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Antarctica & South America
  • Scott Kline

Antarctica & South America

A 45-day adventure by Scott Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 12, 2025
    Scott KlineAntarctica & South AmericaTraveler

    Left Austin to begin our journey

    February 12 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    Flew on an overnight flight to Buenos Aires......in Coach! Quite the adventure, guy in Scotts row (on other side of the plane) had some kind a medical emergency. They had him laying on the floor with oxygen and people helping him. After a while he was back in his seat and seemed fine.Read more

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    Arrived in Buenos Aires

    February 13 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    After our overnight we arrived in Buenos Aires and of course our luggage was the last one to arrive. Our driver took us to the Marriott for a shower and some rest before our Tango show and dinner tonight. We got a sweet room upgrade, to a suite! Separate living room and bedroom. Really nice!Read more

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    Buenos Aires, Argentina

    February 14 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Today was an all day walking tour with food and drink. We thought this was a semi-private tour, with a small group but it ended up being a private tour with just us and the guide! We met our guide Agustin in the morning and had a quick breakfast of pastries and espresso. The pastries had Quince fruit in them, so that was something new of us. We then walked to a park dedicated to Guiseppe Garibaldi. He was an Italian freedom fighter, raising forces to help the locals liberate Buenos Aires. We also had a cocktail called the Garibaldi, which our guide brought for us in his thermos. It's 1 part Campari and 2 parts orange juice. It could just be our new morning cocktail, nudging out the Mimosa.
    Buenos Aires is a very 'green' city with many parks and a canopy of trees down just about every street.
    We then walked to a house in another park built for the architect Carlos Thays. He is actually French and designed the Champs DeLise. Argentina hired him in the early 1900's to design and build the gardens, statues and street system that is still here today. Walked thru a little craft market, found a small ink quil drawing......so funky. It is a sea horse, with hummingbird wings and tongue, eating out of a gramaphone with a flower as the speaker. Just so unique, we had to buy. Was only like 40 USD.
    We had lunch at a local restaurant with Steak, Chicken, mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes. It was very tasty along with the chimichurri. We then continued our walk to take in the smaller streets and murals painted on the buildings around the city. We stopped at a micro brewery for beer and empanadas. They were very tasty - Steak for me, and mushroom with cheese for Scott.
    Our last stop was an ice cream parlor started by Italians and all the ice cream is made in house. I had the Dulce De Leche and Scott had the Mascarpone with fruit. Then back to our hotel just as the rain started. We were so lucky that our walk was a nice sunny day.    Read more

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    Buenos Aires, Argentina Day 3

    February 15 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Today we left the Marriott and moved over to the Hilton which is the hotel that Viking uses for the guests to have one night before flying to Ushuaia.
    We had another all day tour with a local guide living here in Buenos Aires, but is originally from Canada. Our first stop was the La Recoleta Cemetery. It is a very historic cemetery where you buy a family plot and build your own mausoleum over it. You can also dig down and put in underground vaults for the coffins. There were many, many structures from the historic families of Argentina. Evita is buried here. We walked quite a while through the tombs.
    Next we visited Recoleta, which has many of the city luxury palaces and high end shopping. The architecture was impressive and old French style.
    We took the underground subway to the Plaza General San Martin which has even more architecturally impressive buildings. The Kavanaugh Building is here and was built just to block the view of the Catholic Church in this part of the city. It was the city's first skyscraper.
    Next was the Obelisk and looks like the Washington Monument and celebrates the 9th of July, which is the day celebrated for their independence. The Obelisk is in an area that is similar to the Buenos Aires Times Square. On the side of one building is a huge neon sign celebrating Evita. Our next stop was the Pink House, which is the equivalent of the US White House, just that their President does not live there. Evita hade her famous speech from the Pink House balcony.
    Then we walked to San Telmo, which is a district know for it's wealthiest families and artists that took over parts of the district to renovate it and bring in antique shops, tango, cafes, bars, etc. We visited a ship that specializes in de leche, wine, chocolate and liqueurs. We tasked just about everything and ended up buying some cream limoncello and chocolates.
    Our last stop was La Boca, a colorful area that is knows for the invention of Tango. It's full of art and we stopped by the local soccer stadium what seats 40,000 fans. They are extremely passionate about their local soccer team - the Boca Juniors. Scott purchased a Boca hat and Maradona Boca jersey. Scott was happy that people were commenting on his new team hat. Also walked through a market and found a cute little penguin figurine made of Rhodochrosite, a local mineral. It is the national stone of Argentina. Then back to the hotel after a wonderful day of sightseeing, history, art, architecture and great street food. They we found that there was an issue at our hotel and the prior ship of guests had not checked out, so all the Viking cruise people were still waiting in the lobby and a conference room as they arrived during the day - the rooms were not available yet... We left to walk to a local brew pub to get empanadas and beer. Luckily when we got back, we checked again and since we were the first few to check in for the cruise at about 8:30 in the morning, we had a room! We quietly left to claim our luggage and then take a shower and relax.
    What a day!!!    Read more

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    First day on the Polaris

    February 16 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Arrived in Ushuaia and boarded our ship The Polaris. We spent time exploring the ship to find the important places to eat, spa, gym, bars. The ship is almost the same size as our ocean ship just that everything's about half the size. This is because a lot of the ship is dedicated to the equipment we'll use in Antarctica and scientific teams doing research. There are 2 high speed boats, 16 Zodiacs, a number of 2 person kayaks and 2 6-person yellow submarines named George and Ringo.Read more

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    Drake Passage - Sea Day

    February 17, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 39 °F

    On our sea day there are many required safety and environmental lectures we had to attend. This is for our safety and the safety of the Antarctic environment. All the gear we brought for our excursions had to be inspected and cleaned. Hats, gloves, sunglasses, etc.
    Last night it was a calm night in the Drake Passage, they call this experience the Drake Lake. There was some motion, but not too bad. We had much worse on the. Neptune in the Pacific Ocean and going around the Cape in Africa. We did feel a little nauseous , which is odd because for the 4 months on the World Cruise that did not happen. We did take motion sickness medicine just in case. Did the World Cafe for all meal today. A step above the regular cruise ship cafe. Wonderful bakery, meat station with food cooked to order. Seafood station with crab legs. Yummy! We also got the spa for the first time this trip. The snow grotto is broken, which is a bummer. Scott has the room and outside our door decorated with nautical magnets    Read more

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    Antarctica - First Day-Melchior Islands

    February 18 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 36 °F

    Today we stopped at a bay in the Melchior Islands. It was our first stop in the cold of Antarctica and we were advised to take all our warm weather gear. The bay is home to the Argentinian Melchior station (red buildings) that has not been continuously used in a while. It used to gather weather data.
    After putting on our multiple layers of gear and clothing, we boarded our Zodiac for a trip through the bay and it's numerous large pieces of ice that calved off of the mainland glacier and just float in the bay. We saw a whale and her calf earlier in the day and a multiple species of seals in the water and sea lions on land. And of course, where were just a few penguins. The sea lions lay along the rocky shore to stay away from their predators, the seals and whales that visit the bay.
    After we returned, the skies got cloudy and it was even colder later in the early evening. We left on the Special OPs boat which is a high speed boat where we could go out further into the bay and see even more, larger icebergs and more marine wildlife.
    When we first arrived, we were able to see them launching the 2 yellow submarines and the pilot navigating them by standing on top and using a remote control to navigate away from the ship. We will be taking a trip on the submarines later on during our trip.
    Back onboard for dinner, desert and a lecture on Antarctic Penguins. I guess this is because once the ship re-positions for tomorrow there will be penguin sightings. Looking forward to them....    Read more

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    Antarctica - Damoy Point

    February 19 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °F

    Today we stopped at Damoy Point. Today was our first "landing" , where we got to actually get into the continent . We actually were in an island off the coast of the peninsula, so not technically on the mainland yet. We had winds in the morning, so our excursions were pushed to the afternoon.
    In the morning a team from Port Lockroy station came onboard to explain their scientific and environmental activities. They are stationed for 4 months during the summer and have very 'limited' living accommodations. Viking is very kind in providing them food from our Cafe and showers as well as anything else that the station needs. The station is also the farthest south post office in the world and we were able to get our Passports stamped as well as purchase post cards to mail home.
    Our first excursion was on the Special OPs boat where we were able to see penguins jumping in the water searching for fish. Our biggest find was a Minke whale and her calf. They were breaching near the boat for about 20 minutes. The mother whale was about the size of our boat. Our guide on the boat said that this is the first time he saw and recorded Minke whales in this area this season, so it was an important find.
    We returned from our first excursion and immediately had our second of the day which was a Zodiac Landing at Damoy Point. It was amazing to walk on the glacier ice. The paths are very clearly defined and you can only walk. No sitting, lying down or leaving anything due to environmental impacts to the environment. Our boots were cleaned prior to leaving the ship and were cleaned again when we got back on board. It was truly amazing to be on the glacial ice surrounded by the huge mountains. We did see Gentoo penguin colonies. There were many of them taking care of their young that hatched just about 6 weeks ago. One of the penguins (Fred) came across our path and Scott had to stop and back away from it to not interfere with where it was going. There was a penguin and it's young under one of the original huts that was still raising it's young. The young penguin was fluffy and still molting. Almost as large as the parent. One was there watching out while the second was probably out gathering Krill or fish for them to eat.
    Then back to the ship for repositioning to another spot for tomorrow...    Read more

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    Antarctica - Chiriguano Bay

    February 20 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F

    We arrived this morning at Chiriguano Bay. It is another inlet from the ocean surrounded by mountains covered by glacial ice. There is quite a few icebergs and ice floating around the bay. Our ship does not drop anchor, but keeps its position with GPS, radar and the stabilizers to stay away from the larger icebergs.
    Our first excursion was on the Zodiac to explore the Bay and our guide explained the geology, formation of the glaciers and how they calve off into the ocean and float away. We were fairly close to the glacier walls in a few places. The sun was out and the bay was full of white ice, blue skies and smooth water to make our outing just about as perfect at it gets.
    Our afternoon is the submarine ride.... And it was amazing. We leave the ship on a Zodiac and then 6 of us transfer over to the submarine one at a time, going down the hatch and into our individual seat. Then the pilot comes on board, locks down the hatch and explains all the safety rules. They rotate the seats so that we can see out of the curved glass walls. It was not scary at all since you are looking out and it's sort of looking into a giant aquarium. We descended to about 300 meters, or about 1000 feet. The descent was slow and you get to understand how the light is different under the water. Our usual bright red vests looked grey since the light waves for the color red don't penetrate through the water and it's all shades of blue. At the bottom the lights showed us star fish, tubular animals and underwater spiders. There were lots of animals along the way since there aren't any natural predators in Antarctica to eat them. We then moved to a 'wall' that is an extension of the land mass from up above, just that from the water it's all white glacier and under the water it's a glacier wall with silt from the land and animals growing along the slope. We followed the wall up for a while and saw more of the starfish, ferns, tubular animals and a few fish. Then back on the surface, careful not to rise up on an iceberg or loose glacial ice in the bay. And then to top off the day, Scott was in the room, heard noise at the window and there were two humpback whales right outside the window. Got an awesome movie. Of course he then ran out of the room to go out on deck, in sleet and snow, in a light jacket with no gloves, to chase the whales.    Read more

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    Antarctica - Danco Island

    February 21 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    This morning was an early Zodiac landing on Danco Island.
    We landed and there were hundreds of penguins. And they are smelly. The area is all marked off before guests land so that we stay away from their nesting grounds and keep to a pre-defined path so that we don't disturb the ecosystem. After greeting many of the very smelly penguins, we hiked up the snow covered hill to a midway view point to take some pictures and take in the views. On our way up we noticed large bird wings flapping over a low spot in the snow. We found out later from a guide that there were 2 birds that attacked a penguin in its nest for food. There was another path marked off that took us even higher into the hillside where there was another penguin nesting area and they smelled like fish also.
    As we trekked back down with our poles, sometimes a stray penguin would cross our path and everyone had to stop to give them at least a 15 foot space. Then as were were just about to the bottom of the hike back down to the Zodiac back to the ship, a penguin decided to stop in the middle of our path to have a drink of water, look around and cause a complete stop to any going up or down the hill.
    Finally back on the Zodiac to the ship we sat in the front 2 seats and the bay was sort of rough, so our clothes were soaked with sea water.    Read more

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    Antarctica - Cuverville Island

    February 21 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    The ship repositioned after the morning for our Zodiac landing at Cuverville Island.
    Our first trip out here was another landing. Our clothes had almost dried out from the morning's trip and all the rough water. We took a trip across the bay to a landing that the crew had already landed and marked so that we could hike while also staying away from the penguin colony.
    We stopped at the landing site and there were again, hundreds of penguins in a colony. They were walking around and jumping in and out of the water. The guide told us in advance that this colony is very curious and would not be afraid to walk in our direction. Many came close and we would have to move away to not interfere with them. The penguins in the water would follow the Zodiacs as they landed and left the landing site. We them walked further up the hillside to see even more of the stinky penguins. It was pretty easy walking since the snow was soft in the afternoon.
    After we got back to the ship we had about an hour before our Special OPs boat tour. This was a higher speed boat tour of the bay, glaciers and cliffs. On our way out we stopped and were circled for about 20 minutes by Humpback Whales. One dove and went under the boat. I was thinking what the safety procedure would be if a whale hit our boat. It's a steel military boat, but still... The whale was larger than the boat. We saw many Humpbacks swimming together and breaching the water as we moved around the bay. We also saw groups of penguins swimming together in herds. They were probably searching for food to take back to their nest and the young.
    Today was a GREAT day for animal watching in Antarctica - Humpback Whales and tons of Penguins!    Read more

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    Antarctica - Portal Point

    February 22 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F

    This morning we were at Portal Point - the first stop on the actual continent of Antarctica. Previous landings we have done were on islands off the coast (still Antarctica). All our excursions were moved to earlier in the day due to weather north of us.
    We did a Zodiac landing at Portal Point and took our first step onto the Antarctic peninsula - the seventh and last continent for us to visit. It was a very rocky point with a snow and ice covered dome. There were no smelly Gentoo penguin colonies at this landing, just Fur Seals and Weddel Seals were lying around relaxing. We did have the opportunity to see a fur seal wake up and make its way down the snow bank to the rocky shoreline.
    After returning to the ship we were asking about other trips out for the day and happened to find one of the scientific excursions going out, so we signed up for it. It was a sonograph scientific expedition that lowers a microphone into the water to record animal, specifically whale sounds. Our leader was Dr Brandi whose catch phrase is 'GO SCIENCE'. She is one small bundle of energy that is all about making the science fun. We got onboard another Zodiac and set out to record Humpback Whale sounds. This was different from our normal trips away from the ship since we could go wherever there were whales that we could record. After getting out and away from the ship, we found a few whales and lowered the microphone into the water. The whale was very, very close to the Zodiac and we were close enough to see the barnacles on its fin as it breached the water and dove back down. The whale was breaching all around us and it was a very close, exciting and a little dangerous. As we were listening to the sounds coming from the equipment, Brandi thought that we had recorded a whale sound. If it was a whale, it would be the first of this season. She said that the whales in Antarctica are silent to protect themselves and their young since the Orca Whales will hear them and hunt them. It was just amazing to be that close to a whale swimming, breaching, and diving so that we could see all of it's back and tail.
    We finally had to go back when the ship called Brandi to return. Since we were scientific we could go and discover wherever we wanted to go, so we stayed as long as possible to record the whales. Rob handled the lowering and raising of the sonograph into the ocean. We were the last Zodiac to return to the ship and hopefully the sounds and data we recorded will help the scientists on board.    Read more

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    Antarctica - Argentine Islands

    February 23 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °F

    Today we arrived at the Argentine Islands farther south into Antarctica. We were supposed to move north and stop there, but the weather is really bad so the captain chose to move farther south. This is the farthest south that Viking has sailed in Antarctica.
    The first thing in the morning the ship released a weather balloon - GO SCIENCE! - to gather information on the atmosphere to share with weather gathering organizations around the world. Each time a Viking ship stops in Antarctica a balloon is released. We then watched the data being gathered in real-time on a huge screen in the science station and Dr Brandi was again very excited to explain why it's important and how the data will be used.
    Then to the Special Ops boat to head out to the bay, navigating around all the ice and icebergs to look for seals, penguins and birds. All of this information is cataloged by the scientists on board to share the wildlife in Antarctica this year. Along the way we saw many, many icebergs from huge ones much larger than our ship, to small chunks that have melted away. The wildlife along the way were Adele Penguins, Weddle seals, Leopard seals and Crab Eater Seals. The seals were lounging around on the flat, table icebergs enjoying the sunlight. They hunt for food at night in the ocean and are just lazy during the day. The were not very entertaining. We did run into more penguins swimming and diving in the water looking for Krill and fish to eat.
    Our second outing was on a Zodiac that moved more slowly though the ice fields and icebergs since it's made of inflated rubber. We did see seals and penguins again (not the same ones, but who can tell them apart). We cruised by the Ukrainian research station which is still operational and the abandoned British research station. The Zodiac could get us closer to the icebergs than the high speed boat, but we still had to maintain a distance. All the icebergs are unique and beautiful. The dark blue coloring on them is from the intense pressure that compressed snowflakes into ice crystals then solid deep blue ice. They are blue because of the light frequency that the extremely dense ice absorbs. Each time the bay is visited, the icebergs are different since the waves, sunlight and salt water change their shape. Every time we look out at the ocean it seems that there are icebergs everywhere. I'm sure we haven't seen them all yet...    Read more

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    Antarctica - Yalour Islands

    February 24 in Antarctica ⋅ ☁️ 28 °F

    This morning the ship repositioned at the Yalour Islands, still in the southern part of Antarctica. Luckily we were able to stay in this area to avoid the high winds and bad weather in the route back to Ushuaia that we would have taken.
    We woke up to a thumping outside our outside wall / window. It was a smaller sized iceberg bumping up against the hull of the ship. As I watched it, 2 Humpback Whales breached right below the window. They were circling and diving under the iceberg. Coming up to the surface to blow water our of their blow holes. They did this for about 10 minutes. Then we heard a cracking sound and the iceberg calved in half right outside the window. Well, that was the morning wake up excitement.
    We then had an early, 7 am, Special OPs boat ride. We saw more penguins (Adele and Gentoo) diving in the water and on the various icebergs. We also saw a Leopard Seal and Crab Eater Seal..
    We returned to the ship and had another final Antarctic Zodiac Landing. This was a small rock and snow area for us to land with more Gentoo penguins, but not as many as we have seen before. Our guide said that they were the final set of offspring for the season and would all be gone in a couple of weeks back into the ocean to migrate. They landing spot had beautiful views of all the tabular, rounded and jagged icebergs in the bay as well as the mountains in the distance that were separated by the glacier that was slowly carving out the valley between them on its way to the ocean.
    We were able to get onto a second Special OPs boat excursion and they took us through more of the iceberg field, visit a seal again, and really get the boat up to speed. Our guide said that the boat had 850 HP and could go 50 mph on the water. It is actually a military boat made in Finland for their military and high speed maneuvering in the ice fields. The cost is $1M USD each. After playing around, we headed back from our last trip out.
    Then back through the Drake Passage where they announced that we 'should' have fairly smooth sailing. Fingers crossed...    Read more

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    Sea Day - Drake Passage

    February 25, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 37 °F

    Today was a sea day on our way back to Ushuaia. We travel back through the Drake Passage again. Luckily the winds are not too bad and the ship is not rolling around too much.
    We had a Galley tour with an executive chef and it's amazing how efficient the kitchen is. Everything is stainless steel and spotless. Obviously to keep any contamination out. The dishwasher washes, sterilizes and dries in 90 seconds, and is very large.
    Then we signed up for a Bridge tour. The ship is fully automated with all redundant systems. Large touch screens everywhere that use GPS accurate to 6 inches. They still have active watchmen on the bridge and can navigate without all the technology using charts and the same equipment ancient sailors used.    Read more

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    Sea Day - Ushuaia Argentina

    February 27, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 46 °F

    Today we were at sea again on our way back to Ushuaia. The guests that were only touring Antarctica will be leaving in the morning. We will be staying for the rest of our tour through South America.
    In the morning the science team presented all the results from the experiments they conducted. Then we had a tour of the hangar where all the 'toys' are kept. The Special Operations Boats ($1M each x 2), the submarines ($5M each x2) and all the Zodiac boats and 2 man kayaks were all nearly stowed away. All the equipment is built for military use.
    We arrived at port around 8pm, got off the boat as soon as we could. Spent about 2 hours walking around the town. For the required magnet, coffee cup and also a Mate Tea gourd cup and socks. Stopped for a quick cerveza at Patagonia Brewing.    Read more

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    Ushuaia - Argentina

    February 27 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Today was a beautiful sunny day in Ushuaia. We had an all-day excursion while the rest of the guests boarded for the remaining part of the trip. Luckily we missed all the luggage traffic and lost people (like we were at first).
    We had a bus tour with a local guide that took us to Tierra Del Fuego, the Southern Andes Mountains and Lago Fagano. The drive was north of the port, which is on the southernmost point of Argentina and the world. We had beautiful views of the Andes mountains that shield Ushuaia from the harsh northern winds. At one stop, we saw a red wolf on our walk along the lake and through the woods. It was an unusual day since the sky was sunny and you could see the mountains, lakes, bogs and all the trees that will turn for winder in a few weeks. Some of them have started turning dark orange and yellow.
    Then back to town for some quick shopping to get back onboard for our exit from the Antarctic region, heading up the western coast of South America.    Read more

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    Garibaldi Fjord - Chile

    March 1 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Today we arrived at Garibaldi Fjord in Chile. We sailed around the southern tip of South America last night and arrived early in the morning. It started out as a rainy day, but quickly turned into a sunny, warm-ish (low 40's) day.
    We went out on a Zodiac at 10 in the morning and did not have to wear all the layers that we did in Antarctica. They took us out into the small glacial ice and as near as possible to the shore to see gulls and Sea Lions. The Fjord is a valley cut between mountains in the Darwin Mountain Range. We saw gulls, sea lions lying along the edge of the water, waterfalls and ice-capped mountains.
    We took a second Zodiac out later on and were able to see more birds, sea lions and jellyfish. The Zodiacs are not large enough to make it to the glacier. They have to stay out in the glacial ice fields and bay formed by the melting glacier.
    Our last excursion was on the Special OPs boat. It is much larger and sturdier. We were able to make it to the Ventisquero Glacier at the end of the fjord. Since the weather was warmer than earlier in the day, the ice field was not as packed and we were some of the lucky few that actually made it to the mouth of the glacier. Along the way we saw more gulls again, a colony of sea lions and more beautiful high mountains with waterfalls and snow / ice covered tops. What a beautiful start to our tour of the Chilean Fjords.    Read more

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    Alberto de Agostini National Park-Chile

    March 2, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    The ship repositioned over night into another Fjord that is part of a national park in Chile. We had a morning Zodiac landing at the Agostini Glacier. Actually the landing was on a portion of 'beach' that is composed of all the rocks that are crushed by the movement of the glacier. We had about a 1 mile walk to the small lake formed by the melting summer glacier water. We were able to get fairly close to the rocks and glacier that was carving them on both sides. We had absolutely beautiful weather - sunny skies and about 40 degrees. Very different than Antarctica. The views of the sharp mountain peaks and valleys carved by the glaciers were incredible. On our walk back to the landing, we stopped to talk with one of the Expedition Crew Members and she took us on an unofficial private tour off the walking path into the wooded area below the glacier. It is like no forest we have ever been in. It is more like a rain forest with the trees all covered in bright green moss. The ground is completely covered in thick layers of moss and lichen that is very springy and soft when we walked over it. Then back to the trail to our Zodiac back to the Polaris.
    In the afternoon we had a Special OPs boat ride. They use these to get farther away from the ship than the Zodiacs can go. We went about 5 miles through fjords to view another 2 glaciers. It was similar with the steep mountains, rocky walls eroded by ice and the glacier in the valley ending in the ocean. As usual, the views were just amazing with the mountains, blue skies and blue glacier ice.    Read more

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    Punta Arenas - Chile

    March 3 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 52 °F

    We actually arrived in Punta Arenas about midnight instead of in the morning due to the anticipated high winds that would have prevented us from docking. You cannot dock in high winds since they will cause the ship to rock and bang into the dock and then cause hull damage. It did happen to another non-Viking ship on our last cruise, so the captain announced that we were going more quickly.
    Then in the morning we had an excursion to a reconstructed fort on the hillside overlooking the Strait of Magellan. The winds did arrive overnight and instead of having us walk down the pier into the bus, they took us by van due to the danger of someone being blown off of the pier into the water.
    The winds were at 80 mph when we left the ship - hurricane force. We heard later on in the day that a passenger on the ship next to us was walking down the stairs from her ship and was blown onto the pier (she was wearing a big parka that was open and caught the wind). The locals called this the 'Patagonia Winds'. This is the Patagonia region of South America.
    Instead of touring the fort, there were hiking trails down the side to an overlook of the Strait for some wonderful ocean views and a fishing boat out for the day. The winds slowed and the sun tried to come out. There was a second trail down another side of the hill to the ocean. It was nice to get away from the ice, icy water and be able to take a walk on dry land.
    We had a snack lunch before returning of empanadas and the local favorite, a Calafate Sour. The calafate is a berry that grows in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile, and tastes like blueberry, raspberry, cherry. We left the tour in town to walk around, shop and sample the local food - Pollo Empanadas, some pastry we had no idea what it was with phyllo dough and caramel, another Calafate Sour, apple empanadas and a coffee with cocoa and orange.
    Then back to the ship for our sea day tomorrow...    Read more

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    Sea Day off the coast of Chile

    March 4, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    A sea day as we move up the coast of South America. Today was an off and sunny day with rain. Better today than when we have excursions.
    We did see some Sea Lions playing in the water around the ship and were able to get some pics. Still looking for the Orca whales... In the afternoon we attended a Mate lecture and sampling. It's the way the people from Patagonia make their tea and share it with others. It is a very social thing for them and a part of their daily routine - make Mate / tea and enjoy it most of the day. In one of the shops we did purchase a Mate cup, straw and some Yerba Mate tea.
    Also we met with the travel consultant and booked another cruise for next year. It's the Capitols of Eastern Europe river cruise on the longboats which are much smaller, but dock in each city and you walk to the city for excursions.    Read more

  • Scott KlineAntarctica & South AmericaTraveler
    1

    El Brujo Glacier - Chile

    March 5 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Early this morning we arrived in a fjord in front of the El Brujo Glacier in Chile. As usual on our trip, the morning was cloudy and drizzle rain. We had a Special OPs boat at 10 am which took us in to the O'Higgins National Park lands along the fjord. As we went along away from the ship there were green mountains and waterfalls from the melting snow and ice in the mountains. We were able to make it through the glacial ice fields near the boat. As the day went on, the sun came out and melted away the glacial ice in the fjord during the sunny day. The view were blue skies, green mountains and ice. We did see one dolphin in the morning, but that was it.
    We immediately went back out on a Zodiac tour. These stay closer to the Polaris and the glacier that we are stationed next to. These are smaller and can take us closer to the glacier, along the shore to view the wildlife and into a cravace with multiple waterfalls. We were able to stop in front of the icy blue glacier and hear the calving of ice as it cracked off and fell into the fjord. It sounds like thunder when it happens. We were watching the glacier and an iceberg behind us split into 2 pieces, which was a surprise since we were not expecting that so close to the Zodiac. Along the way we saw Turkey Buzzards that are like buzzards at home and take care of dead animal carcasses. We also saw Cormorants sitting on the rocks carved smooth by the glacier. Our guide was very good and took a lot of time letting us enjoy the glacier up close and the tight double rock wall crevasse with the waterfalls. It was barely wider than the Zodiac.
    On our way back we stopped off at another Zodiac that had Mimosas for us to toast the glacier and enjoy the morning.
    Then back to the ship for dinner in the Captain's private dining room for the passengers going all the way from Antarctica to Florida.    Read more

  • Scott KlineAntarctica & South AmericaTraveler

    Pio XI Glacier - Chile

    March 6, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Early this morning the ship stopped in another Chilean Fjord, also part of the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park - the same park we were in yesterday. The day started as usual with fog, overcast skies that looked like rain. Then it warmed up slightly and the sun tried to come out, making for great views...
    Today we visited the Pio XI (roman numeral 10) Glacier named after a Catholic Pope. It is the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere, and one of the few actively growing glaciers in the world. The glacier had huge deep blue sections of very dense compressed snow into ice over the millennia. This glacier is very active in its movement from the mountains into the fjord and the ice calves off into the water very often. This time of year it is very active. We were able to see multiple calvings from our Zodiac tour. They stay a distance away due to the danger of the glacial ice calving into the water and since the ice is so dense, it's extremely heavy. They described a couple of distinct calvings, one where the spike of ice falls directly from the face into the fjord, and one where the glacier face collapses vertically into the water below. We were able to video the second, collapsing type from our Zodiac. The view of the immense glacial ice was just amazing. White and blue ice based on the age. Brown strips where the glacier ground the mountain surface as it progressed toward the fjord. Huge cracks and shards where the glacier is expanding before it calves into the fjord.
    We had a Special OPs boat excursion in the afternoon. Unfortunately it got colder and started to drizzle slightly. We were still able to bundle up, go out and still enjoy more of the glacier since the boats can travel farther and faster than the small Zodiacs. More great views, pictures of a few birds and then back to the ship...
    Unfortunately this was the last day for our Zodiac and Special OPs excursions and the rest of the trip will be the usual guided excursions on land. Soooooo, we'll have to retire all our layers of cold weather gear - gloves, glove liners, wool underwear, gators, hats, puffy jackets, and weatherproof outer jackets - And best of all the 15 pound life jacket we have to wear when out on the water with the huge clunky waterproof boots.    Read more

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