Elephant Island is famous historically as the place from which Ernest Shackleton set forth with 5 other men on his 800 mile open-boat journey to South Georgia to find rescue. The island is very inhospitable and it’s rare to be able to actually land ashore, which proved to be true today. We arrived at the … Continue reading Day 10: Elephant Island

The seas turned a bit rougher during the night, it’s hard to guess but they’re perhaps 7-10′ rolling swells, but confused and the frequency of which is what pitches the ship’s nose into the bottom of a wave every now and again and green water crashes over the bow and the shudder is felt throughout … Continue reading Day 9: At Sea

Daily Trip Note It was an uneventful night, with the ship rocking a bit more that we’ve become accustomed to but nothing that interrupted a great night’s sleep. I was awake at 6am so I tiptoed around the cabin and snuck out at 6:30am to have an early coffee up in the bar. There were … Continue reading Day 8: At Sea

Conditions were once again ideal for an otherwise tricky landing so we had another 4:45am wake up call to catch the early morning light at St. Andrew’s Bay. At 5am a light breakfast of coffee, fruit, croissants and cereal was served in the bar with a 5:30am boat launch time. The promise of the morning … Continue reading Day 7: South Georgia

Oh, the 4:37 am wake up call came early. Nate apologized for waking us up a few minutes earlier than scheduled but the sun had risen completely and was casting a glorious golden glow on the aptly named Gold Harbor and he wanted us all to have the opportunity to see it in its glory. … Continue reading Day 6: South Georgia

I awoke a full hour earlier than our 7am wake up PA as Simon had mentioned to passenger Mike how lovely the entrance into Grytvikin harbour was, and we were scheduled to arrive at 6am. Unfortunately the hills were shrouded in mist but it was snowing again(!) so that was nice surprise. We arrived on … Continue reading Day 5: South Georgia

This is the second day of our passage and we crossed the South Atlantic Convergence Zone today, which is the demarcation line between the South Atlantic and the Antarctic oceans. The outside temperature dropped and the sea is now several degrees cooler. It’s a bit foggy and misty outside and therefore damp, with slippery decks … Continue reading Day 4: Another Day at Sea

It’s a two and a half day voyage from Sea Lion Island to South Georgia, so we set off yesterday right after our shore excursion was over. It’s been incredibly calm with just a slight rolling to the sea so it’s been a great introduction to the often stormy South Atlantic Ocean. We thought our … Continue reading Day 3: At Sea

A busy initiation to the expedition life! Our Expedition Leader Nate’s gentle intercom announcement woke us up at 7am; we had our breakfast at 7:30,  8am saw a information briefing during our meal, 9am was gear check, then a 9:45 call to the Mud Room to start the exodus ashore for our first excursion! We … Continue reading Day 2: Sea Lion Island

Today was our official start to our expedition cruise! Our cruise company had booked all 82 of us on a commercial flight from Punta Arenas to Mount Pleasant, the military base on the island of East Falkland. The only airport is at the base, which currently allows just one civilian flight per week. Needless to … Continue reading Day 1: Falkland Islands