28th March 2018 – Back at World’s End
Today marked the end of what can only be described as the most incredible experience exploring the frozen continent of Antarctica on Oceanwide’s Plancius. We were woken by the final wake-up call from our Expedition Leader Andrew and got ready to disembark in Ushuaia.
The last ten days have taken us on an incredible journey from Ushuaia at the southern-most tip of Argentina (or the world!), across the dreaded Drake Passage to Antarctica, giving us a glimpse of life in this remarkable, remote and sometimes inhospitable place. Not only did we survive the Drake Shake, but we also experienced an abundance of wildlife on our travels, and we sailed 1744 nm or 3230 km!
We will all have different memories of our trip but whatever the memories, whether it was the many Gentoo penguins, the beauty of Staten Island, or stepping on the continent of Antarctica for the first time at Neko Harbour, they are memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
After an emotional goodbye to our new friends and all of the crew, we headed back into Ushuaia where we will spend the next 3 days before leaving for Buenos Aires. Whilst some of the group dashed for the nearest WiFi signal and made the most of the hotel pool, the rest of explored the unique city of Ushuaia, absorbing the rich culture of the only establishments open at 8.30am: souvenir shops!! We spent most of our remaining pesos and dollars on penguins and postcards searching literally “to the end of the world” for stamps or post offices that were open (with no luck). The rest was spent on what we loved most; FOOD. Later in the day, we all reconvened to go through the data we collected on the ship. It was an amazing feeling to see all of our hard work in one place and really brought home the overwhelming number of incredible animals that we were lucky enough to see!
By 7pm, the majority of us were EXHAUSTED and made the most of the hotel kitchenettes, opting for a quiet night in cooking for ourselves. Some of us were even landsick – an odd feeling like the world is rocking (I think it’s a little wishful thinking that we were still on the boat and a gentle reminder that Antarctica wasn’t just a dream). The rest of us ventured out into the bustling nightlight of Ushuaia (much quieter being Easter weekend) to eat our body weight in Argentinian beef, with some of us visiting the most southern Hard Rock Café in the world!
Tomorrow we are headed 80 km out of the city to Estancia Harberton, the oldest estancia (ranch) in the Argentine sector of Tierra del Fuego, home to one of the world’s largest collection of marine mammal skeletons. To top it off, we will be treated to a traditional Argentinian lunch. I can’t wait!
Written by Rachel Lunt
