Antarctica, the isolated and remote place that has always spiked a curiosity in many travelers. But getting there isn’t easy. Albeit easier than it used to be. Many brave explorers made several trips, and for some it became their last. Ever read Shackleton and The Endurance?
Antarctica has been on my list for a long time – even though snow and cold weather generally does not appeal to me. I was intrigued. I had to see it.
First of all; Easter Island (where our previous adventure had led us to) to our starting point of the Falkland Islands is a bit of a journey…
Leaving the Easter Island behind, 5 hour flight to Santiago where we spent the night. Early morning 3 hour flight to the Southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. Here we managed to walk around the city a bit – super windy! Repack, and get some rest, and find an amazing steak dinner in what looked like a regular house on the outside but a phenomenal steak house on the inside! El Fogon De Lalo – it is the red house in case you find yourself in the area!
After our night here we were quickly boarding the rather unusual once a week LATAM flight to the Falkland Islands. As the flight crosses Argentinian air space, this is all they allow, otherwise they would shoot down the planes (according to the locals at least)… Lots of hard feelings remain after the British and Argentinian war of the Falkland Island in 1982.
Only air connections are the weekly Punta Arenas flight and the twice a week British Military flight from just outside London (at a rate of well over $3K R/T). It is a quick 90 min. flight for us, landing at a British Air Force base was even more unique. No photos permitted here…. Got our rather unique Falkland Islands passport stamp.
Bussed into the main City of Stanley via 1 hour of unpaved dirt roads with hardly any civilization in between, we got some background info. Hardy folks live here. A total population of around 3,500 people call the Falkland Islands home – most residing in Stanley, and an unknown number of British military personnel. No trees, but rivers of rocks, sheep, and lots of Range Rovers and 4x4s here. The weather can be unforgiving – cold and windy.
Stanley itself reminds one of a smaller British coastal town. Pubs, red classic phone booths, even an abandoned London double decker bus! We strolled around the streets for a bit.
Our visit is brief. We are whisked away to our ship located at the floating “pier”. A Russian ice strengthened research vessel built in Finland in 1988. The “Akademik Sergey Vavilov“. She is just as expected: Built tough and with a clear mission: Polar research and Oceanic acoustic research. Along with her sister vessel, the Ioffe, they work in pairs when doing research. Typically the ships are used for active research by the Shirishov Institute of Oceanology for 4 months each year. The 4 winter and 4 summer months they are used in the Arctic and the Antarctic regions exclusively by One Ocean Expeditions as Expedition Vessels for tourists, and limited research. And this is how we made our way onboard, as tourists 🙂
Aboard, you quickly settle into the basic, but nice cabins. All crew is Russian and the expedition staff varied from Scottish, Canadian, Australian, American, Taiwanese, New Zealand, and Finland. All were absolutely incredible and all had some beyond unfathomable adventures to share. One identified, and named a dolphin species (only 44 exists!), one was the first to have kayaked around Svalbard, others led polar expeditions, some walked with bears, some had photos published in famous museums… Makes one feel like you should probably get off your ass and do even more, says the guy that just checked off his 7th continent.
Fellow passengers were equally diverse. Aussies, Canadians, South African, British, American, Swedish, and Indian.
Safety was top priority. No shortcuts. Onboard doctor and medical clinic. A few years ago they had to perform surgery on the ship while in rough seas. Not recommended. But the patient survived due to the doctor onboard. Nearest rescue option could be 3-5 days away! We did the mandatory lifeboat drill and enjoyed some fresh air on the decks.
Ever heard of the Drake Passage? Some of the roughest ocean in the world. Guess what? We got to cross it! For 2 full days at sea. During the sea days, there were plenty of options to stay busy; ranging from lectures about sea life, history, to yoga classes as well as some mandatory presentation surrounding safety and marine life. We also had fun doing the “lint picking” where you clean the outerwear of any debris. All had to be inspected and disinfected as you cannot bring any foreign material/bacteria onto the continent.
The bridge was open 99% of the time – so it was neat to hang out here and enjoy the views and learn some Russian, and maybe how to steer the ship!
All meals were great. Breakfast buffet, and sit-down lunch and dinners with three choices for each.
Lots of great passengers and staff kept everyone occupied. Even had some fun games onboard. And we may have brought our own Telestrations game from home!
Spotting the first ice berg was done by myself! Well, and probably the radar and captain:-)
Watching it calving was an even more thrilling experience.
Next up: Antarctica – the 7th continent and photo overload galore