Maps of our Itinerary for Antarctica, South Georgia, South Orkneys and the Falkland Islands

Adelie penguins

Map of our cruise, with locations of our stops and excursions

Falkland Island excursions and stops

Details of our 4 days in South Georgia

Visits to Antarctic Peninsula, including Weddell Sea, and east and western peninsula

 

Full Circle, Back to Ushuaia - We're Coming Home!

Fin del Mundo - End of the Earth!

 

Monday, November 20 -  Ushuaia, Argentina

Today’s the day to head home.  We leave the ship at 8 AM and make it back to Middleton around 5 PM tomorrow (Tuesday). Whew! It's going to be a long one. It’s interesting to think that the ship has basically 8 hours to turn around all the cleaning, stocking, supplying, etc. before the next group boards at 4 PM today, and they’re off again!

We had arrived and docked yesterday evening around 7 PM.  Michael and I went out for a walk around Ushuaia, and enjoyed seeing all the artwork, sculptures, tourists spots, etc. in the town.  Good thing the souvenir shops were already closed - it kept my luggage light.

I was up at 6, to get ready and make sure my carry-ons had the items I wanted - charging cord, AirPods, change of clothes, etc.  Michael got up about 6:20,  Our suitcases were being collected by 6:30 and Michael put them outside the door.

Breakfast was served in TwoSevenZero from 6:30 to 7:30.  I had my last omelet and Iced coffee.  We lingered, until it was time for disembarkation at 8 AM.  We boarded busses at the pier, and drove to the Ushuaia for a tour of the Maritime and Prison Museum. 

Sunday evening arrival in Ushuaia, parked at the dock and enjoying the views

Leaving the ship this morning, boarding busses for a tour before our charter flight

Monument to the Ancient Peoples and Pioneers - protected by a mountain shaped like an albatross

We toured this museum while waiting for our scheduled charter flight to Buenos Aires

Serving as a prison since 1902, now an art, historical and maritime museum

The Museo del Presidio de Ushuaia was built beginning in 1902  It was a time when  Argentina was populating the area to lay claim to the territory, and they wanted a remote place to stash their prison population.  They used the prisoners to build the infrastructure in Ushuaia, including the roads and the railway that travels to the national park (they were logging lumber at the time). By 1920, the jail had 5 pavilions arranged radially extending from a central open  hall.  There were 380 prisoner cells which housed more than 600 prisoners.The prison was shut down in 1947, and has since been used for civic activities, as a maritime museum, an antarctic museum, an ethnographic display of the original native peoples, and art museum, and one of the five wings has been retained as it was originally used for the prisoners - grim!  It was chilling to see how it must have been for the prisoners.

Two stories, five wings and 380 prison cells for 600 prisoners

We eventually made it to Ushuaia's airport for our 12:30 charter flight to Buenos Aires, which arrived at 5:30.  Our flight to Houston departed at 10 PM.  It was a big change to be waiting in Buenos Aires, where the late spring temperatures are in the high 80s! 

Back to EZE - Buenos Aires

Flying into Houston at 5 AM

Houston airport sunrise

Upon landing in Houston, we found the United Polaris Lounge at the Houston Airport - oh my goodness, what a nice one.  And it’s a good thing, because we had a 6 hour wait until our flight to Milwaukee.  There were about 20 of our fellow travelers here in the lounge with us. We were glad to make use of the shower facilities, which helped to soften the grind of three long flights. It felt great to clean up, and put on a fresh change of clothes for the day!  We kept busy, working on photos and posts, watched the sun come up around 7 AM.  Over time, we said goodbye to all the NG colleagues and we were the last left in the lounge.

We boarded the flight to Milwaukee at noon and arrived before 3 PM.  No problems with our luggage, but it took us a while to find our car in the parking lot.  By the time we got home, it was dark. We stopped for some groceries along the way. The house looked great, and we were glad to settle into our own bed after being gone for more than 3 weeks. We had to get ready tomorrow, as we’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house on Thursday, for all the family.  Looking forward to seeing everyone and giving them their little souvenirs from the trip - penguin socks and penguin ornaments. And telling all the stories of this amazing, magnificent, fantastic Antarctic, Falklands and South Georgia expedition!

Michael's chosen souvenir - penguin oven mitts!

Penguin ornaments for the grands - scattered on marshmallow icebergs

Enjoying the morning espresso at home

Getting ready for the family Thanksgiving Dinner - so much to be grateful for!

Heading North - the Drake Passage and Cape Horn

 

Watching the waves of the Drake Passage from our balcony

Sunday, November 19 -  Drake Passage and Cape Horn, South America

We're heading north to return to our departure port of Ushuaia, Argentina, passing directly through the Drake Passage via two days At Sea. Today is our second day crossing the Drake.  It’s been fairly tolerable - swells are 3 to 4 meters, winds are mild. It's been easier, frankly, than our crossing to the  Falklands - or I’m just more used to it. I slept well last night, up for good at 7:20 and went downstairs to take my jacket to the donations area.  Then I met friends in the hallway and joined them for breakfast in Two Seven Zero.  I had an omelet and an iced coffee.  We are approaching Cape Horn, and Kathy spied it out the window.  Stef, our Expedition Leader, made a PA announcement, saying we’d be at our closest around 8:45 or so. I was excited to see this legendary landmark at the very tip of South America. 

Map showing the locations of the Drake, Cape Horn, the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia

It was rocking and rolling in the Drake, but all in all, pretty mild

Ship navigation map showing our approach to Cape Horn

And there it is - the famous, infamous Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost point in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and a historically dangerous place for sailors.  We traveled within half a mile of the large brown peak that is Cape Horn, and could see the famous Albatross statue and the church/ lighthouse complex.  You can land there if you come from Chili, but we are traveling through the Argentinian side and couldn’t do so without a Chilean pilot.  Most boats don’t stop here because it’s such a difficult landing.  I went down to the bridge, where most people were, and took photos and looked at it with our binoculars. Stef, our Expedition Leader read a poem about Cape Horn on the Albatross monument, first in its original Spanish language and then in English. The poem was written by Sara Vial and inscribed at the base of the monument when it was erected in 1990:

I am the albatross that awaits you

At the end of the world.

I am the forgotten souls of the dead mariners

Who passed Cape Horn

From all the oceans of the world.

But they did not die

In the furious waves.

Today they sail on my wings

Toward eternity,

In the last crack

        Of the Antarctic winds.

The Cape Horn Lighthouse and church

The Cape Horn Albatross monument

Danco Island - Our Last Excursion on the Cruise

 

Cruising through the narrow channels on our way to Danco Island

Friday, November 17 -  Danco Island, Antarctic Peninsula

From our daily briefing: “After lunch we hope to visit Danco Island, a small island in the southern end of the scenic Errera Channel. It was charted during the Gerlache 1897-1899 expedition. It is named after a geophysicist who perished during that expedition. There is a chance to go ashore to see a small gentoo penguin colony and a chance for a great hike overlooking the bay.”

We were back to our ship by 11:30 and leaving Neko Harbor by 12:30, heading to our next stop at Danco Island.  Travel was interesting and fairly slow, as we crossed through a beautiful channel to get to the island, and the ice  floes were fairly thick.  Again, there were mirror-still waters, so the reflections of the mountains going by in the channel were just spectacular.

Danco Island is our last excursion before we head out north tomorrow into the Drake Passage.  It’s about a mile in diameter and rises to 600 feet high.  At the top, and along the sides are a good sized gentoo penguin colony.  The afternoon excursion is to ride over in the Zodiac and climb the hill while visiting the penguins.  It was a nice offer, but sounded like a bit of a sloggy uphill rerun of what we had just done on Neko Island to me.  I decided to stay on the ship and relax; Michael chose to climb the hill.

Zodiac heading to Danco Island for a gentoo colony visit and snowy hill climb

You can see the line of orange jackets heading up the trail to the top of the hill on the far right

A group of humpback whales visited the Endurance while waiting at Danco Island

While enjoying the afternoon, I spend a good deal of time on deck, admiring the views of the island, the narrow channel and extensive ice surrounding us.  I also spied at least three humpback whales swimming near us.  And I indulged in the tasty sandwiches and sweet treats that were served on the 8th deck for tea time.  After that, I toasted the day with a glass of Chartreuse. All in all, a nice closure on our last excursion day.

Visiting the Neko Harbor Gentoo Penguins

 

Cute cuddles between this gentoo penguin pair

Friday, November 17 -  Neko Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula

Today is our final day of excursions on the cruise.  We had a fun Zodiac cruise among the ice fields in Neko Harbor already this morning. Now, we had the chance to visit another gentoo penguin colony and to take a snowy hill hike. Already on the Zodiac from our ice cruise, we then followed the small, open track of water that the other Zodiacs had cleared to land on the shore of where the gentoo colony is located.  The penguins were very curious to see us, and a number of them had come down to the landing area from their location higher up the hill.  They waddled right up to us and kept coming close.  We had to stop our walking and/or move out of the way in order to keep from being too close to them. It was much fun to watch their antics.  I walked to one location where a large group of them were nesting. It was interesting to see that two-thirds of them were in the prone position - perhaps that is their preferred way to rest/incubate the eggs? It was interesting that upon landing, we weren’t allowed to stay long on the beach, but had to move up the hill a ways.  This is because of the risk of the nearby glacier, which frequently calves, causing small “tsunami” waves” when it does.

Watching the gentoo penguins at the top of the nearest hill

Care must be taken with the large glacier on the right; prone to calving frequently

Compared to the photo above, you can see a welcoming group of penguins has come to see the Zodiacs

Landing and hiking up to the colony

Enjoying standing on the continental land mass of Antarctica

Fun to watch the antics of this gentoo pair