Whale-come to the end of the world!
Day 2 – 18th Jan, travel to Ushuaia, boarding the ship and heading out into the Beagle Channel
Our day began with an early 4:30 AM rise followed by some much needed coffee and breakfast at our hotel, the Sofitel Buenos Aires. We were then shuttled off to the airport to begin our journey south!
The team as we come into land in Ushuaia and a beautiful view from the cabin (both by Melanie)
Our flight to Ushuaia was bumpy, but the mountainous views outside the plane windows were a perfect distraction from the turbulence. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, and is the most common port to send off ships to Antarctica. These traits led to people calling Ushuaia the “End of the World”. After a quick tour of central Ushuaia on a bus, we were given free time to explore. Most of our group used this time to do some souvenir shopping, eat lunch, and enjoy the views of our ship and the mountains surrounding us.
In the late afternoon, it was finally time to board our ship, the MS Fridtjof Nansen. We all settled into our cabins, explored the ship, and attended the vessel’s mandatory safety briefing. We then gathered in the dining room to enjoy our first meal onboard as we left port and began our trip south. We also took this opportunity to practice our bird ID skills on some Giant Petrels that were circling our ship!
Our ship with Hurtigruten and learning about survival suits at the safety briefing (both by Sonja)
After dinner, we wasted no time before heading to the observation deck to spot the wildlife that the Beagle Channel has to offer. Although the weather started warm and sunny, it wasn’t long before members of our group were running back to their cabins to grab more layers to keep warm. In just over two hours, we were able to spot 3 sei whales, 2 humpback whales, three dusky dolphins, a sea lion, many black-browed albatross, giant petrels, South American terns, skuas, shags, and our first penguins (Magellanic ones)!
Students on watch for wildlife (by Melanie) and Imperial Shags (by Kelly)
Despite our day wrapping up at almost 23:00, the skies were still bright as the sun was beginning to set. We ended the day with a team meeting to make a plan for our first day at sea tomorrow, braving the infamous Drake Passage.
Written by Melanie
