Departure to Antarctica

Cruising Antarctica

As interesting as Ushuaia was, it was just a stop before embarking on the G Expedition for our voyage to the edge of Antarctica.

We were pretty excited by the time we got onboard in the late afternoon of our third day in Ushuaia. 

Boarding; Photo: Ship Photographer Sheeren Mroueh

As I said, we were already familiar with the G Expedition. Even though we could see it from our hotel, we had to board a bus to drive to it, primarily as a security/passport control measure.

A luxury coach for a two-block ride; Photo: Scott Stevens

And, of course, when you are raring to go, that feels like it takes forever!

So, here's just a little about the ship that would be our home for the next nine days ...

The G Expedition in the harbor

The G Expedition has five classes of cabins. All but Category 5 are 160 square feet; Category 5 is a 320-square-foot suite. Category 1 holds four people; Category 2 holds three. The rest are doubles differentiated by the size of window and location.

Our private Category 4 cabin with a tiny but efficient ensuite bathroom was small, but not cramped. 

A Class 4 twin room; Photo: Travel Weekly (I somehow forgot to take a picture)

The bed was comfy and the window large (by this boat's standards). There was ample storage (as long as you were neat) in a closet, drawers and wall hooks. We were one class up from our Svalbard trip, so we had a bigger window.

The view

A big window is great, but in the Antarctic environment, it doesn't give you much in the way of views. 

It was generally streaked with sea water. Still, no matter how many times it got wet, a big dark spot on the outside never washed off.

A balcony would be great, but this is a converted ferry; none of the rooms have balconies. 

I would never want a room without a window and I liked this big one way more than the square window we had in Svalbard.

Whales off the bow

The ship is small, which gives it more maneuverability and access to narrow channels and small bays and coves. When you are on deck, you are close to the elements. Unlike a giant cruise ship, you can actually get close to nature.

And, later, I'll talk about the Zodiacs, where you are literally right in the middle of it.

Our position on the port side of deck four was directly above one of the exits used for boarding the ship’s Zodiacs for our twice-daily excursions. So, we got to see the portable metal stairway raised and lowered and, sometimes, we watched the boats being lowered to the ocean and hoisted back up.

The arrow points to our room

The ship has a large dining room that serves buffet breakfast and lunch and a plated dinner. It also has a small bar, a large lounge, a library and a computer room. There is a workout room (didn’t go there) and a sauna (didn’t go there either). When we went to Svalbard, it had a small store, but this time it didn’t.

In my expedition jacket; Photo: Scott Stevens

Everyone on the cruise gets a red expedition jacket. Since we had ours from Svalbard, we requested (and got) a credit. I didn’t need two jackets! Scott managed to use up the credit at the bar, so it was a good deal.

Because of concerns about environmental issues, the newer jackets have less Velcro, which can transport spores and seeds. I am thinking about taking a lot of the Velcro off mine.

I love the red. 

Bright against the snow; Photo: Scott Stevens

While I would not normally purchase a red jacket, they work in Arctic and Antarctic environments. The red against the snow makes for fabulous photos – especially when everyone is dressed alike. And, not to be dramatic, but I am sure they really help for rescues!

We purchased Wi-Fi onboard. It never worked on our phones, but did on my laptop. 

Unfortunately, one account would work only on one device at a time. I have a new laptop, so when I tried to log onto my Gmail account, it wanted to send a code to my phone for third-party verification. Great! 

We hadn't expected signal there, anyway; Photo: Scott Stevens

We couldn’t access anything on our phones (we never figured out why; they worked in Ushuaia) and my messages were not showing up on my laptop like they are supposed to (another casualty of a new laptop). So, I never had access to my mail. 

Note to self: next trip, make sure I don’t need a second device to get into mail on my laptop.

Of course, boarding is a frenzy of activity. Since the cabins are, shall we say, snug, I like to unpack and stow everything as quickly as possible. Then, there is the mandatory safety briefing and lifeboat drill.

So fashionable!

I realize that I probably should have spent more time on deck looking for birds as we cruised out of town on the Beagle Channel and done my organizing after dark (oh, wait, dark is around midnight, so that wouldn't work). 

A rare sunset; Photo: Scott Stevens

I went out for awhile and saw some Imperial Cormorants ...

A large flock in the harbor

... and a number of Kelp and Dolphin Gulls ...

Kelp Gulls

Then, as we continued on, I did go on deck to look for Albatrosses. Although several were listed as possible, I saw only Black-browed Albatrosses. But, I saw quite a few.

A rather stocky Albatross with a distinctive "eyebrow"

And, I saw some Northern Giant-Petrels (the same bird I had seen in Tierra del Fuego National Park). I had hoped to see some of the native cetaceans, especially the Sei Whale, but no luck there.

Giant-Petrels have giant schnozzolas

I have mentioned the Beagle Channel without really describing it. It is a 150-mile-long strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina that separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from various smaller islands. It is about and three miles wide at its narrowest point. The channel's eastern area, where we traveled, forms part of the border between Chile and Argentina. The western area is entirely within Chile.

The Strait of Magellan

The Beagle Channel, the Strait of Magellan to the north and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Most commercial shipping uses the Drake Passage, where we were heading. I will talk about that in my next blog.

We saw our first icebergs south of the Drake Passage

Before I sign off, however, here's a disclaimer: I try very hard to keep good records of what I photographed and where and when I captured it. But, I always forget to re-set the clocks on the four different cameras I used, so I sometimes can't nail down a shot.

Sheeren was perpetually happy

In the blog, I also have: my cellphone photos; photos from Scott; videos from both Scott and me; photos from Ship Photographer Sheeren Mroueh, who did not ID her photos; and, when nothing else will do, photos, maps and illustrations I pulled from the web.

It is possible (probable) that some photos ended up in the wrong buckets (a lot of Antarctica looks like a lot of other places in Antarctica). Still, all are a true representation of how I perceived the trip.

I apologize if any ended up in the wrong place. Only an Antarctic expert would notice.

Do you know where this is? Photo: Scott Stevens

Trip date: December 30, 2023  - January 12, 2024