Buenos Aries to Ushuaia

So this is where the real excitement starts.

Travel really isn’t romantic! Up at 4.30am and down to breakfast at 5am. Check out and all aboard the bus to the airport at 6.30am. It had fallen cool in BA last evening and this morning’s 16 degrees had us shivering.

The river Plate. The widest river in the world at 240km, according to our guide. Cross it to find Uruguay.

Here is our plane – well one just like it at any rate. Boeing 737-800. Think the pilot might have been in mig fighters at some point.

3 hours 20 mins later we descended into Ushuaia. Though I did not have a window seat a fellow passenger shared a couple of pics as we came in.

We were driven by bus into Ushuaia and given a few hours to explore. Today is the longest day of the year here, about 18 hours. Ushuaia has the same one way streets as Buenos Aires. Many shops were closed due to the siesta until 4pm but we did find a few open and I found my first Christmas decoration.

Our first glimpse of the Ocean Endeavour.

A few street pics and a knitted handrail – most likely to save fingers being frozen on in extreme temperatures.

Found our first wildlife.

And some local flowers.

The surrounding mountains are magnificent and photos do not do them justice.

Time to find some food and the beer of the day which we found in a little deli type place tucked into an arcade.

Beagle beer – well this one at least was rated a 4 – too sweet. Clearly named for the Beagle Channel which we will sail down later today.

The sandwich was pretty good though.

We are both feeling pretty tired as we wait for the bus to head for the ship. Finally we climb aboard about four o’clock.

There is loads of space in our cabin. We have two portholes and two TVs and there are three rooms really so a suite.

We had our first briefing at 5pm. There are a huge amount of staff. The doctor was very somber about the potential for seasickness saying on one journey he pulled his mattress on the floor as he couldn’t stay in it. There is a Sea sick clinic tonight. Solan, our leader, discussed the weather Website called Windy. Blue is good. Green 10-15knots yellow 20-25 orange 30-35. Red purple not good at all. Going into orange to red in the evening tomorrow. We are heading to West Falklands first and then east to Stanley. Mandatory safety drill also took place.

Delayed departure due to high winds in the Beagle Channel. We finally left about 7.15pm.

Dinner in the restaurant at 7.30pm was superb. Pea and ham soup, beef, barramundi, chocolate tart to die for.

After dinner we had a boot and parka party. The parkas are fabulous.

Went out and watched our way down the Beagle Channel.

Saw out first penguin and first albatross. Wow!

So the end of an amazing day. Time for bed and then tomorrow out into open sea!

I’ll leave you with our trip overview:

This is a truly epic adventure through the remote Falkland Islands, the wildlife paradise of South Georgia and the extraordinary landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula. You’ll enjoy unforgettable encounters with untamed wildlife in a vast, dramatic and spectacular setting; you’ll take a step back in time at historically significant sites; and you’ll be mesmerized by the rich diversity and contrasts that make these regions so captivating and unique.

Watch a wild, isolated and extreme world come to life as scores of penguins dive for food, herds of elephant seals bathe in the sun, and pods of orcas pass you by. You’ll be transported to your own wildlife documentary, staged in a magnificent setting of mountains, sea and ice.

Your gateway for this expedition is Ushuaia, Argentina. Nestled within the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, Ushuaia has a small-town feel yet boasts many shops, museums, cafés and restaurants that you can enjoy before your voyage. The average temperature in Ushuaia in winter is zero. Patagonia has dry, almost desert like conditions being sheltered from the persistent westerly winds by the southern Andes.

Help Inspire Change

Are you interested in environmentalism? Learning first-hand from scientists, researchers and special guests onboard is an eco-tourist’s dream come true. Having a chance to meet these experts is truly inspirational. Our partnerships with international charities make for very rewarding and educational expeditions.

Penguin Watch identifies risk factors to the Antarctic penguin population, conducting long-term rookery monitoring, and genetic analysis to obtain information on how these populations are changing and declining

Their scientists will be participating in our Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica voyages in 2018 and 2019.

Hopefully the expedition brochure can still be found here.