I have been so fortunate to return from a ten day trip to the 7th continent of Antarctica, sailing with HX expeditions. There is nowhere else like it on earth, and I am so blessed to be a rare statistic of 0.000008th of the world’s population to have visited here.
My trip started with a flight from London to Buenes Aires in Argentina, where we were met by our guide and taken on a city tour. What a beautiful city. Very European in its feel, particularly Parisian I thought. We had a stop at the famous Recolata cemetery, which reminded me of the cemeteries in New Orleans. It had grand and ornate mausoleums, the most notable was Eva Peron’s Tomb. We had a brief visit to the colourful and edgy area of La Boca, with its colourful houses and the pedestrian street of Caminito. I would definitely recommend spending two nights here and trying the wonderful steaks and Malbec they serve.
After our brief stop in Buenes Aires, we were up very early for a 3 hour flight to Ushuaia, the very southern tip of Patagonia and the Tiera del Fuego national park, with the Andes Mountain range as the backdrop.
Here the adventure began and we arrived at our base camp at sea onboard the MS Ronald Amundsen. Next stop was Antarctica, which two days away across the infamous drake passage. Will it be the drake shake or the drake lake?
Lucky for us it was the latter. The sea was calm so had two days to enjoy the beautiful ship. MS Roald Amundsen named after the Norwegian explorer who was the first to reach the South Pole in 1911. A fully hybrid ship constructed for voyages in polar regions. The ship leads the way towards a more sustainable way of travelling. The ship is beautifully designed, with Scandinavian décor as you would expect. It has everything you need for your adventure ahead.
I was lucky to have an arctic superior cabin with its own private balcony. It had everything you would expect from a luxury ship: fabulous dining, lots of indoor and outdoor space, a gym and a sauna. The main hub was the science centre, where there was an expedition team of twenty-two experts on hand. The team was made up of scientists, marine biologists, historians, geologists, ornithologists, archaeologists, and photographers. There were at least three lectures a day that anyone could attend, which taught about the environment, wildlife, glaciers or the history of Antarctic. It was especially interesting to learn about the polar legends, Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. There was great excitement when we spotted our first iceberg but had no idea of what was yet to come.
We woke the first morning on the Antarctic peninsula to another world. The sea was still, and ice bergs were everywhere you could see.
Our first stop was Pleneau Bay. Each day is made up of a scenic zodiac cruise, then a landing later in the day. You are put into small groups, where I was minke whale, and each group stayed together and will be given time slots each day.
We had previously collected HX waterproof coats and a pair of mucker/wellington boots which are disinfected on exit and entry to the ship. Our first landing was to a gentoo penguin colony. Was so entertaining to watch these adorable and entertaining creatures living in their natural habitat. The chicks hadn't yet fully fledged, so it was great to watch the interaction between them and their parents. It did feel like we had landed into another world.
On day two, we sailed through Lemaire channel to Demoy Point. It was an incredible sight sailing through the icebergs, or “bergy bits”, a name given to an iceberg that’s less than 16 ft. Our landing here involved snow shoeing up towards a snowy tundra to another penguin colony. This activity you could opt into a lottery for. I was lucky enough to get in, but it was a lot harder than it looked but was great to go hiking and see Port Lockroy (which is the most southern located post office in the world) and again be entertained by more gentoo. Here you could do the polar plunge, but I wasn't that mad enough to do it.
Each day we attended lectures, which were so educational and inspiring, and got to catch up on what was happening each day. There is no set itinerary as the captain decides on where we can go depending on weather conditions.
Day three was a day I will never forget. We woke early to hear whales from the balcony, and as we sailed through Whelimina Bay to Orne Harbour. It was a sight to behold with so many humpback whale sightings. We had a wildlife talk on deck with one of the expedition team who explained all the sightings we had.
We were taken on our zodiac cruise early, only to be surrounded by humpback whales that I'm convinced we're putting on a show for us. I must admit, I was a tad nervous with these jumbo jet size majestic creatures circling and diving under us, but to see their identifiable flukes was a sight to behold. What a privilege to have such close encounters. We saw a colony of chinstrap penguins which were very cute.
Our landing today was quite a challenge: an ascent up a snowy tundra and ice covered hill with just walking poles to help. The view at the top made it all the worthwhile, but the descent was eventful but I survived! Waiting at the bottom was a very handsome Antarctic fur seal which was a bonus. This was truly a mind blowing day for us all. Words cannot describe what we saw and experienced and there was more to come.
Day four was spent visiting Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay. The glaciers here were stunning, blue in colour. You could hear the cracking of the ice breaking. Here we had a beach landing with another gentoo colony. There was another snowy hike up a snow clad hill, but slightly easier than one before and the views from the top here was magical. Still, eerie and almost biblical. It was a privilege to see what we saw.
Our last day on the peninsula was Fornier Bay. This seemed like a world frozen in time. The sea glistened like glass and the ice bergs shone blue. The silence was only broken with the ice cracking off the glaciers. Today was sad as we had to leave to sail for two days back across the drake to Ushuaia, with a little bit of shake.
Overall, it was five very different days on this continent which I didn't expect. Two more days enjoying the ship and more lectures, learning about the polar legends who discovered this great land. Glaciers to clouds, to learning about the marine life and seals and birds. We had the pleasure to see.
Our captain said if you can describe Antarctica, then you have never been. There are no words. Like nowhere else on earth, but I have taken away some precious memories and wonderful photos.
Thank you HX for allowing me to venture where many cannot and for the most exciting, rewarding adventure I will ever have.
Eva
