Day 1 Ushuaia
Arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina, at any time and transfer independently to our hotel. The evening is at your leisure.
Day 2 Ushuaia/Embarkation
This morning is free to explore the southernmost city in the world. You have time for last-minute shopping, an optional excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, or a hike to Marshall Glacier. In late afternoon (at approximately 4 PM) we board our ship and get settled in our cabins for embarkation. As you sail eastward down the Beagle Channel, you'll observe numerous birds and other wildlife associated with the channel. (BD)
Days 3–4 Drake Passage
Your adventure begins as we head south across the famous Drake Passage named for Sir Francis Drake—16th-century English mariner and privateer. We travel 600 miles from the tip of South America towards the Antarctic Peninsula—a distant extension of the Andes Mountains separated by continental movements over the past 150 million years. Once offshore, the marine environment in "the Drake" is as rich as anywhere on Earth and thousands of seabirds, including many black-browed and wandering albatrosses, and several species of whales and dolphins may be seen. We cross the Antarctic Convergence. The region marks the area where warmer northern waters collide with colder Antarctic currents. During a short transition, the water temperature plummets, the air gets colder and the species composition of ship-following birds becomes noticeably different. Icebergs become a familiar sight. When not on deck, you can prepare for our Antarctic landings during a series of natural and human history lectures. (All meals are included while aboard ship.)
Days 5–8 South Shetlands & Antarctic Peninsula
Over these four days we navigate southward, stopping in the South Shetland Islands, and continue through the Bransfield Strait to the Antarctic Peninsula—the Great White Continent. Each day you will have two excursions by Zodiac, weather and ice conditions permitting. The area teems with wildlife activity. Whales can be seen in great numbers, penguins gather in colonies with their fast-growing chicks, seals haul out onto beaches and ice floes, and seabirds trail in our ship's wake. Many whale species make the krill-rich waters south of the Antarctic Convergence their summer home. Humpback whales have made a strong recovery from whaling in this area and minke whales are common in the peninsula region.
You may encounter several species of penguins during your voyage, including Adélie penguins with their classic tuxedoed look, chinstrap penguins identified by the distinctive black line connecting its black cap to below the chin, and gentoo penguins with their bright orange bill and white band above the eyes.
As you keep a lookout from the Bridge or deck of the ship you are surrounded by the sheer beauty and the breathtaking scenery of rugged snowcapped mountains, massive glaciers, and chill blue and while icebergs. You will learn about the remarkable and dramatic history of Antarctic exploration at this remote end of the world. James Cook was the first to circumnavigate the continent. In December 1911, Roald Amundson's expedition was the first to reach the South Pole—while Captain Robert Scott's expedition famously arrived 35 days too late to make the claim and perished on the return journey. Best-known is Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose ship, Endurance, was lost in pack ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915—and who set off across ice and sea in one of the greatest polar adventures ever told.
Days 9–10 Drake Passage
We spend these two days at sea, sailing north across the Drake Passage. Cape Horn looms on the horizon as we make our return trip up the Beagle Channel toward Ushuaia.
Day 11 Ushuaia
Arriving in Ushuaia, we disembark the ship and depart for home. (B)