Antartica, the 7th Continent Day 1

My Antarctica trip began when I first set eyes on our ship as we arrived at the port in Ushaia. She was majestic. All my fellow cruisers on the coach were ohh'ing and ahh'ing. Previously we had only seen her in brochures and videos, and now we were boarding her to start the trip of our lifetime for the next 12 days.

Day 1

We were welcomed by the ship General Manager by the gangway, offered champagne onboard as we checked in, and made to feel like VIPs by the crew. The joys of luxury cruising☺️

Then we were taken to our staterooms (never call a room a room onboard a cruise ship 😉) where our luggage was already waiting for us. Another joy of luxury cruising where we don't need to lug our bags around ourselves. The stateroom was lovely. It had a decent size sitting area and full length window to admire the views outside. I'll do a separate post about the ship later on for those who are interested.

After settling down, it was time for the mandatory safety briefing. Safety is always the most important at sea. We had to report to our muster station with the life jacket from our room, and were told how to put it on correctly. That's basically a drill in case there's an emergency so we know where to go and what to do, and not panic.

I ended my first day on board taking advantage of the free drinks whilst watching the beautiful sunset as we cruised away.

Day 2

Going to Antarctica by sea takes two days via the Drake passage. Flanked by the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans on either side, the Drake passage is approx 800km in between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and no land mass anywhere to be seen. The Antarctic circumpolar current, the world's strongest current, swings around this area, potentially creating massive waves up to 20m in the very worst conditions. That's when you get the infamous Drake Shake. Some cruisers look forward to that for the total Antarctica exhilarating experience. Fortunately, sometimes you may get the Drake Lake, a calm crossing not too dissimilar from normal cruises. You won't know till you're there. Luckily, we got the Drake Lake. Phew! What a great start to our journey.

Day 2 was spent on the logistics matters. Mandatory briefings on what to expect on land, what we can and can't do, and how to get in and out of the zodiacs safely. We also tried out our new parkas and boots sizes, and got our outer gear, trousers, gloves and hats etc checked and vacuumed clean to make sure we don't bring any biohazard on land and contaminate the continent and wildlife.

We spent the rest of the time exploring the ship and trying to be unsociable, meeting our fellow cruisers. We were going to be with them for 11 more days, might as well see what friends, if any, we make.

Day 3

Our Drake Passage crossing was so good that we actually managed it in a day and a half. Despite the overcast and -2 degrees, it was confirmed we would have our first landing at Barrientos Island in the afternoon!!!! That's a pretty big deal in Antarctica, where sometimes landings have to be cancelled due to adverse weather, so getting an extra one was a big bonus.

Strictly speaking, the Barrientos Island isn't on the Antarctic continent mainland. It's part of a cluster of islands 120km north of the Antarctic peninsula. As expected everyone was very excited on our first landing and we went out in groups for the short zodiac ride from the ship to land. Everything was well organised to make sure each passenger got their one hour on shore, and that we didn't exceed the 100 people limit at any one time on land.

It was quite overwhelming when I got off the zodiac and stepped on the 7th continent at last!!! I wasn't crying with joy here, just trying to adjust my hat because it was so windy 😄 But seriously, it felt great, and I stood there for a moment taking everything in.

Once we landed (see the cluster of people by the shore) we could walk either to the left or right, but we had to follow the paths in between the cones laid out by the expedition team. We're not allowed to deviate from the path, and we're not allowed to walk towards a penguin. We were, after all, visiting their home, and we had to respect them. If a penguin walks towards us or crosses our path, we have to stay 5m away or back away slowly from them. That's to prevent us from disturbing them too much and passing any disease to them or vice versa. Avian flu was detected in the Antartica last year, and that is a big concern for everyone as it could wipe out the wildlife.

We headed right first, which was nearer, to see some penguins. It's not a massive colony as we often see in photos, but that didn't matter. I was happy to be here and embrace whatever was on offer. Then we trekked to the other side. When it's just a massive sheet of snow-covered land, distance looks quite far away. In reality, it's probably only 200m. The difficulty was a combination of the excitement of actually being here at last, getting used to walking on snow in our gear after being on board for 40 hours, and a bit of a slope which some seniors struggled with and had to turn back. I forged ahead and made the most of my first landing.

We were so hyped after our first ever outing on the Antartica. And to top everything we got to celebrate our wedding anniversary that evening. This year marks a major milestone in our marriage, hence another reason to do this special trip.

Day 4

I woke up the next morning and was rewarded with this stunning view outside my stateroom. You'll see a bit more of it in the video.

Today we'd go for our second landing at Portal Point. The crew said it's known for its broad snowfields, calm waters and sweeping views of surrounding glaciers. We could already get a taster of it from the zodiac on the way there.

This landing involves a fair amount of walking. The expedition team had already mapped out the route and prepared walking sticks for us when we landed. We walked one after another, not too unlike the penguins, as we waded through the pristine snow, hearing it crunch beneath our boots on ever step. It was cold, windy and snowing, but who cares when you're at the Antartica! It was an incredible feeling. I never thought I'd enjoy it so much walking in freezing cold weather for an hour.