By the time we had finished dinner on January 24th, the ship was on its way out of the sheltered waters back into the Drake Passage – sooner than we expected – so we had not started our motion sickness medicine early enough. Fortunately, the Passage was smoother this time – not Drake lake but definitely smoother.
We spent the next two days sailing northward to a warmer climate. In addition to more wonderful meals, the expedition staff provided us with more education sessions and activities. We have had a wonderful voyage. The Captain and all his guys on the bridge did an excellent job keeping us safe and positioning the ship so we could get all the photos we wanted. The housekeeping staff took exquisite care of us and our state rooms, always being so careful to tidy everything up while we were at meals. The chef and his crew were amazing and spoiled us with any little extras we might like. The expedition crew and zodiac drivers were great at spotting wildlife, birds and beautiful scenery so we could get the best pictures and always answered all our questions. It’s been a trip of a lifetime!! Huge thank you to Polar Latitudes. Can’t recommend them enough.
In one of our educational sessions the presenter displayed a life-sized replica of a snowy albatross.
One of the citizen science activities was observing and reporting clouds at the same time a weather satellite was overhead.
This is the science lab on board. The penguin counters and whale observers used it.
The staff wanted to make sure we were well prepared to leave the ship – on time, because the next group of passengers started loading about 8 hours after we left.
This coffee/hot chocolate that we used frequently would not fit in our luggage.
The ship had many pictures from cruises in other parts of the world. This was one of our favorites.
We arrived back in Ushuaia around 5pm on the 26th. After one more night on board we disembarked the ship the next morning around 8am. Since our flight to Buenos Aires was not until that evening Polar Latitudes arranged to store our luggage downtown, so we were free to walk around town one last time. We bought a few more souvenirs, had lunch in Ushuaia and then called our Uber for a trip to the airport. The trip is not quite over yet because we have one more day to explore Buenos Aires.
Smooth sailing back in the Beagle Channel
Entering Ushuaia Harbor
The GPS track of our voyage
Lobster thermidor for our last dinner on board
Dessert for our last dinner – key lime pie
We had to have our luggage tagged and ready first thing in the morning.
As you remember from the last post, we left Ushuaia at 6:15 pm on January 18th headed out into the Beagle Channel traveling east for about 60 miles toward the Drake passage. We had another briefing and were prepared for the weather to deteriorate as we neared the Drake. The Drake was forecast to be swells below 5 meters and winds below 30 knots. We had another wonderful dinner, made sure we all continued to take our meclizine to prevent sea sickness and went to sleep.
So, what’s the big deal about the Drake. The Drake Passage, usually a two day journey, is considered one of the roughest and some would say, THE ROUGHEST waterway on Earth. This reputation comes primarily because of the powerful currents created by the collision of cold Antarctic waters with warmer northern waters, combined with strong, unimpeded winds from the Southern Ocean that encounter no landmass to disrupt their flow, resulting in large waves and turbulent seas. More than 800 ships are believed to have sunk in the Drake Passage. This has resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 sailors. The crossing of the Drake is a whole adventure of its own.
All expedition cruise ships must cross the Drake to reach the 7th Continent and modern expedition cruise ships are well equipped to tackle the crossing . Almost all have underwater stabilizers to reduce the rocking and rolling on heavy seas and have the latest technology to follow the weather. Depending on the weather, you might encounter the “Drake Lake” (very smooth) or the “Drake Shake” (what we encountered.) Our ship was equipped with stabilizers, but we still felt the waves – a lot. We did go to sleep as usual after making sure everything in our state room was secured. This was not much different from securing things for a travel day in the RV. We were both awakened shortly before midnight feeling the ship being tossed around but we didn’t fall out of bed and went back to sleep. By morning there really was no improvement. We were having 20 foot waves at times. We were holding to railings as we went to breakfast. At breakfast we were holding onto our plates so our food wouldn’t end up on the floor. At afternoon tea and treats there was a big crash when a stack of dishes hit the floor. Over the next 24 hours there were those who fell out of bed and out of chairs when we would have a larger wave. We finally completed our crossing on the 20th and thankfully the meclizine worked and we were not sick. At 7:10pm we first spotted land. Not yet Antarctica, but the South Shetland Islands and they were a beautiful site! We survived the Drake and it’s fury, no worse for the experience.
As we left the protection of the Beagle Channel “the weather started getting rough and our (not-so-tiny) ship was tossed.” Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Our GPS Track across Drake Passage shows where the captain changed course from due south to southeast to put the large waves on our starboard aft (hitting the ship at a 45 degree angle instead of broadside.) This reduced the the waves effect on the ship, but it was still rough.
Eating on the Drake Passage was challenging – but we managed.
To keep us busy during the crossing, the staff held educational presentations like Penguins 101 …
… and HappyWhale.com.
Part of the Citizen Science program on the ship was counting birds and reporting the count. It was still a little rough the first time we tried it.
As we approached land (and calmer waters) the outside walkways and decks were opened in time for us to see the first iceberg of the trip.
After our embarkation briefing the evening before, we all began the day (Friday, January 17th) excited to finally board our ship later. All luggage was tagged and in the holding area at 8:00am, except for our day packs. The luggage would be taken to the ship and placed in our staterooms by the time we arrived. We spent the remainder of the morning hiking the trails on the mountain – part of a nature preserve owned by the hotel. Another beautiful area with a few inclines to climb but mostly fairly easy. The winds were getting stronger all morning. We went back into town to do a little more shopping prior to boarding the ship.
Hiking the nature preserve
One of several overlooks in the nature preserve
Ushuaia depends on tourists for its economy, so the town has several popular places for pictures.
While shopping Anne bought this cute wool cap from a local vendor at the Artist Mall
We were picked up by a bus about two blocks from the pier, because we were not allowed to walk through the gates to the ship. So, we all hopped on the bus and then right back off at the entry gangway of Seaventure. By this time – about 4:30 pm, the winds were so high that Anne almost lost her footing when leaving the bus. It was a little scary. The very short distance to the safety of the ship was a challenge. After being led to our state rooms it was time for mandatory safety drills required to be completed prior to leaving the dock. Unfortunately, we learned at the briefing that we would not be sailing today. There was a storm in the Drake Passage with swells over 7 meters (22 feet). The captain planned for a 6pm departure the next day (January 18th). We still had a nice evening on board the Seaventure, enjoying our first of many wonderful meals.
This is how we were greeted.
Our home for the next ten days
The mandatory safety drill.
After we settled in we spent some time exploring the ship.
First Meal on Board
And first desert on board
On Saturday morning, due to the delay in our departure, Polar Latitudes arranged for a catamaran tour out the Beagle Channel to get our first glimpses of Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins and South American sea lions. We didn’t get to make any shore landings but that will come later. We all enjoyed the catamaran tour and then as planned on our return, we were able to throw off the lines from the dock and begin our Antarctica Expedition for real. We departed at 6:15 pm.
Boarding the catamaran to head into Beagle Channel
Leaving the ship for the penguin watching cruise.
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse (the French name “Les Éclaireurs” means “the Scouts”) is about 5 nautical miles east of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel. It was put into service in 1920.
More penguins than we could count (but more about penguin counters later)
Gentoo penguins
Two Magellanic penguins
Magellanic penguins headed for the water
Curious young Magellanic penguin
South American Sea Lions
Casting off the mooring lines
For docking and undocking the ship is controlled at the outside helm.
This morning, January 15th, we relaxed a little and packed our bags again for a change in location. Included in our expedition package with Polar Latitudes were two nights at the lovely Arakur Hotel which is perched on the mountain above Ushuaia. Beautiful setting. Beautiful views looking down on the city. Great hotel staff. We spent some time getting settled in, and touring the facility, then took the shuttle back downtown to do a little tourist shopping, getting some additional pictures and walking along the shore of the bay. Back at the shuttle stop, Donna struck up a conversation with a gentleman wearing a Polar Latitudes puffy jacket. We asked him if he was with Polar Latitudes, and he said yes and after a few more minutes Donna asked him what he did at Polar Latitudes. He was the CEO. He was going to be on our ship, the MS Seaventure, for our Antarctica Expedition along with his two partners. While we were all on the shuttle to the hotel he told us that the Drake passage wasn’t looking very good (too rough) and we might not be able to depart on time. They were working on some additional plans for us, not to worry.
Arakur Hotel
The view from our room
More beautiful flowers. These are lupines.
Everyone who visits Ushuaia has to have there picture by this sign.
Iconic End of the World sign in Ushuaia
Argentine Antarctica sign
So many choices …
… but we had to try the calafate ice cream. Calafate is a berry similar to blueberries.
Of course we had to log a few Argentina geocaches.
Argentina is not a place for vegetarians
The next morning, January 16th, after a wonderful breakfast buffet, we rode a bus to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The bus took us to the “End of the Road” where we began our hiking back to the Visitor’s Center. The “End of the Road” is the end of the Pan American highway. The other end of the Pan American is at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska which we visited in 2014 with Barry and Donna. It was a beautiful park with nice hiking. We saw more birds we had never seen before. The weather started to get very windy and temperatures began to drop by the time we got back to the visitor’s center. It was another 22,000 step day and we were thankful for another great dinner at the hotel and our first Polar Latitudes briefing for our embarkation the next day. Going to get on the ship tomorrow!
Sunrise from our hotel
Part of the hotel breakfast buffet
The other end of the road
We are a long way from where we were in Alaska in 2014.
We really enjoyed our hiking in the national park.
Donna trying to identify birds by their calls using the Merlin app
Chimango caracara (according to Google)
Tufted tit-tyrant
Black-necked swan
Just before our briefing we saw the MS Seaventure coming into the harbor.
At the pre-boarding briefing they prepared us for a delayed departure due to the unsafe conditions in the Drake Passage.
We will be cruising on the MS Seaventure. It is the small ship in the middle at the dock. The larger ship behind it is the Octopus, a private yacht built for one of the founders of Microsoft. It was staying in Ushuaia because it had lost its 2 million dollar anchor.
RVing With a Purpose 