Today was a travel day. Our flight from Ushuaia to El Calafate was only about an hour. We arrived at our hotel for a quick lunch

After a nap, we had a 4 hour excursion in a 4×4 truck that held 20! We visited a ranch that raised cattle but also enclosed a large hill with great scenery. The trip was up a very steep dirt road with breath taking views of Lake Argentine and the mountains of the Andies. We could see all the way to Chile and the park we will visit there on a few days, Torres del Paine

We even saw a few animals, Guanaco, a Llama like animal. There were 2 groups, 1 with this young one. We also saw a grey fox but he was too quick for a picture.

Capt. Margrith “Maggie” Ettlin

Our route from entering Antarctic waters until we headed back to Ushuaia Argentina.

1st landing was Chiriguano Bay just after we passed between Anvers Island and Brabant island

Our 2nd day, we moored in the bay off Damoy Point, off Weincke Island to the west.

Our 3rd day we went very early to Viking Polaris’s discovery Island, where they were first to find colonies of Gentoo penguins and request exclusive landing rights from IAATO.

Then over lunch we sailed north to Orne Harbor for us to be able to touch land of the peninsula.

Our 4th day we visited Cuverville Island, where we had our only grey day, but it was a spectacular sight with snow flurries. This was our chance to kayak in a very smooth bay. We also did a special ops boat ride and the landing! Great day!

Our last day in Antarctic waters, we were able to see both Gentoo and chinstrap penguins with chick’s in the Aitcho Islands, on Cecilia Island. It is far enough north that the penguins are a couple weeks ahead of the nesting Gentoos on Cuverville Island, where saw only eggs, no chicks.

Heading across the Drake north then west, to miss a low pressure area of bad weather

I can’t, in words or even pictures! But I will try

First of all, I will never say we took an Antarctic cruise! This is not a cruise! It isn’t for cruisers! It’s an expedition, with real science going on, scientists on board with expertise in geology, sea birds, marine biology, cetaceans, animal behavior, …. they cover every aspect of the things you will see and experience here!

Second, we learned right away that flexibility is the only way to face the Antarctic. We were a bit disappointed on boarding to find the Drake was really shaking, and our Captain Maggie made the decision to wait for calmer waters to cross…. giving us 2 full days to explore around Ushuaia, our port. We did a bus trip across the mountain pass to a beautiful valley and lake, getting a small taste of what Patagonia will be (our next section of this adventure). We actually got that bonus most Viking customers don’t get. She left port early on the 2nd day so we passed through the Beagle channel in daylight, getting to see glimpses of our first penguins, a colony of Megellanic penguins.

On top of that, our captain made up the time crossing the smoother Drake waters in record time, about a day and a half! We immediately began 5 days full of adventures.

Third, the Expedition team worked very hard to give us the best experience. They were up early, began preparing the vehicles, the landing site, and scouting a perfect kayak location. They mark the trails for best way to see the penguin colonies or view the sights. They often worked late, until everyone had a chance to do the exercise. For instance, when we had a chance to put foot on the solid peninsula, not just the islands of the Antarctic, the team drove zodiac “taxis”, zodiac cruises, with a mini stop. In order to extend our experience there, they drove us around a chinstrap penguin coloney on the point and nearer a beautiful glacier in the bay.

They also have prepared great lectures and videos presented in the Aula, the “theater” on the rear of decks 2 and 3. This space is named after the auditorium at the University of Norway in Oslo. Where the Nobel Prize was first awarded. They also have presentations for individuals or small groups in Expedition Center and the Studio. Sometimes, we were even invited to see some of the science in the lab or watch the weather balloon release on the bow

I will leave the summary of animals and birds for another post, as that is another aspect of this adventure that is beyond imagination! To summarize in a word? Impossible!

Our last stop was in the Aitcho Islands and our Zodiac cruise got close enough to photograph great penguin colonies of both Gentoo and Chinstrap. With babies!

A couple of southern elephant seals!

Fabulous day! Cloudy and a few snow flurries! But unbelievable sights of 1000s of Gentoo penguins, glaciers and Icebergs! We got a hike on land to see nesting Gentoos and then kayaking!

Kayaking experience was great since the bay was calm and the penguins entertained us

While we were at dinner last evening, we caught a glimpse of Octantis, our sister ship cruising by!

We were stationary in the middle of a great crossroads of sorts, in the junction of 3 channels. About the same time, we saw 2 whales come up parallel to the ship. We got out jackets and went out on the bow to watch the great whale show, several more were there, eating krill. In 2 instances we saw 2 then 3 of them, working together, diving deep then coming up, lunge feeding.

Our chance to stand not just on an island of Antarctica but on the solid rock of the continent.  We are moored in Orne Harbor where there is a landing on the peninsula,  part of the main landmass of Antarctica.

A very cool plus is the colony of chinstrap penguins,  with a few Gentoo cousins and some Shags thrown in for good measure

The penguins swam around us, eating krill at the surface we and a few of them porposed, Swimming quickly, jumping in and out of the water

A special Polaris site, a small Rocky island off Weincke Island, where there is a young colony of Gentoo penguins, established about 2014. Polaris was first to establish a landing site there in 2022!

We also saw some area birds

Icebergs on a Special ops boat ride, very fast, maneuverable crafts, Designed in Finland and used by many counties’ special forces! 900 HP Swedish engines propel water jets to make these fast and agile! Each has an officer piloting and an expedition member / naturalist on board to talk about all we see!

And we got to see a leopard seal, sunning himself after lunch, and a juvenile female elephant seal on the beach