Howdy folks,

The Drake Passage was a lot like trying to sleep on a rollercoaster without a seatbelt… so the sight of the calmer waters surrounding the Shetland Islands was a relief. We arrived in Antarctica late on the second day of our cruise and were finally feeling well enough to exit our cabin.

In this week’s email:

• 🦅 Antarctica Day 2: Deception Island and birding
• 🧊 Antarctica Day 3: Spert Island, Mikkelson Harbor, and icebergs
• ⛴️ On the blog: How to book your own Antarctic adventure
• 📍Travel tip: Offline maps

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Pete's Travel Diary

Deception Island

Small fragmented Icebergs were bobbing in the calm waters in front of a curtain of thick fog and falling snow. An ominous shadow was emerging ahead to reveal a sheer cliff face. The falling snow dampened all sound around us as we all gathered at the bow of the ship to watch. The cliff face emerged from the blue waters. This cliff marked the entrance to a collapsed and flooded caldera volcano.

Deception Island was not simply an island, as it may appear from a passing ship, and were it not for the cunning name to suggest treachery was amok, any unwitting sailor might simply sail past without knowing its treasures and hidden scenery. It's a secluded bay both protected and at the scarce mercy of a ring of active volcanoes. The last eruptions in 1967 and 1969 destroyed precious Antarctic bases and led to the abandonment of what remains in the caldera. There are still occasional research missions, but none permanent. Not any longer.

The Ushuaia silently moved through Neptune's Bellows, the narrow entrance channel which looks large enough to fit two vessels comfortably at once according to the map.

“Another deception,” we were told by one of the Ushuaia’s crew. The sandbars and rocks near the cliff had once stranded and sunk an unsuspecting whaling ship some decades past.

The sinking ship was sliding from the sandbar into the sea. There was hope, as another ship was closing in on their position. It was New Year’s Eve and the other ship was raucously celebrating as they made their way through the channel to Port Foster, located along the volcanic rim of Deception Island. The sailors of the sinking vessel panicked and waved their arms in distress and cried for help. The passing ship waved and cheered back in celebration, unaware that the other sailors were not part of the festivities, but were instead slipping into cold oblivion. They eventually realized their error and returned to rescue the failing ship. The shipwreck remains in place to this day.

The captain and crew of the Ushuaia cautiously entered Deception Island and navigated to Port Foster. The remnants of the old whaling stations and research base were still present on the shores. Old silos for whale oil had since slipped into historic decay.

We spotted penguins dipping in and out of the water as they swam along the sides of the ship. The penguins had established their own base of operations at the docks, and by international law, we could not go within 15 feet of one of the peculiar wobbly birds. Our ship circumnavigated Whaler’s Bay to finish our scenic cruise, albeit an eerie and magnificent one.

A New Hobby: Birding

The Antarctic is, like much of the natural world, indifferent to your needs and well-being, including your needs and expectations for entertainment. It is, however, one of the most beautiful and engaging places for those willing to adapt to the challenges.

I’ll elaborate. First of all, I’m a hobbyist. Hobbies are my hobby in a way. When we set out to travel the world, I had to store many hobbies and leave them behind. Add to that being on a ship with nowhere to go and ostensibly nothing to do between outings into the icy cold. Books, audiobooks, and movies were a great help, but I like to stretch my legs and get outside. Cabin fever is especially rank and unpleasant when the cabin is small and rocks side to side endlessly like a metronome. Even out of the Drake Passage, there's plenty of movement underfoot.

Our travel agent provided us with a fold-out pamphlet about Antarctic wildlife. It was mostly birds but included some whales and seals, too. With nothing better to do and nowhere to go, I figured it was worth taking a pen and seeing what birds were around. Some of them, like the Antarctic Shag or the White Sheathbill (also called a "shit chicken" due to their dietary preferences), are odd looking and worth taking a gander at.

There was an older gentleman who upon seeing the pamphlet of mostly birds asked, “Are you a birder too?” I gave a shrug but did not say no outright.

I’m not a bird watcher or birder as the fellow said. I like bugs, rocks, and pinecones (or things that are inherently bizarre), but a naturalist is a naturalist. I enjoy nature and its bounty and I can learn to enjoy more nature and get more bounty for it.

As such, I took it to mean that the oldtimer was a birder so we started to talk often about what birds we had seen. He was detailed. A real hair-splitter, our fellow birder, as many discerning nature enthusiasts want to be. Or ought to be, as learning is an important part of seeing the world. It helps us cement those memories for the future. It lets us share stories and educate others.

I would slowly but surely mark off the birds I had identified in my pamphlet. We would check in on one another’s progress from time to time.

It wouldn’t be until the end of the expedition that the older gentleman revealed, “I’m not a birder. My wife is. She couldn’t come on the trip so I’m doing due diligence.” That's when I revealed that I am also not a birder - I was just trying to stay busy. We had both gotten wrapped in something outside of our interests. I enjoyed it while it lasted.

The moral of the story is to keep trying new things, keep changing your mind, and keep growing and exploring regardless of age. I’m not a die-hard birder and I won’t be diving head over heels into the world of bird watching. Perhaps I will become obsessed later in life.

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Perry's Travel Diary

Spert Island

Day 3 began with an exciting announcement: we would have our first excursion off of the ship! After my horrendous experience in the Drake, the prospect of exiting the ship was very, very exciting.

We disembarked into the zodiac rafts for a cruise around the famed scenery of Spert Island. My mother had asked me before the trip to keep an eye out for UFOs, and if I were an alien spacecraft, this is where I would land. As Pete described it, “If I were a supervillain and lost my volcano lair, Spert Island would be a natural backup.”

Black, rocky arches and crevasses jutted out from the ink-blue sea.

Glaciers were covered with shelves of snow.

As gray and snowy as it was, I was impressed by the range of colors. Blue ocean, cyan glaciers, and even green algae made an appearance.

We saw petrels, shags, gulls, and - the best part - our first Gentoo penguins.

First excursion? Success.

Mikkelsen Harbor

Each day, the crew attempted two excursions. After Spert Island and lunch, the ship headed to Mikkelsen Harbor.

No sooner had we all re-dressed in our parkas and made it to the deck did we notice that they were hauling the zodiac boats back on board. Turns out, a large penguin rookery had overtaken the landing site, and we were not allowed to disturb them.

Interrupted landings continued to happen daily. Despite two attempts, we usually made it off the ship once per day. Penguins and weather conditions (wind, snow, and/or ice) blocking our landing site were the culprits.

All was not lost. Once we all ditched our layers and sat down for dinner, we noticed that everyone was rushing to look out the windows. We thought there must be more birds, but no - there were icebergs!

This ended up being the least interesting iceberg that I photographed during the trip. There were so many more icebergs and penguins in the upcoming two days… which we’ll cover in the next newsletter. :)

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On Our Blog

​How to Get to Antarctica on a Budget: 4 Ways (With 2023 Prices + What We Did)​

When Pete and I set our goal to visit all seven continents, we knew that we were going to have to find a way to get to the seventh continent - Antarctica - at some point. Originally, we thought this was a far-off dream, something to pursue in our old age. But when we pulled our timeline for our seven continents goal into the next twelve months, it raised a stressful question: How on earth were we going to get to Antarctica on a budget?

After a lot of research, a few pulled hairs, and one fantastic travel agent, we found a way. It consumed about 25% of our funds for the year, but hey - I'd spend that money all over again. We only get to live once, and we're thrilled that our lives have included standing in Antarctica.

Here's everything I learned about how to get to Antarctica on a budget. I've included every option - and I mean every option - since most other guides only focus on the smaller expedition cruise ships. And that's not the only way!

Turns out, there are options that get you to Antarctica starting at $2,000 per person, though you will easily spend more. Let's take a look, and I'll tell you what we did.

Read More

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Itinerary

Cruise, Hotel, Food, and Transportation

We booked our Antarctic Cruise through Freestyle Adventure Travel and sailed with Antarpply Expeditions on the MV Ushuaia. The cruise obviously included our hotel, food, and transportation at this point in the journey. 🙂

Currency

Our cruise ship used US Dollars as the official currency.

Ushuaia, Argentina uses the Argentine Peso. Here's how to get cash in Argentina.​

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Travel Tip of the Week

Access Google Maps Offline

Here's a tip we use daily: make sure to download offline Google Maps for the areas you're visiting in case you don't have cell service!

(Antarctica obviously does not have coverage. At all. Internet is available for a fee, but we skipped it.)

Offline maps have saved me when we're in a new location and need directions, but our phones can't quite find the local cell network. In Antarctica, it allowed me to mark a few locations we had visited and maintain some sense of direction.

To download offline Google Maps:

• Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
• Navigate to the area you'd like to save a map of.
• In the upper right corner, click on your profile picture or icon.
• Select "Offline Maps."
• Then, click on "Select Your Own Map" and follow the prompts.
• Ta-da!

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All our love,

Pete and Perry

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