Antarctica 1: Beagle Channel
4 mars 2023, Argentina
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...Läs mer
Antarctica 2: Drake Lake
5 mars 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 5 °C
Our first night on the ship was pretty good and I got woken up by the phone ringing which I couldn't identify at first 😵💫 Shortly afterwards Julia knocked on the door, she was already on her way up to the lounge for a morning tea. I followed her shortly after for a cup of coffee ☕ She was feeling a little better, just a bit seasick if she's not looking out of the window.
Afterwards we went together to the breakfast buffet that offered something for every taste. But after trying a little bit of everything we were already stuffed 😅 Maybe we'll learn for tomorrow to only take the things that tasted best for us. Shortly after breakfast we had a mandatory lecture on biosecurity and behavior when being on shore of the Antarctica. The rules are just like in the National Parks: Leave no trace and keep wildlife wild. During the lecture there were already quite a few people having issues with sea sickness. One even puked on some others 🙈 I felt increasingly bad during the lecture and went to the doctor afterwards asking about a medication for seasickness. When I told him my room number, he asked about how Ahmad is. Confused I answered that I think he's okay to which he replied that he was the one that puked. He gave me a patch to stick behind my ear that helps with the seasickness but has a few side effects such as sleepiness and a dry mouth.
Then we went to a lecture about the sea birds that we might see in the Drake Passage. Even though we're not that interested in the birds it was still pretty entertaining. Also we saw Albatrosses circling the ship. Around midday we were called for lunch where we just had a quick snack and then relaxed a bit in the room. Ahmad felt very bad and hadn't eaten anything, so I asked him if I should bring him something which he declined. I laid down for a little while, probably because the patch made me sleepy. The 20 minute nap was really good and necessary.
Afterwards we met up and joined the lecture by an older Swiss woman on whales 🐳 It was really interesting and she was super emotional about them. So afterwards we went up to the bridge and watched the sea while chatting a bit with the crew about the Islas Malvinas and underwater cameras. In the end we even got to sit shortly in the main chairs of the captain and vice ☺️
Julia went back to sleep while I attended a lecture about the science behind waves and their different properties. Also how the tides affect the wave intensity and especially height. It was surprisingly interesting 🌊 Directly afterwards there was the daily recap and outlook... So the weather is staying pretty much the same while getting a little more wind maybe tomorrow. That's also the current estimate that we're going to be done with the crossing of the Drake Passage and arrive at the Antarctic continent.
The last meeting of the day was the daily recap with a little lecture about maritime terms (starboard vs port). Afterwards the dinner was served where we sat with a couple from the US around our age. They were super nice and it was a fun, easy conversation. The food was quite fancy and really delicious! The patch I got from the doctor seems to start working as I'm feeling perfectly well now ☺️ In the evening we sat in the lounge with a group of people that met on here and chatted a bit. But soon afterwards we went to our cabins as it was already quite late 😴
My roommate had been in the cabin all day suffering from the seasickness 🤮Läs mer
Antarctica 3: Smith & Snow Island
6 mars 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 3 °C
Somehow I've had some trouble falling asleep and I felt a bit tired in the morning. Might also still be the side effect of the patch that is supposed to last for 72 hours... After getting ready we went up to the lounge for a coffee before breakfast. The breakfast items had changed a little bit compared to yesterday but we managed our portion better 😁 Directly afterwards there was a lecture about penguins 🐧How to identify the species and about their behavior. Really interesting and informative, so if that's possible we're even more excited about it now ☺️
Then we had some time to spent on deck, looking out for wildlife. Except for the many different sea birds, nothing to report yet though. There had been briefings on kayaking, diving and camping. We had tried to sign up for these extra activities but they were already full. We ended up on the waiting list though from which they had a raffle for spots that had been cancelled. It would've been nice but we're just happy to have the opportunity to go to the Antarctica 🤩
We got our boots for the shore and zodiac excursions and then had lunch from the buffet. There we were joined by two older men which turned out to be father and son. Afterwards we went to the lounge to drink a coffee and rest a bit. One of the other guests came to the lounge and said that there was a whale sighting. So we watched for another 20 minutes but "only" saw some birds and seals 🦭 next to the ship. The most important item of our day plan was the biosecurity: Everything, including the boots we received earlier, that we're going to wear on the shores of Antarctica needs to be checked and cleaned to make sure there will be absolutely no contamination. It went pretty quick and we're ready to do the excursion on land tomorrow 🤩
When we came back to the lounge we saw first time land since leaving the Beagle Channel. The two smaller islands, Snow and Smith Island formed the gateway which we passed at 4pm, getting closer to the Antarctic mainland. We spent a bit time on the bridge and saw whales in the distance blowing out 🐳
The last lecture for the day was from a Polish crew member who studies glaciers and informed us thoroughly about ice 🍦🧊 But before we had first received a tasty little cone with ice cream 🥰 At the daily recap they informed us about the planned activities for tomorrow with a shore landing and zodiac cruise. Then it was time for dinner 🍽️ We sat again with the father-son (Greg and Joe) duo from lunch and continued our conversation. They are a great company, easy to talk with and friendly. The son had hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2004 so we had a common interest. Dinner was once again absolutely delicious!
In the lounge we got a hot chocolate and chatted a bit with the people there until we went to our cabins early. Tomorrow will be a busy day and we plan to get up for the first sunrise over the Antarctic continent at 06:20am 🌅Läs mer
Antarctica 4: Portal Point
7 mars 2023, Antarktis ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
We got up at 6 to see the first sunrise on the Antarctic continent 🌅🤩 Even though it was just a slow change in colour, the ice looked just fantastic! It was difficult to pay attention to the sunrise though because there were large groups of Humpback whales all around the ship 🚢🐳 They came super close and were easy to spot in the calm waters near Portal Point. Afterwards we had a coffee in the lounge until the breakfast buffet opened where we had a decent meal :)
Then we got ready for the excursion to Portal Point. As our ship operator is part of the IAATO (...) that stands for protection and sustainable tourism in Antarctica. One of the requirements is that only 100 persons are allowed to go on land at any time. Therefore all the people on board were sorted into two groups and when one is on shore the others are doing a zodiac cruise.
We were the ones to go on shore first and when we set foot on the slippery rocks we were on our 7th continent! The welcoming comité consisted of a group of cute fur seals watching us pretty unbothered. The icebergs and shelves were shining intensly blue 🧊 despite the rather cloudy weather. We took a photo with the Antarctica flag 🇦🇶 and then just walked around enjoying the views over the bay with occasional humpbacks breaking the water. When we went on the zodiac we drove up to the same spot and they came super close, showing off their head, fin, flippers and fluke. It was a magical experience! Everyone on our zodiac was holding their breath in awe 🥰 We continued our tour but the whales didn't come that close again. Then it was time to return to the Hondius for a nice cup of tea 🍵
We took off our outdoor gear and made ourselves comfortable in the lounge area. Julia went for a nap while I had lunch and then a little nap 😴 The first stop we had planned needed to be cancelled because the weather conditions were too harsh. Instead we drove to the last spot of the day, Paradise Bay. This took three hours so they put in a lecture about the exploration of the Antarctica and the daily recap. When we arrived we had the opportunity for another zodiac cruise through the ice fields. And almost immediately after starting our tour we found a leopard seal laying on a ice plate. It didn't look very well and had some deep cuts and also bloody ice pieces... But it opened its eyes to watch us intensely before deciding that we're not a threat. On the way to a glacier two Humpback Whales broke through the water nearby. Of course we were immediately hooked and spent the next hour watching them feeding. Seeing these gigantic creatures will never cease to amaze me 🥰 When we got closer to the glacier we and the station next to it we saw a large group of penguins resting on the stones next to the buildings of the station. The Gentoo Penguins living there are beautiful and we would've wished to spend more time with them but we were told that we're going to see more tomorrow 😍🐧 It was fun exploring the ice field and the mighty glacier in the background. We were all glad that we were able to do an excursion again and experience these landscapes and wildlife close up.
After coming back to the ship we spent some more time on the deck on the lookout for wildlife. The penguins bouncing around the ship in the water was a super cute sight, also a whole lot more of humpback whales. After dinner we had a hot chocolate in the lounge and went to sleep soon after. The day has been exhausting but also a very rewarding experience.Läs mer
Antarctica 5: Port Lockroy
8 mars 2023, Antarktis ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
The wake up call was this morning at 07:15 for the breakfast at 07:30. When I woke up around 06:30 we were already moving which meant that the ones camping are already back. I went for breakfast and Julia joined soon afterwards. There we had a conversation with the doctor on board about the more or less popular Polar Plunge 🏊♂️ He said that we should be fine but he wouldn't recommend it to other/older passengers because of the heart attack risk 😬 Again we made two groups but the weather condition wasn't good enough to go on the zodiac tour. So the other group went on shore at the Damoy Station and we had about 2 hours on board which we spent writing a few postcards, drinking tea and reading books in the library.
When it was finally our time we were excited for the Gentoo Penguin colony and the Polar Plunge. And already on the way in the zodiac we saw the penguins and their highways leading up a hill. First we visited the little hut which was used as a waiting room for the "airport", a 400 metre skiway marked along the spine of the glacier. It had been recently renovated as part of the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. It has a few beds, kitchen and a heater. Not a lot when it could take up to a month until the next flight arrives 😬 We spent two hours there in the middle of the penguin colony. Watching these cute, curious and clumsy little fellas is so entertaining, the time passed super quickly. Unfortunately the Polar Plunge needed to be cancelled because there was too much brushed ice on the plunge site near the dock.
So we returned to the ship, had lunch, relaxed a little bit and then got a short lecture from the women living in the Port Lockroy Station. Another former British site being managed by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and the Southernmost post office in the world ☺️ The little rock the station is standing on is completely overrun by the lovely little Gentoo Penguins 🐧A little piece of paradise besides the cold weather and smell 😁 We put the postcards in the box and then checked out the little souvenir shop. Right across the little bay is Juglar Point, a big rock formation and Gentoo Penguin breeding area. Also there are whale bones scattered all around from the early history as a whaling station. We spent almost two hours there watching the penguins living their daily life. Due to some very late snow in the season, the breeding circle is a month behind schedule which means we were able to see a lot of chicks 😍 It is amazing to see them so close, the interaction between them and also with us. Often they waddle up and look at you curiously. A general rule in the Antarctica is that the penguins always have the right of way 🐧😁
When we came back to the ship we had a shower and then relaxed in the lounge. From there you could see penguins bouncing through the water near our ship. They always go out fish hunting in groups because it's safer. Well, now that we have found the penguins, do we have to delete this app then? 😁
In the evening we had a pretty good dinner, reviewed the pictures we took and went to bed soon afterwards. In the daily recap they shared the itinerary for the next day which includes crossing the Antarctic circle in the late morning 🤩 The route we're taking to Crystal Sound and Detaille Island is leading back almost into the open ocean, so after dinner the sea started getting a bit more rough. So we were rocked into our sleep again by the ship movement.Läs mer
Antarctica 6: Polar Circle Crossing
9 mars 2023, Antarktis ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
The breakfast time was pretty late this morning at 07:45 as we still had to transfer to the Polar Circle which was estimated around 11:00. So we went to breakfast at 08:00 and sat with a group of people around our age, funny enough all of them from Europe in contrast to the group of US Americans 😁 Afterwards we had a lecture from the ice guy, a glacier scientist from Poland. He gave super interesting insights on the creation and properties of icebergs, also the record holders in terms of size and travel distance. While finishing his lecture we entered Crystal Sound which meant a rather sheltered area from the swell. Also there popped up a quite large amount and sizeable icebergs all around the ship. It was great to directly see the features we had just learned about 🏔️🧊
I spent some time outside watching the icebergs pass by our ship pretty close. The colours and structures they have are just stunning! But it was so cold that the battery of my camera died quickly 🪫We went back to the room quickly to get another layer against the horizontal snow and then we waited all for the crossing. They blew the horn of the ship three times and everyone started cheering 🇦🇶 To celebrate we got a hot chocolate with rum and several refills 😁 We stood at the front for a while and enjoyed the fresh air while the ship continued its way further South to Detaille Island where we had planned a landing/zodiac cruise. But unfortunately the conditions were once again not good enough to do any outdoor fun... So we needed to turn around soon after and did some ice pack ship cruising which was absolutely amazing!! These icebergs are magnificent to look at closely.
On one was sitting a cute little Adelie penguin 🐧Even though the ice cold wind was blowing in our faces and the ship started shaking we still spent most of our time outside.
For the evening it was planned to leave Crystal Sound again and head back into safer and especially chartered waters. As the conditions were pretty bad we started the return already by the afternoon cruising with the ship through stunning icebergs. At night we had the possibility to get drinks for the happy hour 50% off but after a quick round on the ship I decided I'd rather go to sleep and not puke 🤢 The sea was super rough and pushing us over 5 metres waves... I got a seasickness pill from a German guy and fell asleep almost immediately after hitting the bed.Läs mer
Antarctica 7: Lemaire Channel
10 mars 2023, Antarktis ⋅ 🌬 0 °C
Today's plan was to go to Petermann Island in the morning and then Cartou in the afternoon. Unfortunately, as already announced in yesterday's recap, the weather conditions were too rough to have any outdoor fun there. And you could really see the waves building up with whitecaps 🌊 But the icebergs we passed were an absolutely stunning sight. Each unique in form, colour and structures. And there were soooo many of them!
As we couldn't do any activities in the morning we got a lecture about the race to the South Pole between Scott and Amundsen. It was told in a very interesting way and we were hooked to the story. Even though I've known some parts already, it was still great to get a short summary. We continued on to the spot for the Plan B but it was the same conditions. Going there we passed the narrow and difficult to navigate Lemaire Channel which was luckily free of icebergs otherwise we would've needed to turn around. The wind was blowing heavily through the channel and made filming difficult 💨 But at least it wasn't very cold and we got some fresh air ☺️
In the afternoon we had another lecture, this time about Pinnipeds 😍 That's the name for all the kinds of eared and non-eared seals 🦭 The lecturer was really passionate about them and explained their specific properties. One of the most interesting ones is the Leopard Seal, a highly intelligent and curious apex predator. Shortly after the lecture we got the confirmation that we're good to go out on a landing/zodiac cruise at Rocky Point, a little rock island in the Paradise Bay. Our group was the first to get ready and arrive at the landing zone. All of it was covered in ice and snow ❄️ From the landing zone you could do a 10 minute walk up to the snowy top with amazing views over the whole bay. It had started to rain quite a bit and we got a little soaked (my parka isn't waterproof, also Julia's ski pants aren't). Especially when we got in for the zodiac cruise it got colder and wetter.
Right after the start of the cruise we passed some Gentoo Penguins resting along the shore. Then we passed some beautiful icebergs close by with the zodiac, seeing the intense blue shining in the crevasses. Then we visited a Weddell seal peaking out of the water at the landing site. It was curious to investigate our zodiacs 🦭 Then we got a radio that a humpback whale is feeding nearby, so we went to see it. It came up close to us, rolled over and showed fins and fluke 🐳 While taking videos with my phone the battery died from the cold 🙈 Afterwards we wanted to check out some pack ice but there were two leopard seals in between the ice 😍 They were peaking out of the ice and making rounds around the zodiac, looking at us intensely. We spent half an hour watching them before returning to the ship and then having a hot shower afterwards.
Before dinner we just had a short recap. Tomorrow we're going into the Drake Passage again and some really rough weather is s waiting there for us. High winds and high swells 🌊 But in the morning we are planning to have time for a stop at Deception Bay. This will also be dependent on the weather though.Läs mer
Antarctica 8: Deception Island
11 mars 2023, Antarktis ⋅ 🌬 2 °C
As announced we were woken up shortly before 7 for breakfast, because by 8 we passed Neptuns Bellows. A narrow passage leading into the cauldron of the active volcano. The passage is pretty tight because of a rock that's right in the middle and apparently a difficult navigation. But the sight from the front of the ship going into the passage was amazing. Also we've had decent weather for the first time since leaving Ushuaia with sunshine and some blue skies. Our ship landed at Whaler's Bay, an old whaling station that was turned into a scientific station but ultimately abandoned due to volcanic eruptions.
Our group was the second one to go and we were all super excited because it was the last chance to set foot on land. Also there was the possibility to do the polar plunge 🤩 Because the weather wasn't good enough for a zodiac cruise we needed to wait for the return of the first group. When we got there it was a pretty sight with the black sand and green/white spotted mountains in the background. Also the whole area was full of Antarctic Fur Seals resting on the beach and the leftovers from the last station. First we walked through the ruins of the town with a small group of Gentoo Penguins and also some Chinstrap Penguins. The destroyed buildings were used by the seals and penguins for shelter. Afterwards we walked all along the shore next to a huge colony of fur seals. We were told to keep our distance as the juveniles can be a little aggressive. Luckily they left us pretty much alone and we came to a spot with a walk going up the hill to Neptunes Window. We were already a bit too late to go all the way up because we needed to be on time for the polar plunge. But apparently it wasn't that interesting anyways, you could see the open ocean, just like we're going to see the next three days 😬
Then it was finally time for the polar plunge which we have been waiting for excitedly. The beach we stayed at was perfect for it as it didn't have a lot of rocks and was pretty shallow. We went in together but after submerging and doing a few strokes I went back out. Julia stayed in the ice cold water (-1 degrees Celsius) for more than 5 minutes, swimming around almost completely unfazed. She had hoped for a penguin to come up to her ☺️ After getting dressed again we hopped in a zodiac to bring us back to the ship. There we had a nice, hot shower and then went directly to lunch.
So this was the last stop before turning to Ushuaia through the Drake Passage. The weather outlook for the crossing wasn't looking good, instead pretty bad with high winds and swell. So we enjoyed the calmth of this last stretch while having an interesting lecture on the evolution of penguins. Before dinner the Drake Shake had begun with the ship crashing down loud and hard from each wave. Stuff and people just falling around 🙈Läs mer
Antarctica 9: Drake Shake
12 mars 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 4 °C
The night was wild with massive swell and bouncing. Despite that we slept quite well and were up in the dining room for breakfast. There were quite a lot of empty seats though who were probably feeling seasick from all the shaking. I also felt it but not as bad, so I just had a small and light breakfast. Some of the crew also didn't look very well today... So after breakfast I went back to bed for a nap, then there was a super interesting lecture on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. It was explained by Elizabeth, who is a marine biologist and has been working specifically in the analysis of the situation of the Northern Right Whale which is on the brink of extinction. She explained the process and issues with the list of endangered species.
After the next little nap and lunch we listened to another crew members story, how he had made its way to the Antarctica. Then we watched a documentary and the recap. After dinner we participated with a fun little group at the Antarctica pub quiz and achieved a very good 2nd place.Läs mer
Antarctica 10: Beagle Channel
13 mars 2023, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
In the morning the shaking had finally eased and we got up to a beautiful day with sunshine and blue sky. The first way was as always to the dining room for breakfast where I saw Craig and Joe. They are super nice people and we enjoyed spending time together chatting. We took it slowly and we were finally allowed back outside which I used for a little relaxed walk over the decks. Then it was time for today's first lecture. It was once again about ice, this time how the Antarctic ice fields work as a protective shield. But these shields are crumbling at a high speed and the resulting effects may be catastrophic.
Next up Ursula taught us about feeding pattern and habits of Baleen whales. Her insights with that extensive knowledge was as always a highlight. Her passion and ways of teaching about them is really inspiring. Her constant reminder that we need to act on the protection of whales and the food sources that they relay on, is necessary. If there's no action done on certain topics the extinction of species might accelerate. The lectures aren't always fun but they name things as they are. And the crew keeps telling us that as one of the few people that visit Antarctica we are Antarctic Ambassadors. Because Antarctica doesn't have any government it also doesn't have any representation when facing exploitation. And therefore we need to stand for the continued protection of the continent.
It's facing so many man-made challenges that it's overwhelming: Melting sea ice, melting glaciers, destruction of habitat for many species, increasing water temperature... Some of them irreversible. On the other hand it's inspiring to see so many skilled, intelligent and charming people trying to make a change about that. And I'll definitely try to do something as well, whatever that may be. On a more happy note we were finally allowed to go out again as we reached a calming sea rather protected by the islands of Tierra del Fuego. In the afternoon there was a Mini series of lectures on the ships cooking and menu creation, the importance of amateur wildlife photography and how to make a perfect mate 🧉 This was followed by a slideshow created by the trip photographer and expedition guide Georgina.
Ultimately the ship's captain 🫡 came to the lounge for the Captain's farewell with champagne and fingerfood. Then each of the teams was thanked with applause and cheering. Then we went with quite a big group of friends we found along the trip to the last fancy dinner :) The menu offered "The last greens" as a starter, amazing vegetarian ravioli as main and ice cake as dessert.
With a full belly and happy we chilled out at the lounge with some more champagne and beer but around 11 we headed to the cabins to prepare our luggage for the disembarking tomorrow morning...Läs mer
Ushuaia -> Buenos Aires
14 mars 2023, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
At 07:00 the alarm went off for the last time on the M/V Hondius to pack up the last things and leave the luggage to be picked up. When I opened the blinds I saw the lights of Ushuaia blinking in the dusk at us. On the way to the breakfast I met some people that we had spent a lot of time with the last days. It feels surreal that we had traveled so far South and now being thrown back into the normal world. After breakfast we exchanged our social media with many people and gave long and heartfelt hugs to Craig and Joe. On the way out of the ship the whole expedition crew had lined up for shaking hands and saying goodbye. Urban, a diving guide from Switzerland gave us his business card "if we ever want to do some proper diving" 😁
The last goodbye was from Gonzalo, a sweet Argentinian diving guide directly from Ushuaia, to whom we gave our yellow rain coats.
Then it was time to grab our luggage (which had been soaked in rain for while 🙈) and go on the bus to the airport. Even though our flight was just scheduled for 21:00, we didn't want to go to Ushuaia. We've had spent enough time there already and we needed to repack our luggage. Besides that, the Wifi was supposed to be good 😊
It was a good decision because the rain intensified and we had quite a lot of stuff to sort. Also we met so many people from the cruise again in the airport. Nanna, from Denmark, spent some time with us but her flight left early already. We were done with packing when another person from the cruise approached us and said that they had changed the time of their flight. Interested we went to the booth and asked how much it would be to change to the earlier flight. As it was just a bit more we decided to do it so we'd have more time in Buenos Aires to figure out where to store our luggage.
Slowly more and more people from the Hondius arrived at the airport and the we spent the time waiting, chatting and just being back online :) Besides that we were still suffering badly from being back on solid land. The floor was still moving 😵💫
The flight left half an hour later but we still had plenty of time. It was a quite rough weather with some turbulences but nothing compared to the ones on the ship 😁 When we arrived in Buenos Aires the heat hit us hard, from a light snowstorm to 36 degrees Celsius 🌡️At the airport information we asked for luggage storage options and got a contact at the nearby bus terminal. This worked pretty well and we got rid of our big backpack for the next week. Next up we stopped at a little shop for some fries with chimichurri 😍 The next planned step was to transfer to the other airport EZE because by changing the flight we had also changed the arrival airport 😬🙈 This turned into a little fun trip with 3 different transportation methods, 2 hours of time and a pretty interesting sightseeing trip.
At the airport we took a walk through the different terminals, checking out the shops and where we could spend the night more or less comfortable. Of course it was rather less comfortable trying to fit on a three person bench but we got a few hours of sleep in 😴Läs mer
Buenos Aires -> Puerto Iguazú
15 mars 2023, Argentina ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
Shortly before 5 I woke up to Julia standing next to me and waiting 😅 So we went to the check in desk and dropped off our luggage. Then we went through security quickly and looked forward to another ~2 hours nap. On the way to some comfortable seats we encountered Vix, a woman from the UK that had been on the Antarctica trip with us. Her flight to the Iguazú Falls was about to leave when we arrived. Just when she got up for the boarding process I had received an email that our flight got delayed 🙄 So we had 5 hours more than planned at the airport... We received a breakfast from the airline with coffee and super sweet croissants. Then we napped a little more, planned our next stops, transports and accomodations. Almost on time we departed then at 12:50 from Buenos Aires EZE to Iguazú Falls all the way to the Northern border of Argentina to Brazil and Paraguay. On the way to the airport we could already see the rivers and large lakes spread out between vast rainforests. It had just rained so the air was hot and humid.
We got our luggage and booked a bus to the city. Upfront we had checked on hotels and got dropped off at a B&B located in a comfortable walking distance from the town center. We didn't want to book through booking.com because it can be a problem with the online payment and exchange rate, also sometimes you get a better rate. We left our luggage and after freshening up went straight to the bus terminal to plan our visit to the Iguazú Falls. We booked the option for the next morning and then went to have dinner at a restaurant that the receptionist had recommended. It was a good choice and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with a nice bottle of wine. By the time we finished it was 20:00 and we were exhausted from the long travel since yesterday morning. On the way back we stopped at a few souvenir shops as it started to rain heavily. We tried to spend a little time walking around in the stores but there wasn't anything special so we walked back to our hotel and dried out there ☺️Läs mer
Cataratas do Iguaçu
16 mars 2023, Brasilien ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Today was a big day after a few days of transfers (since leaving the Antarctic continent) we finally had sightseeing on our schedule. And a pretty important sightseeing spot: The Iguazú Falls, is named one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature! And for this occasion we decided to do something new, a helicopter flight over the waterfalls 🚁 We had booked it in advance online for yesterday but due to the delay of the flight it wasn't possible to make it on time. Therefore we took the bus from the terminal that crossed the border to Brazil and dropped us off at the entrance of the National Park. Interestingly enough we didn't even get a stamp (the bus didn't stop) from Brazil. We walked 5 minutes to the heliport, got our tickets and then waited to be called.
There was quite a queue ahead of us and we expected it to take a while but after 15 minutes we were rushed out 😁 We didn't have time to process anything while they took pictures and then placed us on the backseat of the helicopter. They put on the seat buckles, closed the doors and without any other word started flying off ☺️ The first two minutes was just rainforest until the massive waterfalls of Iguazú appeared below us 😍 It was an impressive sight and we were in awe by the view and the rainbow 🌈 stretching over the whole width! The flight itself was pretty calm and comfortable, just one turn was a little tight and lifted our stomachs a little. But nothing compared to the ship. We made three rounds over the waterfalls and then returned back. After about 10 minutes we were back and it felt surreal that we did that 😅
Then we walked back to the entrance and took the park bus to go and explore the waterfalls by foot. The walkway wasn't very long but super crowded in the first sector, so we passed through this pretty quickly. Besides a quick stop at the cute coatis 🤩 Also the views got better the closer we got to the main area at the end. This is called Devil's Throat (Garganta do Diabo) where the highest waterfalls are located and most water flows. The area is covered in a constant rain/mist soaking you within minutes, completely surrounded by the roaring of massive, high waterfalls ⛲ We walked up to the panorama point with an almost complete view over the whole area. Next up we took the bus back to the entrance and then the bus terminal in Argentinia.
For the complete picture we headed to the National Park on the Argentinian side where we quickly got our tickets and then went to the mini train station (the train is mini, not the station). We rushed a bit because some of the trails start closing relatively early and we wanted to do most of them. Luckily we got a spot on the train bringing us to the trailhead of the Devil's Throat Walkway. This is the most famous one of the Argentinian side and was just recently reopened after it had been washed away by floods. The top of the waterfall was even more impressive, feeling its might and seeing the amount of water rushing down. We managed to get on the train back and complete the upper and lower circuits just in time for the closing of the park. There we encountered several beautiful toucans with their colourful beaks 😍 And especially at the lower circuit we got some amazing views in the shining waters of the setting sun. The combination of colors was perfect! We spend as much time as possible there until the park closed and we took the bus to the city.
The last stop for today was a spot on a hill, next to the river overlooking the three countries. There is a monument on each side for these countries. Unfortunately the monument on the Argentinian side was pretty unimpressive 🙈 But it was still pretty cool to look out over them. Then we went back to the city center to do some necessary duties. Our original plan had been to go to Paraguay tonight but it got too late, so we needed to extend our stay at the B&B for a night and then check for the busses tomorrow morning. After clearing this up we went to the same restaurant as yesterday again but our choices weren't as good as yesterday. Instead our wine of choice was better 😁 We stopped by an ice cream shop on the way back to the hotel for a well deserved treat.Läs mer
Ciudad del Este
17 mars 2023, Paraguay ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We got up and quickly packed up our few things. I went to have breakfast earlier, Julia started walking to the bus terminal already and I followed shortly after. We bought the bus tickets to bring us to the main bus terminal in Ciudad del Este. Then we crossed once again the border to Brazil and were stuck in traffic to Paraguay for around 45 minutes. When leaving Brazil it said something about registering if you're a foreigner 😬 Not sure if we've done something wrong there 🙈
When we were getting closer to the Paraguayan border though, I said to Julia that we need to get off for the stamp. A fellow traveler had told us about that they had an issue when returning to the border without an entry stamp. They probably wouldn't have told us either that we need to get off the bus. So we got our stamp in the passport and then waited for the next bus of the same company to pick us up and continue to take us to the bus terminal in Ciudad del Este. We would've also had the options to take a taxi or to walk but we didn't have any guaranies and walking would've taken more than an hour. But luckily the next bus arrived just about half an hour later, so we didn't have to wait long and it was still quicker than walking 😁 At the bus terminal we withdrew some guaranies and then booked the next bus to Asunción. This was scheduled for an hour later so we had time for a little lunch. At a small booth we got some sandwiches but the Milanesa was tasting pretty bad 🤢 The bus we had booked has its own waiting area with TV and WiFi, where we spend the remaining time until departure. The departure was later than we had planned/expected and shortly after 12 we started the journey further West.
The views we got from Paraguay after leaving the - quite big - city of Ciudad del Este was very green. The journey (through almost the whole country) was very rural and scenic. The heavy downpour was followed by long periods of sunshine. Also the clouds have been super pretty with all kinds of different formations. We were excited to be in a new country that was different in terms of food, customs and even language. On the way a vendor had entered the bus and offered the local speciality, chipas. They're like bagels but a little bit drier and with anis. It tastes a lot better than it sounds 😁
The traffic into Asunción was pretty bad and we arrived about an hour later than anticipated. Then we took a taxi to our hotel, checked in and went directly into the nearby city center to explore. We had already prepared a rough plan what we wanted to see and there are only a few highlights. It was an interesting experience because the streets were almost empty when we started walking in direction of the riverfront. There is actually a nice little sandy beach which looked pretty inviting in the evening with more than 30 degrees. On the way back we saw a little booth selling tereré, the local paraguayan specialty, made with yerba mate and ice cold water. We got a large water spender and a cup with mate to sit on a nearby bench and enjoy ☺️ I liked it a lot and I think it might be even better than the traditional mate... With new energy from the drink we continued our exploration of the city visiting the highlights at night. It felt pretty safe walking later in the evening and many buildings had a pretty lighting. But there are also quite a lot of run down buildings around the center.
For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by the receptionist that offered a huge menu and also the typical Paraguayan dishes. So we ordered a tasting platter and two mains and were surprised by the uniqueness and great taste!
- Sopa paraguaya: Corn flour, onion and fresh cheese (cornbread style)
- Pastel mandi'o: Beef filled manioc flour empanada
- Mbeju: Starch cake made with manioc flour (yucca) and Paraguay cheese
-Vori-Vori: Chicken stew with corn flour balls filled with cheese
- Arroz Kesú:
Rice with Paraguayan cheese
Then we finished with desserts and a pitcher of Caipirinha (not a good one though) at the rooftop terrace of our hotel. All outdoor activities were accompanied by a very annoying bunch of mosquitoes 🦟 So we went to our hotel room soon after to go to bed early as we have more plans for tomorrow...Läs mer
Asunción
18 mars 2023, Paraguay ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Asunción, short Asu but by the full name La Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción is a city in change. Modern architecture next to run down buildings and overgrown by metre high trees. It hasn't got a lot to offer for tourists at first sight but upon closer inspection you'll see its unique charm.
So after a quick breakfast we went out to retrace our steps from last evening to see the sights by day. From the Pantheon of Heroes, the Presidential Palace, the riverfront to the old, colourful Loma San Gerónimo. Each area has unique features and the reoccurring theme of run down buildings. We enjoyed our walk through all of these areas and despite there are some homeless people, felt very safe.
When we were at the riverfront we overheard someone talking in German and they started a little conversation not knowing that we spoke German. It was quite funny 😁 Another nice little detail about Asunción are the graffiti, giving it a more modern facade. Overall we walked more than 9 km in the morning to see all the sights. On the way back to the hotel we were surprised by a little military parade for the raising of the flag at the Pantheon of Heroes. They marched, played music, paraded and sung the National Anthem. It was an interesting procedure and there were a lot of locals watching this little spectacle. Overall we hadn't seen a lot tourists, just around 5 more watching the parade.
We went back to the hotel and checked out. Our plan was to visit a museum that lays on the way to the airport buuut just then we noticed that it only opens at 14:00, which meant that we needed to find something to do for the 3 hours in between... Also the hotel wouldn't store our luggage 🙄 So we went to the famous Lido Cafe for a little lunch consisting of two Empanadas: Chilena (minced meat with raisins) and Palmito (palm heart). Afterwards we took an UBER to the museum and were still a little early, so we tried some local beers at a nearby gas station 🍻
Then we finally could enter the "Museum of clay", a collection of art pieces across Latin American cultures and ages. It was pretty interesting but also quite wildly mixed and masses of similar art pieces 🤔 But because of the late opening we only had half an hour time because we needed to go to the airport then. The UBER drive was quicker than expected, so we were earlier than planned. And it turned out that the airport is super small with just a few flights, so we could've stayed a little longer.
When checking in yesterday we had seen that it's a small airplane with just 15 rows and 4 seats each. Checking in at the airport was easy and quick, so quick that we forgot to put the sunscreen and bug repellent in the checked luggage 😱 But as stupid as we've been, as lucky it was that it's such a small airport without a lot of people... They let us bring them back to the counter and into the checked luggage 😮💨 The area after security was surprisingly huge with lots (4!!) cafés and a duty free shop comparable to Lima or Panama City. So we used our last guaranies for a soft drink and a croissant 🥐 Then we boarded the small Bombardier airplane and were on our little turbulent way to Montevideo. We even got snacks (chipitas chips 🤩) and drinks for the 2 hour hop.
The arrival in Montevideo was quite a shock with a top modern airport, even automatic passport checks for several passports (including European). Signs informed that tap water is drinkable and the overall impression was great! Then we withdrew some cash for the bus because the UBER would've been super expensive 😅 On the way we could already get a first impression of the city... It had very modern, clean areas with industry and shops but also some rundown housing blocks. From the bus terminal in the centre we walked 15 minutes to our hostel ☺️ We checked in and found a small but clean and nice hotel room to drop off our luggage and then go out to explore the city in the evening. The main sights are nearby and so we walked around the area for about an hour until we decided that we've seen sufficient for now. The city center was weirdly calm and there weren't a lot of people around at all. It felt pretty safe though and the illuminated sights were pretty ☺️
At the restaurant I tried a Uruguayan speciality, chivito, a thin cut steak. It was okay but nothing special 🤷♂️ We walked a little more all the way down to the harbor but then got tired and went to our nice and cosy hotel room 😴Läs mer
Montevideo
19 mars 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We didn't set an alarm but still woke up pretty early but we were still tired... So we decided to stay in bed a while longer and later extend our stay here for another night ☺️ This was done pretty quickly and around 10 we went for a breakfast to the common area. We still had some leftovers and together with the free coffee and tea it made a perfect start. We decided to walk to a viewpoint further down the pier but just as we left the hotel it started raining... We came by a cathedral where the doors were open and saw that there was a mass, so we decided to join for half an hour.
When we left it was still sprinkling so we went back to the hotel for a cup of tea. Upon finishing the drink the sun started coming out and we could start our walk along the pier. There were just a few people around strolling and a few brave ones even swimming in the sea.
The walkway along the sea is wide and has a separate bicycle lane. From there you get nice views over the sea and also the skyline. We were surprised by a group of shining green parakeets foraging for food in a green area 🦜 The receptionist had said that there's a park and viewpoint about half an hour walk away. This turned out to be rather more than an hour for 5km 😬 But the weather was lovely and this was our only plan for the day. On the way back we took the route through the city and the neighborhood "Barrio Sur". Even though the buildings weren't in the best shape, the wide streets with rows of big old trees were great for a Sunday stroll with their beautiful green sun covers.
When we got closer to the city center we made a quick stop at a supermarket to see what Uruguayan stores have to offer. With a little resupply we sat down in a park and had our late lunch with a mix of leftovers, airplane snacks and little stuff from the supermarket. For dessert we treated ourselves to a delicious ice cream 🍦 Refreshed we continued our way to the sights of the city center. There wasn't a lot open, so after finishing these we returned to the hotel and sat some time on the rooftop terrace with two cute cats. Back at our room we checked for transportation and accomodation for the remaining few days.
Later in the evening we went out for dinner at another location of the restaurant chain we've been yesterday to. Unfortunately the service was pretty awful but the food was okay. So far the food experience here in Uruguay hasn't been great 😅
We revisited some locations in the city center but soon afterwards returned to the hotel and went to sleep 💤Läs mer
Colonia del Sacramento
20 mars 2023, Uruguay ⋅ 🌬 24 °C
Our alarm rang at 7 but it was raining heavily so we took it slow with packing and getting ready. Shortly after 8 we were ready and it had stopped raining so we took a bus to the bus terminal Tres Cruces. This turned out to be not only a bus terminal but a huge shopping center. First we booked the bus tickets to Colonia del Sacramento, then went for a little breakfast snack and searched - unsuccessfully - for a patch of the Uruguayan flag 🇺🇾
The hour of waiting went by pretty quick and then we hopped on the bus that brought us through the flat and uneventful countryside. A lot of standalone, agricultural housings mainly dominated the scenery.
We had booked our hotel in a strategic position between the old city, beach, bus terminal and ferry terminal. So that was our first stop when we arrived 2.5 hours later in the town of Colonia del Sacramento. Our idea was to have one or two beach days towards the end of our trip and before going to Buenos Aires. Even though the weather wasn't very inviting today, we still decided to go to the nearby beach and relax a little bit in the nice sand. The water was quite cold on first contact and a little dirty. Also it might be surprising that it's sweet water from the Rio De La Plata. We spend some time there and even the sun came out occasionally. Afterwards we made our way to the old city center located on the peninsula. It is packed with nice old buildings and charm, like the prominent lighthouse and the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento. The cobblestone streets overgrown with trees and colourful bushes alongside colourful little colonial houses. It has a very unique, relaxed flair and we enjoyed walking the little streets. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and lives up to that expectations.
We walked a bit outside of the center for a little afternoon snack/lunch where I finally tried a choripan (chorizo sausage on bread). And it was really good, I prefer it over a hot dog 🌭👋 Then we checked the nearby ferry terminal for the ticket to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning. Afterwards we went back to the hotel to relax a bit until dinner time. The receptionist had recommended a nearby restaurant but the reviews online weren't very good. We still walked there to have a look and it looked nice, also they had a menu item that I wanted to try. And they had quite a lot of Uruguayan wine options 🍷that we wanted to try for our last night. Everything turned out to be great, from the food over the service to the wine, we were happy 😊
Especially the wine was interesting as we had never heard of that grape variety before, Tannat.Läs mer
Colonia del Sacramento -> Buenos Aires
21 mars 2023, Río de la Plata ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
We could sleep in a bit until 8 for a pretty disappointing breakfast consisting of three plastic wrapped mini croissants, a tasteless orange juice and - the best thing about it - some fresh fruit. Therefore we were quickly done with it and went back to our room until it was time to leave for the port to check in. The ferry port is very modern with a large hall and automatic check in, like an airport. We passed through security and immigration and then waited for half an hour to board the ship. It was around the same size as the Hondius and has some viewing decks from where we watched the departure from Colonia del Sacramento. The lighthouse standing prominently in the sun lit peninsula. The ferry was surprisingly quick and we saw the skyline of Buenos Aires just half an hour later appearing. Entering the harbour we took some pictures and then reached our last touristic spot in the journey, Buenos Aires.
After going through Argentinian immigration (for the 5th time in a month 😁) we had made a list of accommodations to check for available beds. The first two ones were unsuccessful and we were about to book one through booking when the last one was a success. But it was pretty complicated because they couldn't offer the same price in the hotel as is stated on their website 🥴 So we booked it online and then had half an hour until check in which we used for lunch at a great Empanadas spot.
The 4 star hotel was a little treat at the end of our trip... But we couldn't pay the full price immediately because we didn't have enough Argentinian pesos in cash left 🤡🙈 So we made a Western Union transfer and then stood an hour in line to pick it up.
The exchange rate at Western Union had raised from 1€ ~390 Argentinian pesos to 430 Argentinian pesos in the last three weeks 😱 This is a loss of 11%, it seems like the inflation is increasing its pace and the crash of the currency is imminent 😕
After having all of this sorted we relaxed a bit and then took a bus to the omnibus terminal where we had stored our big backpack. We needed to pay for one additional day and then returned to the hotel. In our spacious hotel room we let our backpacks explode to see what we have. It's a lot 😁 But we sorted it a bit and prepared some things for the laundry. At the reception we asked for a restaurant recommendation and went to this nearby bodega. They were just about to open (6, so quite early for here) and ordered a bottle of wine and I tried a Matambre (literally translates a hunger killer) a la pizza. Basically a steak with tomatoes and cheese on top 😅 Pretty heavy but tasty!
Afterwards we needed to burn some of these calories and walked around the historic center around our hotel. First to a small plaza famous for the Tango dancers, and even though it was a Tuesday night there was a couple performing. We watched them a little bit before continuing on to the Mercado San Telmo and then the Casa Rosada, on one of the main plazas. The exhausting day had taken its toll and we returned to our hotel for a much needed sleep 💤Läs mer
Bueno Aires: Barrio Boca
22 mars 2023, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
We slept in and after a nice shower headed down to the breakfast buffet. It was probably the most selection we've had in all over Latin America but the quality wasn't very convincing. The bread was dry, the eggs partly cold and the fruits rather tasteless. The breakfast option wasn't that expensive but still pretty disappointing experience 🙄
But we are not in Buenos Aires to spend our day in the hotel! Today was planned fully with exploration of the highlights:
First up we walked the same way as yesterday evening to the Plaza Dorrego and then continued further on until we reached the Boca neighborhood. It's famous for "La Bombonera", the stadium of the football club Boca Juniors. The whole neighborhood is in the clubs' colours 🟨🟦 We took some pictures and then investigated the souvenir shops briefly but continued our way through the narrow colourful streets. This small section of the neighborhood is called Caminito and famous for the street art and artesian products. We got a beer at one of the small stalls and strolled through it. At the end is the waterfront where we took a bus to the next destination, Puerto Madero.
This renovated, hip riverfront is bustling with people and offers a great selection of bars, cafés and restaurants. In the center is the Bridge of the Women, representing a woman in fluid movement at a Tango dance 💃Most of the buildings are big brick buildings that used to be warehouses. There was also a huge, beautiful sailing ship anchored ⛵ From there it was just a little walk to the historic city center with the Casa Rosada (now by day) and the cathedral.
Another iconic monument is the obelisk with the green BA in front. We stopped by to take a few pictures but it was super crowded with a long queue. So we continued our way to the library "El Ateneo", an old theater that was converted. Overall the impression of Buenos Aires was great, wide walkways with tree cover, generally pretty clean and a comfortable climate. We checked out the cemetery Recolecta but just from outside and then returned to the hotel briefly.
For dinner we had decided to go to a traditional Argentinian barbecue restaurant. It was a nice walk about an hour until we arrived there but it was still pretty early for local customs. I ordered a tenderloin steak and we shared a bottle of Malbec wine 🍷 The steak was well prepared and barbecued but not as great as in Bariloche. But the dessert was one of the best Flan in our trip ☺️ We took the bus to the Plaza Dorrego again but just had a coffee and then went back to the hotel as it was already pretty late.Läs mer
La Plata
23 mars 2023, Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We took it slow in the morning for getting up and having breakfast as our main goal for the day was to go to the city of La Plata, about 60km South of Buenos Aires. So we took a bus and then a direct (very slow) train to get there. By the time we arrived it was already 12 😁 From the train station we walked for half an hour through the pretty neighborhood to the main plaza.
Here in La Plata is the provincial government of the Buenos Aires province located. It is a planned city with a spider net like street system and wide walkways with lots of trees. At the main plaza is the municipal building in German renaissance style which was pretty and the mighty Cathedral. In comparison to this massive brick stone building everything falls small! The inside is even more stunning with beautiful large stained glass windows and broad marble willows. What I liked is that there is almost no decorations so the stained glass appears more prominent. In front of the Cathedral we had a lemon ice cream and sat down for a bit. We had underestimated the travel time a bit but there wasn't anything more to see anyways, so we made our way back to Buenos Aires. It was pretty warm in the train so we both fell asleep for a while 😅💤
Back in Buenos Aires we split up for a bit because Julia went to get a haircut while I went back to El Caminito to buy a mate 🧉 I had wanted one for a while but it didn't make sense having to transport it so we postponed it to Buenos Aires. Afterwards we met up again at the hotel for a bit of relaxation. In the evening we went to a supermarket for some stuffs to bring home and then we had a nice bottle of Shiraz at the hotel while packing our bags...Läs mer
Sao Paulo
24 mars 2023, Brasilien
It got pretty late until we had packed so we set our alarm to 8, finished packing, made ourselves presentable and then had breakfast. Afterwards we checked out of the hotel and stored our luggage to go on the last tour of the city. It consisted mainly of things that we had missed out on the way.
First stop was the historic walk with statues of Mafalda, Susanita and Manolito whose creator is from Buenos Aires. We took a few pictures and then continued on to the Plaza de la Independencia to see if the light for pictures at the obelisk is better today. There were masses of people gathered for a political protest although the message wasn't very clear 😅 The light was in fact a little bit better to take some photos. The next stop was the Museum of Fine Arts near the cemetery Recolecta.
We spend about an hour in this great and free museum, especially the marble statues were amazing in the details. We had already walked more than 10 km and it was a nice sunny midday, so we decided to relax a bit in the park next to the museum. There are a lot of benches and long chairs all over the park where we soaked up some sun ☀️ To go to our next stop we wanted to take the bus but this turned out pretty difficult as many weren't in service. We were quite confused because until then the public transport had been fantastic. After waiting for almost an hour we found out that it's a public holiday and therefore the bus service was limited 🙈 With some detours we finally managed to get to the Mercado San Telmo.
There we checked for a nice spot to have a late lunch. We decided on a Choripaneria in a bar style and a nice cold beer. But the situation about the public transport had us a bit worried because we wanted to take the bus to get to the airport. So we went to the hotel to grab our luggage and walk to the bus terminal near Puerto Madero. From there is a regular bus service which is run by a private company, so more expensive but also reliable. And in this case we wanted to play it safe 😁
This bus was also much faster so we arrived at the airport 1.5 hours earlier than planned. But the international departures terminal was pretty nice compared to the domestic one. So we spend our time browsing the shops and eating dinner. It went by pretty quickly and we boarded the plane to Istanbul on time. After takeoff we got a sandwich and soon afterwards crossed to the Brazilian airspace. There we had a technical stop in Sao Paulo for getting more passengers, refuel and cleaning up. This took a while and we fell asleep several times 😴
It's a weird feeling that our trip is coming to an end. Somehow it went by pretty fast but when we recollect memories from the trip it feels like so much that has happened that it doesn't fit into the half year. The time spent in Canada feels like years ago...Läs mer
Istanbul
25 mars 2023, Turkiet ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
Due to the time shift the time we travelled increased from 12.5 hours to almost 20 hours 🥴 Right after taking off from Sao Paulo we got our breakfast 🍳 because it was already around 5 in the morning in Argentinian time. We couldn't eat a lot and afterwards fell into an uneasy sleep for a few hours.
Then we spend our time the way it's best on an airplane, watching movies and having a nice wine 🍷 The wine was a Malbec and pretty good. Around halfway through our trip over the Atlantic, it started getting dark already again, which was pretty weird 🌑
Three movies and some more wine later we got our dinner menu and then landed at around 23:00 in Istanbul. The airport is super large and we spent almost an hour until we came to the F Terminal from where our flight would departure. We asked at the check-in booth about a hotel because we had read that passengers get a complimentary stay at a hotel when they have a layover. Unfortunately it is only if the time between the flights is more than 12 hours and ours is 10 😅 But instead we got vouchers for a dinner menu from a selection of restaurants. I decided to try Popeyes while Julia got a pizza.
Well fed and tired we made ourselves as comfortable as possible on benches and the floor to catch up on some sleep 😴Läs mer
Stuttgart
26 mars 2023, Tyskland
I slept for a little while there on the floor but Julia couldn't sleep. Still we were both super tired in the morning when we boarded the last flight of this trip to Stuttgart. The flight was pretty much full, probably because of the strike at the Munich airport that had caused our flight to be cancelled. We got a nice, tasty breakfast and slept a little bit more until we landed on time in a rainy and cloudy Stuttgart.
Directly after landing we had bought the bus/train tickets and then went through migrations. It took a little longer for Julia so I already went ahead and got our luggage. But ultimately we made it on time to the bus to Esslingen and from there we took the train to Bad Waldsee where we had started our journey half a year ago.
When walking from the train station to my mum's house we met my uncle by chance 😁 Back at home we basically just dropped off our stuff, ate a little bit and then went to bed sleep deprived 😴Läs mer
Bad Waldsee
27 mars 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
Just to round up this trip one last footprint where we had set our first one half a year, or to be precise 214 days, ago.
It was a journey: Sometimes easy, sometimes difficult but always an experience, a step on the way. We travelled all the way with positive thoughts, while not raising our expectations. Taking every single step as it comes, letting it surprise us, amaze us. From bustling cities full of life, over secluded beaches and lonely mountain paths... This trip had everything and more that we wished for.
We thought a fitting title would be: A trip of fire & ice. Because of the many volcanoes and the Antarctic ice 🔥🧊
It will definitely take some time to process all the things we have seen and experienced.Läs mer
