Index
Day 1 - Flying
Day 2 - World Cup
Day 3 - Buenos Aires
Day 4 - Ushuaia
Day 5 - Drake Passage
Day 6 - Antarctic Circle
Day 7 - Antarctica
Day 8 - Antarctica
Day 9 - Antarctica
Day 10 - Antarctica
Day 11 - Antarctica
Day 12 - Drake Shake
Day 13 - Ushuaia
Day 14 - Return
Antarctica
The normal 45 minute drive to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) was a mess as expected. Leaving at something like 2:30am, by the time the first rays of sunlight emerged, we were still 10km (or was it 10 miles??) from the airport, and even the freeways and on-ramps were littered with parked cars. Sunrise at least lead to people beginning to return to their cars, and by 6:00am the freeway to the airport was covered in pedestrians returning to their vehicles.
Not quite sure how long after 6:00am we pulled in for our scheduled 7:40am flight, but it quickly became apparent that most flights were going to be late. Not sure how much it was the crews out celebrating that night/morning and how much was the crews themselves being stuck in traffic to the airport, and it turns out most airlines pretty much gave up estimating how much flights would be delayed. Our planned 7:40am departure stopped being updated at 8:30am, and boarding did not actually commence until 9:33am.
The cool part was seeing not only a Lufthansa 747-8I on the tarmac, but also the Argentina national team's airplane (an Aerolineas Argentinas A330-200) as we were bused to our charter flight, an Aerolineas Argentinas 737 MAX 8. Even more surprising was a surprisingly decent meal. Decidedly not-cool was the tiny overhead bins (apparently it's possible to order a 737 MAX without the new SpaceBins??!?) and the fact that the poorly located in-armrest USB power ports weren't turned on. At least, despite being stuck in the very last row, there was only one other passenger in my row so there was a bit of elbow room with the empty middle seat (small victories!).
The delay out of Buenos Aires meant most of the Ushuaia activites were canceled, but they still boarded us on to a little catamaran for a not-too-bad-but-not-great lunch of chicken stew and a cruise of the bay, out to a colony of comorants, seal lions, and a lone elephant seal. So got to see a few things?
Boarding home for the next ten days, the National Geographic Endurance, was next. Almost brand-new, commissioned in 2020 along with her sister ship, the National Geographic Resolution, the National Geographic Endurance is part of a recent boom in Antartic tourism, with over a dozen new ships commissioned or converted in recent years. Everything is super nice, with a designed capacity of 128 passengers and 100 crew, very well appointed cabins, two observation lounges and two dining rooms, two igloos and four (I think) hot tubs?? Not to mention a Polar Class 5 rating being a true icebreaker for year-round operation.
Obligatory safety demonstrations and whatnot over the rest of the afternoon, then as we set sail in the Beagle Channel, a buffet dinner commenced. I found the food on my one previous National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions trip to be disappointing and was pleasantly surprised that food here was much better. Have to keep in mind it's still a cruise ship catering to 154 passengers, but for the $arm + $leg they charge, food that actually tastes good would be nice...