Sunday January 31st – Aboard the Antarctic Dream, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

We begin our exploration of Antarctica by the South Shetland Islands. Land finally! In the morning we had our first landing at Aitcho Island. Even though it’s a cold, windy and snowing day it’s a great feeling to walk again and we’re rewarded well as we see our first penguins – a combination of Gentoos and Chinstraps. We also Walk amongst Elephant seals who are miserable as they are malting and many Scours (birds which feed on Penguins). We climb to the top of the island and get a spectacular view of the landscape ..... mountainous snow capped islands in the distance separated from us by a sea punctured by blue icebergs and rocky outcrops.
In the afternoon, we make a landing at Half Moon Island (named due to it’s shape) and the first thing that we notice is an abandoned ship wreck which the colony of Chinstrap Penguins are clamouring around. We are entertained by the cute Chinstraps and the way they move through the snow that is now falling very heavily. We’ve got every layer on that we own and the wind and snow picks up dramatically on our return making the Zodiac trip back to the boat a cold and wet ride ..... we really feel like we’re in an Antarctic adventure now!

Thursday 28th January – Saturday 30th, Aboard the Antarctic Dream, Drakes Passage, Great Southern Ocean

We check in to our boat, the Antarctic Dream late in the afternoon and are pleasantly surprised our cabin is a comfortable size. One of the first things we notice when we arrive at the communal dining room is that the tables and chairs are chained to the floor... hmm things could get a little rough. As soon as we’ve had our first meal on board (dinner) we leave the protected waters of the Beagle Channel and head out to the infamous Drake Passage. Watching the waiters holding their trays full of plates and cutlery is like watching the Circ de Soleil. We marvel at their balance.
After dinner, the rising feeling of seasickness leads us to retire to our cabin. We spend the first night rolling back and forth and the next day are very tired and nauseous despite taking plenty of medication. Breakfast is a quick affair as watching the rolling 3-4m waves heave our boat around do little to settle the stomach. It’s straight back to the cabin and we end up getting sandwiches sent down for lunch and miss two of the lectures on the Antarctic continent. We find out later that only about 6 out of the 75 passengers on board made it to lunch on Friday with about 20 making it on Saturday. We get up the strength to make it to one lecture about the birds and Penguins but focusing on a big screen for 30 minutes takes a monumental effort as the ship lurches about.
We make a toast on Saturday night (30th January) when we see our first iceberg whilst having dinner in calmer waters. Later in the evening, after dinner we go to the outside deck and watch as the moon rises over the horizon on our left and the sun sets on our right .... a breathtaking spectacle in the crisp Antarctic air. It’s also a better chance to meet some of our fellow passengers now that we are all a little less green and it looks like we’ve got a good bunch with a mix of people of all ages from 19 different countries.

Thursday 21st January – 28th January, Ushuaia, Argentina

Another early start and we’re out on a boat in the Beagle Channel, where Captain Cook travelled through before discovering Australia. It’s a great morning... we see sea lions, cormorans, ducks and geese! When we make it back to land, we happen to pass a travel agent with an incredible deal on an icebreaker to Antarctica... hhmmm the mind starts ticking.
After a quick bite for lunch, we visit the Herberton Estancia - the oldest farm in Ushuaia to see a Penguin colony. These cute fluffy animals are everywhere and it’s amazing that we get so close to them. The long day is topped off with a hot cup of tea and homemade rhubarb slice at the estancia. Later in the evening (after a few drinks) we make the decision to go to Antartica. The opportunity is too good to pass up.
The following day, we hike the coastal track of the Beagle Channel in the Tierra del Fuego national park, followed by a trip down one of the tributaries in a canoe – which turns into a race ...... everybody knows how competitive Sav is ;) This is our last night with the great bunch of people we have shared the last 2 weeks of adventures with and our tour leader, Andres, has organised a great Argentinean BBQ at the hostel for us. There’s plenty of drinking and singing till early in the morning.
After sad farewells in the morning we have a very easy day before meeting up with the other Intrepid tour that we have bumped into many times in the last week. It’s great seafood followed up by a solid session in the Irish Pub with some of the guys that we will hopefully meet up with in Rio.
After the hectic schedule of the las fortnight we’ve got another 4 days in Ushuaia before we sail to the Antarctic. We check into a nice hotel for a couple of nights and then organise to a cabin in the foothills of the glacier for our remaining 3 nights. It’s a very relaxing time doing lots of reading, hiking and cooking. Our growing excitement at the prospect of getting to Antarctica is only slightly tempered by the travel agent’s assurance that it is “only very rough in the drake passage (2 days of sailing in the southern ocean) about 90% of the time!”

Wednesday 20th January –Punta Arenas to Ushuaia, Argentina

Travelling is great except when you’re one of those long haul trips. Today was one of those days. We spent over 12 hours in a bus travelling to Ushuaia, the southern-most city on the earth which involved more border checks, a car ferry across the Magellan Straits and two pit-stops!
By the time we arrive it’s 9pm and it’s another late but satisfying dinner of seafood with the group!

Tuesday 19th January – Puerta Natales to Punta Arenas, Chile

When we woke in the morning and remembered the concoction of drinks we consumed the night before, we really didn't have the strength to do anything today! Thank god we had the foresight to book a massage this morning! After a late breakfast and some healing hands the world felt a whole lot better!
After that, our journey continued and we sat on another 4 hour bus ride to get to Punta Arenas. There’s not much to say about this town except that if you don’t go, you’re not missing out on much – except maybe a good rabbit stew and delicious Chilean wine.

Monday 18th January – Torres del Paine to Puerta Natales, Chile

Our last day in Torres del Paine started relatively late and there was a very leisurely 10km hike into the national park which was a relief to all of us. Along the way we saw many Guanacos (local lamas), Andean geese, condors & rheas (also called a nangu - similar to an emu) and some prehistoric cave paintings. .
After that it was another 3 hour bus ride to the cute little town called Puerta Natales, where we had a bit of a bender to celebrate being back in civilisation again. Despite the fact that everyone was exhausted, we managed to thoroughly embarrass ourselves (after the tequila came out) with our enthusiast gringo dancing at a local bar ...