Tag: adventure

Melchior Islands & the Chinstrap Penguins

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January 3, 2025

The next day we were making our way towards the Melchior Islands. I think this is a popular stop because it’s easy to get to and on the way back towards the Drake Passage. We didn’t have a landing that day, and only got out of the ship for a zodiac tour that took us by two Argentinean buildings on the rocky islands (and of course wildlife!).

The one exciting thing about this zodiac tour was the fact this was the first time we were seeing Chinstrap penguins in the wild. They are SO cute. I also want to acknowledge that I recently visited my friend Tiff and her family in London, and her daughter was eager to get to know me. She asked what my favorite animal was (Great White Shark – for the record, or maybe a Hammerhead!) and I quickly asked her what her’s was. I was a bit surprised to hear her say Chinstrap Penguin!

After a quick Google search I was delighted to find that they actually lived on Antarctica and that I might be able to spot one in the wild for her. (So Inara, if your mom is reading this to you – or showing you this blog. This one is for you! Chinstrap penguins are definitely adorable and I’m a big fan now!) I told our zodiac driver the background and he assured me that we would definitely see them on our tour.

Thankfully we had a break in the weather and it wasn’t raining or snowing that day, which made for a more pleasant zodiac ride. Within the first 5 minutes, we saw our first group of Chinstrap penguins on some rock jumbles that make up the islands.

Super cool cloud that morning

Our driver also took us around to look at some other really large icebergs (they sort of looked like mountains!) and we even got to see some rocks where there were plants growing! I believe it was Antarctica hair grass and some lichens.

It got pretty bumpy as we went a little further out to look at one of the icebergs. We slowly made our way back to the ship to get warm again.

We made our way up to the Explorer’s Lounge to catch up with friends, when eagle-eyed Andy saw a pod of Orcas hauling towards our ship. They were moving so quickly – and I swear our ship almost flipped over because everyone who heard, “ORCA!” went running to that side. They were gone as quickly as they came, but it was so MAGICAL to see them in the wild. I don’t think I could ever get sick of seeing these wild animals in their natural habitat.

Up Next:
– Whaler’s Bay and Deception Island

Walking in a winter wonderland

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January 2, 2025

On our expedition, we were unsure of how many continental landings we would have throughout it due to the changing ice and weather conditions, the team has to be incredibly agile when planning out itineraries. There are many islands that make up the Antarctica archipelago, but I think all of us on the ship were extremely excited to actually touch “mainland” Antarctica.

Our stop for the day was Neko Harbor. Neko Harbor has a resident glacier in its midst, and our landing site was near that. We had to quickly get off of the zodiacs and climb up the beach in case the glacier “calved” any icebergs that would cause a wave to send tourists running for higher ground. They even had someone from the Expedition Team on glacier duty – watching for any activity to walkie the others in case they needed to pause operations.

That particular day, we were some of the first groups to get outside for our landing. It was a steep climb up to a rocky outcropping that faced the glacier and provided a beautiful view of the surrounding harbor. We grabbed our trekking poles and started to make our way to the top. There was a penguin rookery halfway up, but we kept moving and decided to stop to see it on the way down. That way we would have more time with fewer people at the “top.”

The snow and wind picked up – and it truly felt like we were walking in a winter wonderland. For a few moments, it felt like we were climbing Mount Everest with how windy it got! We had the disadvantage of not having more people ahead of us creating a clear path, so it was pretty slippery and I had some trouble trying to find my footing.

Our friend Dena had beat us up there, but she graciously offered to take some pictures of us (and vice versa of course!). After that, we wanted to make our way down to get out of the windy zone. Part of the way down, we stopped to look at the Gentoo penguins. We could see a bunch of nests, and the parents fiercely defended their chicks from Skuas (predatory seabirds). One of the talks we sat in on explained that it took the parents getting distracted for one second and that would be the end of the chick. Unfortunately, we had a front row seat of watching one of the baby chicks being taken away by a lucky Skua. (Cue the “Circle of Life”)

Look like ants up at the top!

We made our way back to the ship and warmed up for a few hours before venturing out again for our zodiac cruise. We bundled back up and made our way out for our cruise. From the zodiac’s vantage point, all of the people climbing the hill looked like ants. (And it looked as steep as it felt!)

Andy saw a minke whale:

There was a group of 30 people that signed up for camping, they were able to camp on this stop, sounded fun! (But cold!)

We joked this was a ghost ship – sorry Emily!

Up Next:
– Melchior Islands

The 7th and final stop! Antarctica, here we are!

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December 31, 2024

We were filled with excitement as we pulled into Damoy Point – our first landing in Antarctica! The day before we had sat in on an expedition briefing for the different excursions they offer on the cruise. They offer: snowshoeing, kayaking, science boats, and camping. They had explained that they want each passenger to at least get one of these optional excursions, but the system doesn’t understand prioritization.

So if you wanted to do kayaking and snowshoeing – you might only get one – and it could be your second choice. I had never done snowshoeing (I know – being from Minnesota you would think I would have done it at least once, but alas, never!) so we chose that as our excursion. Hoping that we would be selected for that since we hadn’t registered for anything else.

We were chosen – and actually got to snowshoe on our first landing! I don’t want to complain, but the weather was almost too nice and we quickly began sweating from climbing up the hill. It was a great time to take a brief pause to look at all of the wildlife! There were so many penguins, and it’s just so incredible to see them in real life… in their natural environment!

Boarding the zodiac

Their penguin highways show their frequent paths in their different rookeries, where you could see their nests. On this landing, we saw Gentoo penguins with their trademark orange “lipstick” and humpback whales in the distance.

It truly was magical! This particular landing also had forts that we could go into, one of them was built by the British. Before we could enter, we had to wait for a wandering penguin to make its way to its nest. By the looks of it, a few penguins actually liked to make their nests below the fort. This fort had recently been restored to its original condition, which included the bright orange exterior.

Forgive the upside down flag 😅

We returned to the ship and had lunch. Afterwards, we had a celebratory glass of champagne and lots of laughs while trying to do a photoshoot with our balloon number “7” to celebrate our seventh continent. HX had organized a presentation with the staff that were living in Port Lockroy, the Penguin Post Office aka the southernmost post office in the world. Our presenter was the Post Master himself, which was pretty cool to hear about how things operate there. You can read more about Port Lockroy here if you’re interested in learning more about the mission and history of it!

Following the presentation, they had set up some tables where we could buy our very own Antarctica souvenirs! We didn’t know we would have this opportunity, so we were pretty excited to buy some and mail them out of Port Lockroy. (They said on average it would take 1-2 months to deliver!)

This stop also allowed for a zodiac tour to Port Lockroy. We were able to see the different structures that make up the area, including the post office and museum. The tour lasted about 35 minutes before bringing us back to the ship for dinner.

This was the only night that the ship would be putting on entertainment. There is a traditional “sketch” called Dinner for One that is watched or performed on New Year’s Eve. Our expedition director and another two individuals from the team performed this for us, many of us were laughing at how absurd it was. You can read more here if you’re interested!

The crew pulled together a rather impressive house band, called Rolling Waves. It was pretty incredible that they had that many talented individuals that they could put on a show for the guests on NYE!

Our new friends, Craig and Kim

It was incredible to ring in 2025 from Antarctica!

Up Next:
– Petermann Island

The Drake Passage: where there’s no-sleep till safe shores!

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December 30, 2024

Shockingly, it was another relatively smooth day on Drake Passage. Some guests didn’t feel great from the waves, Andy didn’t feel 100% so took it a bit easier than normal. It was another ship day, so we spent more time exploring the ship and sitting in different lectures.

We had to attend a mandatory IAATO briefing that let us know what we could/could not do Antarctica. I’d like to say that it was common sense, but I have learned common sense isn’t so common anymore. 😅 For example, how far away you should stay from penguins (15 feet) and other wildlife, leave no trace, how many tourists can be on land at one time, etc. In order to get off the ship you had to attend this briefing.

Our expedition director

Part of the IAATO treaty was also making sure that you vacuumed out all of your outside layer for any foreign objects. So we also made sure to vacuum all of our hats, mittens, snow pants, backpack, etc. that could leave any material behind. They had stations set up around the ship so we could all do our part in not bringing in any invasive materials.

On different cruise lines, they are known for their entertainment, food, activities, etc. HX is an expedition company, so they are very focused on educational programs, which was great for us to learn more about Antarctica!

We were told that we would be sailing into the Antarctic Convergence. What is that you ask? The Antarctic Convergence Zone is where the cold waters from Antarctica meet the warmer waters from the sub-Antarctic. This creates a super productive area in the ocean, full of nutrients that support tons of wildlife like krill, penguins, seals, and whales. It’s also known for its wild conditions: strong currents, frequent storms, and rough seas. Basically it’s a cold and stormy region that lets you know that you are nearing Antarctica!

Regardless of the cold, we hopped back into the hot tub again. It was pretty funny how much difference a day can make!

By early evening, we started to see our first icebergs – which got. us very excited!

Up Next:
– First day landing in Antarctica!

Ushuaia or bust!

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December 28, 2024

The HX team descended upon our hotel on the 27th – we checked in with them in the afternoon and got our plans for Saturday, 12/28. The itinerary had said we would have an “early” morning flight to Ushuaia – but what we didn’t expect was that breakfast started at 3:00 AM with a 4:00 AM departure to the airport. I was quickly relieved we hadn’t booked a tango show (most of them started at 10 PM) because we needed to get to bed early.

The morning of the 28th, we ate a small breakfast and then got on the bus to the airport. It was about a 40 minute ride to the airport. HX had organized a charter flight for us – so we went through the domestic terminal. Security was less strict than us Americans are used to – Andy was able to bring a bottle of water through! (I of course guzzled mine, because #rulefollower).

The flight was around 3.5 hours down to Ushuaia – we started to see the other passengers in our group. There were definitely some stand outs – good and bad – on who we wanted to get to know more on the trip. The make up of the group was really interesting – I was shocked to see a few families with young kids. (Setting the bar pretty high for future vacations!)

Ushuaia is located at the southern tip of Argentina and is often called the southernmost city in the world. This city serves as a gateway to Antarctica with many cruises and expeditions departing from its harbor. It is surrounded by stunning landscapes, including Tierra del Fuego National Park. It reminded me and Andy a lot of Alaska – Homer vibes in particular with all of the water and snow capped mountains surrounding it.

After landing, we all gathered our luggage and the porters would take it to the ship for us. We were given the option for either being dropped off in the city center (and taking a taxi back to the ship) or taking a sightseeing tour around the Ushuaia area. We decided it would be fun to do the tour to get more familiarized with the surrounding area.

Our first stop was Mirador del Valle Carbajal, which offers a beautiful viewpoint of the valley and the beautiful mountains in the background. In this area, the final 15 minutes of the movie the Revenant was filmed. They even had to bring in pine trees to make it feel more authentic, since the rest of the film was shot elsewhere. (They were chasing winter to give it the same feel as the rest of the movie). So it’s fun to say that Leonardo DiCaprio was there too!

From there, we moved on to Mirador Paso Garibaldi, which is a scenic viewpoint along Ruta 40 that offers panoramic views of Viedma Lake. You could also spot “hidden” lake in the distance. It’s a popular stop for travelers because it offers stunning photo opportunities. We saw a lot of birds of prey soaring around the area!

Our next stop was a lodge called Park Austral. We had lunch here before stopping in to visit the museum dedicated to the Pan-American Highway that spans from Alaska to Argentina. It was really small, but we did see a group of motorcyclists that had just completed the trek. Seems like a cool idea for a roadtrip if you have the time!

After lunch and the museum, we all embarked on a short hike through a bog. It was so spongey and cool to walk on – it was my first time in one. And we spent enough time out there that the one mosquito found me and I had a welt on my ankle for the first few days of our trip.

As soon as we wrapped up there we made our way back to the city of Ushuaia and to the port. It was finally time to board our ship! We had seen the Fridtjof Nansen in the San Diego bay the same week we had booked our trip! So we knew exactly what we were looking for – and boy, was this ship a beauty!

Our ship was only built in 2020 – so it is pretty new. The check in was really quick – and we were in our room shortly. At the last minute, the company upgraded us to a suite. We both were holding our breath until we actually got there because it felt too good to be true. But sure enough, a suite it was. Truly, truly grateful.

They recommended picking up our expedition jackets right away – they had changed them from the red from previous years to a light blue. Nice quality jackets, but not the parkas that they had advertised. Thankfully we had brought plenty of layers with us.

We were pretty exhausted from the long travel day – so we explored the ship briefly before turning in for the night.

Lodging: HX – Fridjtof Nansen

Up Next:
– Drake Passage (sailing for 2 days)

Merry Christmas from Argentina!

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December 25, 2024 (and 26-27)

We woke up the next morning still tired from the long travel day the day before, but filled with excitement! We were going to make a quick day trip to Uruguay – a new country for us – by high-speed ferry.

I had assumed it would be pretty similar to trains in Europe, where you can show up 20-30 minutes before the train departs and be fine. But before I fell asleep, I had translated our e-tickets and saw a note that we needed to be there two hours before our departure time. Our departure time was at 12:15 – so we needed to get there around 10AM. We realized that it was Christmas in Argentina, and that most businesses were completely shut down.

So we had a beautiful walk in Buenos Aires over to the port to catch our ferry. We quickly realized that the ferry there was more similar to an airport experience. You had to check in – go through security – go through both Argentina’s customs AND Uruguay’s in the same area. Because I’m paranoid, we had plenty of time to get through all of these hoops and hurdles.

Not to mention, I had booked “business” class because it wasn’t that much more than the normal seats. We had no idea what it all included, but we stumbled into the VIP lounge and finally found food and much needed coffee.

Unfortunately for us, our Spanish has become rusty over the years. All of the announcements were in Spanish, so we were relying on the other passengers to understand what was going on. It turns out, our ferry was running over an hour late… and this ferry also could bring cars over. We heard (but can’t confirm this) that there were over 200 hundred cars loaded onto our ferry as well!

What was supposed to be a 2.5-3 hour event in Uruguay – ended up getting more and more delayed. By the time we got to Colonia del Sacramento, we had 20 minutes before we had to check back in with security again. We had planned on having lunch and strolling through the historic district (which is a UNESCO world heritage site), but ended up power walking through the district instead.

The ferry terminal in Colonia del Sacramento was much smaller, and less organized than the one in Buenos Aires. But we made it through the same security/customs we had cleared in BA – and then sat down in a cafeteria area. We had met our first fellow Americans while in line, they were at the end of their trip – we enjoyed sharing different travel stories with one another.

We quickly realized that we were on the same ferry as we traveled over on – and had a good laugh that the crew would see us and wonder what we were doing back so soon. (Only one woman noticed us – and we had shared a knowing smile).

This time the ferry was on time – there were far fewer cars that needed to be loaded on this leg of the trip. If you’re in the area, I’d highly recommend traveling with BuqueBus – it’s allegedly the fastest ferry in the area, but I’m sure other providers are good too.

Once we made it back to BA – we started our search for restaurants that were starting to open up. I had read that most things were closed on Christmas, but if they were going to open it would be around 6 or 7 and only for the dinner service. We found a burger joint – we resisted the temptation of the Hard Rock Cafe and found a local spot instead.

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel to relax. The next two days would be pretty low-key as Andy was working remotely. I’m going to provide a quick highlight of our time in BA below!

Buenos Aires highlights:
– Puerto Madero: a vibrant and upscale neighborhood, known for its stunning waterfront views and fun dining and entertainment options. It was originally an old port district, it has undergone a dramatic transformation into a trendy hub, featuring luxurious hotels, stylish restaurants, and high-end office buildings.
– Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of the Woman) is another famous landmark, a pedestrian bridge that is shaped like a sailboat.
-Lots of shopping and restaurants near the hotel. We ate dinner at a few – interestingly enough there were a ton of Italian restaurants (of course in addition to all of the Argentinean steakhouses).
– Tango shows: we didn’t have enough time to do one of these, but I did a lot of research and wish we could have made it work!

Hotel:
-Hotel Emperador Buenos Aires

Up Next:
– Flight to Ushuaia
– Board cruise ship

Expedition Antarctica

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December 24, 2024

Antarctica. Our FINAL continent to visit! Did you know that on average only around 75,000 people visit Antarctica each year? This number has been increasing each year – last year even saw 100,000 people! The interesting point to mention is that it’s not a country – it’s only a continent.

There has been a treaty in place since 1959 that means there can be no military activity, each country has to publish their scientific findings publicly, strict rules in place to protect the environment, and no country can claim it as their territory. Pretty cool, right? It’s like the only thing they could agree on!

We had long dreamed about when we would get to Antarctica – and as most of you know already, I always have a running bucket list for our travels. We booked this trip SO many months ago, which made it feel pretty unreal. It was something that we were going to do at some point, but December 2024 seemed so far away!

We had selected Hurtigruten (now known as HX Expeditions) as the company we would travel with to Antarctica. Taking a cruise ship is the most common way individuals get to Antarctica – I think technically you can fly there on your own, but I think it would involve a lot more research and likely wouldn’t be as comfortable or affordable!

All of this to say, HX was taking us to Antarctica from December 28, 2024 -January 7, 2025. We could have booked flights through HX to Buenos Aires, but opted to book them on our own. We hadn’t yet visited Buenos Aires, so we decided to fly in a few days early and take advantage of Andy’s time off from work over Christmas Eve/Christmas.

Our flight left at 1:00 AM on Christmas Eve morning – and had a connection in Mexico City. Everything went by rather smoothly – and we found out that we had gotten an upgrade with AeroMexico. (Really – we had just bid to have a row to ourselves to allow for extra space). Since we had a red eye flight – we slept for part of the flight down to Buenos Aires.

Once we landed, we made our way to our hotel. Our flight arrived a little ahead of schedule, so we were able to check in and get settled into our room by 11:00 PM. This was the same hotel HX would put us up in a few days later, but we decided for convenience we would just stay there ahead of when the rest of the group got into town.

It was around midnight that we started to hear fireworks! We realized quickly that in Buenos Aires – both the city and residents do fireworks at midnight to celebrate Christmas. It was really fun to watch the show from our room, not quite Disneyland, but still fun! It was a fun way to end our long travel day.

Hotel:
Emperador Hotel Buenos Aires

Up Next:
– Ferry to Uruguay