colony. After breakfast we landed again on Cuverville Island in the entrance to the Errera Channel. We saw a large colony of Gentoos. We struggled through the deep snow to avoid damaging the 'penguin highways' used by the birds themselves to get from the sea to their nesting places.
In the afternoon we sailed to Andvord Bay and made our third landing at Neko Harbour, where we climbed the hill to enjoy the view - and do some Antarctic tobogganing. Brave souls amongst us even went for a swim in the icy waters of the bay.
We sailed on to the well-named Paradise Bay, and did a Zodiac cruise among the spectacular scenery. We saw a leopard seal close up, though not the hoped-for whales. The day ended with a barbecue and party on the ship's deck. At 10 pm the captain, worried that ice was closing in, weighed anchor and sailed out, heading for our next destination, the Lemaire Channel.
24 December
The Lemaire Channel proved to be completely blocked by bergs and loose ice, and an alternative route around Booth Island was also impassable. We had to give up our hope of going further south to Peterman Island, and turn northward. We spent the morning exploring the Neumayer Channel, venturing into the Gerlache Strait where we had a thrilling close encounter with two humpback whales.
In the afternoon we visited Port Lockroy on Goudier Island, a preserved British base from the 1940s which is now run as a living museum. The site is full of gentoo penguins who are quite used to human visitors. On this particular sunny afternoon they were all very hot, lying flaked out on the rocks. We bought t-shirts and sent postcards (with British Antarctic Territory stamps) from the only post office in Antarctica.
25 December
Our first landing on Christmas Day was at Hydrurga Rocks, a small island set among really beautiful scenery. We did not see any hydrurgas (leopard seals) here, but there were Weddell seals, gentoos, skuas, and blue-eyed cormorants with chicks.
Our afternoon trip was a Zodiac cruise around Oslo Island, exploring a spectacular coastline of rocks and glaciers with numberless icebergs large and small. We were greeted back on board by Santa Claus in full costume with a white beard!
26 December
On December 26 we were back in the South Shetlands. We went back to Hannah Point, where we had been unable to land at the beginning of the trip. This time, despite a heavy swell and some close brushes with floating ice, we got ashore, and saw large groups of adolescent elephant seals as well as penguins and giant petrels.
Our final landing in Antarctica was at Yankee Harbour, a wide gravelly stretch of open land with hundreds of busy gentoo penguins and one unhappy-looking elephant seal. A sad farewell to the South Shetland Islands, and we set course across the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.
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Back across the Drake Passage
Our return crossing of the Drake Passage was much rougher than the outgoing journey, with high seas and a strong headwind. For much of the trip we were confined to the inside of the ship, as the weather made it too dangerous to go out on deck. We were entertained by talks and lectures from the staff, and many people were too seasick to get up in any case. The weather improved on the second day as we got further north, and we were finally able to get out on deck for some albatross-watching. Once we got back into the Beagle Channel on the evening of 28 December all was calm once more. We reached Ushuaia on schedule — just! — for our 7 am docking time.
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Ushuaia (second visit)
We spent three nights in Ushuaia at the end of the Antarctic trip. It was well worth it to see a bit more of Tierra del Fuego, and Ushuaia is fun too (though don't expect good weather). While we were there we took a minibus trip to the Harberton Ranch (home of the missionary Thomas Bridges). The scenery is dramatic, with tall jagged mountains, peat bogs, and rivers dammed by beavers. The roads are unpaved for much of the journey. From the ranch we took a boat trip to an island in the Beagle Channel where there is a large colony of Magellanic penguins. It's only recently that visitors have been able to set foot on the island, and we felt that the visits probably should not continue because the birds seemed so disturbed by our presence.
Our other main trip was up to the Martial glacier in the mountains above Ushuaia. We took a cab 7 km out of town up to the chairlift. It's a scenic fifteen-minute ride. From the top of the chairlift we hiked up the steep path to the glacier (billed as an hour-and-a-half walk, but it took us 40 minutes to get up there). It's spectacular, but you need to take waterproofs and warm clothes. The weather can (and did) change dramatically and quickly for the worse up there.
There are several museums in Ushuaia; the Museo del Fin del Mondo is small but interesting. You can also do a tour of the town on an old double-decker bus. For the inevitable holiday shopping, the Avenida San Martín offers a range from tourist tat to quite upmarket crafts and leather and woollen goods. There are more bars and restaurants than you can shake a stick at.
We didn't have time to make the train trip out to go hiking in the National Park, but we would have liked to see it.
One of the highlights of our stay in Ushuaia was our new year's eve dinner at Kaupé, which is probably the best restaurant in Ushuaia. The combination of delicious food, excellent Argentine wines, professional and efficient yet friendly service, and stunning views over the harbour made it an evening to remember.
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The journey home
We left Ushuaia on the morning of 1 January 2005, to begin our long journey home. We flew first to Buenos Aires, and from there to Madrid, where we had to spend many hours hanging around the airport waiting for our delayed flight back to London. Aerolineas Argentinas managed to check our luggage all the way through from Ushuaia to London without losing it, and avoiding all the hassle of collecting it and re-checking it on the way certainly made up for the slight feeling of nervousness about whether it would end up in London on the same flight that we took. We finally arrived home late in the evening of 2 January.
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More detailed descriptions
Adam's detailed diary
A detailed day by day account, written at the time and unedited. Long and rambling in places, but you get to read Adam's innermost thoughts during the trip. Also includes photographs.
Carolyn's detailed diary
As above, but from a different perspective.