Antarctica - Getting there

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.

Calatrava's Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge)

Puerto Madero waterfront in the business district - catching the last rays of hte setting sun

The bridge lit up on New Year's Day

It was like a parade on the bridge

Tango on the bridge

The waterfront promenade

Local fashion

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.

Sweep of mountains that flanked Ushuaia - stunning view when the plane landed

Ushuaia and its iconic mountains - the one on the right is called "Five Brothers"

A new monument to pioneers 

Lots of interesting murals

The prison motif seems to be everywhere, including in front of Corrections Argentina

A churro truck

Scored another lifer - a Dolphin gull (note very red beak and legs)

A Caracara happened to stroll by

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

Windswept trees

The dramatic coastline with Chile across the waters

Looking across at the Chilean side of the Tierra del Fuego

Chinese lantern tree

Upland goose couple

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.  

Leaving Ushuaia

Interesting landforms in the Beagle Channel - apparently moraines left behind by retreating glacier ages ago.

Last view of the land "at the end of the world" before we head into the open South Ocean.  

Patagonia - Buenos Aires 2

Buenos Aires is known for its unique neighbourhoods and the most colourful of all (in more ways than one) is La Boca. Tour books had warned tourists about violence and robberies in La Boca so we were a little leery about visiting on our own. Our tour drove us through the neighbourhood then dropped us in the touristy centre, where we were allowed to wander around unescorted but warned that we should stay in the "triangle" - "make a right and then a right and another right to get you back to the meeting point". We would be "safe" if we don't wander out of those lines. For once, I followed instructions. But I find it ironic that we were willing to play tourist in an area that obviously was not what it appeared to be - but we pretended it was and played along with the "fake" setup - like Disneyland but not...

We walked the afternoon away in the cobbled streets of San Telmo and wandered fortuitously into a historic literary café, La Poésia, where we had a nice dessert break.  A staircase led up to a loft with a photo gallery of literary figures who had met in the café located in a turn of the 19th century building. It was a long but interesting walk back to our Recoleta hotel through the pedestrian thoroughfare Florida Street - a back to reality walk, with the street full of hawkers and solicitations. We were offered "cambio" by street money-exchangers non-stop throughout the walk down the crosstown street.

The highlight of our Buenos Aires visit was a wonderful evening at the historic Los Laureles (established 1893) tango bar, attending a "milonga" where locals danced the tango.  What a fun way to end the trip!

Colourful tenements in La Boca - only the tenants would know if life is really that colourful...

Tango and singing on the street to entice customers

 

Street mural in San Telmo by famous Argentinian cartoonist Juan Carlos Colombres (Landrú)

La Poesia, an historic literary café in San Telmo that we just happened to wander into

 

Cobbled streets of San Telmo

Pedestrian thoroughfare in Centro

Flordia Street famous for shopping and "cambio"

Historic milonga bar, Los Laureles, established in 1893

Instructor at tango lesson

Tango demo

Live music for locals dancing the tango at the milonga

Good night and goodbye, Buenos Aires!

This wraps up my posts on Patagonia. It was one of the most spectacular trips we have been on. Looking forward to the next one - Munich, Salzburg and the Alps. Stay tuned!