The White Continent onboard the Antarctic Dream

I left home last night for an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After 12 hours in the air, our plane finally landed in Buenos Aires. I was a little tired, but ready to see a new city. The customs process took a little while, but soon enough I was looking for my bags circling the baggage claim. It is always a great feeling to see your bag and know that it safely arrived. I grabbed by bag, said goodbye to my friends I made on the plane and searched for my transfer guide in the mass of welcoming people outside of the baggage claim. My transfer guide was late -- but I was happy to see her. The drive to the Park Elegance Kempinski took just over an hour. I was happy to settle into my room and get on with the day. Buenos Aires is a large city. The front desk was able to direct me to some good restaurants within walking distance. I certainly covered many blocks just wandering around the city. My goal was to make my way to Sante Fe and do some shopping! And did I shop… I was in need of some cute summer clothes -- certainly lacking in Montana. Towards the evening, I found a nice place to eat. Soon after, it was time to rest.

After a continental breakfast – certainly not the United States version. I had fresh fruit, hot breads, jam, pastries, lots of juice and tea. My flight to Ushuaia left out of the domestic airport in Buenos Aires. It was only about a 15 minute drive to the airport. My flight was on time, and soon enough we were in the air. Our flight lasted about four hours. The flight over the southern end of Argentina was so beautiful. Our landing was interesting -- you could certainly feel the Patagonian winds. I grabbed my bag and once again was met by a transfer guide in the small Ushuaia airport. He took me to my hotel, the Campanilla. It was a bit outside of town, but it had such amazing views of the mountains -- and it was quiet. I settled in, and then hired a taxi to take me to town. I asked the more than helpful staff where to eat. They recommended a local seafood restaurant. I was happy with the choice. I made some friends at the restaurant who were also travelers. We decided to go out on the town and try some more of the local wine bars. I eventually found my way back to the hotel for a welcoming night's sleep.

Once again, a wonderful continental breakfast. I love the fresh fruit, pastries, warm bread and tea in the morning. I was picked up at 8:00AM for a full day adventure to canoe the Beagle Channel and hike on Gabel Island. Canal Fun operated the tour. I was very impressed with the knowledge of their guides. Our canoes were actually small inflatable boats that sat up to four people. Our group split up into the women's team, them men's team, and the two odd men out. The women were stronger… We saw many varieties of birds on our canoe trip. After a couple hours, we happily paddled into a cove where we were met by the trucks. We were taken to a boat where we had tasty sandwiches, fruit, wine and cookies. Then we were taken to a penguin colony on our way to Gable Island. We commenced hiking and learned quite a bit about the local ecology and natural history of the area. Our day ended with a long car ride on a dirt road -- stopping to view Condors -- then onto Ushuaia. I was dropped off at my hotel for another night's rest.

Today I was picked up around 9:00 AM for a trip to Tierra del Fuego. Up to this point, the weather was wonderful. Today, it decided to rain. I put on my rain gear and started a hike through the park. Once again, we were given natural history lessons by very knowledgeable guides. Argentinean guides have to go through many years of schooling before they can become a guide. We stopped our hike for another fabulous lunch, then commenced on a canoe ride on part of a channel in the park. We ended our canoe ride at the very end of the Pan-American highway! I certainly got a picture next to the sign saying the tip of Alaska was a long way from here. Evening was approaching, so we were taken back to our hotels.

Today, I start my Antarctica trip!! I sat myself down to eat my breakfast and chatted a bit with the owners. Then I packed by gear and headed to town. I left my bags at the hotel because I could not board the boat until 4:00 PM. I explored Ushuaia a bit more. At about three, I headed back to the hotel to collect my bags, then made my way to the pier. I went through customs and walked down the pier looking at the large ships docked. Of course, my boat was the last boat on the pier… the Antarctic Dream… I checked in and was given a key to my cabin. After settling in, I headed off to explore the boat. I was certainly impressed with the decor and the cleanliness of the boat. All of the staff was helpful and so friendly!! We met for a safety talk, a welcomed dinner then headed out to sea! It was great to finally be off. We had a GREAT meal that evening. I had a feeling I was going to gain a few pounds on this part of the trip. By the way, the beds are very comfortable. I was able to snuggle up with a puffy down blanket. I think it was more psychological knowing I was on my way to Antarctica while staying warm under a puff of feathers and comfortable sheets.

Feb 18 and 19th were spent on the Drake Passage. We certainly did not get the Drake Lake -- but more the rath of the Drake. I had never seen waves so big. Over three quarters of the boat was sick. I did not get to meet many people until the passage was finished. I don’t know how I did not get sick. I took Dramamine the night before we left, and continued until we got to the calm waters of the Peninsula. I was very impressed with the wait staff. They came carrying full trays of food while 30 foot waves were tossing the boat. During these two days, we packed in many lectures about the natural history of the area, wildlife, global warming, the politics of Antarctica -- everything was fascinating. There was also a tv in each cabin that played various movies through out the day. We were not bored. I enjoyed going up to the bridge to watch the boat challenge the large waves. But most importantly, I ate well…

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We have arrived!! We had an early wake up call and charged to breakfast. We were then split into two zodiac teams -- Shakelton and Amundsen. They called one team, and they were able to get into the boats. Once they were on shore, then our team was able to go. We could fit about 15 people into one boat. I was impressed with the drivers. They were efficient, and it did not take long to get 75 people onto our landings. I was snuggled up in my loaned parka from the boat, and my loaned rubber boots. Both provided by the Antarctic Dream. We hiked on our first island seeing penguins, seals, birds and ice! I was impressed with the amount of wildlife. We had two landings this day. Our first was Discovery bay, and the second landing of the day as Aitcho Bay. After each landing, we were met with the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted. The weather today was cold and wet -- so it made the hot chocolate taste even better.

We are moving on. I can not express the beauty of Antarctica. The land features are massive. Cliffs of rock and ice jut straight out of the water -- exposing harsh terrain. Our boat looks like a miniature toy next to the land. I had never seen so many glaciers in my life! I will never forget the beauty of this place. Today we landed on Cuverville Island and Waterboat Point. We watched a leopard seal catch and eat a penguin today. It was hard to watch -- but it is amazing to see the natural course of life. The days are cloudless and warm for the most part -- about 40 degrees.

Today we visited Pleneau Island and Port Lockroy. The first tour was a tour through the ice in the zodiacs. It was one of the many highlights of my trip. I had never seen icebergs before. The color was so blue, and the formations unique. There were opportunist leopard seals basking in the sunshine on top of the flat burgs. Later we visited Port Lockroy, the old British whaling station. We could buy stamp and postcards to mail to friends and family.

What a great day! We visited Neko Bay. A large piece of a glacier fell into the bay and created such a large wave. All of us saw the penguins run for higher ground. Our guides and naturalist all yelled to get away from the shoreline -- so we joined the penguins. A few minutes later, huge glassy waves of seawater and ice were pounding the shore where we had just been standing. It was quite a sight. The next excursion was whale watching. We received quite a show from a family of humpback whales. They played with the bottom of the boat for about an hour -- rubbing their backs and surfacing right next to the boat. I was entranced. We found a few other whales, but that family certainly seemed to be the most curious. Every night I stayed up with my new friends that I made on the boat. We were able to drink wine, talk about the places we came from, and our view on life and how the world should be. I was one of 5 US citizens, amongst a boat full of people from all around the world. It is certainly a great place to hear so many different points of view -- along with similar viewpoints.

We woke up very early to enjoy a hot bit of hot springs on Deception Island. This island is volcanic, and the thermal activity warms up the water just below the surface. If you dig the sand away from the shore, you release boiling hot water. Then you have to dig channels to allow the freezing cold ocean water -- and mix the perfect water temperature. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying the warm water. We would dive into the freezing cold water, and then run quickly back to our warm haven. We all dried off, and then packed up to eat breakfast. We then moved to a different point on the island and went for a long walk. It was a perfect way to end our journey. I boarded the last zodiac leaving the island. It was sad knowing this was my last time on shore. I was full of remorse while we watched Deception Island get smaller as the boat sailed off for the Drake Passage.

Feb 25 and 26th we were back on the Drake Passage. It was much calmer this time! I was able to watch the Albatross float behind the boat -- along with many other varieties of sea birds. We had more lectures and movies. I read my Shakleton book, realizing that my journey to Antarctica was nothing like his.

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We arrived to Ushuaia the night before due to great sailing conditions. I checked out of my room after breakfast. I said goodbye to my new friends, then headed off to the airport. I flew off to Buenos Aires back over the beautiful mountains of Southern Patagonia. I arrived back to a hot and humid Buenos Aires. It was certainly welcomed after the cooler weather in Antarctica and Ushuaia. This time, I had a reservation at the Park Chateau Kempinski. I had some friends in Buenos Aires, so the met me at the hotel a little later. We all went to a pizza restaurant, and ate good food and drank good wine. I went back to the hotel to another good night’s sleep.

Today, I had a culture tour of the city. I am happy that I took the tour, because it took me to parts of the city that I was not able to walk to. It also gave me a great historical review of the city. Our guide was so full of knowledge that she could barely explain everything to us in four hours. We enjoyed the Pink Palace, Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo, the Recolleta cemetery and quite a few other destinations. Later that evening I went to a tango show. I certainly recommend seeing one while you are in Buenos Aires.

My last day in Buenos Aires was spent back at Santa Fe shopping!! My bag was packed full -- I could barely get it closed. I arrived to the international airport three hours early, and I just made it to my flight before it left. I had never seen airport lines so long. I was sad to leave Argentina and Antarctica -- but happy to be heading home. I know these are two places I would like to visit again.