Heading Home

Arriving in Ushuaia aboard the G Expedition

That afternoon we started heading north toward the Drake Passage. We put on our seasickness patches in anticipation of a potentially rougher trip than the relatively smooth trip down.

There had been talk of a storm heading that way and I think the captain was trying to outrun it. 

There were clouds, but, south of the Drake was pretty calm; Photos: Scott Stevens

Our route swung wider than the “downhill” trip and we started by passing a number of huge icebergs, a nice farewell to the subpolar region.

These were unbelievably massive; Photo: Scott Stevens

Watch it here.

We marveled at the scenery in the sunlight. 

Can you even??? Photo: Scott Stevens

Amazing!!!! Photo: Scott Stevens

I spent some time on deck photographing the Cape Petrels that became more numerous as we moved north.

You can see the swells picking up

I even got a new bird: a White-chinned Petrel

At this point, it had been five days since our COVID diagnosis. We retested ourselves and Scott was negative. I still tested positive, but apparently I am one of those people who test positive even after the contagious period has passed. 

We got hot food again! Photo: Scott Stevens

So, we were released from quarantine and allowed among the living again. I still had the cough and congestion, so I tried not to get too close. But, the trip was almost over and we hadn’t really had much of a chance to make friends.

It turns out that we did successfully outrun the storm and our Drake Passage was just slightly rougher than the first one (maybe a 3 of 10). Yay! 

See Scott's video here.

Beagle Channel

The two days going north were uneventful. Then, when we reached the Beagle Channel on our last day at sea, I stayed on deck trying to catch glimpses of Sei Whales (no luck there) or any of the birds that I didn’t see on the way out.

Lighthouse and a Kelp Gull with Chile in the background

This really underscored my regret that I didn’t take a Beagle Channel cruise from Ushuaia on that free morning (or as an add-on to our Tierra del Fuego tour). The place is bird paradise.

Of course, there were Black-browed Albatrosses (a fellow traveler saw a Wandering Albatross right before I got on deck, but it never came back).

A very common bird in the Beagle Channel

We saw Magellanic Penguins on a very distant beach and lots and lots of Blue-eyed Shags (now Imperial Cormorants again). 

So many birds that I didn't even know to look for on the way out

I heard that we passed Rock Cormorants as well, but I couldn’t find any with my eyes (not reliable) or my camera (more reliable).

At this point, the ship was being escorted through the Beagle by a harbor pilot, so there was no slowing, turning or getting closer to shore.

The escort approaches

I also saw a huge colony of South American Terns ...

They covered the island

... plus a big haul-out of South American Sea Lions ...

And, they covered this island

It was a beautiful sunny day, so, even though everything was so far away, it was fun to stand on deck and try to get some photos.

Coming into Ushuaia; Photo: Scott Stevens

Homeward Bound

We actually docked in Ushuaia on the evening of the 11th even though departure was on the 12th. I guess that gives you time in case the crossing is rough.

Ushuaia from the ship; Photo: Scott Stevens

Some people went into town after the ship’s farewell dinner that we did get to attend (Hot food! Company! Wine!), but we had already seen what you can see in Ushuaia. And, unlike our time in Ushuaia before departure, it was chilly and very, very windy.

So, we stayed and packed and looked at town from a different perspective.

Ushuaia from the ship with Kelp Gulls in the foreground

The next morning, we disembarked, hung out for awhile ...

Final morning in Ushuaia

... and were then bused to the Ushuaia airport for our flight to Buenos Aires. 

Taking off from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires

It was so crazy windy at the airport, I thought we’d be delayed, but I guess they are used to wind there.

It was a bit rough, but beautiful, as we flew out

Heading to Buenos Aires

This time, we did not stay overnight in Buenos Aires. Instead I had booked a shuttle between airports for our late evening trip home.

I made a stupid American error that, fortunately, had no bad outcome. I thought I booked the shuttle for 5:30 p.m. (and did include my flight number, so ...). Anyway, everywhere but the US that would be 17:30, so I was on the books for 5:30 in the morning. They took us anyway.

 

To the clerk’s credit, he didn’t even roll his eyes at me even though I deserved it

The trip between airports should take about an hour. Since it was rush hour, I anticipated a bit longer. I wasn’t paying close attention until I realized we hadn’t moved at all in ages. Apparently, there was an accident ahead of us that was slowing all traffic and has completely blocked bus traffic (the bus lane has high concrete walls, so we couldn’t change lanes). Just at the point I started to fear we might not make our flight, we finally started moving.

The airport was a zoo. Long lines to check in. Long lines to go through immigration. Very little place to sit and wait.

But, on the bright side, after our flight to Buenos Aires, Scott was miserable (as he always in after a flight). I just didn’t want the trip back to be as miserable, so I spent an extra $800 to upgrade us to Business Class. 

Good call!

We had private cubicles with beds and meals and general comfort all around. Scott said he slept; the first time ever on a plane! Now, we’re spoiled.

In fact, it was so nice that I barely noticed how late we were taking off. When we arrived at DFW, we realized that making our connection to Colorado Springs was doubtful. 

That’s not a huge deal because when you’re that close, who cares? And, we could alway chill in Dallas before catching a later flight. Still, it would be nice to get home.

Passport Control was a breeze (with GOES, you hardly have to stop walking), but waiting for our bags so that we could wheel them 100 feet to put them back on another conveyor belt took forever.

When we finally got the bags settled, we had to hightail it to another terminal and we reached the plane seconds before the door closed. We were last on, which wasn’t too bad since we were in first class (part of our upgrade). One bag made it. Two got delivered to our house 12 hours later.

The most amusing part about coming home was that the coldest temperatures we encountered in Ant-freaking-arctica was 33°F. It was -9°F at home. 

Yep, colder than the coldest place on Earth

Sure, it was winter at home and summer in Antarctica. But, still.

A few days after we got home, we got a trip log from G Adventures outlining specifics about the trip and providing some photos from Ship Photographer Sheeren Mroueh.

Good stuff

That would come in handy as we processed and sorted the thousands of photos we took. I always try, when traveling, to download and identify. But, I always end up with a few photos that I can't identify.

Scott taking photos

I told you at the beginning that G Adventures provides a rough itinerary, but no specific details because the trip is so dependent on weather and ice. Now, that we are back, I can show you where we went (ignore their spelling!).

Despite missed meals, airport delays, a cough, a cold and COVID, it was a magnificent trip. I would go again in a heartbeat. Probably won’t, but I would!

Unbelievable!!!!

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