The White Continent onboard the Antarctic Dream

I left home last night for an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After 12 hours in the air, our plane finally landed in Buenos Aires. I was a little tired, but ready to see a new city. The customs process took a little while, but soon enough I was looking for my bags circling the baggage claim. It is always a great feeling to see your …

After a continental breakfast – certainly not the United States version. I had fresh fruit, hot breads, jam, pastries, lots of juice and tea. My flight to Ushuaia left out of the domestic airport in Buenos Aires. It was only about a 15 minute drive to the airport. My flight was on time, and soon enough we were in the air. Our flight lasted …

Once again, a wonderful continental breakfast. I love the fresh fruit, pastries, warm bread and tea in the morning. I was picked up at 8:00AM for a full day adventure to canoe the Beagle Channel and hike on Gabel Island. Canal Fun operated the tour. I was very impressed with the knowledge of their guides. Our canoes were actually small inflatable …

Today I was picked up around 9:00 AM for a trip to Tierra del Fuego. Up to this point, the weather was wonderful. Today, it decided to rain. I put on my rain gear and started a hike through the park. Once again, we were given natural history lessons by very knowledgeable guides. Argentinean guides have to go through many years of schooling before …

Today, I start my Antarctica trip!! I sat myself down to eat my breakfast and chatted a bit with the owners. Then I packed by gear and headed to town. I left my bags at the hotel because I could not board the boat until 4:00 PM. I explored Ushuaia a bit more. At about three, I headed back to the hotel to collect my bags, then made my way to the …

Feb 18 and 19th were spent on the Drake Passage. We certainly did not get the Drake Lake -- but more the rath of the Drake. I had never seen waves so big. Over three quarters of the boat was sick. I did not get to meet many people until the passage was finished. I don’t know how I did not get sick. I took Dramamine the night before we left, …

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We have arrived!! We had an early wake up call and charged to breakfast. We were then split into two zodiac teams -- Shakelton and Amundsen. They called one team, and they were able to get into the boats. Once they were on shore, then our team was able to go. We could fit about 15 people into one boat. I was impressed with the drivers. They were …

We are moving on. I can not express the beauty of Antarctica. The land features are massive. Cliffs of rock and ice jut straight out of the water -- exposing harsh terrain. Our boat looks like a miniature toy next to the land. I had never seen so many glaciers in my life! I will never forget the beauty of this place. Today we landed on Cuverville …