A bit of Argentina - South Georgia - Antarctica
Jan 28, 2024, 3:44 pm
#31
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 101
Jan 28, 2024, 6:18 pm
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
No different than filtered water, but it's more the novelty of the idea seeing as you can't do it every day
The water onboard the ship was just fine like any other filtered water. Then again this ship is only coming up to its fifth birthday in April. So the systems are for the most part all modern.
Jan 28, 2024, 6:29 pm
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
The weather forecast for the infamous Drake Passage and Antarctic Peninsula for the following days had been looking quite grim indeed, so that evening we started to head slowly north to the South Shetland Islands chain to give us a head start on our crossing after our last day's excursions. We arrived at the Aitcho Islands very early in the morning in atmospheric conditions - very calm, overcast and misty.
These islands were particularly interesting because they had greenery - well, enough to look at, but when you got up close it was a really tiny amount and very delicate.
Of course, more penguins. On this island, there were chinstraps and gentoos.
You know, the reddish stuff surrounding the nests is all penguin poop. Penguins love to dine on krill, a tiny crustacean, and they eat so much of it that their output is a reddish colour.
I know, there's a lot of penguin pics here - but this trip is entitled "Penguin Safari" and for a good reason!
The chicks were pretty adorable. Sadly, some of the other guests, saw one of the chicks scooped away by a hungry skua and taken away for a late breakfast. They do have to eat too….
Again, we switched to the Zodiac after our time on land and headed around the islands to get some views of the more rugged sections.
These rocky islands poking up from the sea looked very mysterious and forboding.
Then, back on to the ship for lunch and a traverse to Yankee Harbor. Passing more awesome scenery, including these rock pinnacles.
And of course more ice.
From the Aitcho Islands we'd seen the 100 year old ship Europa far in the distance (too far for me to take a pic of any quality), but the first ship we'd come close enough to for 2 weeks was in Yankee Harbor when we arrived. This was a very small ~20 person sailing ship which was planning to hunker down and wait out the upcoming storm.
On the beach was a relic of a huge pot used to boil penguins for their oil. Poor little guys.
There were a few seals resting amongst the penguins.
I'll make an excuse for all the penguin pics - this was our last stop in Antarctica before heading out.
But before too long, we were all back on board and heading north to South America. We passed the cool pinnacles again.
And more ice.
This rocky island was the last Antarctic land we'd see. We would enter the Drake Passage that evening.
The next day was more presentations and a relaxed, fun atmosphere for those who could handle the moderately heavy seas. Our captain had planned to get out in front of a significant approaching storm and it worked, as the seas were rougher than what we'd already experienced but not overly so. We would be in protected waters by the time the brunt of the storm came through, evidenced by this map of where we'd made it at the end of the day.
The next morning myself and 2 other guests were fortunate enough to get a tour of the ship's mechanical infrastructure including the control room, engine room, and the water and wastewater processing areas.
It was really cool to experience that and see all of the behind the scenes stuff making the journey physically happen - not the least of which are the demands on the engineering staff. There were three of them focused on getting the lobby hot chocolate machine working again, trying to salvage parts from other faulty machines, squeezing this in to all of the other important duties of just keeping the ship running!
Before dinner, there was an auction for some memorabilia from the trip to support Penguin Watch, a research project run by a penguinologist from Oxford University, who was onboard this trip. The prizes were all super cool and unique, such as freshly distilled Antarctic sea salt; or the Antarctica flag that was on the bow of the ship signed by the captain and expedition leader.
We had another great meal the last night of the cruise, so I took a few pics of the food once again.
After dinner, there was the final recap of the trip. We'd travelled 2876 nautical miles since departing Ushuaia 13 days prior. Tomorrow morning we're scheduled to pull in at 0600.
After the last breakfast on the ship, many of us headed directly to the Ushuaia airport to catch our onwards flights, mostly to Buenos Aires and beyond. No one liked it. The Ushuaia airport is small and not very interesting.
We departed out in very strong winds over the Beagle Channel en route to Buenos Aires. It was hard to believe that just over two weeks ago, we'd been inbound to Ushuaia and had the trip of a lifetime in front of us. It truly was an incredible experience.
I'll end the report here, as I already posted earlier some pics of my last night in BA - but it was kind of surreal being back in a big city. When I was being driven from the airport to my hotel, I felt like a little kid - gawking and gazing at all of the people, cars, and buildings. After being surrounded by the sea, the sky, rock, ice, and wildlife for 2 weeks, I guess that's what Antarctica does to you.
Happy trails.
These islands were particularly interesting because they had greenery - well, enough to look at, but when you got up close it was a really tiny amount and very delicate.
Of course, more penguins. On this island, there were chinstraps and gentoos.
You know, the reddish stuff surrounding the nests is all penguin poop. Penguins love to dine on krill, a tiny crustacean, and they eat so much of it that their output is a reddish colour.
I know, there's a lot of penguin pics here - but this trip is entitled "Penguin Safari" and for a good reason!
The chicks were pretty adorable. Sadly, some of the other guests, saw one of the chicks scooped away by a hungry skua and taken away for a late breakfast. They do have to eat too….
Again, we switched to the Zodiac after our time on land and headed around the islands to get some views of the more rugged sections.
These rocky islands poking up from the sea looked very mysterious and forboding.
Then, back on to the ship for lunch and a traverse to Yankee Harbor. Passing more awesome scenery, including these rock pinnacles.
And of course more ice.
From the Aitcho Islands we'd seen the 100 year old ship Europa far in the distance (too far for me to take a pic of any quality), but the first ship we'd come close enough to for 2 weeks was in Yankee Harbor when we arrived. This was a very small ~20 person sailing ship which was planning to hunker down and wait out the upcoming storm.
On the beach was a relic of a huge pot used to boil penguins for their oil. Poor little guys.
There were a few seals resting amongst the penguins.
I'll make an excuse for all the penguin pics - this was our last stop in Antarctica before heading out.
But before too long, we were all back on board and heading north to South America. We passed the cool pinnacles again.
And more ice.
This rocky island was the last Antarctic land we'd see. We would enter the Drake Passage that evening.
The next day was more presentations and a relaxed, fun atmosphere for those who could handle the moderately heavy seas. Our captain had planned to get out in front of a significant approaching storm and it worked, as the seas were rougher than what we'd already experienced but not overly so. We would be in protected waters by the time the brunt of the storm came through, evidenced by this map of where we'd made it at the end of the day.
The next morning myself and 2 other guests were fortunate enough to get a tour of the ship's mechanical infrastructure including the control room, engine room, and the water and wastewater processing areas.
It was really cool to experience that and see all of the behind the scenes stuff making the journey physically happen - not the least of which are the demands on the engineering staff. There were three of them focused on getting the lobby hot chocolate machine working again, trying to salvage parts from other faulty machines, squeezing this in to all of the other important duties of just keeping the ship running!
Before dinner, there was an auction for some memorabilia from the trip to support Penguin Watch, a research project run by a penguinologist from Oxford University, who was onboard this trip. The prizes were all super cool and unique, such as freshly distilled Antarctic sea salt; or the Antarctica flag that was on the bow of the ship signed by the captain and expedition leader.
We had another great meal the last night of the cruise, so I took a few pics of the food once again.
After dinner, there was the final recap of the trip. We'd travelled 2876 nautical miles since departing Ushuaia 13 days prior. Tomorrow morning we're scheduled to pull in at 0600.
After the last breakfast on the ship, many of us headed directly to the Ushuaia airport to catch our onwards flights, mostly to Buenos Aires and beyond. No one liked it. The Ushuaia airport is small and not very interesting.
We departed out in very strong winds over the Beagle Channel en route to Buenos Aires. It was hard to believe that just over two weeks ago, we'd been inbound to Ushuaia and had the trip of a lifetime in front of us. It truly was an incredible experience.
I'll end the report here, as I already posted earlier some pics of my last night in BA - but it was kind of surreal being back in a big city. When I was being driven from the airport to my hotel, I felt like a little kid - gawking and gazing at all of the people, cars, and buildings. After being surrounded by the sea, the sky, rock, ice, and wildlife for 2 weeks, I guess that's what Antarctica does to you.
Happy trails.
Jan 29, 2024, 8:20 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,740
No need to apologize for all the penguin pics. They are most welcome!!! 7 years ago this week I was in the middle of a Wine and Penguins cruise around South America. I still love to go back and look at all the pictures.
For those going to see penguin colonies in the future, what the OP said about smelling the penguins first is true. I brought a small container of vicks vapor rub which I rubbed under my nose to help deal with the scent. A strong scented lotion would probably work as well.
For those going to see penguin colonies in the future, what the OP said about smelling the penguins first is true. I brought a small container of vicks vapor rub which I rubbed under my nose to help deal with the scent. A strong scented lotion would probably work as well.
Jan 31, 2024, 7:30 am
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
Landings are limited to 100 people per ship, and given that we had 150 not everyone could go ashore at the same time. Generally, what they did is split the groups into landing first / Zodiac cruise first and then swap spots halfway through. So everyone would get a turn to do what they wanted at each location, it was only a matter of what activity you'd do first.
Feb 10, 2024, 9:41 pm
#45
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Canada
Programs: UA, AC, Delta Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 94
Thanks for taking us on a breathtaking penguin safari! Excellent, educational and entertaining TR! I thought the photos taken with your phone were great.
From what I've read if you have time and are willing to take a chance, you can book last minute trips in Ushuaia. Is that true? Are there a lot of cruise ships? Would there be much price difference? As for food, were there any vegetarian/vegan choices?
I'm not sure where you're planning to go next but I think it's going to be hard to beat this trip. But please share that trip here as well!
From what I've read if you have time and are willing to take a chance, you can book last minute trips in Ushuaia. Is that true? Are there a lot of cruise ships? Would there be much price difference? As for food, were there any vegetarian/vegan choices?
I'm not sure where you're planning to go next but I think it's going to be hard to beat this trip. But please share that trip here as well!