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
Disembarking and saying farewell to the crew was both exciting and a bit sad. Watching National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions immediately restock for the next voyage was a reminder of just how tight a business this is, and the crew knowing they were going straight back out into 15 meter/50 foot seas was a stark reminder of just how different their life is.
Quick stop by the maritime museum and a local hotel before the return flight to Buenos Aires. Turns out quite a few of the the crew were also going home, so got to catch up with a few of them on the very full charter flight to EZE. Arrival in EZE was perhaps the one blemish in the whole experience for me*; National Geographic/Lindblad Expedition basically left passengers departing that night in the terminal the whole afternoon. I forget how long everyone on AA and UA flights that day waited in the terminal, but I think it was a good three hours til check-in and a good seven hours til that nights' flights.
Still, being stuck in an airport is a familiar experience for me, and once check-in, I was able to enjoy a cheap (if mediocre) steak inside the terminal. The Outback Steakhouse chain was the only one I could find, but even in Argentina, Outback can't screw up a steak too badly, and at $15 (US) it was certainly affordable enough, even if it was supposed to be $0 (aka free) thanks to my Priority Pass membership that they refused to take. *sigh* At least the Star Alliance Lounge was an okay place to spend the next hour after that before the flight.
The return home wasn't bad, although by that point it was a long day. Several other passengers (not on the cruise) looked equally worn out; I managed to stay awake for the unexpectedly solid shrimp pasta that United served for dinner before passing out. Technically on the 31st, awoke to United's mediocre breakfast, killed a bit of time at the Polaris Lounge at IAH, then said farewell to the last of the passengers on my cruise** and boarded one last flight back home.
* = many other passengers had much worse experiences on this trip. Apparently American Airlines had severe operational delays on both the recommended arrival flight as well as the one the day before (for the cruise before, on the older National Geographic Explorer). 12+ hour delays due to at least one mechanical issue, and several passengers missed their sailing on the National Geographic Explorer entirely, and fortunately were able to be rebooked on the cruise I was on. Hence despite a nominal capacity of 128, the National Geographic Endurance actually had 154 passengers on board (!).
** = after more than a week you got to recognize other National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions Antarctica trip passengers by the distinctive metal water bottles and orange parks peeking out from everyone's luggage, not to mention the occasional stuffed walrus.