Atacama to Antarctica 2020

Again I apologise for not blogging the last couple of days. I will be honest and suggest there really wasn’t anything of interest for you, my loyal readers. We have remained in Falkland Islands territorial waters since arriving on Sunday.  The days are honestly spent just trying to make them pass quickly with Wednesday 25th as our pot of gold.  The plans for us leaving are changing so often that is really hard to relax and think that it will actually  happen.  The captain and crew call for a meeting with us at 5pm each afternoon now to update us on the latest changes( mainly South America border closures) Monday the news was that there will be two disembarkation and departure days, 25th and 26th. Europeans and Americans leave on the 25th which leaves 100 or so Australians running amok until the 26th, not really. Just a tad disappointed it is one more day....... but it will happen. So it’s Wednesday and the others have left, all that us left to do now is pack and leav...

Well what a pleasure to wake to not only a beautiful sunny day but land.... Having been at sea for 4 or 5 days it was a delight to see land.  We have arrived up along side the west coast of the falklands and we have no idea of our plans for the next few days. Except we are not leaving on anything other than a plane. After breakfast we head up on the top deck for our daily constitutional of walking around in a big circle.  It was so busy this morning,( I’m sure because of the blue sky) if you stood back and watched it looked quite ridiculous.  Just a bunch of humans going around and around in circles. Must film it tomorrow.  Back in the land of spectacular wildlife again and many a whale teasing us with a blow from the distance. It was such a completely different atmosphere on board today and I’m sure it was weather related. This afternoon we were spoilt by a spectacular sunset and as we were quite close to the islands we could dozens of gorgeous penguins swimming bes...

I’m sorry about missing in action for a couple of days. I /we have found the journey mentally challenging over the last few days. The seas are calm today and all is well. I have very much struggled with the not knowing what is  happening at this end of the trip. I guess in reality we are all control freaks and used to being in charge, so this situation is very challenging.  Yes, i know we are bloody lucky to be where we are but regardless of our fortunate conditions, each and everyone of us want to be home. To compound this, i have really struggled with the seas. I don’t necessarily get seasick, just terrified of the size of the seas and the rolling of the boat. The seas have been reported as at least 10 m, luckily the ship is rolling or pitching less than 10°. Interesting watching everyone stagger around like a drunk sailor.  Thursday, I spent in the cabin( hiding) Stuart manages far better than me obviously.  Even enjoying the spa ( on the outside deck!!) whilst I ...

Yippee! We are on the move. We have provisional permission to disembark at falklands.  Finally the bunker that was re - provisioning the boat has left, it took forever and was incredibly frustrating to watch. It’ll take about 2 and a bit days to get there, and  from there charter flight home... hopefully.  We continue to remind ourselves it could be worse.  We are blessed with clean beds, proper showers and clean toilets and beautiful scenery again along the Chilean fjords But selfishly above all that, we just want to come home...

We have decided to continue our blog as it will give us the opportunity to share with you what  is going on in our bubble.  We had thought our journey had come to an end and we were getting very excited for our journey home but alas the universe has other plans for us As the Covid-19  takes its toll on the world, Australia and Chile ( amongst many others) have closed their borders to cruise ships.  The fact we have been isolated in Antarctica and away from it all is of no relevance!  Rumour has it that a couple of cruise ships docked and off loaded passengers illegally here, leading to riots in the streets. There has also been an increase in the violence and rioting in Santiago. This is an ongoing political movement with the government.  So Santiago and Chile possibly not the safest places to be All nearby borders are also closed, the next few cruises are cancelled and we are in limbo.  Current choices appear 2 week (or maybe 30days) here at anchor the...

Today we sit and watch the ocean. We are currently sailing somewhere between the Falkland island and the South American continent. We will travel through the Magellan strait overnight and hopefully arrive in Punta Arenas by 6am. At this stage we will be disembarking and I truly hope that doesn’t change. Since finding out this morning that we will all be self isolating on arrival home, there has been a certain change in atmosphere on board.  There is a definite element of anxiety amongst many of our conference colleagues as they try organise there practices and sort their patients out. Anyhoo, Covid-19 aside, what an epic adventure we have had. Atacama desert, let’s remember the extraordinary size and landscape of that area. Our week in the capital, Santiago.  Everyday was an adventure we walked everywhere during the day and caught the subway home at night. The areas that looked like war zones and not far away gorgeous leafy suburbs. And then a couple of weeks travel through th...

Last landing of this epic journey.  Today we get to spend time on New Island , which is a little island on the south west falklands. It is purely for conservation and research of the wildlife that live in the island. Once upon a time there were sheep but they were eventually sent away to protect the birds and penguins. It is actually a beautiful day and quite warm as well. There are couple of houses where we land and they are mainly for the caretakers of the island. Like yesterday this is an incredibly special place. We actually got to get up so close to the rockhopper  penguins. There were hundreds and they were all alongside more of the albatross babies. The rockhoppers are so cute with their blond eyebrows and fancy hair do. Quite unique. As we leave at sunset there are so many albatross flying around the boat, they are huge and incredible to watch. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head back to Punta arenas.  A good day to get packed up and ready to leave the ship.

We moved out of Stanley to arrive at Saunders island this morning. The night was a bit rocky and rolly ( if that’s a phrase).  It is cold and foggy and rainy and we are questioning the reasons for doing this...going on the landing that is. But not peeps to miss out, we dress in all the layers and head down to the tender pit and the awaiting zodiacs.  As we are no longer in Antarctica, we are able to have  as many people as we like on the island at any one time. The zodiacs are running shuttles to and from the boat all day so we can come and go as we please. This island is small and off north west coast. It belongs to a family who farm sheep. It is also the breeding ground of penguins: gentoo, magellan, king and rock hoppers. Amazing! From the minute we jump off the zodiac we know we have arrived somewhere very special. Firstly it’s the gentoos that watch us arrive. They  are standing to attention in great numbers. There are also groups of the magellinic penguins tuck...

Sorry about the combined posts, yesterday we crossed Drake’s passage and into south Atlantic Ocean heading for Falklands island. That’s about it. It was really incredibly calm, maximum 1-2 m swell only, essentially no white caps. Amazing! One highlight of our day was a visit to the bridge. The captain was so laidback as so many of us strolled around. He did ask us not to touch anything tho... Consequently we have arrived on the Falkland islands, more specifically Stanley the capital. This is of course a British territory, where the inhabitants are explicitly British. We have heard about the history, especially the war with Argentina , and heard about the wildlife. After a day wandering into and around Stanley... we have seen most of this corner. All very nice.  Tomorrow we are off to the western side. An island called Saunders island