Antarctic Cruise: Antarctic Peninsula (2.23.24 to 2.26.24)

We spent four days around the Antarctic Peninsula, from February 23, 2024 to February 26, 2024.  The night of February 22, we crossed the Drake Passage, which could be violently rough.  The captain warned us that there might be turbulence, starting at 2 a.m.  "Make sure you're in bed," he said, "because it's going to get rough."  The captain said that the wave swells might be as high as 30 feet. We were rocked with the waves, but we slept through the night without getting sick or even waking up.  However, when we walked down the hall the next morning, we had to hang onto the banisters to steady ourselves.  It was mild, compared to what it could be, and we also had bright, sunny skies during our entire time in Antarctica.  That was, apparently, very unusual. It was also quite warm, hovering around 30 degrees during the daytime.

Many passengers spent their entire days on deck, watching the icebergs go by and keeping an eye out for whales and penguins.  There were four lecturers on board--an Antarctic photographer, historian, geographer, and marine biologist.  There were one or two lectures each day we were at sea, and they were all excellent.  My favorite lectures were by the historian, who had been operations director for the New Zealand research center on Antarctica.  His great-uncle was a member of Shackleton's Antarctic exploration team and his grandfather was a member of Scott's exploration team.  

We sailed down the Antarctic peninsula, into Paradise Bay, and then northeast towards Elephant Island.  The views were consistently gorgeous.

We were virtually alone in the vast expanse of Antarctica, although we did pass a couple of smaller expedition ships.  No ship with more than 500 passengers can land on Antarctica.  Our son Mike took a small ship and made several kodiak trips per day onto the ice, bundled in a heavy orange parka and boots.  I was very happy experiencing the beauty of Antarctica from our ship.

Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes.  One iceberg, shaped like this one, was as big as Belgium.

Antarctic Cruise: Tierra del Fuego and Ushaia (2.22.24)

Ushaia, Argentina, looks and feels like the end of the world.  It is at the tip of South America, and the jumping off point for cruises headed for Antarctica. We spent a day in Ushaia on February 22, 2024, including cruising the Beagle Canal, where Darwin passed on his explorations, and visiting the Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Ushaia has a jaw-droppingly beautiful location--it is a small city on the edge of huge mountains, fronted by the sea.  The dock was lined with cruise ships, filling their holds with supplies before crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica.

In the morning, we hired a taxi driver to take us to Tierra del Fuego National Park, half an hour away.  The views of lakes, mountains and trees in the park were glorious.

We drove through the park to the end of Route 3, a road that travels down the spine of South America.  We were 17,846 kilometers from Alaska!

We passed a post office where we could send postcards marked "end of the world."

As a bonus, there were wild horses in the park.

During the afternoon, we took a boat ride through the Beagle Channel, past this iconic lighthouse.

We passed an island with more penguins than we saw in Antarctica.

And, finally, we returned to our ship to prepare for the night's travel across the Drake Passage. 

Antarctic Cruise: Puerto Arenas (2.21.24)

Punta Arenas overlooks the Strait of Magellan, through which Magellan sailed on his voyage from Spain to the Far East.  It is the southernmost city in Chile, and a shipping port for the Antarctic.  We spent  February 21, 2024, touring Punta Arenas' museums, parks, and port.

Our first stop was a natural history museum, filled with whale and albatross bones.  It also had interesting exhibits on the indigenous people of the tip of South America.

One of the popes visited this devoutly Catholic city, and we saw the fur-covered throne, emblazoned with a cross, that was offered for his comfort.

I never tire of the beautiful, baroque South American cathedrals.  Of course, Punta Arenas had its own.

One of the highlights of Punta Arenas is its "santuario," or cemetery, filled with highly decorated tombs and monuments.  It reminded me of the elaborate, above-ground tombs of New Orleans, which are also a tourist attraction.

We next wandered through a living history museum showing life in Punta Arena during its "pioneer" days of the 1800s and early 1900s.  There were wagons and farm equipment outside and several shops and homes furnished treasures from 100 to 150 years ago.

Since Jonny marketed excavators at John Deere, Dave and I notice them wherever we go.  This was a vintage model--green, but not from John Deere.

We lingered at the city plaza, with its statue of Magellan and French-style buildings with Mansard roofs.  At some point in Punta Arena's history, a city father hired a French architect, and the whole central square looked like Paris!

We rode uphill for a view of the city and to learn about its history.  Punta Arenas' prosperity has risen and fallen with the world historic trade routes.  Its first big boom was during the California gold rush of 1849, when it served as a haven for clipper ships sailing around the Cape of Good Hope.  The port's importance diminished after the opening of the Panama Canal.  It received even greater prosperity early in the 2000s as the center of Chile's international wool trade.  Punta Arenas continues to be important today because of its close access to the Antarctic peninsula.

Punta Arenas during the days of clipper ships.

We walked back to our ship along a dock filled with trucks and forklifts supplying the cruise ships on their way to and from Antarctica.