Antarctica - here I come!

Excursions to the surrounding wilderness and Antarctica begin either at Punta Arenas or Ushuaia.   Punta Arenas is a city near the tip of Chile's southernmost Patagonia region, about 150 miles northwest of Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost town in South America and therefore, the world.   Our trip will be almost entirely in Argentina, except possibly Puerto Williams, Chile as a technical stop.  Primary port of entry to Argentina is Buenos Aires.  From there, Ushuaia (USH) is 1459 miles south.  Another stop on our trip, Iguassu Falls (IGR) is 650 miles north.  It borders with Brazil and Paraguay on the other side of the river.  If it is possible to visit Iguassu Falls from the Brazil side, which is more panoramic but farther away, without getting a visa for Brazil, that would be fantastic.  Argentina highlights: Argentina arguably has the tastiest beef, the sexiest dance, the most immaculately dressed people, some of the ...

About Antarctica: The name Antarctica has its roots in the Greek language.  The ancient Greeks assumed that there was a continent at the bottom of the globe to balance the large landmasses of the northern hemisphere, which they named Antarktikos.  Its name originated from being situated opposite the region in the north called Arkticos, which means “near the bear,” after the constellation Ursa Major. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in size after Asia, Africa, North America and South America.  To give some sense of scale, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia, (and bigger than all of US and Mexico.).  About 250 million years ago, Antarctica was located in the subtropical band of the planet, covered with abundant forests and inhabited by reptiles and amphibians. At this time, it was part of the supercontinent of Gondwana, from which it permanently separated 65 million years ago and began to drift towards the South Pole.   The territo...