After having gone to both the Norwegian and Canadian Arctic, I couldn't help but set my sights on the other end of the earth - Antarctica. Meanwhile, I have been on and off zodiacs too many times in the past two years I want to keep the trip short. So I just opted for a 4 day jaunt in Antarctica (they call it the "classic") - but it takes four days to get there and four days to come home!
Buenos Aires was my first stop. I was in Buenos Aires in 2017 on my trip to Patagonia and saw quite a bit of the city then (please see my blog posts on that trip here). This time it is just an overnight stop to allow us to catch the plane to Ushuaia at the tip of Argentina to embark on the expedition.
It happened to be New Year's Day so there was a festive atmosphere on the Puerto Madero, near the waterfront where we stayed. Santiago Calatrava's Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) is the centrepiece here and rightly so. The stunning pedestrian bridge is a community gathering place and was festively lit in red. It was like a parade with music and dance - a tango performance nonetheless. The waterfront promenade, lined with restaurant patios and eateries, is a great place for people watching - families, couples, singles out for the New Year strolling down the avenue enjoying the festive ambiance. It is easy to forget that Buenos Aires has been described as a dangerous city at night.
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| Calatrava's Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) |
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| Puerto Madero waterfront in the business district - catching the last rays of hte setting sun |
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The bridge lit up on New Year's Day |
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| It was like a parade on the bridge |
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| Tango on the bridge |
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| The waterfront promenade |
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| Local fashion |
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| Patagonian Toothfish (Merluza negra) |
We flew to Ushuaia the following morning and had some time to revisit the town. The memorable dinner of Patagonian Toothfish (aka Chilean sea bass) in 2017 led to my obsession with finding the restaurant Kaupé again. I couldn't get through to reserve a table so I made the walk up the steep hill to try my luck. Of course they were fully booked but the very pleasant lady owner referred me to something in town Tia Elvira which turned out to be a gem! While it doesn't have the ambiance or the fine cuisine style of Kaupé, the Patagonian Toothfish tasted just as good here. For some reason, the fish is not on the menu of every seafood restaurant as you would expect. We came back for a second helping at lunch the following day after our visit to Tierra del Fuego.
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| Sweep of mountains that flanked Ushuaia - stunning view when the plane landed |
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Ushuaia and its iconic mountains - the one on the right is called "Five Brothers" |
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| A new monument to pioneers |
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Lots of interesting murals |
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| The prison motif seems to be everywhere, including in front of Corrections Argentina |
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| A churro truck |
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| Scored another lifer - a Dolphin gull (note very red beak and legs) |
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| A Caracara happened to stroll by |
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| An abandoned old ship is now a waterfront fixture |
Tierra del Fuego National Park, famous for its dramatic scenery and landforms, is huge, so we only skimmed the surface on our half day visit, a good part of it in light rain.  |
| Our first stop at the bay in Tierra del Fuego |
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| Windswept trees |
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The dramatic coastline with Chile across the waters |
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| Looking across at the Chilean side of the Tierra del Fuego |
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| Chinese lantern tree |
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| Upland goose couple |
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| LaPataia Bay |
In the afternoon, we embarked the MS Expedition to begin our voyage to Antarctica. As you can see below, it's not a big ship (the red one) which made crossing the Drake Passage even more of an adventure. I had considered flying the Drake at one point but decided it's considered such a rite of passage I have to brave it. Glad I did too. It didn't turn out to be the nightmare it could be. We had 3.5 metre waves at the worst, apparently a 1 or 2 out of a possible 10. I had to take it easy for a good half day but managed to get through the passage without getting sick.
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| Leaving Ushuaia |
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| Interesting landforms in the Beagle Channel - apparently moraines left behind by retreating glacier ages ago. |
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| Last view of the land "at the end of the world" before we head into the open South Ocean. |
