Day 1- Argentina embarkation
Friday, 02 January – written by Abi
Happy New Year!!
It’s finally sinking in that we are going to Antarctica!! What a way to start 2026! We are all excited and looking forward to the adventure.
After a day or two of exploring and relaxing in Buenos Aires we set off to Ushuaia from the local airport, Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery. It was an early start with a 5:45am breakfast, coffee was required followed by a snooze on the plane during the 3.5 hour flight south. Our group is easily identifiable as most of us are decked out in beautiful and bespoke merch which was designed and organised by some very creative classmates. Strike a pose!
During the plane ride we went over the Andes, and the views from the plane were honestly breathtaking.
Once we landed in Ushuaia we collected our luggage, which thankfully all made it! We had a buffet lunch in a local hotel just off the main shopping street followed by a quick dash for souvenirs and postcards and the mandatory team photo in front of the Ushuaia sign at the harbour.
Then it was onwards to the ship! From boarding until dinner time everyone settled in, with unpacking and exploring our home for the next 17 days!
We learned and laughed as the staff demonstrated some of the emergency gear during the mandatory ship’s evacuation briefing. The orange survival suits are anything but flattering or easy to don, but hopefully this was the only encounter we will have with these emergency devices during our trip.
After a delicious buffet dinner in the restaurant on Deck 6 we had a team briefing followed by wrapping up warm and going out on to the observation deck to practice our ID skills and to watch our ship cast its lines and sail into the Beagle Channel. We managed to spot the first seabirds including Southern and Northern giant petrels (distinguished by the colour of the bill tip! that’s advanced bird ID!), Magellanic penguins, imperial cormorants, kelp gulls and even a Chilean skua. We are looking forward to seeing more species and improving our ID skills.
During the night we’ll be heading into the infamous Drake Passage, and we shall see if anyone turns green. Sick bags and travel sickness remedies are at the ready!