This trip...
Although this would be a trip to the most remote area, not to mention the most unexplored and uninhabited continent, it wasn't as far south. Near the end of November, well in to Spring (think Memorial Day in the US), there was still too much snow/ice to even reach Port Lockroy - let alone cross the Antarctic Circle. (Port Lockroy runs a post office from Nov - Mar where your postcards are stamped with official Antarctica stamp and eventually delivered to you or whoever you mailed them to. Our ship's mailbox collected (and held) our postcards until the post office opened later in the season.)
In comparison to our Southmost point of 64.63 degrees on this expedition, Tromso Norway (69.65 degrees North) and Barrow Alaska (71.29 degrees North) were both well above the Arctic Circle in the North where you'd experience 24 hour days for a couple of months straight during Summers. The day in Antarctica for us was still fairly long - nearly 20 hours (3:41 am to 10:52 PM) with the four hour night being barely pitch dark.
Ocean Nova Air Cruises offers expeditions to Antarctica during Nov-Feb with options to fly to Antarctica one or both ways instead of enduring two day navigation through the infamous Drake Passage. We had heard horror stories of both options - sea sickness during the Passage as well as unreliability of flights due to weather conditions in Antarctica. Not wanting to take chances with flight cancellations, we opted for the entire sea expedition as follows:
In comparison to our Southmost point of 64.63 degrees on this expedition, Tromso Norway (69.65 degrees North) and Barrow Alaska (71.29 degrees North) were both well above the Arctic Circle in the North where you'd experience 24 hour days for a couple of months straight during Summers. The day in Antarctica for us was still fairly long - nearly 20 hours (3:41 am to 10:52 PM) with the four hour night being barely pitch dark.
Ocean Nova Air Cruises offers expeditions to Antarctica during Nov-Feb with options to fly to Antarctica one or both ways instead of enduring two day navigation through the infamous Drake Passage. We had heard horror stories of both options - sea sickness during the Passage as well as unreliability of flights due to weather conditions in Antarctica. Not wanting to take chances with flight cancellations, we opted for the entire sea expedition as follows:
- Day 1 : Embark in Ushuaia, Argentina Nov 20
- Days 2-3 : Drake Passage Nov 21-22
- Days 4-7 : Antarctic Exploration Nov 23-26 *
- Days 8-9 : At Sea Nov 27-28
- Day 10 : Disembark in Ushuaia Nov 29
* In reality, to avoid the next severe weather system, our captain decided to begin return trip mid-day on Day 7. There was still some rough weather for us, but the next expedition leaving Ushuaia on Nov 29 was going to get the real brunt of it.
The primary goal was to explore the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, cruise past majestic blue icebergs, or catch a glimpse of elephant seals and penguins on the ice. We did all that and much more.
Ours was the second sailing for the season for Ocean Nova. Starting their next trip (Nov 29), they would remain in the Antarctic Peninsula for 45 days straight, receiving passengers from incoming flights and sending them back on the next outgoing flights. Ours was therefore the last chance with no flight option. The expedition was unsold until much closer to the date, and we got a great price. An email from Adventure Life caught our attention (and of many others.) In the end, 23 of the 72 passengers on our expedition came through Adventure Life.
Of course, cruise operators worry about flight delays all the time, and urge you to arrive in Ushuaia at least one day in advance. Some people had been there for up to five days. We later met one Canadian couple (from a different ship) on our flight back to Buenos Aires. They had planned to -and did- get married in Antarctica (How romantic!) and had arrived five days earlier - sans their bags. So they spent $3600 to purchase everything again (no refunds) - only for their bags to turn up just before departure. In the end, it worked out well for them, but the point being bags can and still do get lost. On the flip side, our reservation was on Delta. We had one checked bag for all our cold weather clothing for Antarctica. Each time my bag was loaded on our flight, I would get a text message letting me know. How about that!
Because I love to live on the edge, we arrived at 1:30 PM on the day of the cruise and made it to the pier half hour before boarding began at 3 PM. In the meantime, the 5-6 of us who were waiting to board became BFFs for the duration of the cruise.
Annually 30,000 explorers visit Antarctica aboard 15-35 ships at a time. To maintain remoteness of experience, ships coordinate which landing sites to visit and when. I didn't notice ANY other ship during the entire period, although someone else had spotted one leaving just as we were approaching a landing spot. Being the first ones to blaze a trail through snowy landscape is an experience in itself. Those who visit later in the season either don't see snow on the trails (it was supposedly too late for us as well, but there sure was a lot of snow. And that made our hikes the more memorable.)
Of the 72 people on board Ocean Nova, most were from the US/Canada, a third from China/ Hong Kong/ Taiwan - none of whom knew each other beforehand. To my surprise, nearly half of all passengers were young - 30 and under - some obviously "funded" by their parents. The youngest one was 19 (a Freshman in college) from Taiwan, who happened to be sitting next to me on our flight to Ushuaia. There were 4-5 teachers (as well as some others) who had taken an extended time off and were traveling through South America and elsewhere for many months before joining this expedition. Most were single (or traveling alone), with only 4-5 couples (including one that got married on Antarctica) and 4-5 mother/daughters or father/sons traveling together.
I feel that I travel a lot - and I do. But so had just about everyone else on the ship. The 19 year old mentioned above bragged about having traveled 30 countries on six continents, and Antarctica being her 7th. That's what I expected everyone on the ship to say, but to my surprise, more than half were missing one or two continents - mainly Australia and/or Africa. Even the crew members who have been on ships for 20-30 years were also missing some continents.
In case you are anxious to see some photos right away, here is an Antarctica overview.The primary goal was to explore the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, cruise past majestic blue icebergs, or catch a glimpse of elephant seals and penguins on the ice. We did all that and much more.
Ours was the second sailing for the season for Ocean Nova. Starting their next trip (Nov 29), they would remain in the Antarctic Peninsula for 45 days straight, receiving passengers from incoming flights and sending them back on the next outgoing flights. Ours was therefore the last chance with no flight option. The expedition was unsold until much closer to the date, and we got a great price. An email from Adventure Life caught our attention (and of many others.) In the end, 23 of the 72 passengers on our expedition came through Adventure Life.
Of course, cruise operators worry about flight delays all the time, and urge you to arrive in Ushuaia at least one day in advance. Some people had been there for up to five days. We later met one Canadian couple (from a different ship) on our flight back to Buenos Aires. They had planned to -and did- get married in Antarctica (How romantic!) and had arrived five days earlier - sans their bags. So they spent $3600 to purchase everything again (no refunds) - only for their bags to turn up just before departure. In the end, it worked out well for them, but the point being bags can and still do get lost. On the flip side, our reservation was on Delta. We had one checked bag for all our cold weather clothing for Antarctica. Each time my bag was loaded on our flight, I would get a text message letting me know. How about that!
Because I love to live on the edge, we arrived at 1:30 PM on the day of the cruise and made it to the pier half hour before boarding began at 3 PM. In the meantime, the 5-6 of us who were waiting to board became BFFs for the duration of the cruise.
Annually 30,000 explorers visit Antarctica aboard 15-35 ships at a time. To maintain remoteness of experience, ships coordinate which landing sites to visit and when. I didn't notice ANY other ship during the entire period, although someone else had spotted one leaving just as we were approaching a landing spot. Being the first ones to blaze a trail through snowy landscape is an experience in itself. Those who visit later in the season either don't see snow on the trails (it was supposedly too late for us as well, but there sure was a lot of snow. And that made our hikes the more memorable.)
Of the 72 people on board Ocean Nova, most were from the US/Canada, a third from China/ Hong Kong/ Taiwan - none of whom knew each other beforehand. To my surprise, nearly half of all passengers were young - 30 and under - some obviously "funded" by their parents. The youngest one was 19 (a Freshman in college) from Taiwan, who happened to be sitting next to me on our flight to Ushuaia. There were 4-5 teachers (as well as some others) who had taken an extended time off and were traveling through South America and elsewhere for many months before joining this expedition. Most were single (or traveling alone), with only 4-5 couples (including one that got married on Antarctica) and 4-5 mother/daughters or father/sons traveling together.
I feel that I travel a lot - and I do. But so had just about everyone else on the ship. The 19 year old mentioned above bragged about having traveled 30 countries on six continents, and Antarctica being her 7th. That's what I expected everyone on the ship to say, but to my surprise, more than half were missing one or two continents - mainly Australia and/or Africa. Even the crew members who have been on ships for 20-30 years were also missing some continents.
The main wildlife attraction in Antarctica is birds (penguin, albatross, skua, petrel and others) as well as seals and whales. Among natural wonders, glaciers and Icebergs certainly top the list, the vastness and serenity of the enormous landscape is something to behold.
Our daily shore excursions were hikes to penguin colonies - sometimes on flat lands, sometimes up the hills. We also hiked the caldera at Deception Island's dormant volcano, roamed through chunks of ice and icebergs in a Zodiac (the miracle transport machine), and walked on sea ice sheet after parking our ship right in to it. We stepped foot on three islands (part of South Shetland Islands) as well as twice on the main Antarctic Peninsula. And of course, we jumped in the frigid waters like penguins - WHY???? just because! Here is a collage of day in our life at Antarctica -
Our daily shore excursions were hikes to penguin colonies - sometimes on flat lands, sometimes up the hills. We also hiked the caldera at Deception Island's dormant volcano, roamed through chunks of ice and icebergs in a Zodiac (the miracle transport machine), and walked on sea ice sheet after parking our ship right in to it. We stepped foot on three islands (part of South Shetland Islands) as well as twice on the main Antarctic Peninsula. And of course, we jumped in the frigid waters like penguins - WHY???? just because! Here is a collage of day in our life at Antarctica -
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