The idea of visiting the white continent started with a crazy bucket list that included visiting all 7 continents. I originally thought this was an unattainable list but after some research, we found out that in fact, tourist do go to Antarctica.
I personally made it to Antarctica without much expectation because my main goal was to accomplish our bucket list, see the world and have fun. Little did I know, this was going to be the adventure of my lifetime. I never imagined this was going to be my favorite trip ever!
In this post, I will give you a description of my trip. However, I will write multiple posts about this whole experience to make sure I give you all you need to know to visit and prepare for the 7th continent. Let me start by telling you that this trip is not cheap! In fact, this has been the most expensive trip I have ever done (well worth it though). Luckily I had enough miles to pay for my long flights, and I traveled with 3 other girlfriends, so I was able to split some of the costs of the trip. So if you want to make it to all seven continents, make sure you save a good amount of money to visit Antarctica.
My trip started from my hometown, so I flew from the USA to Buenos Aires (EZE) and spent a day exploring the city. Then took another flight from Buenos Aires (AEP) to Ushuaia, the southern most part of Argentina.
Tip: Be aware that I used two different airports in Buenos Aires, and that may be the case for some of you depending on your traveling plans and locations. I spent a couple of days exploring this beautiful area of Ushuaia before embarking on my bucket-list item and I recommend to do the same.
Day 1: Ushuaia & Beagle Chanel
Ushuaia marks the start of a lifelong dream for many. This town is the end of the road in the Argentine Tierra de Fuego and it is where we commenced the voyage to the white continent. I used a company called Oceanwide for my boat expedition. They have a variety of vessels around the Arctic and Antarctic areas. My trip was in one of the oldest and coziest boats called Plancius. Their staff and service was outstanding! On the first day, you get some safety briefings, meet the crew and staff and have a nice dinner to get used to what is about to start. We entered the Beagle Channel with an escort of black browed albatross and the fun started the minute we stepped on the boat.
Animals I saw: black browed albatross
Day 2 & 3: Drake Passage
To say that the Drake Passage is going through rough waters is an understatement. At night, you have to get used to rolling around the beds and walking with the constant waving. 2 of my girlfriends felt the sea sickness and were not very productive during these two days. My advice to anyone traveling for the first time to Antarctica by boat is to bring pills or patches for the sea sickness no matter if you think you will not get sick. I never felt sick during the entirety of the trip but I took pills for it every day on the boat. During these two days, we got lots of informative briefings and lectures about what we were going to see and explore. One interesting fact of these boat trips is that they make you vacuum all your jackets and outwear to make sure you do not bring any plant material on to the continent. Oceanwide also provided us with muck boots to also prevent us from bringing any foreign residues from other parts of this world. We got to meet our kayak and camping leaders and learned about the rules of preservation of this continent.
On day 3, we started spotting some Fin whales and mantled sooty albatross during breakfast. We also saw our first piece of ice (a small iceberg) and the excitement started to build to a whole new level. That afternoon, we saw a large group of Fin whales within close range. It was an amazing site of over 20 Fin whales feeding on large patches of krill. It was incredible to see so many whales moving at high speed with their large heads coming out of the water.
Tip: pack pills or patches for sea sickness
Animals I saw: fin whales, mantled sooty albatross
Day 4: South Shetland Islands - Bellingshausen, King George Island
King George Island waters were calmer and my friends got so excited about touching ground since we boarding the vessel. The expedition crew took us to the land by zodiacs. We took a nice climb up the snow to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity. We took an amazing number of photos and enjoyed a beautiful morning. Later that day (after lunch) we returned to the Bellingshausen shore by the Russian research station and went for a nice long snowshoe walk around the area.
Tip: Our kayak tour was cancelled for the day because of weather. If you book kayaks ahead of time for your Antarctica trip, please be aware that it is all very pending on the weather. The weather in this area is incredibly unpredictable so it is important to understand that and know that these companies may make change scheduled on the spot to keep the safety of everyone on board.
Day 5: Danco Island & Camping at Range Kerr Point
At Danco Island my girlfriends and I went for a nice hike where we could see various Gentoo penguin colonies. Later that day, we finally went kayaking with our guide. At first, I thought kayaking in these icy waters was going to be terrible, but it was quite a lovely experience. This was one way to get quite close to the ice and many animals (without disturbing them, of course). The most amazing and terrifying moment while kayaking was actually seeing a whale flipping in the water while we were on a kayak.
That night, we went camping at Range Kerr Point. We were not allowed to bring much to the area; no food, nothing that would produce garbage or bring plant material. We ate before we left and the expedition team provided us with the choice of a bivy sack or a tent. I personally chose a tent but most people digged a hole and slept in a bivy. They brought a portable potty (toilet) which most of us chose not to use (we took lots of photos with it though because it was a funny looking thing). Despite the rapid weather variation in this area, we got an amazing night, which by the way, never got dark during the night.
Tip: Please go camping if you have the opportunity. It will be cold but the experience is worth it, Also think about this... "how often do you get the opportunity to sleep on the 7th continent?"
Animals I saw: gentoo penguins, whales
Day 6: Paradise Bay - Stony Point & Almirante Brown
When we woke up and looked out the porthole, we were all amazed of the beautiful site. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen! This day truly changed my life! The virgin nature, the stillness, the air, the ice, the sounds of the wind and the animals... everything combined in this perfect place on a perfect day. My perception about nature and preservation of this world changed since that day!
We hiked up the mountain to have a look from the top and spend some quiet time enjoying the moment. Later, we went exploring the ice waters around with the zodiacs and the rest of the crew.
Animals I saw: many whales, wedded seals, many penguins, many birds
Day 7: Damon Point Polar Plunge & Port Lockroy
We got a late start due to the weather. The visibility in the morning was less than 100m, the wind was up to 30knots, and it was snowing heavily. Once it cleared out a bit, we visited the old-fashioned Antarctic base complex, which functions also as the only working post office and souvenir ship in the Antarctic. By the afternoon, the weather cleared up and we got to explore some more in the kayaks and the zodiacs. I never thought in a million years that I was going to do the polar plunge in the Antarctic waters. However, after some thought, I could not miss that unique opportunity and so I did! The water for the polar plunge was extremely cold but the experience was once in a lifetime moment for me! (I have a funny video or my friends and I doing the polar plunge)
Tip: This is the only place and day that we got to spend some money in Antarctica (they charged me in Euros) for some gifts and post cards.
Fun Fact: The post cards I sent to my kids from this stop got to my house a couple of months after I arrived back home ;-)
Day 8: D'Hainaut Island in Mikkelsen Harbour
This was our final day of our exploration before heading back. We spent the morning doing some snowshoeing, taking lots of photos, enjoying some of the penguin colonies in this final location, and saying goodbye to the most amazing continent we had the pleasure to explore. Then we headed northwards across the Bransfield Strait in the company of Black-browed Albatross, Southern Fulmars, and Cape Petrels, reminding us that the Antarctic leg of our journey was drawing to a close.
Animals I saw: plenty of Gentoo penguins, Black-browed Albatross, Southern Fulmars, Cape Petrels, and more whales
Day 9-10 Drake Passage & Day 11: Disembarkation in Ushuaia
The Drake Passage is the place where oceanic currents converge as well as wind currents of different temperatures. The ship was rolling more than ever. It was a quick reminder of how remote these locations we just visited truly are. At moments, we had inclinations over 20 degrees and we heard that on night 9 we even got over 30 degrees once. It was quite impressive to see the people working at the dinning room with this crazy movement. Once again, we had plenty of lectures about what we just experienced and we were getting close to the end of a remarkable journey.
Animals I saw: penguins, multiple types of whales (including sei whales), black browed albatross, white chin petrels, sooty shearwaters, wandering albatross, southern sea lions, dusky dolphins
Note: If you are wondering about the food, it was delicious and with great variety.
This trip allowed me to take a glimpse of the beautiful lives in this remote and sometimes inhospitable place that I now consider "Paradise".
Note: I used my travel log given to me Oceanwide Expeditions. This company was amazing!
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