Hang on Snoopy

"Hang on Snoopy, Snoopy hang on". The McCoys (mostly)

I saw my first Albatross today. It was extraordinarily exciting. It was a small one apparently, with only a 7' wing span. A foot wide bird with two yardsticks sticking out, awkwardly bent.

He or a few of his friends followed our ship through the Beagle Channel as we made our way through this narrow waterway that divides Tierra del Fuego. The channel named after Darwin's boat that discovered this safer short cut on their way to the Gallpogos.

The first part of the day was not the most exciting to write about. We dropped our bag off around 10:30AM with the Polar Pioneer crew and then killed time until 3:30 PM. Liz met up with our leader, David, whom she guided with in Antarctica for several years. We find out that David, an experienced polar guide and commercial lawyer, has started this business, Islands and Ice Travel, and this is his maiden voyage as owner. His enthusiasm is off the charts.

While waiting to board the ship we go to Liz's favourite watering hole - Bar Ideal. Fours hours and four pints later it's time to board the ship.

Born in 1982 the Polar Pioneer is not a new ship but it has been retrofitted, ownership has changed from Russian to Scandinavian, thankfully, and there is nothing wrong with it, we think. But when you see the picture of our ship on the dock compared to some of the 200 and 400 passenger behemoths you might think "what is the tugboat doing on the dock there?"

Backstory, Neil and I did not want to go on a glitz and glamour ship. We are a 50 passenger ship, regulations allow only 100 people to go onshore at any specific time. We did not want all the side excursions (like photo op kayaking moments) designed to distract you from the fact that you can't go onshore for very long because your time on shore is cut in two or four. We came here to see Antarctica, to explore Antarctica not to do distracting side hustles. Having an experienced guide who has seen the differences first hand helped with our decision.

So with that, we board the ship with the excitement of kids going to Klondike Days for the first time.

The guests are 75% Australian with some Kiwi's, Canadians, Ukrainians and Yanks thrown in. Median age is slightly older than me, most are fit, some super fit, some less so.

Dinner is nice, simple but good. A small steak with mashed potatoes and some fresh cooked vegetables.

The sun sets late so we spend some time on the bridge while the
pilot directs the ship through the channel. This is a requirement and he will leave at the pilots station to get transport back to Ushuaia and help the next ship. The waves in the channel are high, a wind storm has just passed through, it could be a bumpy two day crossing over the Drake Straight.Les mer