Antarctic Cruise, The Beginning

 This post will cover Days 1-3, Thursday February 27th through Sunday March 1.

Our cruise started with a bus tour through parts of Terra de Fuego National Park.

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago at South America’s southernmost tip, shared by Chile and Argentina. It’s known for its dramatic landscape of snowy mountains, glaciers, tundra and wind-sculpted trees. Its main island, Isla Grande, is home to the Argentine resort town of Ushuaia. Sometimes called “the End of the World,” Ushuaia is a gateway to the region and Antarctica to the south. - Google

walking trail at The End of the World

Because of my elbow, I had trouble taking photos the first few days. I could not hold the phone high enough with my left hand and hit the button with my right hand. It was a struggle.

Notice the distance to Buenos Aires and Alaska on the sign. The sign was a geocache.

We had a quick bus ride through some of Ushuaia and a fancy lunch at a resort overlooking the harbor before boarding the yacht at 3:00 PM on Friday, February 27th.

temperatures for Saturday, February 28th

Saturday and Sunday were At Sea Days as the yacht traveled from South America to Antarctica through the Drake Passage, named for Sir Francis Drake

The Drake Passage is a notorious 600-mile (1,000 km) wide, roughly 11,000+ ft deep waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands. Known as one of the world's deadliest, it is famous for extreme winds, powerful, turbulent, and often unpredictable, resulting in two-day, sometimes treacherous, yet essential crossings for Antarctic expeditions. 

 The meeting of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans creates a turbulent environment where intense storms, high winds, and, sometimes, massive 80-foot waves occur. The lack of landmass at this latitude allows strong winds to build up significant momentum, creating high waves. Known as the "Drake Shake," this area can produce fierce storms, 10-meter (33 ft) or higher waves, and strong winds. Free-drifting icebergs from Antarctica pose hazards to navigation. Considered the "world's deadliest stretch of water" with a legacy of over 800 shipwrecks and 10,000+ sailor deaths. 

Ranging from the tumultuous "Drake Shake" to the calm "Drake Lake," conditions are highly variable.

We were very fortunate to have a Drake Lake crossing. No strong winds. No high waves. No need for Dramamine or sea sickness patches for the 3 of us.

 fin whales

spouting from 4 fin whales on Sunday

The area is a hotspot for seabirds like the wandering albatross, along with whales and dolphins. - AI

Crew members were in the bridge with binoculars watching for animals. Passengers on Deck 7 in the Dome (glassed forward area) would rush outside with cameras of various sizes and shapes to catch the action. OFD had a new iPhone 17 and I had my trusty iPhone.

Each cabin had the use of a pair of high powered, high quality binoculars during the cruise.

There were also fur seal sightings, but neither OFD nor I got any photos. We did not see any dolphins or many sea birds those two days.

Shetland Islands

clouds moving in at the end of the day