Author: admin

Thursday, 3 January 2019 Punta Arenas, Chile Day of rest. Do nothing. Catch up on blog. You lucky people. Do have a nightcap though in the Shackleton Bar in Restaurant Jose Nogueira. Sara Braun’s old palatial mansion where Shackleton shacked up after his exploits. Every polar explorer should have a Clavo Oxidado (sure you’ll work… Read more

Wednesday, 2 January 2019 Punta Arenas, Chile Final breakfast on board and then when flight is confirmed as having taken off from Punta Arenas, we board the Zodiacs for the final time. Sad. Very Sad. Land at Bellinghausen. “Welcom to Russia!”, says Nigel, our guide. It’s a fine line between Chile and Russia. An hour’s… Read more

Tuesday, 1 January 2019 Yankee Harbour, Antarctica Wake up call as usual with the Expedition Leader’s Swedish tones over the tannoy, “My dear expedition travellers…” Having crossed the calmer Bransfield Strait overnight, we’re now at the entrance to Deception Island. A caldera which you can sail into through Neptune’s Bellows, a narrow 600m gap in… Read more

Monday, 31 December 2018 Danco Island, Antarctica Really calm seas as we sail to Port Lockroy overnight. Wake up to even better vistas of blue sky, snow capped peaks, glaciers and glass like water. Not a bad way to start the day. First port of call is Port Lockroy. The first British Antarctica station, imaginatively… Read more

Sunday, 30 December 2018 Foyn Harbour, Antarctica I’ve invented a new sport. Bathroom surfing. Bit choppy last night as we crossed the Bransfield Strait and as I was standing on the bathmat trying to have a pee, I find myself sliding around the bathroom on said mat. You can imagine the scene! There was so… Read more

Saturday, 29 December 2018 Bransfield Strait, Antarctica (again) Alarm call at 0715hrs. Open curtain. It’s open water. Was expecting spectacular scenery having, in theory, cross the Bransfield Strait overnight to arrive at Portal Point. Breakfast was scheduled for 0730hrs but we hear that all staff are to report to the Lounge for a staff briefing… Read more

Friday, 28 December 2018 Bransfield Strait, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica Following on from yesterday’s blog, we all had a welcome dinner in Jose Noguiera’s former home, a palatial 19th Century mansion on the main square. Relief is overwhelming to find that I’m not actually the only non-Chinese passenger. There’s a retired couple from Oz and… Read more

Thursday, 27 December 2018 Punta Arenas, Chile Finally. A day of doing nothing. No flights. No travelling. Today is for boot fitting, safety briefings and meet fellow travellers. I have a technical problem with my website and blog so decide to contact a web designer in Nottingham for help. You may see an improvement in… Read more

Wednesday, 26 December 2018 Punta Arenas, Chile Ever since I travelled from Braunschweig, Germany, to Salvador, Brasil, in 1999, via Hannover, Brussels and Lisbon, to discover that although I had arrived, my bags hadn’t, I have this fear that it will happen again. Consequently, I never now check my bags in and always travel with… Read more

Tuesday, 25 December 2018 Santiago, Chile Considering it was a 14.5hr flight (one of BA’s longest flights), it went incredibly quickly. Helped with about 8hrs dozing though. I’m one of the first to board and soon settle into my First Suite. Glad I’m not in Business as I’m convinced the seats have shrunk over the… Read more