WOW!!! Let me start this post by saying what an incredible trip this was. Just wow. Even though it’s a trip I have thought about for a long time, it was never something I felt I must do, it was more of a want. For this reason I really didn’t have expectations.
I booked my spot on Oceanwide Expeditions (yes that is a plug for the company because I can’t say enough good things) about a month before the departure date and a week later started to have buyers’ regret (seemed to be a common thought amongst backpackers on the ship). It cost much more than any trip I’ve ever done and probably more than I will spend the rest of this winter traveling. But those doubts are now washed away because the whole experience was incredible (did I mention that?).
I am not a cruise person (and despite this great experience, I definitely still am not) but left Ushuaia Argentina at the bottom of Patagonia on a ship, heading to Antarctica with 150 fellow passengers (the majority of whom apparently also identify as not cruise people). It is a specially designed ship for polar cruises and is considered medium size for Antarctic cruises. I chose this particular cruise because of the size and the additional activities they offered, beyond just zodiac rides and general landings. The two I cared most about were kayaking and camping but this trip also included mountaineering and photography workshops.
Boarding occurred the first day in the afternoon, which gave me and a couple hostelmates, that were also on my boat, the opportunity to wander around Ushuaia, make each other laugh (a lot), and buy boxed wine for the cruise. On board a large group of solo travelers and backpackers quickly formed and I made some friends on the trip from various countries, but my greatest bond remained throughout with my two friends from the hostel. Linda is from Vienna Austria so I will never see her again (🤪) but happily and surprisingly, Andreeeeeea lives 10 minutes from me in Colorado.
To get to Antarctica you first have to cruise through the Drake Passage, a stretch of water where the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans all converge. Depending on the conditions this section can either be the Drake Lake or Drake Shake. Luckily on the way down we got the lake, so we had calm seas. Our boat sped down to Antarctica allowing the itinerary to shift to start at the bottom of our route and head north. That gave us the opportunity to do and see more at the end of our voyage.
During the two and a half days sailing southward us passengers mingled in the lounge and learned what a lot of our life onboard would be like during the 13 days. Time was mainly spent chatting with passengers and staff in the lounge, lectures by the staff on a variety of Antarctica related topics, eating way too much food from the buffet meals or plated dinners, and napping.
This was when I confirmed to myself I was not a cruise person. By the end of the three days I was stir crazy. During that time I started walking laps around the boat or going up and down the stairs just to get a little exercise and movement. Later I found out many people felt the same way and were doing something similar.
During the opening presentation they commented how dependent the itinerary was based on the weather and the factors that could impact our ability to complete our landings, zodiac cruises, and special activities. They said we needed a flexible attitude as nothing ever goes as planned. Little did we know how true that was.
They showed us a weather map and although the Drake Passage was calm, and the first day or two in Antarctica looked decent, weather was going to be a factor in the coming days.
The plan called for us to be down and around Antarctica for seven days. Each day was similar in that we would have a buffet for breakfast and lunch and after each meal, every morning and afternoon, a zodiac cruise and/or walk on land. The zodiac cruises were where we got close to the humpback whales, glaciers, and icebergs, and the landings were usually around penguin colonies. If one of your special activities was scheduled, you did that rather than the zodiac cruise/landing.
With the forecast and my priorities in mind, I signed up to do my kayaking and camping activity the first day. That morning I landed on Antarctica and had my first close encounters with Antarctic penguins (just not too close as we were observing the proper 3 meter distance guideline). As we approached the landing on our zodiac we saw a rare leopard seal scouting the penguin colony and as we were leaving, we were the one lucky zodiac that saw the leopard seal finally snatch a penguin. We were all rooting both for and against the seal as we were amazed at what we were seeing.
In the afternoon Linda accomplished her lifelong goal of having the greatest kayaking partner, me. Our group had 14 kayaks and started out right away by seeing a sleeping humpback whale. It just got better as we paddled around icebergs, some with penguins or seals, watched penguins swim around us, and viewed the glaciers. We were in Antarctica.
When we thought it couldn’t get much better, we left in the evening for our camping excursion. This wasn’t a full on camping experience but a great opportunity to sleep on the ice. We were transported via zodiac to our site at 9:30pm where we each dug a snow pit to sleep in to protect us from the wind. Each of us was provided a warm sleeping bag, sleeping pads, liner, and a bivy sack to protect us from the elements. It wasn’t that cold, just around freezing (which is what the temperature was generally throughout our trip). It never got dark so most of us (very few people slept a lot) saw the skies clear and the colors of what could be considered a summer sunset and sunrise all at once. Little did we know that would pretty much be the last time any of us saw the sun again during an activity. During the night penguins waddled around the edges of our camp investigating the visitors.
The camping ended at 4am with our wake up call so we could get back to the ship and transit to the next location. There were almost seventy of us at this activity so it certainly wasn’t an intimate encounter but still a great experience. (Note: The camping activity is usually smaller groups up to 30 people but because of weather forecasts and Oceanwide’s serious desire to get everyone the opportunity, they increased the group size. If they had not done this everyone definitely would not have had the opportunity).
So after day one, I saw some whales, penguins, and a leopard seal snatch a penguin. I kayaked around glaciers and icebergs (and touched one), and not only stepped on my seventh continent but also, slept on my seventh continent. Not a bad start.
Often on the boat they would announce whale sightings and humpback whales would provide a show as they fed in the area. Sometimes close to the boat, sometimes a little further. Regardless it was always exciting to see. On the third day we were treated to a pod of orcas as they swam close to and sometimes under our boat as we transited to another location. People were giddy as the show went on for 20-30 minutes.
Each night the trip leader would recap the day and preview the next. This included a micro view of the weather forecast for the following day’s locations. We generally saw cloudy and slight precipitation forecasts where our activities took place and worse weather nearby. Locations were constantly modified as the captain and expedition staff searched for locations that would allow for excursions.
Only one morning did we encounter heavy snow but we were still able to do zodiac cruises around icebergs. Things took a turn when snow collected inside our zodiac and Linda asked our zodiac driver if it would be OK to throw one snowball at another zodiac. Well, next thing you know the great Antarctic zodiac snowball fight of 2024 was on. Ultimately, all the zodiacs began stockpiling snowballs and attacking whoever was nearby. The drivers even continued the fight amongst themselves once the passengers were on-board. Kid play continued that afternoon as a snow slide was built by the mountaineering staff at our landing spot, Portal Point.
That evening the dinner was an outdoor BBQ with complimentary mulled wine, wine, and beer (and non-alcoholic drinks for those not named me). The party was on with music and dancing until 10pm when we had to move inside to the bar/lounge area because the music was being played just below the captains quarters. I went to sleep at 11:30pm because I had another of my special activities the next day.
On the morning of Friday the 13th, myself and 20 of my fellow passengers setoff on our mountaineering activity. At the bottom of Portal Point we all roped up in groups of 6 with snow shoes on our feet and ice axes in our hand. Our guide, who I was first in line behind on the rope, was the leader of the group so we were the lead team. And with his calming words of “Keep the lines tight because I am seriously, seriously, concerned about the crevasses today”, we set off on our journey. He was even more concerned when another guide told him it was Friday the 13th.
I was well aware that he and I were the ones most likely to fall into a crevasse so as we started, I thought I couldn’t be in a worse position. Initially as he broke ground through the deep snow and I was forced to do the same, as his steps in the snow were too deep to utilize, I thought I couldn’t be in a worse position. However, as I looked back at the 4 people on my team behind me, and the 3 rope teams following, I realized I would have hated to be anywhere else. As Johnny and I forged the trail, everyone else was just walking up a smooth path cut through the snow. I was the only one that could see and feel the genuine stress our leader felt as he punched into the snow with his pole before each step, searching for the hidden crevasses. As he spotted crevasses and changed directions I was clearing the way through fresh snow.
Ultimately there were just too many crevasses and we had to turn around less than a mile from the start, and short of the summit. Luckily, this was the special activity I cared the least about, figuring it would just be a slightly longer hike with slightly more elevation gain then our daily excursions, and it actually wasn’t even that. However, because I was second in line and broke the trail, and saw and felt the stress of the lead guide, that made the activity fun.
Near the end of our days in Antarctica, during the nightly recap, the trip leader showed the macro weather map and we all realized just how lucky we were. What we hadn’t seen previously was the near tropical storm winds that were swirling around us. But somehow, the Oceanwide team had continued to find spots where we could get off the boat for all of our excursions and activities.
Camping for instance was split into two groups, ours went the first night but the second group’s night was cancelled twice before finally being successful on the third try. Daily activities like my mountaineering, were sometimes cancelled and rescheduled (on that occasion we actually roped up during our first attempt but were called back to the boat because of worsening weather). Having seven days around Antarctica gave enough time to reschedule activities that required better weather and the Oceanwide team really prioritized making sure everyone got to do the activities they wanted.
Because we made such good time coming down through the Drake Passage, we were able to stop at two places this cruise usually doesn’t, Deception Island and Half Moon Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands. Deception Island is where we did our polar plunge. Yep that’s right, I have now stepped, slept, and swam at the seven continents. Well, swam might be generous as I dove in and ran the hell out. It was really, really, cold (duh).
From there we bid adieu to Antarctica and began our voyage home. Myself and some others talked about wanting the Drake shake on the way back so we could get the full experience. Although most of the ride was in the three to four range (out of ten), for one night we had six out of ten and the boat was swaying heavily. Although I wore a seasickness prevention patch on the way down, coming home I was au natural and still did not get seasick, it was actually fun. I guess now I can get a t-shirt that says I beat the Drake.
Once back in Ushuaia we all had regrets about leaving the boat. It had become our home with our friends and we were having adventures. We wanted more. We wanted to stay. However, about an hour later that morning, Andrea, Linda and I all commented how nice it was to be off the boat and have the ability to walk around freely.
We took advantage of the nice day in Ushuaia and hiked for 9 miles past a glacial lake up towards a glacier (evidently we didn’t have enough snow and ice the past two weeks). After days of being cooped up on the boat, it was pure joy getting the exercise and walking for so long. Afterwards, with reminiscence on our mind, we had beers at a bar overlooking the port and watched our ship, Hondius, depart and sail off on its next great adventure. Then we had many more drinks. Sadly, the following day it was time for me to leave Patagonia and say goodbye to Andrea and Linda, and after several long hugs, my Antarctic journey officially came to an end.
Bubbles Up!!