Antarctica (Feb 20, day 37)

From Ushuaia, we cruised south across the Drake Passage - a notoriously unpredictable ocean section where the Atlantic joins the Pacific - then spent three days exploring (by ship, not on foot!) the northernmost peninsula of Antarctica. Sometimes in the crossing you get the “Drake lake” (calm) and sometimes it’s the “Drake shake.” We we’re lucky: it was mostly calm.

Because Oceania’s Insignia is a relatively small ship, we could explore channels and bays not open to larger ships. The scenery was magical and awe inspiring.

The first map shows the peninsula in relation to South America. We only touched the northernmost tip of Antarctica, and got to 60 south latitude The Antarctic circle is 66 degrees, but you need an expedition ship to get through the ice to get that far south.

This second map shows our route between Brabant (14) and Anvers (15) Islands, through the Neumayer (10) and Errera (7) Channels around Paradise Harbor (8) and Wilhelmina (6) and Charlotte (5) Bays, north up the Gerlache Strait to Deception (3), Half Moon (19), and King George (1) Islands back into the Drake Passage.

In no particular order, here’s mountains, glaciers, icebergs, and some wildlife we saw: