Antarctica 1: Beagle Channel

We got up feeling a little bit better and packed our bags. Then had a little breakfast and checked out of the hotel. It was already weird leaving it after having been there for a little while ☺️ But we needed to drop off our bags for the Antarctica Expedition at a place near the port 🤩
We've had the idea/dream to come here already for a few years but it didn't fit in our schedule or was too expensive. Now we had decided to do it towards the end of our trip and had booked it mid October. When we had booked it there were quadruple rooms available for a cheaper price but on our voucher was a twin room so we hoped to get into the same room. Afterwards we checked out the End of the world museum and found a voucher for a free hot chocolate on the street which I immediately used 😁

For lunch we wanted a soup but that turned out more difficult than expected. Either the restaurants didn't have soups on the menu or were full for lunch 🥲 So we went to a pasta restaurant that had some interesting options. It was still one more hour left until our ship started the boarding process so we sat in the sun at the tourist information and enjoyed the nice weather.
When we went to the docks 10 minutes early they had already let people in and there was a little queue at the MV Hondius which we joined. The personell greeted us super friendly and we set foot on our home for the next 10 days 🛳️ We do have a twin cabin, but just not together. So we each share the room with strangers. For me it is a nice guy named Ahmad from Somalia but living in the Netherlands, he's super excited about going to the Antarctica as well. We had considered asking our roommates for switching rooms but didn't want to make her uncomfortable or make it overall too complicated.

Then we met up at the lounge for tea time with pretty good coffee and some pie pieces. The crew made a welcome and safety briefing with a lifeboat drill at the end. We talked to some people from the crew and fellow travelers that were all super nice and friendly. There are surprisingly many Swiss people that work for the crew ☺️ Then without much noise we departed from Ushuaia and it disappeared pretty quickly in the bright evening sky.
The expedition lead explained the important difference between a cruise and an expedition: We're trying to focus on getting off the ship as often as possible in shore excursions and zodiac cruises. But everything is dependent on the weather conditions, especially wind. So they decide on a daily/hourly basis if it's safe to go or if we go to another location where the conditions are better. During the briefing there was a pod of dolphins jumping excitedly in the waves created by our ship 🐬 Besides the expeditions guides there are marine biologists, bird experts and even a glacier/ice expert to lecture us and are available for questions.

The dinner was a buffet style but after snacking we went there a bit later and just had a little try. From our spot in the restaurant we could see sea lions jumping around 🥰 Afterwards we went on deck to see if there are more and experienced an amazing moon rising up big and bright. Afterwards Julia went to bed to rest while I stayed on deck a little bit longer, chatting with an older couple from the UK. Then I went to the lounge for a hot chocolate and sat with a group, among them my roomie and exchanged stories about traveling.
By the time I went to my cabin we had reached more open waters and you started to feel the movement of the boat more intensly. Hopefully we won't get sea sick...Læs mere