Okay, today is the day!
This afternoon I’ll be finally heading on board the Expedition ship operated by G Adventures. It’ll be my home for the next week and half and the beginning of a trip of a lifetime.
The boat wouldn’t actually begin embarkation until 4pm so I had a good amount of time to explore the small town of Ushuaia beforehand.
Breakfast
Even though checkout time wasn’t until 10am, I still had to be up early so I could drop off my bags in the lobby by 8am.
Those bags would then be transported to the ship and waiting for us in our cabin when we arrived.
So, after a quick pack up and getting myself ready for the day, I headed down to the lobby to drop off my bag and grab some of the complimentary breakfast being offered at the hotel.
I grabbed some ham and eggs from the buffet table and the waiter brought me over a plastic wrapped container of gluten free bread for me.
Aside from the bread there was also a nice, moist lemon muffin in there as well so that was a nice little treat.
I woke up at 7:15 the morning because, while checkout time wasn’t until 10am, we had to have our bags and luggage in the lobby by 8am.
Before I headed out for the day I popped back up to my room for a second and thank God I did because I saw my adapter and laptop cable still plugged into the wall.
Wow, that would have sucked if I left those behind.
By 9am I was out the door of the hotel and off to explore Ushuaia.
A rainy morning
I walked outside and, wouldn’t you know it, it was raining.
For whatever reason I just hadn’t anticipated or expected that and, to top things off, my umbrella and my beanie were both packed away in the bag that was being transported to the ship.
Well, guess I’ll be walking through the town in the rain this morning.
It actually wasn’t too bad as it wasn’t pouring down but even with that and the wind coming off the water, I got pretty cold pretty quick.
First I stopped in a grocery store, La Anonima, that I had read had a gluten free section in it.
Sure enough, there it was in the center of the store, two whole shelves full of gluten free snacks, cereals, and breads.
I picked up a nice selection of cookies to tide me over on my trip and was back out into the rain.
I walked along the shore to see the landmarks in the town – the Ushuaia sign, the sunken Saint Christopher shipwreck, and the “End of the world” sign.
I’ll be honest, there was more to see but after an hour of walking in the rain, I was freezing and just wanted somewhere warm to rest and relax.
I was also near the second hotel this cruise uses for their guests, the hotel Albatross, so I headed over there to get warm.
I spent the next couple of hours just sitting in the lobby on their nice, comfy couch using the last bit of internet I’d have for the next little while.
Grill for one
At noon the rain had pretty much dissipated and I headed down the street for some lunch.
I had a couple places marked off not so much for their gluten free options, but for their offerings of meat.
The first place I went to only had a couple of tables sat but when I asked for a table the waiter said the place was fully booked. I’m guessing they were expecting a tour group to stop in shortly.
Ok, well I guess it was off to the second place.
It was actually recommended by the hotel but the reviews online were mixed so I went in their with a sense of cautious optimism.
I chose the grill for one which is basically a meat platter of chorizo sausage, blood sausage, flank steak, pork, and lamb served with a side of fries.
It was…
So dry.
Like, really, really, dry.
What a disappointment.
Considering the place is known for their meat, it’s actually amazing to me that everything wasn’t good.
In fact the best part was the little plate of gluten free crackers they gave me to start my meal.
Oh well, whatever, I’m going to be eating like a king over the next week and half.
All aboard!
At 3:30 it was finally time to board the boat.
Well, actually, it was time to walk down to the buses waiting for us to bring us to the boat.
I guess they don’t allow passengers to actually walk into the port to the boat and require us all to board a bus.
The buses were literally in a parking lot across from the ship.
The excitement of finally boarding the ship was palpable and you could sense the excitement in the air as we sat in the bus for seemed like an eternity waiting to depart.
While waiting, I talked with the lady sitting next to me who was telling me she was actually supposed to be on a different cruise that should have left yesterday.
That cruise, it turns out, was cancelled at the last minute but luckily for her she knew how to get a last minute booking.
It got me thinking to what I would have done if my cruise was cancelled at the last minute.
I mean, I don’t think I would have been able to book anything else so I would have ended up being down here in Argentina with no cruise.
I think after getting over the initial shock and disappointment of not being able to do this dream trip, I’d probably readjust and quickly figure out a plan to go through Patagonia or Chile for a couple of weeks.
Luckily, there would be no last minute cancellation for this cruise.
Room 202
Finally at 4:00, all 131 passengers were driven over to the ship and began boarding.
Along with 79 staff that included a 17 person expedition team, this would be our home for the next 12 days.
Now, I really, really wanted to be one of the first on board so I could claim a good bed in my cabin.
I was staying in a 3 bed cabin and it was laid out with one bed by itself across from a bunk bed.
Obviously my first choice would be the bed by itself and my next choice would be the bottom bunk bed. What I didn’t want was to end up with the top bunk for the entire journey.
I thought I had boarded the first bus but it turns out we were bus number two.
I was one of the first off my bus and, after checking in on the ship, I headed straight down to my cabin ready to see what the Gods had given me.
And wouldn’t you know it – I was the first one in my cabin!
Sweet Jesus! Give me that bed! I placed my backpack down and claimed my bed.
Soon after my two roommates joined me – Carlos who I shared a room with last night and a 21 year old guy from Perth, Australia named Harper.
Yes, you read that right – 21.
Now, he really is living the dream.
Can you imagine doing an epic trip like this at just the ripe age of 21?
To say I was a bit jealous would be an understatement.
The room itself is a pretty decent size with a little desk, a tv, a fair sized bathroom, and a little porthole to see the outside world.
Everything we’d need for our new home away from home.
Safety first
After we had all boarded, we were soon all called to the lounge for our first meeting.
When you’re onboard one of these Antarctica cruises there are various meetings and lectures you can attend.
Some, like our safety meeting this afternoon are mandatory, while others like learning about different kind of wildlife are optional.
After the meeting we then went through an actual safety drill where we all had to put on our lifevests and head to our designated muster area to go to our lifeboats.
I won’t lie, while it obviously is a serious drill, the atmosphere was pretty light and non-serious as we casually walked calmly through the ship to get to where we need to go.
It also didn’t help that we were all so happy to finally be on board and ready to embark on our expedition.
I imagine if this was a real event all hell would break lose and people would be running around with their heads cut off.
Meet the team
After the safety drill we headed back to the lounge to get introduced to our 17 person expedition team.
Headed by Johnathan and Jenny, the team introduced themselves one by one.
Some gave a full description of where they were from and what education they had and others, like Matt, just said “I’m Matt and I like to camp”.
The entire room laughed but then he was topped by the next guy, Bismark, who literally just nodded his head and walked off.
Champs, all of them.
It’s a pretty good mix of people in the expedition crew coming from all over the world with all sorts of expertise in different fields whether it be geology, science, nature, camping, kayaking, ornithology, history, or marine biology.
We certainly are going to learn alot of Antarctica and its’ inhabitants over the next week or so, that’s for sure.
Dinner time
Despite still being docked in Ushuaia, at 7:15 we were invited to gather in the dining hall for our first meal aboard the ship.
I chose a table on the side alongside a couple from northern Ontario, Jody and Dave, a man from South Africa, Stanley, and a couple of brothers, Randy and Ricky, from the States.
Randy and Ricky are actually sailors who had just come from Puno, Peru which I had visited myself last year.
After dinner I found myself at the table alone with Jody just talking about our different travels to different places around the world.
That’s one thing I’ve noticed when I travel is that the conversation inevitably heads towards us sharing our different experiences with each other.
As we were into our meal, the ship finally cast off and set sail.
We were finally, officially, without a doubt, on our way to Antarctica!
Edit Note: I am currently still sailing in the Antarctica with limited expensive internet. I’ll be uploading all my photos and videos into a gallery at the end of this post when I arrive back on land.
