My trip to Argentina and Antarctica took place in January and February of 1995. This trip was with Marine Expeditions out of Toronto, Canada.
I spent the first two nights in Buenos Aires staying at the Presedente Hotel. I was just in BA 15 months ago and saw everything I wanted then so this time I was able to just relax and walk around.
Travelers Cheques are not accepted almost anywhere in Argentina but I was able to cash mine at the American Express office. U.S. Dollars are accepted just about everywhere at a one to one (Peso) rate.
From BA I flew to Ushuaia (The city at the end of the world) in Tierra Del Fuego stopping in Rio Gallegos (where Butch Cassidy once robbed a bank) to switch planes from a 727 to a 737. They are building a new runway in Ushuaia which is supposed to handle 747’s.
I stayed at the Del Glacier Hotel in Ushuaia which is located about halfway up a mountain. I took an optional tour to a couple of lakes, walked around town, and saw the National Park there.
Our ship to Antarctica was the R.V. Livonia and had an Estonian and Russian crew. It is the smallest of the three ships operated by Marine Expeditions at 71.6 meters in length and 1,832 GRT. It is a converted Arctic/Antarctic research ship.
We spent 2 1/2 days crossing the Drake Passage and almost everyone got seasick regardless of using patches or drugs. I just figured it was part of the adventure.
Once we arrived in Antarctica, it was clear that the trip was worth it! The first day, we made three Zodiac landings. We visited three research stations: Arctowski (Polish), Frei-Marsh (Chilean) and Bellinghousen (Russian).
Altogether, we made five landings and one Zodiac tour. We saw 29 species of birds including three types of penguins, five species of seals, Humpback, Minke and Orca whales and Hourglass dolphins which escorted our ship.
We landed on the Antarctic continent at Neko Harbour and toasted the occasion with a glass of Champagne. This was my seventh continent visited.
My favorite place was Paradise Bay. The bay is surrounded by tall mountains with calving glaciers and the water was as smooth as glass. We went on a Zodiac tour and saw a rare Leopard seal which scoped out two of our Zodiacs from close range. Then a Minke whale checked out our Zodiac coming within inches, turning on it’s back and side so I could see it’s eye. None of us wanted to go back to the ship but we had to leave. The Minke whale followed us back to the ship breaching several times. As our ship was leaving the bay, the whale followed it and breached almost completely out of the water eight times. Our guide has been studying Minke whales for eight years and he said he never had an encounter like this. This one incident made the whole trip worth it for me.
The weather included everything from snow to sun to 70 knot winds but I don’t think it got colder than the 20’s during the daytime. You definitely need a rain suit and boots for the Zodiac landings.
Coming back to Ushuaia, we sailed into the Pacific Ocean for a few feet and sailed past the infamous Cape Horn.
The other two Marine Expeditions ships held about 130 marathon runners who ran the first marathon in Antarctica on King George Island. The strangest sight I saw however was a guy from the Polish research station water-skiing!
Overall, the trip was great and I would recommend Marine Expeditions. Their price is several thousand dollars less than most of the other companies. Don’t expect a luxury ship but the ship was very comfortable (except when we encountered 30 foot swells), the food very good and the staff was outstanding, giving several lectures and always working hard to please.
In 1995 8,000 people visited Antarctica and it is becoming a more popular destination every year. I’m glad I have been fortunate enough to visit a truly unique place on Earth.
