1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #488 - Robert Island, Antarctica

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #488

- Robert Island, Antarctica

(Our 1st sighting of land! After almost 2 straight days of sailing the Drake Passage, we saw Robert Island in the late afternoon, one of the many islands dotting this Antarctic Peninsula region, which in itself, is already bigger than the UK. The expedition leader, Nate Small, gave us all a pleasant surprise when he announced over the intercom that we will be making our 1st onshore excursion - yeah! On the zodiacs we went, and upon landing, I just had to jump for joy - Continent #7, at last! The island was full of Gentoo penguins and elephant seals - all wild, all in their natural setting. They couldn't care less that we were there - snorting, calling out for their mates and fighting for space. It was a wonderful feeling..)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #487 - Tabular Icebergs, Antarctica

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #487

- Tabular Icebergs, Antarctica

(We have seen icebergs before during our previous trips to the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia and the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska. But what we saw here blew our minds. These tabular icebergs, so called because its top is flat like a table, are massive. Broken off directly from a huge glacier nearby, this giant iceberg we saw, easily 3 times the size of our ship, gave us a real-life sense of what it was like for something similar to hit the Titanic. Our ship would have no chance if it had hit it in the middle of the night. Instead we stood there from our ship's balcony, admiring it as it was bathing under the setting sunlight - simply enchanting!

*Side note: we caught a James Cameron documentary upon our return marking the 20th anniversary of the making of Titanic - how coincidental was that)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #486 - Drake Passage, Antarctica

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #486

- Drake Passage, Antarctica

(The Drake Passage, that body of ocean between Ushuaia/Cape Horn and Antarctica, has a notorious reputation. Nearly 1000km long, it is considered the roughest seas in the world. Sure enough, we were introduced to it head-on. After starting to feel its roughness overnight while asleep, the full force of it was felt the next day. The sea-sickness pills I brought with me were no match - by morning, I was on bed, feeling nauseous throughout the day and threw up in due course. Hubby fared better, but was nauseous too. Only the pills from the ship's doctor were effective. And so, we experienced the Drake Passage and its fury, not once but twice, when we returned. We were told some are on this ship precisely to experience the Drake-Shake - it sure was some experience; just watch the video below)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #485 - Hebridean Sky expedition ship

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #485

- Hebridean Sky expedition ship, Ushuaia

(The Hebridean Sky was as good inside as it was good-looking from the outside. We boarded it at 3pm at the harbour, and was immediately taken by the big-size Promenade cabin, with its large rectangular window for its sea-view. But what took the cake was a built-in wardrobe! Very nice. The ship's main restaurant for all dining was elegant, with free-flowing coffee just 10m away from our cabin. The expedition organisers, Polar Latitudes, spared no effort in making us feel welcome, with their red Helly Hansen waterproof-parka jacket sitting nicely on the beds upon our check-in. We knew we were going to have a very comfortable 10-nights on this expedition ship, with the other 110 people onboard)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #484 - Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #484

- Tierra Del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

(Before hopping onto our Antarctica expedition ship, we took a coach trip to the Tierra del Furgo National Park, some 40minutes from Ushuaia. This vast national park has all the natural lakes and inlets that characterise this region, including a boat ride away from the country of Chile. The country boundary here is a mere 5 min boat-ride away from this park. The standout story from here is the indigenous tribe here called the Yamanas. They lived with no clothings, even during the bitter winter months, staying warm by applying seal oil on their skin, as well as living on their boats - what a tough tribe. Sadly, only 1 real Yamana is left, and she lives in the Chilean side of this region)