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When I was a child, one of the most important magazines was National Geographic. The issues that came with the maps folded inside were even more important. My bedroom walls were covered in these maps, and I would spend hours looking at every nook and cranny, trying to learn all I could of the world that I inhabited.
When the February 1963 issue arrived it had the most exotic map ever: Antarctica. From that point forward I wanted to visit the 7th continent, to see the amazing wildlife, the ice and mountains, the research stations. After 60 years, that dream of visiting the Bottom of the World finally happened, with a voyage across the dreaded Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula, and even below the magical Antarctic Circle. Throughout my journey, I kept a detailed diary of all that occurred, good and bad. I have included excerpts from that diary to aid in illustrating the awe and wonder that is this magnificent place.
Come along with me on this amazing voyage of discovery that I truly never thought would actually take place. |
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— Days 1 & 2: Los Angeles to Buenos Aires – Wednesday & Thursday, 4 & 5 January 2023 — |
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As a tradition, we host a small party each New Years Day. On 1 January 2023, just a few days before I was slated to start my journey south, we had some wonderful friends over for pizza, movies, and a very special dessert. This cake was created by Bob Kline, and included the dates of the actual cruise to and from Antarctica on board the newest ship from Atlas Ocean Voyages, the World Traveller. |
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The area of my voyage. South America to the Antarctic Peninsula, and back. |
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Cutting my Antarctic cake. |
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Atlas Ocean Voyages World Traveller. The location of my cabin is marked by the red arrow. |
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Deck Plan of the World Traveller. I had cabin 546, on the rear, port side, which was a Horizon (A2) stateroom, with a Juliette balcony. |
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My American Airlines Boeing 787-800 arrives at Gate 41 at Los Angeles International Airport. My flight pushed from the gate about 14 minutes late at 12:53 pm PST on 4 January 2023. It was a rainy and cold day in southern California. In fact the weather while I was gone was lousy overall, with cold and wet pretty much the whole time. The weather while I was in Antarctica was actually better than at home! |
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The description page for my cabin aboard the World Traveller. It was an excellent stateroom, and at 270 square feet, I had plenty of space. The huge window with the Juliette Balcony function, where the top half of the window could be lowered electronically, afforded me untainted and fantastic views throughout our time along the Antarctic Peninsula. |
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My travel documents from Atlas Ocean Voyages. Everything came in a leather portfolio, with plenty of room to hold other paperwork that I received along the way, such as our Daily Traveller newsletter that arrived each day of the voyage. The documents themselves were personalized and very thorough. The entire set was encased in a silk pounch. First class all the way with Atlas. |
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The view through the 787 window at seat 1A. The window dimming is handled through an electronic control rather than a conventional window shade that pulls down. |
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Antarctic Trip Statistics
4 to 18 January 2023
Total Trip Time: 14 days 10.5 hours Total Cruise Time: 10 days 8 hours 5 minutes Total Airline Flights: 6 Drake Passage South: 52 hours Drake Passage North: 65 hours Total Distance Traveled: 25,660 miles (Land Distance: 173 miles) (Sea Distance: 2,353 miles) (Air Distance: 23,134 miles) Equatorial Crossings: 2 Highest Latitude: 66°52.54 South Antarctic Landings: 4 Antarctic Zodiac Cruises: 3 Antarctic Research Bases Visited: 3 Penguins, seals, whales, and birds: Uncountable Photographs: 2150 Photos on Website: 638 Total Videos: 53 (Vdeos on YouTube: 27) Upside Down Moon: 1 Time from Inception of Idea: 60 years Memories For A Lifetime: Yes! XX |
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Diary Entry 1: Wednesday, 4 January 2023
Had three lousy nights of sleep as I tried to time shift the plus five hours I would experience by the time I got to Buenos Aires. On the night before my flight, I finally got to sleep around 10:30 pm and got up a half hour before my alarm was to go off at 4:00 am. At least that got me some extra time with Cherie as I made ready to leave. Checked on my flight, and there was a slight delay from 12:45 to 12:53. As long as the flights and gates hold out, everything should work out.
Debbi was at the door right on time at 5:00 am. Luckily the rain was dampened to just a mist. Traffic was light on the way to LAX, and we didn't run into any real traffic until we hit the airport itself. The slog around to terminal 4 was about normal, although we saw a lot of police activity at the Southwest terminal 1. Wonder what that was all about. Finally made it around the horn and got dropped off. Hoping that Debbi will have clear sailing going back to the OC.
I got checked in fairly quickly. One of the wonders of traveling First Class. The only snafu was the gate agent couldn't get her baggage tag machine to work. I told her I didn't mean to break it. Made it to the Flagship Lounge and was greeted by the departure board saying that my flight was delayed another half hour. That freaked me out, but then just a few minutes later, it showed that we were back to the 12:53 departure time. Don't need things like that. I'll get an ulcer yet. Very worried about making the Buenos Aires connection in Miami, as if that gets missed, it pretty much messes up everything. In the lounge I grabbed a bit of breakfast. They had made-to-order crepes. Mine had egg, bacon, ham, and cheese, and then I grabbed some Coco Puffs for dessert.
Just checked the weather in South America. Buenos Aires is supposed be be 86F and clear, while Friday in Usuhaia is supposed to be clear and 55F. Doesn't look like any rain is currently in the forecast before heading across the Drake on Friday evening.
My 787 showed up and was tugged to Gate 41. Looks like we might actually make it out on time today. Got some nice images of the aircraft. |
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Mark Twain (or was it Benjamin Disraeli?) famously said: "There are three types of lies: Lies. damn lies, and statistics." But I just couldn't help myself, and give them to you anyway. |
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In my private cubicle in seat 1A aboard the 787, heading from Los Angeles to Miami. Already a bit hagard from no sleep. |
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Lake Powell as we headed east on the first leg of my trip to Antarctica. |
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Sunrise over South America on 5 January from seat 4A on my 777 flight from Miami to Buenos Aires. Most of my flight south was in darkness, so catching the Sun to illuminate at least some of my first trek across South America, was a welcome sight. |
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(Above and below) Passing across the Andes Mountains in Chile. We flew down the west coast of South America, then cut east across the Andes to head into Argentina. |
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The Alvear Palace Hotel, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I spent the night of 5 January. My room was on the left side of the building in this image. |
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Room 509 at the Alvear Palace Hotel. From American sensibilities, I was on the 6th floor since the ground floor is Floor 0. |
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A giant Moreton Bay Fig Tree in the Plaza San Martin de Tours. Love those roots! |
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Looking down the spiral staircase near my room appeared like The Time Tunnel. |
Opus and Infy have already taken over my bed at the Alvear. |
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La Recoleta Cemetery is famous as the resting place of Eva Peron. |
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(Left) The nearly full Moon as seen from Buenos Aires on 5 January. (Right) Exactly one lunar cycle later, on 3 February, is the nearly full Moon as seen from California. Note that from the Southern Hemisphere it is upside down in comparison to the view of the Moon as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. |
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Diary Entry 2: Wednesday and Thursday, 4 & 5 January 2023
Made it to Miami, but the flight to Buenos Aires was late because they didn't have enough crew members. Finally pushed about a half hour late. The trip south was a grueling ordeal. For the nearly 9 hour flight, maybe 3 hours of it was in calm air. The rest was very severe turbulence. The crew eventually turned off the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign as no one would have ever gotten to use the restroom.
Most of the flight across South America was in darkness. A disappointment, but I was able to see a truly magnificent sunrise, even though the flight attendant kept wanting me to pull the shade. I was the only one who ever opened their shade on the whole flight in First. Got some great images coming over the Andes.
We arrived about 40 minutes late, and finally made it past Customs. The driver from the Alvear was not there holding the sign with my name as promised. I ran into a cab driver who told me that he had seen the driver leave, and he even knew my name because he saw the sign the guy had. It was a 33 km drive from the airport to the hotel, and he charged me $100, which I had to pay in US cash. He scrutinized each bill, and even turned down one that had a small mark on it. I have only a few dollars in cash left, so hoping I won't need any more on this trip.
Arrived at the hotel around noon, and was told my room wouldn't be ready until 3pm. I hadn't slept in almost 2 days, and was literally getting sick from no sleep. They got my room ready early, so that really helped.
While waiting for my room, I took a walk down the street a few blocks to a giant park area, which includes huge trees with magnificent root systems. Across from that was a church and also the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. Because of how I felt, I had to cancel my planned walk, but at least I got to see a few of the nearby sights.
Back at the hotel, after getting checked into room 509, I took a well needed shower, then tried fitfully to get a few hours of rest. I decided to go back to the park in the evening, and sure enough, as soon as I got there, and looked in the right direction, there was a huge full Moon looking down at me--Upside Down! Another bucket list item to check off. So bizarre to see the Moon like that. I truly am a Shellback now! |
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Christmas decorations were still up in the Alvear lobby. |
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— Day 3: Buenos Aires to Ushuaia – Friday 6 January 2023 — |
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The parks were full of dogs. |
Hanging out at the giant Bay Fig Tree. It is estimated to be over 200 years old. |
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Ready to load the "Route 66" bus to the airport for our charter flight to Ushuaia. |
We passed a Don Quixote statue in downtown Buenos Aires, on our way to the airport. |
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A colorful apartment house from the freeway. |
The freeway to the airport was worse than Los Angeles. Note the unused bus lane. |
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Boarding our Flybondi flight to Ushuaia. Stairs, how quaint. I was in aisle seat 9C. |
Mountainous terrain of Tierra del Fuego as we approached Ushuaia. |
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Below us, a cruise ship in the Beagle Channel on its return from Antarctica. |
Some islands in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, on final approach to Ushuaia. |
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After boarding the bus at the Ushuaia airport. Ready to head to the docks. |
We did a slow tour of Ushuaia, as we drove through the town, on the way to our ship. |
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Bienvenidos Biodiverciudades Ushuaia. (Welcome to Biodiverse Ushuaia.) |
The Ushuaia sign with Christmas decorations still up. |
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Diary Entry 3: Friday, 6 January 2023
Over the past day at the airports, and on the planes, I had too much food. And with no sleep on top of that, I just couldn't stand the idea of eating anything, so it's been 24 hours since I had any food at all. I should do that more often. Supposedly breakfast at the hotel is included in my Atlas package, so I will probably try to see if I can eat anything this morning. If I can get everything ready in time, maybe I'll take another walk before I have to meet in the lobby at 11:15 am for the trip back to the airport to catch the charter flight south.
When I first got on the computer this morning, I saw that Cherie had read my email from yesterday, so then I came to this draft to start typing for the day. I saw that Cherie had a draft in the folder as well, but then I saw that it was active, so Cherie and I are literally typing mail messages at the exact same time from two different hemispheres on this planet. That's pretty neat to think about.
So, getting to Ushuaia today was an ordeal. They took us from the hotel on a Route 66 bus to the airport. There is a special bus lane, but it was the wrong time of day to use it for our direction. Instead, we sat for a very long time in very heavy traffic. We got to the airport to get to the Flybondi counter to check in. That took more than an hour (my aching back!). Then we had to go to the next line for security. It was long, but moved pretty quickly. We actually had to climb stairs from the tarmac to get aboard the plane. As one guy said, we just went back 50 years in time. The plane wasn’t full, which was a blessing since there was no legroom between seats.
Once we arrived in Ushuaia, and got on the bus to leave the airport, the driver went very slowly so that we got a small tour of the town as we headed to the ship. That was very nice of him. We were the first to arrive on the dock, and went straight up the stairs to get aboard.
Everyone aboard is pretty amazing. We had a welcome reception in the lounge on deck 4. Would you believe that I actually had a few sips of champagne? Still don’t like it, but it seemed appropriate for the occasion. While this was going on they checked in each person. They took our health questionnaire that we had to fill out on the bus as we drove from the airport. Then they checked our Covid vaccination cards, followed by registering our credit cards for anything we might buy on the ship. After that it was time to find our rooms.
I am now in my cabin (546) aboard the World Traveller. The Juliet Balcony window is open to the cityscape of Ushuaia, Argentina (oos-why-ya). It is nearly 10pm and it is still light. The engines on the ship just started up about a half hour ago, but not sure exactly when we will head down the Beagle Channel, and into the dreaded Drake Passage.
Just took a quick break to go out on the fantail and grab a couple shots of the last rays of the Sun going down. Some guys showed up, and one of them was kind enough to take a bunch of photos of me. Cherie will be happy.
We just started moving. 10:04 pm. We’re on our way to Antarctica!! Back on the fantail for more photos as we leave. It is officially called the Zephyr Lounge.
Back in the room, and I got all the luggage unpacked. Nice to have that all done for the next 11 days. Had a tiny dinner at 9:30 pm after the lifeboat drill. Way too late to eat properly. Now it is after 11pm, so I would love to get to sleep. Hopefully I can get that all figured out. Bye for now. |
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Approaching the cruise ship terminal. |
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A life preserver on the aft deck of the World Traveller. |
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First views of the World Traveller at the port in Ushuaia. |
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Cabin 546: View from the doorway looking outward toward the Juliette Balcony. |
The view of my stateroom from the window inward. |
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The view out the huge movable window in my stateroom. |
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Looking back down the gangway to the bus that brought our group to the ship. |
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Another view of Ushuaia from my stateroom. |
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Some of the beautiful mountains that surround the area at the tip of South America. |
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The Viking Octantis arrives. This is the same ship I saw in the Beagle Channel as we flew in. It is a sister ship to the Viking Polaris, which was hit by a rougue wave while crossing the Drake, on the way back from Antarctica on 2 December 2022. |
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A ferry that takes passengers to islands in the archipelago. |
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Last rays of the Sun on a mountain peak. |
The Sun disappears, leaving a golden sky. |
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On the left is the door to my cabin 546 on board the World Traveller. Unfortunately, two months after I returned, Cherie had to go into the hospital for a weeks stay. On the right, by a bizarre cosmic coincidence, she ended up with the exact same room number at the Kaiser Irvine hospital. |
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The publications I brought with me. My book "The X-15 Rocket Plane," "Mike Mars South Pole Spaceman," and the February 1963 issue of National Geographic. |
The February 1963 National Geographic with the Antarctic map. This is the magazine I read as a kid where I first got excited about visiting Antarctica. |
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A gorgeous Ushuaia sunset. |
At the Zephyr Lounge on the aft deck of the World Traveller as we awaited departure. |
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We left port at 10:04 pm Argentina Time. |
Heading out into the Beagle Channel. |
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The beautiful sky as we headed for Cape Horn and the dreaded Drake Passage. On to Antarctica! |
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The Moon reflects on the calm waters. It is 1:31 am on 7 January. |
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YouTube Video Links: |
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