Our last full day on the Fridtjof Nansen and our last full day in Argentina! No fun activities in the morning. Our bags have to be out by 21:00 tonight and we have an activity planned until 20:00 so the main objective today was to be mostly packed by lunch time. The afternoon/early evening activity was a cruise through the Beagle Channel, which separates Chile...
There were two ship-wide meetings today – one to discuss compensation and one to discuss the remainder of the trip. Hurtigruten provided options – stay in Ushuaia and join the Antarctic cruise that leaves in a few days, re-book for 2023 on one of several trips, receive a partial refund, or take trip credit on a future Hurtigruten trip. Considering the situation...
Another day at sea, headed north instead of south. And a continued dose of the Drake Passage. While it wasn’t truly highlighted yesterday (with the other news to relay), the 2nd day on Drakes (heading south) was again very “fresh” as our captain called it, with swells back up in the 8 to 10 meter range. Soooo, 2 days on the Drake (the typical), but now 2 more back...
WARNING – PARENTAL WARNING – WARNING Proceed with caution, as this post, unlike others, is particularly heartbreaking! Today we started preparing our personal effects – clothing, backpacks, etc. – that we will take with us to Antarctica. Small seeds can get stuck in velcro, seams & cuffs of clothing, in the bottom of bags, etc. Since preventing non...
First full day at sea, headed to Antarctica! The seas were churning, but nothing like they were days ago when the wind and seas wreaked havoc onboard! Swell / waves are only 5 to 6 meters, as compared to the 8 to 10 from a few days ago. The only significant task on the schedule today was getting fitted for boots. Tourism on Antarctica follows strict...
Happy Halloween from the Chilean fjords, heading for the Drake Passage! We are well on our way to Antarctica, navigating the last of the fjords before going back to the open sea, across the infamous Drake passage. We were potentially going to stop at Cape Horn and tender to shore, but the weather conditions prevented us from doing so. Only 10% of...
Today’s stop was a unique experience. We stopped at Puerto Eden, a village that at one time had a population of roughly 300, that is now down to just 70 inhabitants who are mostly native to the area. There are no cars, no sidewalks, no roads…. Just wooden boardwalks/footpaths that leads from the dock through town. The total walk took about 30...
Yet another day at sea! Okay, technically we were not “at sea”. We sailed through the beautiful Chilean Fjords, which provide protection from harsh winds so we had a relatively smooth day. Since there isn’t much activity (and thus photos) on a sea day, here are a few pics of the fjords as we passed through. And to show you what it generally looks like in...
Another full day in the open sea, and boy what a day it has been! Early in the day the captain announced that the seas would be “fresh”. It is evident that he defines “fresh” as 8-meter swells/waves, which is approximately 24 feet. Adding to the swells was the high wind – 55 to 60 mph with 70+ mph gusts! We were experiencing what would be...
This was our first at sea day, meaning we were sailing and made no stops. Since this was an uneventful day, we’ll take time to explain this particular cruise. This is not a normal cruise – no entertainment, no 24-hour restaurants (i.e. no snacking), no casinos, no shows, etc. This is what is called an “expedition cruise”. Entertainment on board...