The Coldest, Windiest, Whitest Continent on Earth

Is a two day crossing (make that four days if you want to get back home again!) of the notorious Drake´s Passage worth the effort?

Without a doubt.

Visiting the coldest, windiest, driest, iciest, whitest continent on Earth is not everyone´s idea of money well spent, but it is mine. I have always wanted to visit the mysterious Antarctic region but I´m not sure that I thought I would ever actually get there. A place confined to beautiful coffee table picture books and scientific expeditions, Antarctica can seem beyond the reach of the humble traveller. These past nine days at sea on board the MS Polaris have had their ups and downs (literally and metaphorically speaking) but making it to Antarctica has literally been a dream come true.

The first iceberg sighting was made as we approached the South Shetland Islands and it didn´t disappoint. As we got closer in the fading light of our second full day at sea an enormous tabular iceberg emerged. Reaching over 100 metres in height (bearing in mind that only an eighth of an iceberg is visible above water) it was a monster! This initial sighting was followed in quick succession by others which appeared on the dusky horizon floating majestically on the Southern Ocean. With the calmer waters came a good night´s sleep and an early morning wake up call and the fun began. Our first trip off the boat was a zodiac cruise around Enterprise Island and to the wreck of the Governor (a 1920s whaling ship) in Foyn Harbour. It was a great first cruise and a good taster of how many layers (more) I´d need to wear on our subsequent outings! That afternoon we made our first landing of the trip on Cuverville Island, home to a large Gentoo Penguin colony. As we approached land it was clear that there were thousands of penguins on the island, both adults and large chicks. Identified by their distinctive orange bills and a white flash above the eye, these little fellows were my first introduction to penguins en masse and they were truly a sight to behold.

The following morning we sailed into Paradise Harbour and landed the Zodiacs at the now unused Argentinian base of Almirante Brown. We walked up the hill to enjoy the stunning view over the harbour and were treated to a beautiful sight - after a few grey days of rain and snow, the sun was rising over the mountains and the cloud receding. Looking forward to a day of good weather, the steep climb up turned into a great snow slide down for many. We got back on board the Polaris and set sail for the Lemaire Channel, a narrow ice-filled channel that was a truly spectacular sight. The most scenic part of the journey it was a real treat to experience it in such good weather. Picture postcard opportunities presented themselves one after the other as we cruised through the ice the sun lit up the snowy peaks surrounding us. I didn´t think it could get much better than this until we reached the aptly named Iceberg Alley where the Antarctica of my imagination revealed itself. We Zodiac cruised for about two hours around the icebergs witnessing an abundance of wildlife including: Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, Crabeater Seals, Antarctic Fur Seals, a lone Adelie Penguin and the spectacular Leopard Seal. All of this as the sun slowly began to set over icebergs that were even beyond my imagination - turquoise in colour and carved into beautiful shapes. Truly overwhelming!

With the weather forecast for the following day looking a little less than perfect the expedition team even managed to squeeze in a third outing for the day to the Yalour Islands, home to an Adelie Penguin colony. A little smaller than the Gentoo and without the orange bill, these penguins are really cute but exceptionally smelly. As opposed to our landing on Cuverville Island where we were able to land away from the nesting sites, at the Adelie colony we found ourselves right in the middle of what had been their nesting site earlier in the season. The guano literally coloured the island red and smelled so bad that I was convinced the Adelie scent had permeated my clothes and skin! That said, it was a wonderful opportunity to see another species of penguin in such large numbers and to observe their amusing behaviours. Feeling exhausted we returned to the ship where we had a good nights sleep at anchor.

The next morning we woke up to worse weather (which made us feel very thankful for the perfect day before). We had been planning to visit the Ukranian Vernadsky Station on the Argentine Islands. Unfortunately though, they were in the midst of their annual crew change and it was not possible to tour the station itself. Very kindly they sent their radio controller, Eugine onto our boat to tell us about the station and answer our questions. It´s a shame we didn´t get to visit as I´m sure it would have been fascinating. We did land however at part of the original station, Wordie Hut, which was part of the British base B which later became Faraday. It has been left as a testament to how things used to be and was a real eye opener - the marmite looked tempting though, despite its age (I'm having some serious withdrawal symptoms here)! That afternoon in slightly less picturesque conditions we sailed back down the Lemaire Channel and on to our next landing site back in the South Shetlands, Deception Island. As our ship´s captain skillfully negotiated Neptune´s Bellows (a very narrow opening into what is in fact a volcanic caldera), Whaler´s Bay came into view. Whaler´s Bay was home to a succession of whaling and research stations and is now an open air museum with many well preserved remnants of years past. This was a fascinating stop and gave us an idea of the scale of whaling operations in the region.

Whaler´s Bay will also hold memories for us of a different kind. All week we had been gearing up towards a dip in Antarctic waters and were determined to beat the last Polaris Antarctic Swim Team record of 31 passengers/crew. Had the sun been out it would have been a less daunting proposition but we took the plunge nonetheless. We had to wade into the water and ensure that we swam with our heads fully submerged in order to count as an official swim team member. It was a pretty amusing sight for the onlooking fur seal as 39 passengers/crew stripped down to their swimsuits and entered the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean. Not an experience I feel I need to repeat but one that with hindsight, and dressed warmly, I think I almost enjoyed!

After a hot shower and back into a sensible number of layers we made our final landing of the trip that afternoon at Walker Bay on Livingstone Island. The conditions were pretty interesting: the wind was blowing fairly hard and we had quite a big swell which made transferring from the gangway to the Zodiac and back quite exciting. We all made it unscathed though thanks to the hard work of the staff and enjoyed a final stroll on land taking in some new species and saying goodbye to some old friends. Large colonies of both Gentoo and Adelie Penguins lined the rocky bay as we walked to Hannah Point at the end of the island. The glacial ice washed up on the beach made for a spectacular sight and we were even lucky enough to catch our first sighting of Southern Elephant Seals. These monsters can reach four and a half tonnes when fully grown and if the juvenile males we saw (at about two and a half tonnes) are anything to go by, they must be gigantic!

And so began our journey home. My only complaint about this trip is that it was just not long enough. I could have spent many many more days exploring this last wildnerness but am thankful that I am one of the few who have been here at all. We were blessed that our return trip on the Drake was less eventful than our first and we will leave with wonderful memories of Antarctica. I feel a trip further north coming on...anyone ever seen a Polar Bear?

Drake's Passage - an experience!

After a day pottering around in Ushuaia (I think it's fair to say we know this small town very well now!) we made our way to the passenger terminal at the port and boarded a GAP Adeventures bus bound for the MS Polaris: the Russian ice-strengthened boat that was to be our home for the next 10 days. As we approached along the pier, our little boat appeared dwarfed by the other vessels docked alongside her and it was at this point that I was both grateful for the small capacity of our cruise (65ish passengers) and a little worried at how much she might move in the swell of the Southern Ocean.

It's fair to say that Drake's Passage has a bit of a reputation for turning those with even the strongest stomachs and most hardy sea legs into whimpering, bed-ridden individuals begging for mercy as they are tossed around on the mighty Southern Ocean. With postcards for sale all over Ushuaia stating things such as "I've survived Drake's Passage", and even a Drake's Passage 'experiences board' in the local bookshop, I was more than a little concerned that no amount of Dramamine would keep me from my bunk! But, it was hard to believe the stories as we set sail along the glass like Beagle Channel, spotting Dolphins and sea birds and watching the sun set over the receeding mountains of southern Argentina and Chile.

With all the orientation stuff sorted we had a good dinner and began getting to know our fellow passengers over a drink in the bar. I had no trouble falling asleep that night with the gentle motion of the boat and dreams of what would await us in the mighty White Continent. However, I was woken up in the early hours of the morning by some fairly violent sideways motion of the boat which, considering the layout of our cabin and bunks, meant that we were tipped from one end of our bed (standing on the outside wall of the cabin) to the other (protecting my head from hitting the wall with my hands). I had followed instructions and taken my Dramamine (sea sickness) tablets before bed and thankfully in a lying position didn't feel sickness of any kind. No sickness...and no sleep! As the boat continued to sway from side to side at increasingly precarious angles and our belongings swam around on floor of our cabin I concentrated on trying to wedge myself into my bunk and make it through the rest of the night.

Our morning call by the ever cheery expedition leader brought no respite from the swell of the Drake, but determined that it must be mind over matter, I got myself out of bed and even (such a maratime amateur) into the shower. It was quite an experience trying to wash my hair at the same time as clinging onto the wall bars for dear life and probably not the best way to start my day. Feeling like I'd been through the spin cycle of the washing machine, I followed Simon upstairs to the dining room for breakfast. However, while waiting to be called I was overcome by nausea and retreated hastily to our cabin where Simon later found me clinging to the toilet bowl. I have felt sea sickness before but thankfully it has never progressed beyond a feeling of nausea. This time was different...feeling a complete lack of control I was sick before I'd even been to breakfast and had to lie down in my cabin for the next few hours before I felt able to try the vertical position again. The rest of the day passed in an uncomfortable haze of dramamine fuelled semi-conciousness, although I did make it to the brilliant and informative lectures given by our expedition team and the remaining meals of the day.

I had just about managed to adapt to the motion of the boat on day one of the Drake's Passage crossing when day two dawned. I could tell that the boat was moving alot more on day two by the angle reached by our waterproof jackets (hanging on the wall of the cabin) each time the boat swayed from side to side. I didn't make breakfast on day two either and was incredibly relieved when it was announced that lunch would be served to cabins (it meant that most people were feeling as bad as me). I did venture up for dinner where chairs and people were sliding from one side of the dining room to the other and many laps got a soaking from toppled drinks. I was relieved to hear that this is the worst crossing of the Drake so far this season and that I was justified in feeling a little under the weather. Thankfully as we entered calmer waters that evening people began to emerge from their short hibernation and the excitement at approaching Antarctica began to heighten.

Estancias, horses and planes!

On Wednesday (13th Feb) we hired a car for our drive to the first estancia (ranch) that we are staying at (for two nights). The scenery during the drive was magnificent and we also managed to make a stop at a little town called Tolhuin which is reputed to serve up the best baked goods on Tierra del Fuego (we sampled and we agree!). We arrived at Estancia Viamonte at about 5pm and after a little confusion, finally found our way to the guest house. Set between rolling hills and the open ocean, its white buildings with red roofs made for quite a sight as we approached along Ruta 3. This estancia is owned by the descendants of the first European settlers of Tierra del Fuego and houses so much history of times and people past. We were welcomed in to the family and treated to wonderful hospitality throughout our stay. The guest house, Seaview, was beautiful. It had a very English feel on the inside which was enhanced by the tea and biscuits we were served when we arrived. Our room, with an enormous and extremely comfortable bed, was on the front of the house with views of the sea through the trees. What a treat it was to stumble across this place and manage to make a booking at such short notice. On Valentines day it was 10 years exactly since we got engaged and I can’t think of a more lovely place to have been. Our two days at Viamonte were spent walking along the empty beach, watching the men round up the sheep and sipping gin and tonic in the evening, with the owners, before dinner (at which we were served up delicious food in great quantities). After saying our goodbyes at Viamonte (along with promises to post out jars of marmite to the owners as soon as we get home – not the easiest thing to buy in Argentina!) we headed on to our next estancia, the more remote, Despedida.

An hour and a half down an unpaved road (in a Corsa!) brought us to Estancia Despedida. Again, this estancia was quite a sight to behold. Nestled at the bottom of a hillside it was another collection of white buildings with red roofs and with very few trees the area had a wild feel to it. As we pulled up outside the guest house (which we had all to ourselves) we were greeted by Maria Laura, the resident chef, and shown around. The house and bedrooms were beautiful, Vivina and Eduardo (the owners) have paid so much attention to detail - lamp stands crafted from sheep shearing machinery and coat hooks cleverly made from branding irons – creating a warm, welcoming and personal guest house where we spent a blissful two days and nights. We were treated to wonderful food, much of it home grown and all of it home made, a barbeque with the family, fantastic horse riding and Simon even got to see Tierra del Fuego from the front seat of a small plane! I spent both days on horse back and, a very sore bottom aside, I loved every minute. Simon (allergic to horses and unable to participate) was treated to an entirely unexpected opportunity to take a small plane flight over the island. The pilot flew the plane over us as we were riding on the hills and Simon even got to take the controls for a while, what an experience! As we left Despedida we explained that a fortunate stroke of serendipity has brought us to them. The more we travel in this continent, the more we find that it is the opportunities that come out of the blue that always prove to be the most rewarding and successful. We could not have asked for greater hospitality from our hosts…what a wonderful two days this has been.

We are now back in Ushuaia for the night. Tomorrow we set sail for the white continent in search of icebergs, whales and penguins. This afternoon I set off in search of dramamine! We are away for 10 days and will back date posts when we get back to South America.

Catching up…Chile to Argentina and a whole new continent on the horizon

Our overnight ‘cama’ bus from San Pedro to La Serena on the Chilean coast about two thirds of the way to Santiago was great. Tur Bus have excellent coaches and our seats were very comfortable. We had even managed to book the front seats on the top deck so we were treated with spectacular views of the countryside as we made our way south on the Pan American Highway which virtually hugs the coast as it winds it way between the sea and the Andes.

We arrived in La Serena at about 9.30 on the morning of Thursday 7th February and checked in at our hostal which was really lovely. Close to the bus station and only a short walk from the centre of town it had many rooms set around sunny courtyards with friendly staff and a really nice atmosphere. I really liked La Serena. It was quite a small town but very pretty and laid back. We only spent a couple of days there, wandering around town and down to the beach where we ate a meal on our last evening overlooking the sea. It was a very relaxing place to break our journey to Santiago.

On the morning of Saturday 9th Feb we caught yet another bus for the six hour journey to Santiago. During the day and with great views the journey wasn’t bad at all and before we knew it we were in a taxi on our way from the bus station to our hostel in Chile’s (very European looking) capital city. With only one afternoon to spend in Santiago on this visit (we are going back later in the trip) Simon was determined to visit the Patagonia clothing store (earlier in the trip he lost his lightweight down jacket and with a trip down south on the cards he needs something warm to wear) so we set out to find the out of town mall. After lots of head shaking from our hostel manager at the distance of the mall from central Santiago, we hopped on the subway to the end of the line and picked up a taxi there. It actually wasn’t too far and was well worth the visit. Those of you who know me well will be aware that two months of shopping deprivation is a very long time and this mall was certainly a great antidote. It was probably the best mall that we’ve ever been too, fantastic shops, great prices and beautifully landscaped. We indulged in a little retail therapy, Simon left a happy man having picked up a new down jacket and as we sat back in the sun sipping our Starbucks Frappuccinos I must admit that I felt a little restored! Our stay in Santiago was fleeting and I’m already looking forward to going back.

The next day (Sunday 10th) we flew from Santiago to Ushuaia in Argentina. Known locally as La Fin del Mundo (the end of the world), Ushuaia sits at the tip of Tierra del Fuego, an island to the south of Patagonia and is one of the most southerly settlements in the world. Along with it’s beautiful surrounding mountains, lakes and glaciers, Ushuaia is also the start and end to most Antarctic cruises. With the enormous cruise liners and smaller expedition style boats come many travellers and tourists needing places to stay, eat and drink (and also a whole heap of marine style souvenirs if today’s Princess Cruises disembarkees were anything to go by!). The town is actually quite a nice place to while away a few days which is just what we’ve been doing. After yet another bumpy approach and clap-worthy landing (you’ll get bored reading about them soon: I know you all think it’s just me but the woman behind me gasped louder than I did and even Simon was quiet as we tossed and turned in the turbulence and seemed to fall out of the sky as we hit thermal after thermal!) at the tiny airport in Ushuaia we got a taxi all of about a kilometre to our hostel which was situated just outside of the main town (about a 20 minute walk away). The hostel was great. Lovely rooms, clean bathrooms a kitchen so that we could cook for ourselves and really helpful staff. We dropped off our luggage and headed straight for town…we were on a mission. Some of you will recall our ramblings about how we’ve heard that if you turn up in Ushuaia, you can sometimes pick up discounted tickets for trips to Antarctica…not sure how many of you thought it was a real possibility and I’m not sure that I even did. However we went straight to the Tourist Information Office and were directed to a couple of agencies who sometimes sell such tickets. The first (and we’d been told, most likely) had nothing that worked date or price wise for us and we left feeling a quite deflated. While trying to find another of the agencies that had been plotted on our map for us (to no avail: it had clearly been plotted in the wrong place) we stumbled across a sign outside a hostel come tour agency that said Last Minute Antarctica. Not feeling too optimistic, in we went. We regurgitated the question again…We would like to go to Antarctica, do you have anything available? To our surprise and delight, they did! We are booked to set sail on board the MS Polaris (a GAP Adventures boat) on Monday 18th February for 10 days. We saved a lot of money in the process and feel both very proud of ourselves and extremely excited about the prospect of visiting somewhere so remote and different to anywhere either of us has ever been before.

With the Antarctica trip booked and sorted we then had to work out what we wanted to do in the mean time. Reluctant to travel too far away from Ushuaia due to the difficulties in finding transport back (this time of year is really busy and buses and planes get booked up well in advance) we decided to spend a day or two in Ushuaia and then head out into the countryside on Tierra del Fuego to stay in a couple of traditional estancias (ranches).

Yesterday we went on an organised 4x4 off road Land Rover tour to the lakes outside Ushuaia. The trip was great with a visit to a Husky breeding centre, some exciting off road driving and a fabulous Argentinian asado (barbeque) for lunch. Our guide was fantastic and provided not only lots of information but some added fun along the way (look out for the video, which I’ll post soon, of our driverless Land Rover experience!) and the others on our trip made the whole day a real success.

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile – The budget buster!

We left the beautiful ‘white city’ of Arequipa, Peru on Friday 1st February bound for Arica: Chile’s northernmost town. We could only get the bus as far as Tacna, a border town in the south of Peru from where we had to get a taxi across the border to Arica. The border crossing from Peru to Chile was very civilised and afforded us our first glimpse of the stark difference between Peru and Chile. Even in Arica (a town so close that it has at times belonged to Peru) we noticed immediately a wealthier population who meandered their way through the pedestrianised shopping centre with ice creams in hands or sat at pavement bars sipping expensive beers. Our hostel in Arica was lovely – the Lonely Planet doing us proud again, and although there was not much to see in the town itself, we had a relaxing day or so there.

From Arica we booked an overnight trip with ‘Turbus’ (Chile’s most reliable and most expensive long distance bus company) to San Pedro de Atacama. Although a great bus, a night of ‘semi-cama’ (reclining seats) never encourages the deepest of sleep and coupled with a few enforced stops where our luggage was searched at ridiculous times of the night, we were very relieved to finally arrive in this desert Oasis. Our hostel (Soncheck) is only a couple of blocks from the bus stop so we had arrived and checked in within a matter of a few minutes. Another Lonely Planet special, Sonchek is a great little place with several rooms, all made out of the red desert ‘adobe’ with thatched roofs, set around a sunny courtyard.

We had arranged to stay for three nights here and therefore needed to organise some tours pretty quickly to ensure that we could fit everything in. With a recommended tour operator provided by our hostel hosts we set about quelling our hunger first and after a wonderful hot shower headed straight out for breakfast. This was to be our first insight into the spiralling costs of visiting San Pedro (a subject which has pervaded a lot of our discussions while here). With a (delicious) breakfast of pancakes for me and fruit with yoghurt and honey for Simon, along with two coffees and two orange juices setting us back close to $20 (£!0) we were made starkly aware that our three nights and four days here were about to blow our budget beyond recognition! We had been warned that we would find Chile (and especially San Pedro) expensive after a couple of months in Ecuador and Peru but I must admit that I hadn’t really taken it on board until now. Rather than eating on a rotational basis (I eat lunch while Simon has to wait until dinner…) we’ve decided to stick our heads into the sand for a few days and hope that we can redeem our finances next week while in Ushuaia, Argentine Patagonia (more on that later).

There is a fairly long ‘must see’ list when visiting San Pedro de Atacama and with it firmly on the gringo trail (and more recently catering to wealthier tourists via swanky upmarket resorts) there are a myriad of tour operators and excursions to choose from. We’d narrowed it down before we got here so we weren’t too distracted while shopping around for the best deals. In the end we stuck with our recommended operator and wangled a bit of a discount for booking three tours with them. We signed ourselves up for a late afternoon trip to Valle de la Luna (The Valley of the Moon), an extremely early morning trip to the El Tatio Geysers and a full day outing to the Altiplano lakes and the Salar de Atacama (Atacama’s salt flats).

The Valle de la Luna is a beautiful landscape of interesting rock formations set among mountains and sand dunes. Best viewed at sunset as the light casts its final shadows we set off from San Pedro at about 4.30pm in blistering heat. Unfortunately Simon and I have a slight aversion to large tour groups (and this was a big one) and we felt a little herded from one mirador (view point) to the next which slightly destroyed the ambiance of what could and should have been a really magical place. Sadly in SP there really is no other way of seeing these places than with organised groups unless you have your own car. The next morning our alarm woke us at 3.45am for a sunrise trip to the El Tatio Geysers a couple of hours outside San Pedro. The desert at that time in the morning is very cold indeed (a real contrast to the extreme heat of the day) and I was more than ready for the sun to rise when it did. Having never seen geysers first hand before, I was pretty impressed with El Tatio (although I know that others in the group were a little disappointed having visited Yellowstone Park in the the US or the geysers in Iceland) and really enjoyed the trip even though I ducked out of the opportunity to swim in the hot springs (a little cold, no changing rooms and very green water…need I say more?).

Today we had a full day’s outing to the Salar de Atacama (the third largest salt flat in the world – after Bolivia and Utah) and the Altiplano lakes which was great. The salar was not as I’d imagined at all as it was very lumpy and grey/brown in colour. Having seen photos of Uyuni in Bolivia, I was expecting a shiny and crisp layer of glaringly white salt. In the middle of the area is a salt water lagoon which is home to both Chilean and Andean flamingos. This was a fabulous sight as we watched them feeding and flying between pools. The Altiplano lakes were breathtakingly beautiful and also home to an abundance of interesting wildlife. We watched Guanaco drinking from the turquoise waters and a wild fox posed for photographs as we wandered by. All in all a good day out. On the way back to San Pedro this afternoon we stopped at the Tropic of Capricorn and had the obligatory photo taken. With a photo at the equator and now one at Capricorn under our belts, will someone please let us know the easiest way from Chile to the Tropic of Cancer so that we can complete the trio!

Tomorrow afternoon we leave San Pedro de Atacama. I really like this little town but for us it’s been prohibitively expensive and we daren’t stay any longer. We catch yet another overnight bus (saves on the hostel bill) to La Serena, Chile’s second oldest city. On the coast with lots of sandy white beaches and a beautiful town too, we’re looking forward to seeing what it has to offer.