We got up at 5 am on Tuesday morning so we could eat a quick breakfast and then board the shuttle bus at 5:45 to head back to the airport. We were lucky to be in Viking Group 2 heading back to the airport. Group 1 left at 3:10 am.

Viking had put all of its guests and crew in two hotels, the Intercontinental and the Hilton.  There were several shuttle busses taking everyone back to the airport on Tuesday morning where Viking had chartered two commercial planes to take all of us to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to meet up with the cruise ship. It was kind of strange to think that everyone on our plane was headed to Antarctica – a plane full of intrepid explorers!

Our 3-1/2-hour flight landed in Ushuaia at noon. We checked in on the ship and went through safety training. We had a few hours to kill, so the four of us walked into town and strolled around. We were expecting a quaint little village and instead discovered a city of 82,000 people nestled in a little bay. The town is a jumping off point for several cruise companies and is also a stopover for South American cruises that are sailing around Cape Horn.  As a result, the town is chock full of tourist shops, souvenirs, and restaurants. I don’t think we got to see the “real” Ushuaia.

We were all back on the ship for the 5 pm daily briefing. The daily briefings give updates on what to expect the following day – weather, boat and land excursions, on-board activities, lectures, musical performances, films. Then we headed to the Explorer’s Lounge at the bow of the ship to have a cocktail, bid adieu to the Americas, and watch Ushuaia disappear as the ship set sail.

We had dinner together and then headed to bed. After a shortened sleep the night before in Buenos Aires and then the red-eye flight the night before that, we were ready to hit the hay. We were a little nervous about rough waters on the Drake Passage, but we managed to get to sleep.  Now did we stay asleep all night? Hmmm…

Our flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires was long (10 hours) but uneventful. And, yes, I did manage to pack everything in carry-on.  Here’s proof:

We did see some interesting things during the flight including orange lightning off in the distance. We also sighted many lights in the water off the coast of Chile. We thought maybe they were oil rigs or other permanent structures in the sea, because they were too regular to be ships. And then, a beautiful sunrise over the Andes.

We’re on a trip with Viking Cruises, so representatives met us at the airport when we arrived and guided us to the transportation shuttle. Viking had booked hotel rooms for everyone, so we hopped onto a shuttle with 30 other people and headed to the Intercontinental Hotel. We checked in, got our daily download from Viking, and then headed out to explore the city.

Monday was a public holiday to honor the Immaculate Conception. Our hotel was in a business district and, since it was a holiday, almost everything was closed. 

Our Viking rep told us to go to Puerto Madero neighborhood and assured us that lots of people would be strolling along the canal on this holiday day, and that there would plenty of restaurants open for lunch. As it turns out, Jolie and Lucy got booked into a hotel in that area, so off we went to meet up and spend the afternoon together.

There is a large canal there that the federal government constructed to act as a shipping port, but either it was never used as a port or only used for a couple of years. The shipping needs outgrew the size of the port, and the area was essentially abandoned. Fast forward several years, and this area is Buenos Aires’ newest neighborhood with lots of recent development, pedestrian zones, apartment buildings, hotels, restaurants and bars.

The four of us walked around for a little, exploring the area, and then stopped for a leisurely lunch of typical Argentine food – steak, pasta, grilled veggies, empanada, and a couple of apps.

After lunch, we visited an old ship that had been decommissioned and was now a museum. After paying 70 cents each for admission, we climbed aboard and explored the ship. It’s always interesting to check out ships and submarines and imagine what it’s like to live on those vessels for months at a time.

And once upon a time, there was a dog that boarded this particular ship and became the crew mascot and was so beloved that, when he died, he was taxidermied and kept on ship as an honorary sailor.

After an afternoon of exploration and catching up with friends, we headed back to the hotel for a light dinner. Due to the red-eye flight to Buenos Aires, we went to bed at 9 pm. We also had to get up at 5 am the next morning, so we wanted to get some good sleep.  We will return to Buenos Aires on Dec 13, and we’re looking forward to a week in the city so we can explore its various neighborhoods.

A few months ago, I was texting my BFF, Jolie.  (Yeah, yeah, Juli and Jolie.) We hadn’t talked in a while, so I was catching her up on my life – cataracts, arthritis, maybe glaucoma – and she said, “Well I just got a huge promotion at work and then Lucy and I are going to Antarctica.”  I was speechless for a split second and then yelled, “OMG can I go with you?”  Well, I yelled via text.  And two days later Chad and I had booked tickets on the same trip.

I never thought I would actually go to Antarctica, but once the opportunity was staring me in the face, it became real.  I thought, I could wait until I retire when I’m older and my knees are tired and I might have physically difficulties, or I could just go now RIGHT NOW with my BFF of 50 years and her wife.  Oh, and with my husband, which was a touch and go decision for a little bit because of the potential for epic seasickness.  (More later on Drake’s Passage, the roughest water on the planet.)

To prepare for our trip, we had to purchase a few layers – wool socks, sock liners, long underwear, base layers, fleece, waterproof Gor-tex gloves, wool glove liners, wool neck gators – things I never thought I would purchase as someone who lives in the South.  The travel company provides a parka, winter overpants, and boots.  You have to give the pants and boots back, but you get to keep the parka.  Which will be so useful in Georgia.

The Antarctica portion of the trip takes about 2 weeks, itinerary is below.  And then we decided that, as long as we’re flying all that way, let’s spend Christmas week in Buenos Aires because 1) Buenos Aires is beautiful and 2) Christmas in a Catholic country is probably pretty amazing.  And thus our December in the Southern Hemisphere was born.

We went to the Emory University travel clinic primarily to get seasick meds (Drake’s Passage), but we came away with all kinds of prescriptions and vaccines for covid, Hep A, Hep B, typhoid, tetanus, traveler’s tummy. The travel clinic was doing its job and preparing us for illnesses that aren’t so common in the US but that we might be exposed to in Argentina.  The nurses also told us not to eat the street food in Argentina.  As if. I’ve already figured out where the food trucks are in B.A.

Now we’re finishing up the work week, super-cleaning the house for the Rover house sitters, and thinking about how we’re going to get all of our stuff into carry-on bags because we don’t check luggage.  Here’s a photo of my stuff from our 6-week trip to Italy in 2018 – carry-on is possible! But cold-weather clothes for Antarctica are bulky, so there’s that.

Here are some things we expect to see in Antarctica – gentoo penguins, Weddell seals, whales, glaciers, antarctic terns, giant petrels, other birds, whaling heritage, geology, fur seals, chinstrap penguins, and southern elephant seals.

Chad plans to unplug, but I will not!  I will be the Intrepid Travel Blogger!  (Except for maybe the Drake’s Passage seasickness part.) So check back for more posts over the next month if you want to follow along.

Itinerary:

Day 0 – depart Atlanta 7:30 pm

Day 1 – land in Buenos Aires 7:30 am, meet up with Jolie and Lucy at the Intercontinental Hotel, spend the day exploring the historic city center, stay the night

Day 2 – fly to Ushuaia, southernmost town in Argentina, board the boat, pray to the Gods of Calm Water

Day 3 – sail Drake’s Passage

Day 4 – arrive in Antarctica and anchor for a week, take a Zodiac cruise up the coast to explore

Day 5 – hike on Danco Island

Day 6 – travel down the coast in a Special Ops Boat, whatever that is

Day 7 – hike around Nekko Harbor

Day 8 – hike on Portal Point

Day 9 – hike around Mikkelson Harbor

Day 10 – hike Half Moon Island

Day 11 – Drake’s Passage, have mercy on us

Day 12 – scenic sail around Cape Horn, Chile

Day 13 – arrive back at Ushuaia, fly to Buenos Aires

Day 14-20 – Christmas in Argentina, lots of things to see and eat, more details to come, red eye flight out

Day 21 – arrive in Atlanta 5 am, Sunday – tired and maybe cranky at each other, but loving the experience…once in a lifetime…