Crossing Drake's Passage

Friday, January 15, 2016 - Day 7

We spent the night of day 7 the Albatross Hotel in Ushuaia across from the port. The weather files look manageable with 3-5 meter seas and wind 25-40 knots for Sunday through Wednesday.

Saturday, January 16, 2016 - Day 8

When we awoke on Day 8, we waited around in the lobby of Albatross meeting some of our shipmates until we boarded the Ocean Diamond at 3:30 pm and were greeted by crew and snacks, and the obligatory abandon ship drill.  We have life vests in our cabin.

By 6:30 we had cast off our lines and left the safe harbor heading down the Beagle Channel to Drake's Passage.

By 8:00, dinner time, we were still in the channel, but were gradually being introduced to ocean swell and stronger winds as we approached Drake's Passage.  We were issued our heavy duty parkas along with the other 179 other passengers.  I am sure these will keep us warm, but not sure how we are going to lug them around after we are finished with Antarctica.

Saturday night in to Sunday morning, we slept a little restlessly as we rocked and rolled through the night with the anticipated waves and winds.

Sunday, January 17, 2016 - Day 9

Dawn filtered through heavy overcast skies.  We are on deck 5 and from our sea splashed windows and water soaked decks, it's obvious that we are plowing into seas, sending bow wash our way.  Russ and I make it up to the bridge and have a look at the navigation equipment.  Ocean Diamond's speed overground is 11.7 knots.  Worrall Wind's best speed overground was around 7 knots.  Given the conditions outside we're making good time.  The plan is to cross the the Antarctic circle first and then work our way back north along the peninsula.

Monday, January 18, 2016 - Day 10

Conditions:   Cloudy

Wind: 15-20 knots

Waves 3 - 4 meters

Location:   61 33 S  (still 5 degrees north of the Antarctic circle)

                67 05 W

The seas are less boisterous this morning, perhaps 3-4 meters, rather than 5-6. A large boat creaks and groans just as our ketch did.  There are still a few white caps but the wind is not blowing the tops off.  We traveled through the Antarctic convergence zone last night and are paralleling the Antarctic Peninsula towards the Circle and Marguerite Bay where there both  Argentina and the UK have polar bases here.

By noon, the wind had subsided to 15 knots, and the seas between 1-2 meters. We spent some time on the bridge and spotted our first icebergs on the horizon. The expedition crew briefed us on how to safely board the Zodiacs

, and what we needed to do to prevent any foreign object, plants, food, and particles from transferring to the continent.

We were issued our polar parkas on Sunday. Today, we were issued our water proof boots, and all of our outer-wear gear was rigorously vacuumed by crew.  

Many of our shipmates had suffered from sea sickness during crossing Drake's passage so the captain's welcome cock tail was postponed until tonight when everyone could attend. After the party and during dinner, we started to pass by sea ice, bergie-bits, and huge ice shelves.  The ship is slowing down to safely navigate through the intensifying ice flow.

The captain anticipates that we will be crossing the Antarctic Circle about 6:30 tomorrow morning and that after lunch, we will take our first steps on Antarctica.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - Crossing the Antarctic Circle - Day 11

Pinch me!  I've dreamed so long of visiting Antarctica, it's hard to believe the time is now, and it's not a dream!  Wow.  

We started the day by having a champaign celebration when we crossed the Antarctic Circle. 66 33 South latitude, around 7:25 this morning.  There are many cruises to the Antarctic peninsula, but few cross the Antarctic Circle.

Crossing the Circle with Neptune's Blessings

Polar Friends Jeff, Betsy, and Penny.

So this was special for us.  This is the first attempt this year by the expedition team because the ice flow has been so thick it has not been possible.    While we were able to cross the circle, we were unable to get all the way to to Marguerite Bay.  The ice and ice bergs were too close for us to continue further with the hopes of escaping when we were done exploring. Apparently, this is the reason that some of the country's base stations have closed down because this is quite common.

Our captain stopped the shipped midway down Adelaide Island.  We donned our boots, parka, gloves, camera, and boarded dinghies that zipped through the water. And unlike the spray from the South Pacific, the spray from the bow of the Zodiac was freezing. The spray felt thick.  It was below freezing, and the water droplets immediately turned to ice on my camera lens, But, oh my, what glorious views of seals, penguins, and floating icebergs.

When we have a chance to post photos, you will see the crabeater seals, the Adelie penguins, and incredible icebergs with fabulous  hues of blues and greens.

Tomorrow we will still be below the circle in an a planned stopped at Hanusse Bay where the Polar Plunge will be an option.  Not sure about this. Having an ER doc aboard with heart paddles standing by is a deterrent.  It is almost 11:00 pm and it's snowing.  Ice crystals are forming on the windows.

All is Well With the Worrall Travel R's in Antarctica south of the Antarctic Circle.

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Ushuaia - End of the World, Day 7

January 15, 2016

Our AirBnB host picked us up this morning at 10:00 am and transported us to the Albatross Hotel in downtown Ushuaia.  We spent the day at the hotel, and walking around the town.  Tall snow capped  mountains circle 3/4 of the town,

and the Beagle Channel and bay the other 1/4 of the town.  The visibility is crystal clear for as far as the eye can see.

Town architecture is somewhat mixed and alpine. There are good parts of town that are fairly well kept and in good condition, mostly those that tourists see. And then there are the parts of town that are in poor repair and rather junky looking. The weather is mild now, but the winter weather down here takes its toll on the buildings, streets, and sidewalks.  Our AirBnB is neat in clean and tidy, but it is in the "junky" area of town where there are no garages, cars line the street and children play in the street, dogs run freely and bark all night.  We are located  a mile or so from the main street.

The main street is up aways from the water front street.  The buildings protect pedestrians from the biting wind that blows up the hill from the water.  Today it was not too bad as the sun was out and the wind relatively calm, but on bad days, one can only imagine how cold it could be.

Stores on the main street are tourist and sport oriented, selling parkas, fleeces, hats, mittens, and souveniers.  We came well prepared, but some folks we think must come down in their sandals and shorts and gear up once they are here.  The slogan here is Fin de Mond..end of the world.  Personally we think it should be the bottom of the world, not the end.

This evening, we gathered in the lobby to get our boarding instructions for tomorrow.  Looks like the Internet on the boat is slower than what we have in the hotel today, and hotel Internet is incredibly slow, so it looks as if I'll be sending text only blogs with no photos until we return to Daniel's AirBnB.

We've met some nice folks so far from Michigan, Seattle, and Melbourne, Australia.  The weather looks like it will be fine for the passage with 15-30 knots of wind, and waves from 3-4 meters.  On our small boat this would have been challenging but doable.  On a bigger boat, I think we shouldn't feel too much, but we'll see.  We booked a mid level, mid ship room, so I hope it feels pretty stable in rolling easterly wind and seas.

It's 11:00 pm and we are turning in for the night now that the night sky has fallen.

All is well the Worrall TravelRs at the Bottom of the World.

Ciao Buenos Aires - Hello Ushuaia - Days 5 & 6

January 13, 2016 - Day 5
Today was our last full day in Buenos Aires.  We spent most of it relaxing, packing, taking a walk to the Rose Garden that had previously been closed on Monday, and the finale, attenindg the Senor Tango Show in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires.

The Rose Garden and Geocache
Not only do we love roses,

we knew there would be a geocache in the rose garden and that was really our goal.  When we got to the Geozone area, there was another couple sitting on a bench directly across from the cache site.  We sat down the path on another bench and waited for them to move on.  We waited, they stalled, we waited, they stalled. Finally, they got up and left, but we were wondering if they too were geocachers.
When they were out of sight and no one else was around, Russ walked to the site and quickly retrieved the cache.  No sooner had he done so when the other couple who had been watching us rounded the corner with an Ah ha!  You got the cache first!  We struck up a conversation with the couple while we each signed the log book. The young woman is from Argentina and the young man from Sacramento! Really small world.

After our find, a quiet lunch at the deli, and an afternoon of editing pictures for me, and running errands for Russ, Hugo picked us up at 9:00 pm.  He had made reservations for us at a highly regarded theater Senor Tango to see a Tango and musical production.

Private dining booths on three levels over theater stage

The theater was in the round and had all the glamour and glitz of Las Vegas, tango orchestra, sound and lighting effects, turn table multi level stage,

A Special Tribute to Elder Conductor and Musician

aerial scaffolding, live horses, digital background screen, and top notch musicians, vocalists, and dancers.

The finale was of course from Evita, Don't Cry for Me Argentina, with photo collage of young Eva Peron, the love of her,  and the tributes to her after she died.  Blue and white silk streamers representing the Argentine flag dropped from the ceiling with silver glitter.  The production was quite moving, even though it was completely in Spanish.  The audience was delighted.  It was a magnificent performance.  We collapsed in our bed about 2:00 am and fell fast asleep.

January 14, 2016:  10:00 am - Day 6

It was sad to pack up the swim suit and sandals.  This morning we are in our Ushuaia gear, heavy pants, boots, vests, jackets.  Hugo picked us up at 9:00 am. He has been a wonderful and considerate driver, guide, and friend to us.  

Hugo

Thankfully, there is air conditioning in the airport as we await our plane, otherwise we would feel like penguins in Hawaii.  We thought we had our carryon weight figured out correctly, but apparently we did  not as we had to check our two small duffles and pay some nominal overage fee.

The fee was not the problem, parting with some of the things in my carryon was.  I still have the most important items in my little back pack, but my parka, rain gear, extra meds, and some camera gear, contact lenses, extra glasses, were in the carryon. Knowing this, I will rearrange some of my stuff on the next domestic flight to lessen my separation anxiety.

We are flying Aerolineos which is a good thing, as we were told the other Argentinian Airline LAN was not operating today because of a protest.

Our flight is due to board an hour before take off which is in about 30 minutes from now.  We had a late night last night at Senor Tango's theater, and did not get into bed until 2:00 am.  We were up by 6:30 so did not have a lot of extra sleep.  I hope I can keep my eyes open until I am settled in my seat.

But we sure had a great time last night.  The performance was magnificent on par with a Las Vegas production of talented musicians, singers, and dancers (Tango), glitz and glamor.

11:00 am.  We are in row 15 in a Boeing 737-800.  Refreshing to return to an era when reason over $ rules boarding.  Passengers in rows 15-30 board first, and we did not have to buy a priority boarding pass.  This is a much more reasoned approach to keeping the aisles clear and filling the back seats first.  Also, the domestic flights are far less restrictive in Argentina, no 321 liquids and gels in separate bags, no shoes off, etc.  All in all a pretty painless checkin.

Bye Bye Buenos Aires

4:00 pm  We arrived in Ushuaia, successfully collected our baggage with no problems despite my concerns, and caught our first glimpse of the snow covered Andes from the ground. Our new AirBnB Host picked us up at the airport and brought us to our new digs.  We will be here for four nights, 1 before our tour to Antarctica, and 3 nights after we return to Ushuaia.

8:30 pm The sun is still high in the sky and we are just fixing dinner.  Tomorrow we meet up with the rest of our tour group, and leave on Saturday for Antarctica!  and yes it is cold here!

10:30 pm The sun is finally setting.  

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Ushuaia, Argentina

Day Trip to Uruguay - Country #75 - Day 5

Ferry to Colonia, Uruguay

It was an early morning for us.  Hugo picked us up at 7:00 am and delivered us to the express ferry 

that would take us across the Rio de Plate, a chocolate colored river so wide that neither shore from the middle can be seen.  When discovered in 1680 the Portuguese explorers thought the Rio de Plate was a Sweet Water (fresh, not salt) sea that they had sailed into.  The chocolate water is always brown from the suspended silt.

We arrived in Colonia, a world heritage site founded in 1680,  at 9:00 am and spent the day walking around the cobble stoned streets and enjoyed picturesque views from every vantage point.

 A high school friend had sent us a picture of her husband in Colonia from 4 years ago.

Russ and I thought it would be a challenge to see if we could find the same location.  We got close and took a photo of Russ at every pink building we found, but never found the exact "pink building".  Unfortunately, we working from memory as we did not have Internet access to the original photo.

Russ is getting tired of the game.

 Nevertheless, this special challenge and finding a geocache in our 75th country was a highlight of our day here.  Enjoy the photos.

All is Well with The Worrall Travel Rs in Uruguay.