Ushuaia Day 1
21 december 2024, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
When it finally time to begin boarding around 4:40am, we were feeling pretty tired and grumpy. It didn't help that the line for the women's bathroom was about 20 people long and a fat male janitor was guarding the handicapped bathroom to prevent any women from using it. Naturally, no line at the men's. Luckily, because we had to board a bus to drive to the plane, the line to scan the boarding passes was slower than the bathroom line, so I managed to go before we had to get to the plane.
Soon after we took off, Allan and I both fell asleep. He did so with intention, I did so by accident and had a pretty sore neck when I woke up a couple hours later. I was so tired though that I fell back asleep. We both slept most of the 3 and a half hours trip down to Ushuaia.
Once we got off the plane and picked up our bags, there was someone from G-Adventures waiting to pick us up and take us to the Albatross Hotel.
It's a nice hotel in a great location. When we arrived, our room wasn't ready, so we waited on a couch in the lobby for a bit. Around 11:30 Allan went and chatted to the (male) hotel receptionist asking about barbers and making small talk. The Scottish charm must have worked because all of a sudden he double checked and had a room available for us. We got up to the room, had a much welcome shower, and napped for a couple hours.
After our nap, we still felt tired, but a little more refreshed. We checked out some places nearby to get something to eat and ended up at Dios de Sandwich food truck after a stop at the End of the World sign. We got two pretty sizable hot dogs (that I couldn't even finish) and went back to the hotel.
Allan started getting set up to work on his university stuff, and I went out on a search for coffee, ending up back at the food trucks at the little Cafe truck.
I also poked my nose into the artisan market and saw some beautiful and creative things. I think I'll have to go back!
The rest of our day was pretty chill. Allan took some time to watch the boxing and I watched some things on my phone. We also took advantage of the hotel spa to get some relaxing in 🧖🏼♀️.
We are both looking forward to embarking tomorrow, but a little disappointed that we don't head to the boat until the afternoon. Hopefully time won't go too slow!Läs mer
Ushuaia Day 2 & Antarctica Cruise Day 1
22 december 2024, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Our morning started with dropping our bags off downstairs in the lobby to be transported to the boat. We went back to bed for a bit before heading back down for breakfast and then checking out.
I looked at some trip itinerary stuff while Allan finished off some work. We learned that we most likely do not have wifi on the boat, so that will be interesting. I'll be a little bit sad not to speak to everyone on the holidays, but it is what it is. While Allan finished up his writing, I picked up our boarding cards. The anticipation was building!
At about 3pm we left the hotel to make our way to the meeting point. Then we got on a bus to make our way to the boat!
We are in cabin 411. When we got there, we explored the room. We have some things to keep in the room like a pretty decent water bottle and an adventure parka. The parkas have an inner down layer that comes out and a removable hood. They seem pretty decent, and we get to keep them! (Good thing too for the price we paid for this boat).Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 2
23 december 2024, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 5 °C
The day started with buffet breakfast. There was so much food, we definitely ate too much.
We had a lecture about sea birds after breakfast. Apparently only 3-4% of all birds are seabirds. Seabirds don't breed as often as other birds, and they tend to lay eggs on the ground or inaccessible locations like sea cliffs. Kevin also taught us how to identify sea birds. They tend to have a wider wingspan as well as colored wingtips. The tail can also tell you if it is a seabird and the color of the beak. Seabirds use dynamic soaring to fly with the wind. The wind also determines how they fly, for example, different flying patterns for upstream and downstream. He told us about a bird that does not alight on land or sea except to breed roughly every 4 to 5 years. That's crazy! There are a few different ways that seabirds feed: surface diving, scavengers and predators, and diving. GISS: General, Impression, Size, Shape helps to identify birds. Pelagic seabirds spend all their time at sea and are more clumsy on land and coastal/shallow. All seabirds have a salt gland. Seabirds don't have to drink fresh water because of the salt gland and they can get fresh water from their food too. Kevin also taught us how to tell the difference between the royal albatross and the wandering albatross. The way I could tell is by the tail feathers: a wandering albatross has black on the edge, but a royal is totally white. The wandering albatross has the longest wingspan at 2.54 to 3.63 meters.
We then had to go and get fitted for our gear for kayaking. We got fitted for booties, a dry suit, a skirt and our life jacket. Allan and I were pretty quick to get ourselves sorted, and having small hands made the rubber on the wrists much easier to get on and off. All in all, it took about half an hour. Later after lunch we had to go back down to the mudroom to get fitted for the kayaks. I've never been fitted for a kayak before so it was a new experience. Getting the skirt around the lip of the opening is harder than it looks!
We managed to catch the end of a lecture about some of the mammals in and around Antarctica. The speaker provided a short list of some of the whales and dolphins that we may see: Blue Whale, Fin Whale, Sei Whale, Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Antarctic Minke Whale, Sperm Whale, Orca, Hourglass Dolphins, Peale's Dolphin. He also said that we might see leopard seals and elephant seals.
After a short nap in our room, we then went to a lecture titled: Who owns Antarctica? a short guide to the Treaty System. Before the Antarctica Treaty, there were three main issues: competing territorial claims, increasing technology capabilities, and the Cold War. In 1957 there was an International Geophysical Year in Antarctica. 12 nations set up in Antarctica to conduct research. Negotiations for a treaty began after the IGY and was signed in December 1959 coming into effect in 1961. Article 1 talks about peace. Nothing military or with weapons can be done here. Article 2 allows freedom for scientific research. Article 3 is about cooperation in scientific investigation. Article 4 talks about the competing territorial claims. The treaty froze the claims as they were and no new claims could be made. Article 5 said no nuclear explosions or disposal of waste could be done here. There are 12 original signatories, 29 consultative parties and 28 non consultative parties who can't vote, but can attend meetings. The meetings are a forum for discussion and decision making. All decisions are made via consensus. However, there was no environmental protection. In the 1980s some ideas and discussions began around mining and the environment in Antarctica. The Madrid protocol prohibits mining and recognizes the intrinsic value of the wilderness value. This includes some things like conservation of flora and fauna and waste disposal.
We had some time to chill out before the Captain's toast and recap of the day before dinner. At the toast we met the captain who seems like an easygoing guy. We also had a recap and briefing. Tomorrow we have the big chat about what we can and cannot do when on land. We also have the biosecurity check on our gear that we will be wearing when we go off of the ship. It'll be a long morning, but the afternoon is much more chill with only a couple of lectures before dinner.
After dinner we had a camping briefing. It doesn't sound like it will be a very comfortable experience, but one night of discomfort for the lifetime of being able to say I camped on Antarctica. Steve, the musician played in the bar tonight. He had quite an extensive list of covers you could request as well as some original songs. I stayed for about an hour and Allan lingered for about half an hour before heading down to spend some time in the sauna.
Back in the room after our respective activities, we spent some time reading/listening to our books. I even finished mine!Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 3
24 december 2024, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 2 °C
After breakfast we had our International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) briefing. By sailing with an IAATO vessel, we are choosing responsible tourism to Antarctica, one of the most pristine places left on earth. It is also the largest wilderness area on earth. Some of the rules were common sense like don't litter, no food or drink, and be careful with belongings. All antarctic species are protected, so of course we have to keep our distance and leave them alone. The penguins might be tricky to keep our distance from, so we just need to move out of their way and we also should not step near or on the penguin highway. We also have to be mindful of where we step, so that we don't crush any plant life because some of the plants are the oldest on earth and grow incredibly slowly.
After the briefing, biosecurity (not nearly as intense as I thought it would be), and boot assignment, we had some lunch. After lunch was a kayak safety briefing because our days at sea are going to be lessening and we will be able to go ashore or kayak. It'll be really interesting to kayak in cold water because we've only ever done it in warm water. After our kayak briefing we had some downtime to read and have a nap.
In the afternoon we went to a lecture on penguins. Like other birds, there are many different types and classifications. He talked us through some of the main types of penguins and showed us where in Antarctica and the south they can be found. Crested penguins are all over the south around New Zealand, Patagonia, and the Indian Ocean, and Falklands. We might see these kinds of penguins on the way back. Macaroni penguins are a bit funny because they lay two eggs, one fertile and one infertile. Scientists still aren't sure why. Regal penguins we unfortunately won't get to see, but they are huge! You can find them in South Georgia. They need access to the ocean all year round. We have some slight potential to see emperor penguins. They can dive under water up to 500 meters. The male emperor looks after the egg over winter (all winter, for 9 weeks in -80C). Brushtail penguins are the ones we are most likely to see on the trip. They have a nest of stones and lay two eggs (both fertile). A lot of them can be found around the peninsula. He told us all about adelie penguins because we are most likely to see them.
Directly after the lecture we went straight into our recap and briefing for the day. Tomorrow we will get to go on land! Straight from the recap we all made our way upstairs to the dining room for Christmas dinner (my hypothesis is that we might camp tomorrow night, so Christmas dinner is tonight instead). Christmas dinner was nice! I got the meat with Yorkshire pudding and Allan had lobster. We had chocolate yule log for dessert and even got some complimentary wine poured during dinner too.
After dinner we went down to the lounge where there were Christmas carols being sang and they even had one of the guides dress up as Santa to hand out small gifts of chocolates. The chocolate box has little caramel filled penguins and reindeers (Allan though the reindeer was a Christmas hippopotamus 🤦♀️😂). We also listened to some live music in the Polar Bear Bar briefly before we went outside.
Wen we got to the front of the ship, we could see land in the far distance. We didn't originally plan on staying out very long, but ended up spending time on the bridge with the crew, and popping up to the deck above the bridge. The continent was getting closer and closer. While on the top deck we spotted some penguins swimming in and out of the water and we also saw two whales! It was pretty magical.
Although, the most magical thing to happen, was being on the bridge with the captain of the ship while we crossed into the Antarctic Circle exactly at midnight on Christmas Eve night. With all of the favorable weather and smooth Drake's Passage, the captain was able to time the crossing over the circle line exactly. Certainly not anything we will ever do again in our lifetimes. We stayed up a little bit longer having a cup of tea in our room and watching the icebergs and the mountains go by. Begrudgingly, we know it's an earlier wake up call tomorrow, so we had to close the curtains and try and settle down for bed. (It's currently past 1am as I write this and I'm still so wired from the excitement of reaching the Circle and knowing what's just outside my window).Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 4
25 december 2024, Antarktis ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
🎄 Merry Christmas! 🎄
We definitely felt the earlier wake up call for breakfast after staying up late last night.
After breakfast, we got dressed in our layers and waited for our group, Wendell, to be called down to the mudroom. Once we got called and made our way down, it was pretty quick. We got our boots on, stepped in the vercon disinfectant, scanned out and we're in the zodiac.
Before we made to land on Detaille Island, we drove around for a little while in the zodiac. We saw some birds, and up high on a cliff there was a rookery of adelie penguins, too high to get a picture though. We saw some very blue ice and learned that this is because of the air bubbles in the ice. Apparently you can also find green ice and red ice in Antarctica. We went around the corner of the island and spotted some fur seals. There were 4 of them, mostly sleeping, but one was looking right at us. Sofia, the girl driving our zodiac, went too shallow at one point and our engine cut out...we were quickly drifting towards the coast where the seals were. We definitely didn't keep our 5m of distance while she calmly, but quickly tried to work out why her engine wouldn't start. After fiddling with some things, the battery had become partially disconnected, so once reconnected we reversed and went to the landing site.
On the island we walked over to the Basecamp W hut. Because the people stationed here left in such a hurry (they had 2 hours to pack and get to the nearby ship that failed to deliver winter supplies), it is preserved in a way that shows how they lived in the hut. We saw blankets on beds, tins in the cupboards, and journals and notes scattered around. It was really fascinating and eye opening to how these research stations operated and the kind of living conditions for the scientists. They certainly didn't live comfortably. We left the hut, and continued to a small viewpoint on our way back to the landing site.
Back on board, we cleaned our boots, sanitized them, and had a cup of tea before lunch. After our excursion, the next goal was trying to pass 'The Gullet', a narrow opening that tends to be filled with pack ice and icebergs. After exploring the area for a few hours it became clear the the ice was foo densely packed in the gullet, so we turned back to go around Adelaide Island. This meant that we had some free time this afternoon that we didn't spend out on the deck to look at the passing ice in the gullet. Before we left to go back around Adelaide Island, we had a quick group picture to mark our crossing the Antarctic Circle.
After a shower post group picture, we went to a lecture on Shackleton and his expedition. His goal was to cross the entire continent. He called it 'The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition'. He purchased two ships, one to get to the side he would use to arrive and one at the other side once they cross the continent. Shackleton was a bit of a dodgy guy, and was terrible with money, but always optimistic when it came to sailing south. He was also very good at motivating people who felt hopeless. He had 27 crew members on the Endurance with him and 67 dogs (not including the puppies born onboard) and Mrs. Chippy, the cat. The dogs were there to pull the sleds and had funny names like 'Slippery Nick'. After two weeks, they got stuck in pack ice, and for nine months drifted around stuck. On October 27, 1915, 9 months after starting, the ship is crushed and sunk. They then have to live on the pack ice that trapped them. The ice opens up and they sail to Elephant Island (but was aiming for Deception Island). Shackleton takes 5 people with him to get to South Georgia and the other 22 stay at Elephant Island. Shackleton made it to South Georgia, and after 4 tries he made it back to Elephant Island and threw cigarettes into the shore that the crew really appreciated. They all made it back (except the dogs).
After our lecture we had our briefing and recap. Tomorrow we are visiting two islands and we are trying to outrun the storm that's been chasing us since we left. It was also snowing which means we officially had a white Christmas! We joined in with a game of Antarctic Bluff after dinner trying to guess the correct definition of different Antarctic words like 'crumping' and 'hogmadog'. They were pretty weird words and the two lies and a truth were all pretty convincing with their definitions. After the game we went down to the sauna for a bit. I found it a little off-putting being in the hot sauna and swaying with the waves, so I didn't do a full second round of 10 minutes, but I wasn't far off! The rest of the evening before bed was pretty calm. I had downloaded a Christmas movie before we left, so watched half of it before trying to get some sleep before our big day tomorrow.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 5
26 december 2024, Antarktis ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Breakfast was the earliest it's been the whole cruise so far, and it was rough getting up this morning despite going to bed earlier than previous nights. During breakfast, unexpectedly, there was a call for kayakers to meet prior to the chance to go kayaking this morning. Allan and I had a choice to make, kayak around some ice (no wildlife expected), or hike to a viewpoint and visit a historical hut. The kayaking seemed pretty uninteresting compared to the land activity this morning, and with a strong possibility to kayak again this afternoon, we opted for land. It didn't stop me from getting huge FOMO watching all the kayaks go out on the water while I watched from my window still stuck on the boat.
When we finally got called down to the mudroom, we made our way out into Horseshoe Island. Our first stop was a hike up to a viewpoint. We zigzagged our way across the hill, sometimes sinking in the snow, but otherwise pretty stable up to the viewpoint. We had to remember to slow down and turn around to admire the view from above. After our hike, we had a short zodiac ride to Basecamp Y which was a research base for the British. Apparently when base W was abandoned, Steve the dog didn't go with the crew abandoning base W, and turned up at Y a few months later! Unfortunately we didn't have access to the inside of this one like we expected to, but we still got to walk around. There were some cool rocks with copper veins throughout as well as 7 weddell seals having a nap on the snow. We also saw some brown skuas that like to nest here. On our way back, Kevin, the driver, spotted a leopard seal so we stopped for a bit to see the seal. It was very big! Apparently it lingered because it likes the bubbles the wake makes. We also saw a baby seal on the ice just as we were getting back to the ship. This seal was white, but I didn't quite catch the name unfortunately.
Once back on the ship, we had time for a quick cup of coffee before lunch. We also headed off to our next location, Stonington Island. On our way, we saw lots of crab eater seals on the floating ice. Lunch today was really good, the peanut vegetable stew was a big hit.
The afternoon expedition was to Stonington Island. The conditions were good so we decided to go kayaking! There were a couple of old bases on the island, and no hiking so we took advantage of our kayak option. While we were kayaking, we saw some of the glacier break off and crash into the water. The sound is like a crash of thunder as it falls off. Unfortunately, we didn't really see any wildlife, but it was a good experience to kayak in and amongst the ice. It was our first time kayaking in cold water.
After the briefing and recap we had Italian buffet dinner. We loaded up on carbs of all kinds. It felt like a bear eating a lot before hibernation because we were headed back to Stonington Island after dinner to go camping!
Camping was a pretty wild experience. We arrived on the island and got our tent and dry bag of supplies (like the sleeping mats). It was snowing pretty heavily when we got there, and the snow on the ground was very deep, but loose. We sunk down past our knees every other step. It made it pretty challenging to carry everything and walk to a spot to try and pitch the tent. Once we managed to find a spot, we had to try and pack the snow down to put the tent on, which was also challenging because of the soft snow. We patted down as best we could before starting to pitch the tent, and it was still snowing. We did it as quickly as we could to prevent the tent and our belongings getting wet with snowfall and we were pretty successful. While we were setting up the tent, a penguin came through waddling and on his belly just past our tent. It was pretty special. Afterwards, Steve, the musician played a few songs (before his fingers were too numb). Allan then went for a walk around the perimeter while I walked around the (small) camp. I witnessed the tail end of a Chinese couple getting engaged. It was a pretty epic spot, but was quickly turned sad when she dropped the ring amongst the snow and rocks. We didn't know that straight away, but as we stood chatting with a few people, the story of the lost engagement ring and the search for it unfolded. I felt very sad for them. At around 2230 people began to disperse and make their way to tents. We got all set up inside the tent and hunkered down for a chilly night. The tiny sleeping mat didn't really do very much to keep the cold out of the sleeping bag and the snow was pretty hard. Fingers crossed for some sleep!Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 6
27 december 2024, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
The day started with waking up on Stonington Island. I managed some sleep, but not a lot. The land of the midnight sun also meant it stayed light out to varying degrees of brightness the entire night. Some voices around 0300 were due to a curious weddell seal baby , a 'weaner' making it's way through the camp, and people getting up and taking tents down around 0430, instead of 0500 as were told, also disturbed sleeping. Despite the rough sleep, it was a memorable experience and not many people can say they camped inside the Antarctic Circle 🐧. We were back on the ship safe and sound around 0545.
After a nap before and a lie down after breakfast, we headed for Red Rock Ridge and the Adelie penguins colony. We got the zodiac to the continent and there were penguins EVERYWHERE! These penguins are the classic black and white tuxedo penguins and the only penguins to spend their whole lives in Antarctica. We stayed on the zodiac to the second landing site, got off, and did a short hike through some peaks towards the colony. The small mountains were beautiful and the viewpoint allowed for great pictures of the ocean and the colony below.
Watching the penguins was magical. It's an experience I don't think could ever be replicated. The vast amount of penguins was amazing, and the sound of adult adelies was mingled with the sound of newborn chicks. It was so cute to see the two gray colored chicks under several parents. The penguins were also walking or tobogganing around or going back and forth from the edge of the rocks trying to decide if they wanted to jump in. Movies do not do them justice. I could have stayed there all day watching them. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
When the zodiac came to pick us up, we got to explore a little bit on the way back to the boat. A lot of this exploring was following a leopard seal as it traveled around near the penguin colony. They are hard to get pictures of, but are pretty big and majestic swimming through the water. We also saw a couple weddell seals too. It was also interesting to see how the penguin behavior changed when they spotted the leopard seal, their predator. Many were leaping out of the water to shelter, and others that were too far from ice or land swam erratically.
Once our zodiac time came to an end and we were back onboard, we had some lunch and began a long afternoon and night of sailing. We started our journey back north along the outside of Adelaide Island. The sea got a little bit choppier, but wasn't too bad. Allan and I had pretty solid naps in the afternoon after the rough sleeping the night before, and unfortunately neither of us set alarms, so we missed part of the lecture on glaciers and sea ice. We managed to catch the section about how sea ice is formed, and the question section, but missed the glacier information from the beginning.
The rest of the day stayed pretty chill. We had our nightly briefing and recap and some dinner before retiring to our room to watch the world go by out of our window. Allan also went to the sauna and I took some time to read. Tomorrow morning is the polar plunge which many are looking forward to.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 7
28 december 2024, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
With our longer sailing carrying over from last night into this morning, breakfast was later. After breakfast we had some time to chill and spotted some humpback whales out of our bedroom window as well as some swimming penguins. Around 1030 we arrived in some sheltered water for the polar plunge. We watched from our window as people jumped in and shocked faces tried to swim back out. Then our mudroom group was called. Allan made his way down and I went up to the deck to take a video. Once it was his turn he looked up at me and then did a sideways flip into the Antarctic water. When he came back up, post whiskey shot and sauna, we had a short wait before lunch.
After lunch we went to the Yalour Islands. These islands also have some adelie penguins, but no hike, so we decided to kayak. The kayaking was much colder than the previous time, but we did get to maneuver into shallower waters allowing us to see some things other groups couldn't see on land or in the zodiacs. The penguins were all situated on the top of little rock outcroppings. We also saw a weddell seal and a few crab eater seals. It started to snow while we were kayaking, and the wind and current picked up towards the end of the session, so we frigidly made our way back to the ship. The current was pushing against us which made it harder, but we made it back and we're luckily in the front of the line to get back onto the ship.
We had a little bit of time before the briefing and recap, so Allan went to the sauna and I read. I finished the Tattooist of Auschwitz, and started Verity. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the second book I've finished while onboard. After the briefing we went up to dinner, asian buffet night. It was delicious and there were so many options!
The end of dinner was hastened by our impending sail through the Lemaire Channel. We quickly finished eating, layered up, and went to the top deck. It was pretty windy up there, but the views as we passed through the narrow channel were spectacular with icebergs all around in the water and tall cliffs to either side of us. There were not too many big icebergs, so we made it through the channel in about half an hour and continued our way north. We stayed outside a little bit longer admiring the views and searching for humpback whales, which we have seen a fair amount of today while we've been sailing.
Back inside, we thawed out and continued looking out the window for humpback whales. We spotted a few more before Allan went up to the gym for a walk, and I got caught up on some admin, while also looking out the window and finding more humpback whales and porpoising penguins. While catching up on the blog, I happened to look out the window to see several orcas too!Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 8
29 december 2024, Antarktis ⋅ ❄️ 1 °C
Today was a busy day with a small amount of sailing. We started in Paradise Bay visiting the Argentine base, Base Brown. At the base there were a ton of Gentoo penguins. The navy blue and red base was well kept, but those staying at the base weren't here. It's an active base. Apparently, many years ago, a doctor stationed here was told he had to do a second winter season when he originally didn't have to, so he burned the base down to get back home to his girlfriend (a rumor, but he did burn it down). He was put in prison, but at least he didn't have to winter in Antarctica again 🤷♀️.
We made a steepish hike up to a viewpoint that overlooked the bay. While we were up there we saw several humpback whales as well as some orcas. The view with the icebergs and the mountains coupled with the whales was captivating. We opted not to kayak, and we saw the kayakers trying to kayak towards the whales unsuccessfully, so we felt secure in our decision to stick to land. While on our two zodiac trips we also saw some seals, weddell and crab eater, and at the last minute before circling to get back on the ship, a humpback whale swam right next to our zodiac. I've never been so close to a whale in my life.
After lunch we had some downtime while we made the short trip away from the bay to Port Lockroy, a British base. Port Lockroy and nearby Jougla Point were packed with Gentoo penguins. It was very difficult at times to maintain our distance with the penguins. We first stopped in at Poet Lockroy where the penguin post office is located as well as a museum and a gift shop. Allan and I sent some postcards and couldn't resist the allure of the unique Antarctica tartan. I got a scarf and he bought a tie to wear with his kilts (I can't wait to see him wear it 🥰). Much like Base W that we saw a few days ago, the museum reflected what life was like for early scientists with a small kitchen and lounge area, rooms for research, and a bunk area (although this bunk area was definitely more PG 13 than the other one). We waded back through the nesting gentoos and headed over to Jougla.
When disembarking at Jougla, Sarah, a guide, told us we had about an hour to spend on the small island teeming with gentoos. Allan and I both expected this to be a quick visit with no hike, tiny space, and only penguins to see. However, all the different behaviors of the penguins were incredibly interesting. Early on we saw a leucistic penguin, so it has no black pigment. This occurs one in every 20,000 penguins. We also watched as many penguins lay on their nests with their two eggs, and other penguins came and stole pebbles to place on their own nest. Some penguins were even fighting over a pebble spot. Other penguins just had to nip at the pebble pinchers from their nests while they protected the eggs. We also saw some two day old chicks. And had the special privilege of watching parents switch over nest responsibility which only happens once a week. This particular location was incredible to see so many different things from the penguins that it makes me wonder just how much I don't understand about penguins and all the other animals of the world. It's humbling, and rewarding at the same time to be able to witness all of these different things.
After briefing and recap, we had a BBQ buffet for dinner. I definitely preferred the Asian buffet yesterday. I also managed to finish my third book, Verity, just before dinner. Following dinner there was a short documentary on whale sharks that Sofie, a guide, was a part of. It really cemented the idea of just how little I, but also us as humans, understand about the world's creatures. The documentary highlighted the efforts to tag and gather data on whale sharks because so little is known about them, and there is still not a lot we know of why they do certain behaviors, or travel to certain places. They don't even know where whale sharks breed. The female sharks tend to like the Galapagos Islands, which was pretty cool to say that we had been there. After this trip, I think I'll be having many moments of reminiscing. I can't wait to share everything I've learned as well.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 9
30 december 2024, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Today we had scheduled activities in the morning and in the afternoon.
In the morning after breakfast we were at Danco Island. The weather conditions were good, and knowing tomorrow is our last day of expeditions with sketchy weather forecast, we decided to kayak because it might be the last time. The session started off well. The sea was calm, so was the wind, and we saw a minke whale soon after paddling up towards the island. There were Gentoo penguins swimming all around us as well. We followed the whale for a little while and made to continue around the right side of the island, but the wind and current were stronger on that side, so we went back the way we came. We caught a glacier crumbling into the ocean and heard the thunder of more cracks being made. Rex talked us through ice erosion that takes place due to factors such as water, but also bubble erosion which is unique to ice. We paddled around a little bit more, but the wind was picking up making it difficult to keep on course. Allan and I also had pretty cold hands, and not seeing anything on the water got a bit boring for us after a while with also feeling cold. We much prefer the freedom and what you can see from land rather than kayaking for fun in wind and cold. We were glad when we made to go back to the ship. After a rough time trying to stay straight and not be driven back into the ship for landing, we made it back onboard. Kayaking three times this trip was two more than we thought we'd get to do, so that was a positive.
We had some downtime before lunch and some more after lunch. We stayed anchored at Danco until after lunch when we made the short trip to Orne Bay. At this location we were looking for chinstrap penguins. We made the steep climb up wondering when we would spot them. We could hear them, but not really see anything. We reached the top and walked along the back side of the ridge and then we saw a few spatterings on penguins. We also saw a penguin highway on the back side of the hill going down to the ocean. It's a fair distance for the kittle penguins! The chinstraps were in small groups on clusters of rocks going all the way up a mountain. We saw a few, and then made our way back down the hill. I've been pretty pleased I haven't slipped going down any of these snowy, icy hills.
The ice has really blown across the bay, so we couldn't go on a zodiac exploration. On our way back to the boat in the zodiac we did see more chinstraps on their rocky outcroppings along the sea cliffs. We made our way through the soupy ice and got back onboard. After having small sand particles in my boots once after a check, I've been really paranoid about cleaning them, so I was the last one to finish. We had about an hour before our briefing so we read a bit.
During the briefing we were reminded that tomorrow is our last day before we begin making our way back across the Drake. I can't believe how much we've packed into the last week and a bit, but I'll also be sad to leave Antarctica behind.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 10
31 december 2024, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Today was our last day of explorations leaving the ship. The next time we get off will be in Ushuaia to continue our adventure wherever it takes us.
The morning started at Palaver Point on Two Hummock Island. We had our longest and steepest hike yet. Once we reached the top we had some great views of the bay and the chinstrap colony below. The hike down was a bit more challenging. The sun, which we were very glad to see, hadn't warmed up the snow yet. This meant that the path was icy on the way down, so I slipped a few times, but it wasn't so icy that it hurt so that's fine. Back at the bottom, we visited the chinstrap colony. The chinstraps don't seem like they have as much personality as the gentoos, but they were still fun to watch as they carried their pebbles and waddled around the island. On our way back to the ship from the zodiac, we popped around the corner and spotted some coming down the penguin highways and jumping into the water, and managed to catch some jumping out too!
Our day continued with a zodiac ride in the afternoon at Cierva Cove. There was a ton of penguins and we also spied the Argentinians arriving at their base too. Besides the gentoos, we saw some birds, but unfortunately no whales. We did get to see some spectacular icebergs. Some of them had so many different angles and you'd never know it was the same icebergs. We also rode through some brash ice, somehow not getting stuck, and got some great views of the surrounding cliffs. It was a nice chill way to end our last day of exploring.
Dinner was a South American buffet, and the free wine was flowing. We probably enjoyed the free wine a bit too much, but hey, it's new year's eve and we're on a ship coming back from Antarctica! After dinner we made our way up to the Polar Bear Bar where Steve, the musician, was playing some music. After he did a few sets, the Monkey Eating Eagles came on to play for a while. The most southerly band, it is made up of crew members. They sang some great covers and everyone was singing and dancing along, even Allan (like I said, free wine was enjoyed). All chaos erupted when they played 500 Miles and Kevin the ornithologist started a congo line.
As midnight neared, the crew gave everyone a mimosa and we made our way out onto the deck. We counted down from 10, and then once midnight hit they lit off some tame fireworks on board. We all wished each other a Happy New Year, and I got to kick off 2025 kissing my husband.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 11
1 januari 2025, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 4 °C
After entering the Drake's Passage last night, we continued our smooth journey back north to Ushuaia.
The new year started on deck with small fireworks and a mimosa toast. Everyone counted down to the big moment and we rang in the new year while still in Antarctic waters. We stayed up well into the night singing, dancing, and drinking to ring in the new year on the ship. It was a pretty fun night, and even though things get a bit spotty towards the end, I think it'll go down as one of my favorite new year celebrations, and the first one with my new husband.
The rest of the day was spent recovering. Allan was far worse off than I was. I slight lack of hunger in the morning meant I didn't eat very much at lunch, but after a nap, I was good as new. Allan took longer to feel better, but did manage to eat his dinner which was promising.
It was definitely nice to have two really remarkable celebrations on the ship.Läs mer
Antarctica Cruise Day 12
2 januari 2025, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Today was our last full day onboard. We spent it talking to people we met, eating, and getting organized for tomorrow.
We spotted some birds while going through the Beagle Channel and maybe a whale, but I'm still not 100% sure on that one.
Before dinner we had the Captain's farewell, raffle and auction, and a short slideshow/video of pictures tracking our journey through Antarctica. The auction got pretty intense with the illustrated nautical map going for $2,000! Some people on this ship have some deep pockets.
After dinner, with some strange table mates, we spent some time chatting to others. We procrastinated going up to the bar for one last session with Steve, and then got caught up chatting with our neighbors and fellow kayakers. We shared some wine and some stories of traveling before we went back to our room to pack.
It feels very strange to be preparing to leave the ship, this is the longest we've spent in one place (sort of...) since our trip began. It's been an incredible trip with everything that we've seen.Läs mer
Ushuaia Day 3
3 januari 2025, Argentina ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
This morning we disembarked, after trying to stuff ourselves as much as possible at the last breakfast buffet. I'll really miss being able to get fed easily, and have so many options.
We headed to the Albatross Hotel for a bit to get a start on looking at onward travel and catching up on notifications and admin that we missed while on the boat. I was devastated to learn that my Duolingo streak could not be saved with the lack of internet 😭.
After hanging out on the comfy couches, it was time to make our way to the hostel around 1200. After not having to carry heavy bags for almost 2 weeks, the 27 minute walk felt rough. We got there in the end without any complications though. The little place was definitely just where this woman lives and rents out the roo few rooms for an extra buck. It wasn't the cleanest, but after the shit hole that was the hostel in Easter Island, it was fine, and only for the night.
I tried to nap, unsuccessfully, so got up and started looking at our flights and destinations for the next half of the trip. It's not as straightforward as the first half, we knew that South America and Antarctica were the main locations, but after South America, things aren't as clear. We spent time looking at the flights we know we do need, and have some ideas.
We went for a walk in the late evening searching for somewhere cheap for dinner. It was not easy, and ended up being pretty late by the time we found something, a pizza place, and ate. I can't believe how normal it is for Argentinians to eat at like 10pm. Very different to western culture. Then, we went back to the hostel and did some more planning for the Sambadrome for Carnival. That took a while because of all the different options, and before we knew it, it was 1am. We booked our incredibly cheap flights to Australia and went to bed.Läs mer
Ushuaia Day 4
4 januari 2025, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
After getting up and having some cereal for breakfast, we got permission to leave our bags and went to head out for a bit to walk around Ushuaia before meeting our couchsurfers. We went for a walk around part of the bay, talking about all the travel plans we were looking at last night and the best way to do things. There were lots of wildflowers, and it was quiet because it was away from the main tourist area. We did forget to put sunscreen on because we didn't expect to be out as long as we were, so that was unfortunate.
After our walk we went back to the Albatross for a coffee and comfy place to sit and book the Sambadrome. There was a new year sale that we managed to take advantage of. Allan also got started on an email he wanted to write. Just after 3, we packed up, went to a food truck for a cheap lunch, and walked back to the hostel to collect our big bags. Then, it was the short 10 minute walk to the house we will be staying at while couchsurfing. Allan did couchsurfing a lot on previous trips, but this will be my first time.
Once we got to the house, we were warmly greeted by Gab and Gonza. They are both originally from Ushuaia, but did working holidays in Australia for a year. It sounds like Gonza has done a lot more traveling than Gab, kind of like me and Allan (but not as many places). They seem very nice. They have a super cute dog called Bonzo. He's 12, but you'd never know it based on his cute little face and bounding energy. We will stay at their house, while they stay at Gab's grandmother's house that they haven't sold yet. We didn't expect to have the whole place to ourselves!
After getting to know each other for a couple more hours, we got a tour of the house and then got in the car to head towards a glacier. We stopped along the way at a viewpoint and had some local snacks and maté, which is kind of like tea, but a little different. It was nice, but surprisingly bitter and strange to drink hot tea out of a thin straw. It's meant to be a popular thing that local people do, so it was nice to learn that and do it with them.
We continued the drive up to the glacier. Because we did a lot of chatting, we didn't walk all the way up to it, but still had a good view. Apparently in winter it's a popular place to go skiing. Bonzo was loving life, running around and being happy. Walks are always better with a dog.
After the glacier we went back to Ushuaia. We decided to drop Bonzo off at home and head out to the national park, Tierra del Fuego. We stopped for milanesa sandwiches and a beer to take to the park and picnic. We made a quick pit stop on the way to see the El Fin del Mundo Tren, the train that brought prisoners fo and from Ushuaia to cut and haul timber. It was so small!
We went to a lake not far into the park. Because Gab and Gonza are local residents, they didn't have to pay, and said we were there friends, which saved us a fair bit in the entry fee. The lake was very pretty with mountains on either side and a forest behind us. Directly in front of us was the snow capped Mount Darwin and Chile. It was really windy, so we decided to park facing the lake instead of eat on benches. The sandwich had a schnitzel, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, ham, and I'm sure a couple other things. It was a very nice sandwich.
Once we finished our sandwiches, we for back in the car, drove to another part of the part and had a walk in Tierra del Fuego. There was another lake with different mountains and a walking path deck built up to keep the walk out of any potential marshy land. It wasn't a very long walk, but the view was great.
It was late when Gab and Gonza dropped us back off at the house, so after our late night the day before, we showered and went straight to bed.Läs mer
Ushuaia Day 5
5 januari 2025, Argentina ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
Today we had a slow morning before meeting Gab and Gonza around lunchtime. We made some sandwiches and set off for Glacier Vinciguerra. Bonzo the dog came along too!
The walk started off through a peat bog which had some muddy parts. The humans managed to avoid those, but not Bonzo. He was plodding along happy as can be! We also had some god views of the surrounding mountains and a couple small streams while we walked the first section. We then continued on through the forest where we hit some steeper sections. Luckily, we were all huffing and puffing (even Allan a tiny bit after limited exercise on the boat). After the forest opened back up and we were on a steeper, rocky uphill to the glacier. Once we reached the top, we were awarded with a view of the glacier and a beautiful blue glacier lake and stream.
We finished the walk up to the lake and stopped next to it for lunch. After lunch we decided to go and explore some of the glacier. We got pretty far in and Allan even walked on the glacier! There were a few little caves and pools while we walked along. Bonzo did great navigating all the streams (he doesn't really like water). Freya would have loved all the little streams and puddles. I thought about her a lot on the hike.
On our way back down, 12 year old Bonzo was still bounding down full of energy. You'd never know he was getting older! The rest of us were getting pretty tired and moving slowly by the time we finally got to the peat bog for the last few kilometers. But it was a great hike, albeit long, and we had stunning weather which always helps.
It was a quiet drive back, and even Bonzo was finally out of energy. When we got back to the house, we said goodbye to Gab and Gonza who have work in the morning. Allan and I made a quick walk to the grocery store for dinner. After dinner we did some laundry and Allan finally got to watch some of Gladiator II. He has been dying to see if since it came out!
We have one last day in Ushuaia before we make our way back north and info Chile.Läs mer
Ushuaia Day 6
6 januari 2025, Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Today wasn't very exciting, much like our day in Ushuaia after disembarking, we spent the day doing admin. Allan had (another) angry complaint email to write, and I looked at firming up the daily itinerary for the next few months. I think I've established a route up until our time in Brazil, which is only the next month of the trip 🤯. January is going to be a busy month all over Argentina and up to Uruguay and Paraguay before heading into Brazil beginning of February.
After a long day of planning and emails, we met Gab and Gonza for a final meal at Deaguito. The menu at that place was HUGE! We let Gab and Gonza take the lead and ordered an asado, mixed grill. It came on a hot plate with our two sides, salad and grilled vegetables. We had a little bit of everything: steak, pizza skirt steak, pork, lamb, sausage, blood sausage, and there was even some intestine (which if you hadn't told me, I probably wouldn't have guessed because it just looked like sliced sausages). The meal was designed for two, but definitely was more comfortable to eat as a group of four. It's a lot of meat for just two!
After dinner and many hours of chatting, we said goodbye. They are really lovely and easy to talk to about many different things. Once back in the house, I made some sandwiches for the bus tomorrow and Allan had to finish up his admin and pack. We stayed up late (again) to finish Gladiator 2. I'm glad Allan had a chance to watch it after all he's talked about it the last couple months.
Back to Chile again tomorrow!Läs mer
Ushuaia to Punta Arenas
7 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Today started early with a bus to Punta Arenas. It was an all day bus and we had to cross the border back into Chile, for the third time!
The bus was pretty smooth. Our drivers were not messing around and were driving quickly. Internet was spotty, but Allan and I managed to get some flights booked before it went away completely. Our drivers were very efficient at border control. Luckily this one wasn't busy like the last border control we went through. I did have to sneak a banana sandwich across the border 🤫 (Allan managed to eat both of his before we got there).
Once back in the bus we drove another few hours and stopped again to board a big car ferry across the Magellan Strait (?). We got to stay on the bus for this one instead of a ferry for vehicles and a separate one for people like in Bolivia. Once the ferry was crossing the water, you could get off the bus and squeeze your way past all the trucks and cars to walk around. They even had a small cafeteria for people to buy refreshments!
After we bumped off on the other side of the water, we finished the drive. It was only about another 2 hours or so before we arrived in Punta Arenas. All the little stops definitely helped break up the journey.
In Punta Arenas we arrived at our very chaotic and messy hostel. This woman's house, that she just rents out, was causing me some distress... We didn't linger and went out to get Allan a haircut and find a grocery store for dinner and breakfast. Allan finally got the haircut he's been trying to get since Aconcagua, and the grocery store was easy enough to find.
Back at the house, we had to try and cook some pasta...all the counter surfaces were covered with random items and we had to wash our dishes before we used them. I don't know how people can live like this! Even Allan was a bit stressed. I was vexed being in the kitchen. We pushed through though, are quickly, and Allan washed up so I didn't have to go back in the kitchen (true love).
We then spent the next several hours looking at things we still needed to book for the W Trek. A few buses and a catamaran later we were ready. We also had a look at El Calafate, where we head after the trek and onward to Buenos Aires. That was getting too difficult, and it was very late, so we tabled that until the morning. Man, logistics for Patagonia are tricky!Läs mer
Puerto Natales
8 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
We got the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales around 1100. It was a pretty short bus compared to other buses we've had throughout the trip.
Once we got to Puerto Natales, we went to walk to the hostel, but a case of mistaken location, meant we walked about 20 minutes to the wrong place. We discovered that we actually walked past our hostel 15 minutes prior 🤦♀️. We walked the 15 minutes back, checked in, and started making sure everything admin wise was sorted before we started the trek tomorrow.
After double checking everything and downloading all necessary documents, we went out into town to get food supplies for the trek. Surprisingly, there weren't many hiking/camping stores. We ended up just looking at a couple of grocery stores and buying things like oats for oatmeal in the morning, soup and instant noodles to share for lunches, and we did find some wet food packets and flameless heaters to share for dinner with some instant mashed potatoes. Hopefully each camp has hot water because that's what we will need to cook everything!
Once we got back to the hostel, we made some dinner and then it was time to get packing. Somehow, we squeezed all our spare stuff into the two smaller bags, although one looks more like a big bag now... And we packed our big bags with the items for the trek. We went to bed around midnight, which is later than planned, but hopefully an earlier night (albeit camping) is on the cards for tomorrow.Läs mer
W Trek Day 1
9 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Paine Grande to Refugio Grey: 11.88km, 519m ascent
We got up bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning to make our way to Torres del Paine to start our W trek.
We got an early 6:55 bus to the park entrance where we scanned our park passes, got on another bus, and made our way to Lago Pehoe to get a catamaran to the west side of the W. Patagonia greeted us with rolling hills and some stunning mountains already. On the catamaran, the water was incredibly blue and we passed some large rivers flowing into the lake from the mountains. It was pretty beautiful. The catamaran was too full so I couldn't get a picture though 😕. We disembarked the catamaran at Refugio Paine Grande and took some time to get organized before beginning our walk for the day up to Refugio Grey.
The start of the walk to Refugio Grey was a gradual uphill. It had some steeper sections, but was pretty manageable ascent wise. The most annoying thing about the walk was the rocks. They were chunky rocks mixed in with some smaller ones that made the surface tricky and uncomfortable to walk on. About 3km in we stopped at a lake to share a sandwich. The lake was a darker blue than the one earlier and had some lovely green hills. It was really windy, and despite trying to seek some shelter from the wind behind a big rock, we didn't linger after eating our sandwich. We continued on, battling the uneven, rocky path as we went. We were surprised to see so many dead trees (later learning that a tourist lit some used toilet paper on fire after doing a wild 💩 and the fire spread destroying tens of thousands of hectors of the park). On our right were some mountains, and soon on the left Lago Grey appeared. The icy blue water was, again, a different color to the other two bodies of water we'd seen previously in the day.
Around 5.7 km in, we got to Mirador Lago Grey and got our first glimpse of Glacier Grey. The lake runs straight into the glacier. Even from a distance, we could see the darker blue in the cracks of the glacier (reminding me of the ice in Antarctica). We sat again at the lookout and shared our last sandwich while taking in the view. At this point we were about halfway to Refugio Grey, and I was unfortunately feeling tired. The second half of the trail had some steeper down sections over really chunky rocks, but other than that, it wasn't a challenging descent to the Refugio (I was tired by the end and going very slow...Allan was very patient and positive ❤️).
At the refugio we checked in to our campsite. I was feeling pretty shit by this point making me feel confused (I'd done the Inca Trail and a long hike a few days prior and felt fine) and worried about the rest of the trek. We found our allocated tent and got set up with our sleeping bags and went to shower at the shower building. It was nice to be able to have a quick shower unlike on the Inca Trail. Back at the tent, I made the mistake of lying down on my sleeping bag while I waited for Allan...so sleepy.
After Allan had a shower, we got our little flameless heater bag, instant mashed potatoes, and bag of lentil stew and went to the cooking area of the campsite. We followed the instructions adding water...nothing happened. Annoyed, and concerned about having to eat cold food when we wanted it hot, we dumped out the cold water and tried again with boiling which luckily activated it. We ate our meager meal out of our shared plastic tub, Allan kindly washed up because I wasn't feeling great, and we went back to our tent after a bathroom break. I crawled into my sleeping bag immediately because I was freezing, despite my skin being hot to the touch. I was also shivering, but warm at the same time. It was so strange. After failing to sleep for a couple hours, around 10pm Allan was heading up for the bathroom before he went to sleep, so I went too, shaking from the cold the whole way there and back. Back in the tent, I hoped I'd be able to get some rest before the hike back to Paine Grande and up to the glacier in the morning.Läs mer
W Trek Day 2
10 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Refugio Grey to Mirador Grey: 8km
Refugio Grey to Paine Grande: 12km
Today was a much longer day. We had a later start than planned this morning beginning our hike up to the glacier lookout around 10.
We were moving quicker this morning because we didn't take our bags with us, the path was relatively flat to start out with through the forest, and then about 20 minutes in got a bit steeper. We continued another 15 minutes and came to our first suspension bridge over a river/small gorge area. The bridge was really fun to walk across and you had a nice view of Lake Grey and Glacier Grey. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep going, but Allan spurred me forward another 35 minutes to the next lookout and suspension bridge. We had an even nicer view of the glacier. Allan then went across the bridge a little bit further to another viewpoint.
We then made our way back down the hill, 4 km back to Refugio Grey. We made our lunch, ate, and then made final preparations to head back down to Paine Grande. I was feeling pretty worried. After yesterday I was feeling awful. Super tired, headache, very achy and couldn't regulate my body temperature; it was all over the place. Not only did we have to now do the same hike as yesterday, but we had already hiked 8 km!
The first half of the trip was much steeper on the ascent. I did remember that from yesterday, the down was tough, and it was tough again going back up 😞. Like yesterday, we stopped for a small snack at Mirador Lago Grey. I was pretty tired by this point and starting to slow down. Luckily all the big up was done, and it was mostly down with little ups left. The only thing that still really annoyed me was how rocky it is. Makes it much harder.
Slow and steady, I kept plugging away. Allan was very patient; he led the way and sometimes got a bit far ahead, but never out of site and would stop and reassure me. I don't know why I'm finding this harder than the Inca Trail! The only thing making it worth it are the great views. The sun was shining brightly today and was shining on the glacier lake and river making it look very icy blue. The shale type rocks also have so many more colors visible when the sun hits them.
Tomorrow brings us closer to Mirador Torres del Paine and the end of the hike. 2 days down, 3 to go! 💪Läs mer
W Trek Day 3
11 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Paine Grande to Mirador Britanico to Refugio Francis: 22.71km, 1,223m elevation gain
Despite being in a bed, our sleep was worse than in the tent the previous night. We couldn't fall asleep early due to the noise of people talking right outside our door, and we were woken up by an insanely loud, long breakfast line that instead of stretching out of the building into the covered reception area, backed up into the dorm area. I was not happy, but Allan was even grumpier than me. When we did get out of bed to go and make our porridge, he complained to the manager who was unavailable when we complained earlier in the morning. He was gone for a while as I sat in the cafeteria waiting for him. When he came back he had two breakfast and two coffee vouchers. The breakfast wasn't the best, but we made the most of the free food. We took some oats for our porridge tomorrow, and made a sandwich with the bread and deli meat that was on the buffet for lunch. We also got a latte and cappuccino which was a nice treat.
Fueled up, we packed our bags and began our walk towards Campomento Italiano. The walk there was very pleasant. There was very little up and down, a flat path, and at one point we were walking on a long boardwalk over a grassy area to help promote the ecosystem devastated by the fire. We flew through the first part of the walk. We did accidentally take a longer route on a new path adding 2km making it 9km for the walk to Italiano instead of 7. But the upside was we could see the mountains in the other side of the lake easily. One of the mountains reminded me of a double stuffed Oreo because it had black on both ends with white in the middle.
At Italiano, we dumped our bags, made up a small backpack with our lunch, and began the middle part of the W, a hike up to Mirador Francis and Britanico. This was a tough hike. It was very steep and rocky, and the ascent was more than we had done in one stretch previous days. Once we got to Mirador Francis, we sat and had our lunch in front of Glacier Francis. The glacier was smaller than Grey and climbed up the mountain rather than being near a lake. We could see and hear the glacier calving off the mountain and running down the face of the mountain. It was a pretty good lunch view despite the light on and off rain and wind.
I stayed at Francis, while Allan went another 350 m up again to Britanico. He got a great 360° view of the valley, mountains, and lake we saw earlier in the day. He ran back down the mountain and met me back at Italiano much earlier than I expected. I had been partly waiting for him at the sheltered site, but also waiting for the rain to stop before walking to Refugio Francis. Luckily as Allan came back, I was just making my final preparations to leave so I didn't miss him. We walked through the forest a short km to Refugio Francis.
This campsite is run by a different company than the previous two. It also looked a lot newer so the buildings, and the bathrooms, were really nice. Our tent was sturdy and very spacious with a foam mat inside which was comfortable. It was on a raised bed, like stilts, so we weren't on the cold ground either which was great because it started to downpour and got very windy. We got hot water from the cafeteria and made our dinner in the tent. After a nice day, we were in good spirits, even if our food didn't get very hot because the little heater bag didn't work great.
While nervous about the weather tomorrow, we were feeling good which, for me, was a nice change to a couple of days ago. After a crappy sleep last night we were looking forward to a quieter sleep in the forest in our tent.Läs mer
W Trek Day 4
12 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
Camp Francés to Camp Chileno (17.02km, 1,075m elevation gain)
How to even start with today... 😭🌧️🌫️🌬️💦
After trying to remain positive last night that we would wake up and the rain and wind will have improved, we were sadly hopeful. It was still incredibly windy and rainy. We started packing up and had our breakfast (this always seems to take longer than we expect). We set off in a light rain with occasional strong gusts of wind around 9.
The trail today started in and out of the forest and meandered alongside a lake. We went down a bit and the clouds had cleared a little and the rain let off for a second. We could see the calm lake and it looked quite peaceful and beautiful. It was a nice blue, not quite glacier lake color, but close to it. I'm not sure what water fed into the lake, but a glacier and maybe other mountain rainwater run off wouldn't surprise me.
We continued walking feeling optimistic that the worst of the weather passed in the night...but once we got down the hill not long after our semi clear view at the top, all hell broke loose. We were walking alongside the lake on a rocky beach when strong gusts of wind began to blow us around and the rain was blowing right into us. Then, the strong wind and even stronger gusts were cooked with torrential downpour as we continued walking. It was not pleasant and the peaceful lake was now very rough. We came up to a stream, that was now a raging, impassable river. We saw a group of people about 30-50 meters up the river making a go at getting across so we joined the group up there. After waiting a while, two kind men helped people across. First they took backpacks and threw them to the other side. Then, you had to straddle over the raging water, or in my case jump with the help of a man shoving you along to another man on the other side. After that, we had to walk across some flooded shrubs which is when water rushed over my feet soaking them. Shoes full of puddles, and soaked through jacket, t-shirt and trousers, we continued to Los Cuernos, a camp on the way to Chileno (our stopping point for the day).
At Los Cuernos, the soaking damage was assessed. My expensive goretex jacket, did not do its job of keeping water out (and actually kept water in the pocket in a puddle with my phone...queue water logged phone issues). Allan luckily had a spare t-shirt and rain jacket he lent me so I could try and have something dry to put on. I took my shoes and socks off, rang them out, and tried to dry off my feet. We warmed up in the small room at Los Cuernos, full of other soaked people, and had some lunch. We watched for over an hour as the rain and wind battered the building and the mountains around us. Eventually, we had to get going as we still had 13km to go until Chileno (we had only gone about 3km so far).
We layered up, checked our bags, and got on our way. Shortly into our rocky, foresty path we ran into some Scottish people who told us that many more raging rivers to cross lay ahead. I was already dreading it, but the only way we could go was forward. The rain seemed to lighten a bit which was helpful and the strong gusts were less frequent. I guess waiting in Los Cuernos longer than intended paid off a bit.
We hit about 6 more streams that took an effort to cross. At one point Allan leaped back over one to take my bag so I could proper gazelle jump across a stream. My feet got soaked again early on and the little puddles in my shoes were unbearable with the blisters on my baby toes that became very painful early on into the walk (good thing our first aid kit had some gauze. My feet were too wet for bandaids). We also had to cross muddy, flooded fields and every now and again had some nice, flat paths. We also got to cross a suspension bridge over a raging river with the water coming off the mountains looking very picturesque.
Eventually, we began the last couple of uphill kilometers to Chileno, nestled in the forest next to the mountains. It was busier here because the trail down led to the entrance to the park where day hikers come, hike up to the Torres and then back down again. We were wet and weary when we finally made it to that red building in the forest and checked in for camping. I didn't even bring my bag to the tent, I went straight to the shower, peeled off my layers, and stood in the hot water.
Back at the tent, Allan has hung his things up as best we could. I dropped my shoes off in the warm mini mart to try and dry a little before heading to the tent to try and hang a few things too. Our tents were raised again in a forest just like Francis with a stream in front of them. After Allan has showered too, we went to the manic and crowded mini mart/camping cooking area for make some dinner. We even caved and bought a tiny pizza to share and some Gatorade. We stayed until it closed at 9, made our way back to the tent, and got situated to try and get some sleep before an early wake up to hike up to the Torres for sunrise. I was absolutely wrecked, physically and mentally, and dreading wet shoes for more hiking tomorrow. Allan was understanding, and let me cry for a second before I dried my eyes and prepped myself for the day tomorrow.
At least most of the days we've had so far have been nice, and the bad weather happened towards the end.Läs mer
W Trek Day 5
13 januari 2025, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Refugio Chileno to Torres del Paine to Park Entrance: 16.94km, 963m elevation gain
Our last day on the W started unfortunately early after the day we had yesterday. We got up just before 3am, packed up our small backpack, layered up, and left the campsite. We headed through a forest with head torches towards the lookout point of the famous Torres del Paine. The first chunk of the hike was ok, pretty flat and easy going. My soaked shoes from the day before were luckily less soaking, but still wet making my sad feet a little sore so I couldn't go as fast as normal. That being said, turns out we had to slow down, because the hike wasn't as difficult as we read and we were going to be at the top too long before sunrise. I was glad for the extra time when we got to the last 1.5km because it was steep, big rocks I had to climb over.
At the top we found a spot behind a big rock that sheltered us from some of the wind. Allan set up a time lapse with his spare phone because my phone camera sadly has fallen victim to the torrential rain from yesterday. We got an extra layer on, our gloves, and cracked open our flask of coffee. We watched in the cold with little snow flurries as the sun rose behind us and lit up the cliff next to the Torres. Must be the wrong time of year to light up the towers themselves. Still, it created a beautiful glow on the cliff, and we waited long enough that the clouds at the top of the towers cleared briefly enough that we could get some quick pictures.
The way back down was more pleasant than I expected. We stopped after the rocky clambering to finish the coffee, and Allan went off a little while later to start getting the tent packed up. The walk back down through the forest was much easier now that the sun was up and didn't take me as long as I (or Allan) expected. Back at the tent, he had just started packing, so I joined him in getting ready to go. Once the tent was packed, we went down to the cafeteria to have some breakfast before we started our journey down the W for our last hike.
The steeper up sections right after the refugio were a bit of a slog, but after that it was all downhill towards the shuttle bus that would take us back to the start where we get the bus to Puerto Natales. The walk down was ok. Very rocky and uneven which wasn't great with my sore feet, but we took our time. The views down were tall, snowy mountains behind us and rolling green hills and a lake in front of us. It's so strange when you look at the mountains, because a lot of them have a clear line where the snow freezes. We got to the welcome center where we got the shuttle with plenty of time to eat lunch and chill out a bit.
The bus back to Puerto Natales was very quiet, full of weary hikers. We were on time and made the 15 minute walk to our hostel for the night which was actually a small apartment to ourselves (a nice change from all the camping). We got a load of laundry on and walked another 15 minutes back to the first hostel we stayed at in Puerto Natales to pick up the bags we left, and then walked back to the new place. It was a lot more walking than expected when in town!
I went out to get some groceries while Allan washed up the dishes from the trek and hung the laundry all over the house. Then we went out to dinner instead of cooking our own. We went to Base Camp and shared a large pizza, loaded fries, and a beer. After eating cup of noodles, watery porridge, and food out of a bag for 5 days, it all tasted amazing!
We organized the laundry switching what was closest to the heat and I called the bank (always some kind of admin job creeping up 😔). After that, it was time for bed, in an actual bed 😴!Läs mer
Puerto Natales to El Calafate
14 januari 2025, Argentina
Today we leave Chile behind for good. We packed up our things after getting some laundry done last night after our hike. With not much to do in Puerto Natales, we walked to the bus station a few hours early and spent some time getting admin jobs done as well as looking at some trip planning. Then, it was time to get on our bus to El Calafate. After zigzagging in and out of Chile doe the last month and a half, it's nice to leave the country behind and move on completely to a new one.
The bus journey was delayed by a couple of hours, but overall it wasn't a bad journey. When we arrived, late, in El Calafate, we got to our hostel and thankfully Allan managed to work something out so that we could pay with card and didn't have to go back out to find pesos or exchange dollars (despite the amount for the night being less than $50, for ease of changing money, the hostel only accepted dollar bills of $50 or $100. Total opposite to what we've needed the whole trip!). The good news was we got it paid, and could sleep knowing we didn't have to deal with it in the morning.Läs mer