After a quick stop in LA for Christmas, we were back on the road for our next adventure. We flew into Ushuaia, Argentina which is in the southern most part of Argentina, in the "Terra Del Fuego" region of the country. Due to some mechanical issues with the boat we had some time to check out Patagonia, yes, it's an actual place, not just an over priced yuppie adventure outfitting store.
Our boat that will be taking us to Antarctica.
Patagonia - that boat in the above photo isn't really our boat by the way.
Ushuaia, Argentina - A little resort town at "The end of the World" reminded me of Vail or Breckenridge, except set on the ocean.
The dock at sunset
We did some last minute shopping to pick up the essentials... Toblerone, beer, and some bras.
As we left Ushuaia and headed out to sea we were sent off by a pod of Dolphins playing in the wake of the bow of our ship.
We hit the Drake Passage about 12 hours into our trip. This is a section of ocean that separates South America from Antarctica, which I found out a bit to late, has a bit of an infamous history. It is known to be one of the most violent stretches of open ocean in the world. We had quite the four days making the crossing. Our little 50 foot sailboat did amazing, but it was one of the more... um... well... exciting 4 days of my life. For two days of the days our little boat punched through 35 plus foot waves! I was lucky enough to see each meal I ate twice!
The beginning of the Drake.
The old man and the sea.
We made it to Antarctica and the penguins threw us a welcoming party!
Each iceberg was a different beautiful sculpture and the ocean was one big museum.
Our captain pulled the boat up to the iceberg on the left and I was able to jump off the boat and ride the iceberg with a seal!
Our trusty little sailboat. The Sarah W. Vorwerk.
Iceberg which I conquered and claimed in the name of Los Angeles!
Sunbathing seals. We also saw Minke whales about 20 minutes after this shot but I was too busy filming them to grab a shot of my own...
We stopped in at the Ukrainian research base for some Vodka.
Being summer in Antarctica we were blessed with 24 hours of light each day and 4 hours of the "magic hour" which produced some of the most amazing colors during the 6 hour sunrise/sunset period each day.
An amazing adventure, I feel blessed that I was given this opportunity. Hopefully this spring I will be able to do it all over again. I am home for now, excited to reconnect with friends and family.
Adios!
Kyle
