Saturday 2 February – Day 1: Stanley & Bleaker Island, Falklands before we travel to South Georgia & Antarctica The information we received from One Ocean about our 18-day adventure through the southern globe was: THE CLASSIC VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY VISITING THREE UNIQUE LOCATIONS This is One Ocean’s most far-reaching polar expedition and includes visits to three different locations. The sub-Antarctic Falkland Islands and the island of South Georgia are home to a proliferation of unique wildlife and birdlife. There are penguin rookeries with more than 100,000 nesting birds and the beaches are covered in fur seals and elephant seals. Seabirds, including many of the albatross species call these islands home, nesting and raising their young in this wild and remote environment. Both locations feature a fascinating history and stunning scenery. To the south lies Ant ... read more

Punta Arenas, Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica and Southern Patagonia 28 January to 2 March 2019 Tuesday 28 January to 2 February 2019 In an excited state at 5.00am we caught an Uber to the airport to catch the 8.15am Qantas/LAN flight to Punta Arenas via Auckland and Santiago. There is no quick and easy way to get to the southern tip of Chile. We had 3 hours wait in Auckland and 1 ½ hours in Santiago. After lots of movies and a few hours sleep, we arrived safely at the Punta Arena Airport at around 7.00pm. This is 29kms out of town, so we caught a taxi and arrived at the Plaza Hotel which was just next to the Plaza de Armas. Dropping our bags and after a quick shower, we walked towards the coast (3 ... read more

Tues 11-Wed 12 December - Day 46 to 47 – Boquete, Panama but day 56 of our travels including Colombia The day was beautiful as we went back to the Panama mainland by boat. We then travelled by minivan onto the highlands and the charming mountain village of Boquete. The 3 hour drive was beautiful through the heavily vegetated highlands. Roads were windy with the occasional bad patched needing repair. One the way we stopped to view the massive dam and hydro electric syste, the biggest in Panama. Located on the eastern slopes of the Volcan Barú, Boquete is quickly becoming a destination for those who wish to bask in the cooler climate and marvel at the exquisite vistas. The climate was very different to the island we had just come from. There was misty rain ... read more

Thurs 6-Fri 7 December - Day 41 to 42 - La Fortuna and return to San Jose for 1 night Our next journey took us through the mountains of the cloud forest using a combination of minivans and boats. The first leg to Lake Arenal took about one hour 30 minutes and the landscape was truly spectacular. Rolling hills eventually give way to the distant views of Arenal Volcano but we didn’t stop for photos as the clouds were very thick and low at the lookouts. Stopping by the side of the road, we walk down a dirt path to our boat on the shores of Lake Arenal. The scenery was truly stunning of the lake and we travel for approximately an hour slowly approaching Arenal Volcano. Once we reach the other side, we boarded another ... read more

Sun 2-Mon 3 December - Day 37 to 38 - Manuel Antonio We travel from the Central Valley to the Pacific coast, through very lush green countryside to the small village of Manuel Antonio, where we visited the Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the most popular parks in the country. We checked into the Manuel Antonio Hotel which was 5 minutes walk from the entrance to the Park and just across the road from the beautiful beach. The water was brilliant turquoise and sand white with some pebbles to negotiate on the way into the water. We had got up at 4.00am for a 4.30am departure so that we were in the Park by 8.30am to beat the crowd. We organised a guide ($15USD each) which was worth every cent. Costa Rica uses the Colone ... read more