Pillars of Kings in Antarctica
We like traveling. I mentioned it before. We set foot on all of the permanently inhabited continents except South America. Our grand plan was to go and see Russia, but war in Ukraine happened, from there we wanted to go to Cuba, but I had a job for a US company which made the whole Visa Waiver invalid, then from Cuba to Mexico and Peru, but COVID-19 happened as well. A series of events in the world that threw the proverbial wrench in the machinery so the whole trip was difficult to organize and pull off.
Mexico happened eventually with Panama in the same package while I was working for Gencove and this is the furthest south we got on that side of the world. We did our first round of travel vaccinations for the tropics and boosted what we could several weeks ago.
The Pan American Highway is a dream never realized. The road is supposed to connect North and South Americas, but there's the issue of the Darien Gap. The continents look connected, but they really are not. This is where our path ended the last time.
Fast forward, our plans were altered. Tenzin and Kida became a part of our family, I got laid off and got another job later. We upsized because the apartment got cramped. We were stable financially when we decided to revisit the idea of South America and that is when the question put itself forward. Why not to go further?
We paid a substantial amount of money for a sustainable expedition to Antarctica going from Argentina. I know the whole expeditions are geared to tourists and it's an oxymoron to call it sustainable. We wanted to see all of the continents and this was the least painful option.
The whole trip was months in preparation, almost a year since we paid the deposit, and our most ambitious trip so far. We usually don't pack big suitcases, but since the trip was going to encompass both warm and cold weather, and the flights included checked luggage, we decided it wouldn't be the worst thing to have one big suitcase, except we didn't have it so we borrowed it from friends. No luggage was lost.
Our phones were also not up to the challenge. Both had very diminished battery lives and Vesna also cracked her screen (and blamed Tenzin). We chose cheaper upgrades (sorry Fairphone, I'll get back to you once I get financially stable again) and planned to take the old GoPro to take pictures. A friend who's into photography convinced us to take his old pro camera with us, which turned out great.
With heavy hearts, we left Kida and Tenzin behind and vowed we'd come back - to cats who didn't understand what was happening, to friends who were minding them, to families who were scared. But it's not like we were heading for some unexplored frontier. We chose a destination that we found interesting and that was open and fit for tourists, so there was no room for fear.
The flight from Dublin to Buenos Aires was a connecting one. On the way there via Paris, and on the way back via Amsterdam. A long journey is not something we hadn't experienced before, but it was some years ago from Amsterdam to Beijing and from Shanghai to Paris. It's not impossible, but it is very cramped and it's a bit of a gamble if the preordered vegan option will be available. Sometimes you have to argue to receive things that should be provided as agreed.
Transoceanic flights take time. I cannot sleep in the seat and it's a pain, but we brought enough entertainment. From the downloaded Spotify playlist, to Kindle books and even Steam Deck games. Vesna also had some videos to watch despite the in-flight entertainment system. We used the opportunity to see some things together.
When we landed in Buenos Aires, we got reminded why we hated checked-in luggage. It's another time waster, another cost, another effort to transport. Either way, we didn't have the issues with the immigration and got to the city center without trouble.
Buenos Aires is lovely. In spite of the streets being in the grid system, which leaves little room for discerning landmarks and a lot to urban sprawl, it didn't make us feel anxious, unlike London. It is probably the green spaces everywhere and the architecture is familiar, although the buildings are a bit taller since Buenos Aires is newer than the European cities. It's clean and green and the economy tries to stay afloat in spite of the free fall it's currently in.
We didn't do the usual walking tour, but only the hop-on hop-off bus this time. What little time we had there we used for going around on our own and one day we also visited Uruguay. It's very easy to jump over to Colonia del Sacramento from Buenos Aires via the regular ferry. Enough to get our passports stamped and get away from the bustling of the city.
After a few days checking out the most important bits of Buenos Aires, we had a flight to Ushuaia, what they like to say - the end of the world - kinda. Because I was a birthday boy, we got transferred to the fancier Arakur hotel with a lookout, but we managed to see the city on the way back. From there, we got transferred to a ship and off we were across the Drake Passage.
It was turbulent and wavy. We were told that it was actually okay and it could've been worse, in spite of the sea rocking the boat and the anti-nausea pills knocking us out. The ship had 312 passengers and the crew and is equipped with a lecture hall so it was interesting to hear about all the scientific stuff from phytoplankton, over macro-fauna to the geology of the continent.
It took us two days to get across to the peninsula and after the first landing on the Wiencke island, next to the Damoy point, with a number of Gentoo penguins all around. We spent the night over there camping. It was windy and cold and some condensation in the tent turned to frost. In the morning we had to be evacuated. One person didn't wake up and passed away. I know the gossip, but I don't like guessing.
In the coming days we also landed next to the Brown station on the peninsula itself and saw some penguins again. What impressed me the most was the Paradise Bay because the weather was spectacular with the mountains descending deep into the ocean below with the clear skies and rich reflections among the icebergs. Like an ice version of the Argonath from the Lord of the Rings. The other stops were Petermann island and Pleaneau island and more penguins alongside some boat trips among the icebergs checking out the seals and remote roosteries.
We had a kayaking session in Charlotte Bay which we didn't do much of because we were greeted by a family of Minke whales going all around us and below us playing and showing their bellies. It is truly a sight to see floating on the water in the kayak and ignoring the paddles. Just recording with a phone.
The weather was great throughout the journey. It was warm because the sun is hitting harder and the sunglasses are invaluable. We had to ditch most of the layers to avoid the heat. So yes, the weather was kind to us except the last day when we had to skip the Deception Island and attempt a landfall in a bay close-by, but the wind was too strong even for that so we huddled inside and were looking out through the windows.
We had to go back a day earlier because of the tragedy that happened during camping. The Drake Passage was wavy again, but we took the time to listen to the lectures. Even though the ship is equipped with a hot tub and a sauna, we didn't avail of those and instead opted to just listen to the scientists telling us about things. I was very interested in the remote sensing area, be it monitoring the ice or the wildlife migration.
On the way back, we stopped in Ushuaia for a day, just in time to check out the city and the neighboring Tierra del Fuego national park. We did it ourselves with the local bus. The weather was once again great so it was dry and we could just walk around and snap some photos as well as get our passports stamped. In the city there's the Republic of Croatia square. Who knew?
Vegan food is still difficult despite the expedition advertising itself as a sustainable one. It's pretty much the same as with every cruise. You have to ask, but they will paint by numbers and make mistakes. Like getting a non-vegan cake for my birthday delivered to our cabin and me having to go through the trouble of returning it. Or the first night before leaving for the southern tip of the continent, when were placed in a 'luxury' five star hotel which didn't even have plant milk for our coffees in the morning.
The expedition itself had weird demographics. I felt out of place because we're not rich folks and we're not old. Strong vibes of Gattaca and Snowpiercer. Those who know, know. Like playing outside of our league and feeling like an impostor. The expedition wants adventuring young folks, but it gets decrepit old ones that can barely scale the stairs after leaving the boat when landing, and need three people around to help them walk. The adventuring young folks have no money to afford a journey like that. They are also not pushing for the changes in the environmental department so go figure. It makes me sad, but here we are.
The way back took us to Buenos Aires again where I asked around at the nearby cemetery for one of my relatives, but didn't have any luck. We explored the places to eat because, even though the ship should cater to the vegans, and we didn't go hungry, it left a lot to be desired. We missed tofu. Such a simple thing.
The journey to the airport was eventful with Uber barely making it and the way back took us to Amsterdam with the plane conditions being all cramped again. We didn't want to visit the city. We were in Amsterdam before and the weather was miserable. Traveling from the late Spring to the late Autumn and crashing badly at the same time, left us with a long layover in the Schiphol where we only wanted to sit properly and walk around, have a normal coffee.
Would we do it again? If time and money were not an issue, yes. I think we got to experience all the highlights that we could so we're not regretting anything. There are other places to see, but the continents are all marked as done. Oceans, on the other hand...
