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Published: January 11th 2023
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Webster’s Dictionary describes this ice-covered land mass as: “
a continent around the South Pole, situated mainly within the Antarctic Circle and almost entirely covered by ice sheets.” What a dry, basic description for this magical snow-drenched landscape, with endless vistas to stun the senses. Totally unlike any of the other six continents, it stands alone as a pristine wilderness, virtually untouched by human hands.
A Few Interesting Facts: 1. The most likely first sighting of this frozen southern continent was on January 27 1820 by an expedition of the Imperial Russian Navy. 2. It’s the world’s highest, driest, windiest, coldest, and iciest continent. 3. About 98 percentage of Antarctica is covered by ice which is approximately 1 mile thick. It is approximately 202,000 sq. mi. in area. My latest adventure begins at the tip of South America – Ushuaia – the capital city of Terra del Fuego, which proudly claims the title of world’s southernmost city. Located just 680 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula, it is a light industrial port and major tourist hub with a population of about 75,000. This is my “jumping off” spot to venture into the “Roaring 40’s” (aka Southern Ocean).
I have always enjoyed my visits here in the past – it has much to offer tourists, no matter how long or short the stopover may be.
It's a top Argentina holiday destination, with spectacular marine wildlife. Check out Tierra del Fuego National Park – an ecological wetland park with penguins and frigate birds with natural landscapes, natural reserves, forests, streams, and endless views to delight even the most jaded tourist. A “must see” is the Yegleris Lighthouse, aka lighthouse at the End of the World, and do not miss the incredible views from the Beagle Channel of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with penguins, sea lions, and fur seals. The End of the World Museum exhibits local and marine animals, which is definitely worth an hour or so of your time. Having visited here a few times over the past 20 years, I’m amazed at the current size of the city as a direct result of tourism expansion.
With the crazy weather conditions we have been experiencing over the past week, the ship’s departure from Ushuaia was delayed by many hours and it was almost midnight on Christmas Eve before she slipped her berth and moved slowly
out into the harbor and the open sea. Once exposed to the elements the swells were evident, and it became necessary to grab handrails when moving through the hallways. Being midsummer here, it was bright sunlight until 9:40pm before dusk slowly crept across the heavens, and 10:30pm arrived before darkness enveloped the ship.
Awoke to heavy swells and taking a shower while clinging to the grab bar was a challenge. The captain took advantage of a narrow window of relative calm in the Roaring 40’s to make the Drake Passage crossing, and as it’s a total of 482 nm (nautical miles – about 555 miles) to our first “cruise by” in the South Shetland Islands, Elephant Island – we are all learning how to walk with feet wide apart, looking for all the world like a bunch of drunken sailors. Yes, it’s getting rough, and it will only get worse as the day progresses. Had the opportunity to attend two Enrichment seminars held in the theatre, the first by the captain who has made this voyage multiple times, and the second by a local Ice Pilot – both of whom have intimate knowledge of this fascinating continent. Even knowing
the stated itinerary, I was amazed by the peninsula routes planned for the upcoming 5 days – this is going to be mind-blowing for sure. – every picture I capture should be fabulous.
Well Mother Nature had other plans for today. Ice fog descended like a blanket across the region and visibility was down to a few feet from the side of the ship. The captain must now rearrange our itinerary as sightseeing is a “no go” for Elephant Island – he plans to retrace this route on our way back north to the Falkland Islands.
A Little Bit of Geography: The peninsula is very mountainous, with its highest peaks rising to about 9,200’, giving tourists some of the most stunning pictures imaginable. There are various volcanoes in the islands and this volcanism is related to the Scotia Arc that links the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula to those of Terra de Fuego, which is the basis for the position advanced by Chile and Argentina for their territorial claims to the region. This incredible peninsula has been known by many names: O’Higgins Land in Chile, Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, Graham Land in the UK and
the Palmer Peninsula in the USA. It protrudes about 810 miles into the Southern Ocean from the mainland mass.
A Little Bit of History: The Antarctic Peninsula is currently dotted with numerous research stations, and nations have made multiple claims of ownership over the years. It is part of disputed and overlapping claims by Argentina, Chile and the UK but none of these claims have international recognition and under the Antarctic Treaty System, these respective countries do not attempt to enforce their claims. Argentina has the most bases and personnel stationed on the peninsula.
Although this very remote part of the world has never really been inhabited on a full-time basis, there are still threats to these fragile ecosystems from increasing tourism, primarily on cruises across the Drake Passage from Ushuaia. It may be uninhabited by the human species, but it vibrates with wildlife. Whales abound here with the Antarctic Minke, Dwarf Minke and my personal favorite, the Killer whale. The animals of this region live on food they find in the sea - not on land - these include seabirds, seals and penguins. The exposed rocks on the islands of the peninsula provide a good habitat
for rookeries and the penguins return each year with populations of more than ten thousand. The most common are the Chinstrap and Gentoo, with Adelie and Emperor penguins running a close second.
Climate conditions rule here, and we were a captive audience. Raging seas as we crossed the Drake Passage from mainland South America to the Antarctica Peninsula, but once we entered the sheltered inlets of the peninsula, we got to enjoy placid waters and a return to normal walking! Temperatures plummeted and skies lightened as we entered perpetual daylight with the sun just circulating above our heads. The entire scene was magical. Here is the realm of towering icebergs, a mesmerizing landscape of ice-choked seas, mountains, bays, fjords, rugged coastlines - mammoth glaciers standing like carved statues and let’s not forget thousands of seabirds nesting on cliff tops.
Because of the climatic conditions constantly changing, the captain elected a different route which bypassed Elephant Island on Day 1, through the Bransfield Strait, to Charlotte and Wilhelmina Bays on Day 2. Here we had mirror-like water conditions with nary a ripple in sight on the surface. Surrounded by snow, ice, bergs the size of a house and most
impressive of all - the stunning silence which is Antarctica - you could hear a pin drop as we stood in awe on the top decks. Day 3 the ship traversed the Neumayer Channel and Paradise Bay before we began our return trip with Day 4 having us arrive at Deception Island. Day 5 and our final look at Antarctica gave us views of Admiralty Bay and with the ice fog returning, we caught glimpses of Elephant Island before plunging into the waves once more, of the Drake Passage. Snow, ice and bergs were not the only highlights of our voyage here. We made two stops at the Chilean and UK stations to deliver food stuffs, with the scientists coming out to the ship on zodiacs to say hello. Even Domino’s can’t claim to deliver pizza in Antarctica, but this ship did! Unfortunately, the weather gods again decided to change our planned itinerary and the Falkland Islands port of call was cancelled, much to the dismay of many passengers, but such is life at the bottom of the world.
The cruise ship itself also offered some “interesting” events which I have come to expect these days. Internet was spotty
and non-existent at times over the 5 days we spent in the region; two of the four major elevators developed serious water leaks which shorted out the electrical systems, and a full shipload of passengers (approximately 2,500 warm bodies) struggled to use just two for 4 days. We missed a total of 3 planned ports of call over the 33-day cruise - I had one of the most fabulous experiences onboard a ship to date. This is one place on earth to see for yourself - pictures simply cannot do it justice.
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Doug Deffenbaugh
non-member comment
Two Thumbs Up
Great blog, great writing. You captured it just as it was. I shall never forget all the ships blowing their horns on Christmas Eve at midnight in Ushuaia. Thank you.