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Antarctica 2023
  • Elloise Clayton

Antarctica 2023

A 16-day adventure by Elloise Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 29, 2022
    Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    Departure day

    December 29, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Snow boots on, after what feels like a lifetime I am finally at Heathrow waiting to depart.

    My bags are definitely not light enough for our second flight, I definitely didn't get sea sickness tablets even though I know I get sea sick (and Heathrow is sold out) BUT everything will be worth it as long as we are able to get on that boat!

    I think a big part of me still doesn't believe that it is going to happen, it all seems a bit surreal.

    But regardless, I'm at the gate, about to depart to Argentina and finally about to catch up with Fessler who at the point of posting this is almost landing her second flight.

    Hasta Luego!!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Buenos Aires

    December 30, 2022 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Well... It's been short but sweet.

    4 hours outside of EZE airport to find myself a Fessler, take a dip in the pool and enjoy the 33 degree heat (questionable how much you enjoy it when you arrive wearing snow boots).

    We are now back at the airport awaiting our flight to Ushuaia and much cooler temperatures!

    Excited to get to the end of the world 🌍 and to catch some well overdue zzz's before New Year's Eve adventures tomorrow!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    We reached the end of the world

    December 30, 2022 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    And we made it to the most southernly city in the world...

    I don't think I have stopped beaming ear to ear since we got here. Our hotel is an absolutely dream and as we are so far south, it's still light far past 10!

    Currently enjoying a nice glass of wine after a hot tub and pre sauna before heading for some week deserved sleep!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    End of the year at the end of the world

    January 1, 2023 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    That's what they call it here, the end of the year at the end of the world 🌍 well 'El fin del mundo' and what a beautiful place to end 2022!

    We started the last day of the year with a hike, followed by a spa session and then a fancy dinner at the hotel followed by some dancing.

    Everything still seems so surreal here and I'm not sure that this trip is ever going to sink in. But, whilst I wait to see if it does, I'm happy to be surrounded by the most stunning views 😍

    Feliz año nuevo 🍾    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    New year, new hike

    January 1, 2023 in Argentina ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    As Chloé put it, 'Someone wanted to go for a hike today'... Yes I did! Starting the year as I plan to go on. (I did not force her to go though and I would have been more than happy to go by myself).

    After trying to tell our taxi driver where we wanted to go and be picked up from (and then having to seek additional support as we know approximately zero Spanish) we did not make it to the walk to see beavers that we planned upon BUT the hike that we stumbled upon was everything I wanted and more.

    Pictures speak a thousand words but these pictures do not even do this walk justice.

    I even dared to dip my toes in the sea (it was cold.)

    All in all, if all of my years start this way, I think I'll be a happy bunny. Happy 2023!

    Ps. Yes Chloé is hugging a tree
    Pps. Yes I tried to climb a boulder and instead got wedged between a boulder and a tree.    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    Snow White & la Laguna Esmerelda

    January 2, 2023 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    So I'll start at the end of the day as we just passed our COVID tests which means tomorrow, we set sail!

    Today has been our final full day in Ushuaia. We started by sadly saying goodbye to the amazing Arakur hotel and then heading for today's hike. Laguna Esmeralda.

    The walk up was muddy but easy enough and the moment you finally get a glimpse of the lagoon, you can fully understand why it's named so. The colour of the water was so vibrant (even when the skies were so grey!)

    We enjoyed lunch by the lagoon where I made friends with the birds (hence Snow White) and shared my sandwich with them and it wasn't until we finished eating that we realised how much colder it was up at the lagoon (plus the rain had started) making the descent much less pleasant!

    When we got back down we checked into our new hotel for our final night on land ⛴️

    Brace yourselves as the next few days are more likely to be a document of how sick I am 🤢 than interesting updates!

    Hasta Luego!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Drake passage take 1

    January 3, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    And we are off!

    We can breeze pretty quickly over this one. The expedition staff say that the Drake is not as bad as they expected and a 1/10 when it comes to waves.

    I however got zero sleep and didn't feel great but thanks to some strong sea sickness tablets, I was not sick. It's a win and I will take it!Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    The Drake Passage

    January 4, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 2 °C

    20 hours into the drake passage and apparently we have been extremely lucky. If I'm honest, I can't imagine it being any worse 🥲

    Luckily sickness has been held at bay thanks to some nifty sea sickness tablets, however, side effects have included falling asleep during 3 lectures today (one of which was mandatory 🤦🏻‍♀️)

    After approximately no sleep last night, I'm very excited to reach the south Shetland Islands tomorrow.

    Luckily, because the drake has been calm we are ahead of schedule so hope to reach Antarctica tomorrow!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    Antarctica!

    January 5, 2023 in Antarctica ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    And we have reached Antarctica!

    Today was a very exciting today. We saw our first icebergs, whales and penguins swimming alongside our boat.

    In the afternoon, we were able to make our first excursion to President's Head island where we got to see elephant seals chilling on the beach and some penguins on the beach! Everyone was psyched to be making out first excursion back on to dry land and to be able to see so many seals so quickly. There was one just a few metres away from our landing spot watching us all come ashore. We saw some of the seals mock jousting (we were told that most of the seals on the beach could likely by pups, awaiting to shed before heading back out to see).

    In the evening, we were mid way through dinner when a group of what they think was 30 humpback whales surrounding our boat feeding. It was such an unexpected show that they stopped dinner for over an hour so that we could watch the show. 😍 One of the whales looked to have a pup and we saw plenty of flukes and a couple of cartwheels and breaches from them too. Everyone on board was so excited as we stood outside, many of us in just jumpers for an hour to watch the show.

    #OverWhalemd    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    Penguins!

    January 6, 2023 in Antarctica ⋅ 🌬 1 °C

    We were woken up by the cheerful tones of Mario at 6.30am informing us that our morning excursion was unlikely as we were in the middle of an antarctic blizzard.... Not ideal.

    Not ones to be easily put off, we went outside to check out the winds of up to 140km an hour and we ended up having a snowball fight on deck.

    Still not even 8am, we buckled down for some card games to pass the time.

    In the afternoon, we were given the all clear for our first kayak of the trip. We headed down to the mudroom and got kitted up but unfortunately the wind picked up again and we had to de kit and prepare to head for land (Paradise island) on a zodiac instead.

    Don't underestimate the weather here!

    On land, we were able to see 3 colonies of Gentoo penguins and complete a short hike up to a viewpoint from where we could see whales bubble wall feeding and a tonne of icebergs.

    Unfortunately, camping was also not possible this evening so off to the bar we head for some drinks and live music (yes, the ship has a live musician). This escalated somewhat and I would hazzard a guess that Antarctica has never seen that many people on a ship deck doing the macarena (the conga line was also pretty epic). It's probably also worth noting for everyone else's entertainment that I did full on face plant on the deck after slipping on some ice, leaving some grazes and bruises that will no doubt sting tomorrow but thankfully nothing worse!

    After what one might say was too many drinks, we finally tumbled into bed in the early hours of Saturday after so much fun and laughter    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Lumier Channel

    January 7, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌧 2 °C

    Another wake up call from Mario to start the day (though he did say that for those of us who stayed up a little bit later we could have another hour in bed).

    After a shower, another announcement got me moving as Orca's had been spotted off the boat. After quickly throwing on some clothes we ventured out onto the front deck where we were able to see the most interesting show. A pod/congregation of over 30 Orca's with 1 humpback. Whilst on deck there was lots of speculation - were the killer whales trying to take down the humpback? Sarah our resident whale expert was just as shocked having not seen this behaviour in person before.

    Once back inside the expedition guides were able to confirm that the killer whales we saw were type 2 and therefore not trying to kill the humpback. In fact, the humpback was trying to chase the killer whales away. Either way, what a show!

    We then headed to the Lumier channel, the narrowest part of our journey where the closest points are 700m apart. The blizzard is back and it is very cold and wet outside - keeping our fingers crossed that the weather clears and we can make it out later today!

    Well... Yes we did (at the very limit of wind speeds and swells that they are allowed to take us out in). It was a bumpy ride over to a small island where there were 20+ colonies of adellie penguins (most of the crews favourite type). And, for the first time we were able to catch a glimpse of the little baby penguins who were huddled under their parents trying to keep dry and warm (getting wet is one of the largest killers of baby penguins who aren't yet waterproofed). We were even lucky enough to see the change over of parents for one noisy little chick 😍

    Back on board, some of us headed to the sauna to dry off and warm up before dinner, some games and karaoke.

    Time is so confusing here as it is only dark for a couple of hours a day so once again, we stayed up a little bit later than intended...    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Orcas!

    January 8, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌧 1 °C

    Today, we finally got perfectly calm weather and we were able to head out on in the kayaks! It was worth the wait. As soon as we got into the water, without the noises of the zodiacs we could see penguins jumping in the water a few feet away from us.

    We were able to circle a small island that had a tonne of Weddell seals. We were also lucky enough to see Weddell seals lying on some bergy bits (legit what the small pieces of icebergs - approximately table size - are called) and the piece de resistance - a leapard seal that came up to us in our kayaks! 🦭

    I can't explain how peaceful and amazing kayaking is here. The wildlife seemed completely unfazed by us paddling on by.

    In the afternoon we were able to head out in the kayaks again, pushing through some brash ice and seeing more penguins and seals.

    In the evening, we were hopeful that we may get our chance to go camping but unfortunately the weather was not in our favour and camping was a no go. Back to the bar instead where Jay soothed our woes with drinks and the disposable camera was bought out (much to people's amusement. A number of people had to be told they had to wind the camera on manually 😂)

    Ps. How do you keep your cocktails cool in Antarctica? Bits of iceberg of course!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler
    1

    Deception island

    January 9, 2023 in Antarctica ⋅ 🌧 1 °C

    You can tell we are back to less calm waters as my original wake up call was the waves at 4.30am. We did however wake up dry and safe on board the ship, which we were told would not have been the case if we had gone camping (the storm winds would have been around 65mph at the planned campsite). However, every cloud has a silver lining and as we were able to travel through the night, at about 7.30am we arrived at deception island. Originally a whaling site that was occupied during the summer months, it later became a research site. The UK established several research bases here during world war 2 as they were worried that the Nazi's would set up base here instead. (Other counties including Chile also established base here). As deception Island is an active volcano, both Chile and UK research stations were eventually abandoned after 2 eruptions occured during the space of 2 years.

    At deception we were able to take some walks to view points and walk around the abandoned buildings which were essentially a time capsule. We also were lucky enough to see more penguins and a leapard seal (uncommon as in the antarctic they are more likely to lay on ice than a beach). If you put your hands into the sand or water you could feel the heat from the magma below the surface.

    After some lunch, and a change in location (to cooler waters) we were able to take part in a polar plunge. One by one we were attached to a waist strap and we were able to take a jump off the gangway into the Antarctic ocean. It probably goes without saying that it was cold...
    Parker, Shelby and I stayed in the mudroom still in our swimming costumes and wrapped in a towel to be cheerleaders for every single person that jumped (we think it was over 100).

    After that, it was to the recap and next day brief. Sadly, we are now about to head back and expect to hit the drake crossing tonight (it's not looking as nice as the way out). However, for or cheerleading duties earlier in the day, the crew also gave us two free bottles of wine. TBC how Dramamine and wine mixes, could be good, could be not so good!

    Evening activities involved a quick quiz, a game of antarctic two truths and one lie (do you know what a lurker is? Or doomix?) And then to the bar for the ship band!

    Tomorrow is a drake day so my hopes are not high, but at the same time, I'd give anything (even the drake) to stay on this adventure for a little bit longer!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    The Drake Shake

    January 10, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 3 °C

    Hello to the Drake Passage. Whilst considerably worse than our first crossing, apparently it can still get a lot worse than this.
    The night consisted of not a lot of sleep. Hangers rattling, things falling off the side, feeling yourself slide up and down the bed.

    The crew broke 1/3 of their plates before breakfast even started being served. At breakfast people were barely managing to get to their tables with their food, some had to be stopped from falling off their chairs by crew members. Plates flew and at one point a giant knife flew towards some of the guests (not remotely terrifying).

    Moral is a bit low today as we hunker in for lectures and some rocking and rolling from the drake for the day.

    We still made it to the bar before bed but only 2 before the sleeping pills kicked in!    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Last day aboard

    January 11, 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 8 °C

    The last day on the ship 😭😭😭

    Today we have our last lectures as we head up the beagle channel before information and getting off. The sadness is real.

    However, the bar is not closed yet. Time for the captain's fairwell, final recap and the raffle.

    We might be able to get off the ship tonight and head to a bar in Ushuaia but there is some debate as to whether we want to or whether we want to spend our final note in the polar bear bar on board where hopefully Craig has finished writing the song 'I like whales'

    Amendment... Craig did not finish I like whales but had written a complete song of his own about our trip.

    Many drinks were had (too many), tears were shed, more dancing occurred.

    Heads will be sore tomorrow.    Read more

  • Elloise ClaytonAntarctica 2023Traveler

    Landsickness

    January 12, 2023 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Oh the regret when Mario's voice beams through at 6.15 to wake you up and most of the ship went to bed between 3-4...

    A quick breakfast before so many hugs and final hugs with so many of the passengers and the crew 😭

    A few of us decided that rather than mope about with our hangovers we would head back to Tierra Del Fuego to walk it off. Easier said than done with a combination of a hangover and trying to find your land legs again whilst scrambling over rocks. It was however a gorgeous walk and by the time we had to head back for our flights, we were feeling slightly better.

    The rest of the day was no fun with the tiniest airport, a 3 and a half hour flight and then finally checking into our hotel for Buenos Aires at midnight before our final flights home tomorrow.

    I can't quite comprehend that the trip is nearly over, let alone that I have just spent the last two weeks exploring the Antarctic 🤯    Read more

    Trip end
    January 13, 2023
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