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Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego National Park

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To prepare for my trip, I had watched the film “Scott of the Antarctic” as well as most of frozen Planet 1 and 2 and on the journey I read Ranolph Fiennes book on Shackleton and Sara Wheeler's Terra 'Incognito'. I remember the feeling as I flew into Ushuaia, that after all the months of preparation I couldn't quite believe that I was actually going to Antarctica.  I was pleased to see my suitcase arrive safely in Ushuaia and was met by Rumbo Sur the transfer company for Quark who took me to my hotel. I had booked 2 extra nights so I could see the national park. There was a slight problem checking into the hotel sadly my room was not ready; so they moved me to their 5 star hotel next door with pool and spa! Because the hotel was quite high up there were lovely views across the Beagle Channel. The view was constantly changing rain, snow on the mountains and sunshine on the sea.  I had booked a tour of the National Park near Ushuaia with Rumbo Sur. As I joined the bus I fo...
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Highlights of Antarctica

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I could write so much about the days I spent in Antarctica, but here are the highlights.  Neumayer Channel, Damoy Point, Goudier Island (Port Lockroy) and Jougla Point  It was amazing standing on deck before breakfast as we sailed along the peninsula, I started to see penguins swimming in groups and a Weddell seal lying on a block of ice.  Was struck by how blue parts of the ice was. We navigated into the Neumayer channel and made our way to the first landing .  The weather was truly Antarctic! Horizontal snow, wet and cold. We made our way around Damoy Point s ome people were camping on the island whilst they renovated the expedition hut - I didn't envy them. In the afternoon we went to Port Lockroy We first visited the shop and Post Office and the museum and saw how the early scientists lived. Then we board a zodiac to go to another part of the island. On the way there our guide spotted a leopard seal right up next to one of the zodiacs. We watched the seal swim ...
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Iguazu Falls

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  Iguazu Falls It was an early start to go to Iguazu Falls, a  UNESCO site and  one the 7 wonders of the world. However I didn’t have the best start as the transport organised by the private tour company  (Signature Tours)  never turned up and there was no response from any of the tour company’s contact numbers. So after waiting half an hour, the hotel receptionist got me a taxi. Luckily I had my flight details and checked in easily. It was a 90 minute flight to Iguazu, I was lucky to have a window seat and watched the countryside change from dry fields to a much greener landscape. I was relieved to see Javier, the guide, waiting for me at the airport, with a taxi ready to take me to the National Park. His English was quite good in explaining what we were going to see and do. It was warm, at least 35 degrees with 85-90% humidity! We began our walk around the park up to the falls. 75% of the falls is on the Argentine side with the rest in Brazil, with ...
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My journey begins - crossing the Drake

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The night before the cruise I found a letter in my hotel room from Quark, with instructions for the next day -  a health form to complete (to hand in with my Covid pass) and labels for my luggage which would be collected in the morning and taken to the ship.  So the morning arrived and I delivered my suitcase to reception. I took the shuttle down to the town and met the Quark team at the Albatross Hotel and handed in my health questionnaire and Covid vaccination forms. I walked along the quay and there were the 2 Quark ships; the Ocean Diamond was going to the Falklands and South Georgia before Antarctica and there was the slightly smaller Ocean Adventurer.  First view of Ocean Adventurer Whilst having lunch in the Albatross Hotel, I overheard a group of people talking about their cruise. They had just got off the Ocean Adventure. They told me they had had the most amazing time, but the Drake was rough with 8m waves!  So I took my ginger capsules and put my...
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Getting to know Buenos Aires

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My 13 hour flight went well, I managed a little sleep and 2 movies - such a great performance by Emma Thompson in ' Good Luck to You,  Leo Grande'.   I met a couple also traveling to join an Antarctica cruise, it was their belated honeymoon which had been delayed for three years. It sounded like we were going to have similar experiences but they were surprised to hear that I was going to do a polar plunge!  Immigration went smoothly, and I was relieved to see my orange suitcase appear on the carousel as soon as I walked into baggage reclaim.  The hotel had organised a driver to pick me up at the airport and for the first time in my life there was someone standing with my name on a card in arrivals. So w ithin 30 minutes of landing I was in 34 degrees of summer heat on my way to the hotel and beginning my adventure.  The driver spoke excellent English, which apparently is rare in Argentina as it is only taught in private schools. Now wish I had learnt more Spanis...
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Preparing for the trip of a lifetime

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    This is the first of a number of posts I will be writing about my trip to Argentina and Antarctica. For anyone else thinking about a trip like this I have included links to the products I chose after much research, am happy to answer any questions.  When I decided to retire slightly early, I knew my pension would give me a cash sum. But what to do with it? A slightly better car? Put it away for a rainy day? Or a holiday - but where?  I wanted to go somewhere different, a once in a lifetime trip. The idea of going Antarctica seemed to draw me. So vast, so far away. I had never been on a cruise, but knew I didn’t want to be on one of those large cruise ships, I wanted an adventure. And having recently started wild swimming I wanted to swim in the Antarctic!  So I started researching companies that would take me there. After hours of reading about different companies I contacted Quark . I booked a Zoom call with their team who spoke passionately about the trips...
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