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

We’re flying out today from Punta Arenas to the Falkland Islands to meet our ship, the Vavilov. It’s an active Russian hydro-acoustic research ship that’s leased out to OneOcean Expeditions in the tourist seasons for Arctic and Antarctic cruises.  Unsurprisingly it’s not a particularly luxurious ship, but this is an expedition, not a Caribbean vay-cay so … Continue reading Ship Ahoy!

Our Antarctic adventure starts at the very bottom of South America in the Chilean town of Punta Arenas. It’s a fairly plain, working-type place without much to recommend it except for its excellent air connections and relative nearness to the gorgeous Torres Del Paine National Park. It’s thus fairly well-stocked with outdoor adventure shops for … Continue reading Punta Arenas

After a very long year of a not-quite-yet recovery from an ankle injury I’m finally on a trip!  I’m terribly excited as I usually travel in the summer to avoid the furnace-like heat of the Desert but this year I was firmly glued to my couch, foot in the air, enviously following my friends’ adventures … Continue reading Finally a Trip!