Crossing the Circle: Southern Expedition

• Fly in from Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile
• Your hot el may not be available until mid-afternoon so you can store your luggage and enjoy an afternoon in this city at the end of the Earth. Read our newsletter article about Ushuaia to find out more about this city.
• Take a taxi to the hotel nearby, where our representative will meet you in the lobby at a designated time  to make recommendations on the best places to hike, bike or kayak

• A guided motor coach tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park where you’ll hike over hills to reach an estuary
• After the hike, you’ll satisfy your hunger with a traditional Argentine meal of asado barbecue consisting of lamb, beef and chicken cooked over an open fire
• Late afternoon, you’ll be transferred from the coach to a pier to board the ship. Make sure you have your identification ready to pass security.
• Aboard the ship, there will be an important safety briefing.
• In the dining room, a three course meal will be served; casual attire as always

• The day begins with a wake-up call where you’ll be briefed on the sea’s conditions, the weather, and the ship’s longitude and latitude
• After breakfast, you’ll begin learning about the history of the discovery of Antarctica or you could hear a variety of presentations on the lifecycle of the wildlife you’ll encounter during the voyage
• There will be a variety of activities to choose from in the evening: you can have a drink at the bar and get to know your fellow adventurers, a current movie may be shown in the presentation room, an educational presentation may be given or you could curl up with a book about Antarctica from our library

• If weather permits, you can spend the day on deck observing the petrels and albatrosses that follow the ship for miles
• Once the ship crosses 61°S latitude, you will enter Arctic waters
• Before the ship lands, you will be shown how to board a Zodiac from the ships gangway and how to exit on landing

• The ultimate objective of the voyage will be to cross the Antarctic Circle. While en route, the Expedition Team will attempt a number of shore landings in the Peninsula and weather permitting, the South Shetland Islands. The crossing will be attempted when the best weather conditions are present.
• Each voyage is unique; you may take a polar dip in a thermal hot spring or a chilly bay below the Circle. If local permission is granted, you’ll visit research centers where scientists work in relative isolated on their Antarctic bases.
• Landings are announced in advance in the program that will arrive at your cabin each evening. On average there will be 3 landings per day but this may change according to conditions.

• When an announcement over the PA system is made to board the Zodiacs, you will don your expedition gear and descend the gangway.
• Each passenger will be assigned a group which will board the Zodiacs in rotation so that everyone has the same opportunity to be the first or last ashore. During a landing, the ship may reposition which would require you to board the Zodiacs at a different location for return.

• Depending on when you are traveling, channels may have a fair amount of drifting pack ice, newly forming grease or pancake ice. Ice conditions determine where the ship can transit channels or enter bays and if the Zodiacs can be lowered.

• The Expedition Leader and Captain will world together to examine charts and weather reports to determine the best course to follow through Crystal Sound. Each day the Captain and Expedition Leader will make adjustments to the program to take advantage of local conditions. While sometimes the conditions might make it impossible to cross the Antarctic Circle, we promise to celebrate the attempt with a glass of champagne and a toast to all those intrepid adventurers who have gone before.

• Antarctica is the world’s largest protected wilderness where opportunities abound for encountering wildlife in their natural habitat. You’ll have the opportunity to view seals sunning themselves on ice floes, watch gigantic albatross on the wing, meet whales and visit penguin rookeries.
• During the voyage keep a watch for tabular icebergs which have been large enough to supply 3 million people with freshwater for a year. Secluded bays in the Peninsula that harbor smaller icebergs that have run aground, also known as iceberg graveyards, will be visited under the right conditions. We will lower the Zodiacs and weave in and out around them, a thrilling ride and amazing sight!

• You’ll observe mountains of stone rising from the sea, their summits glistening as the sun shines on their snowcaps. Fog could descend, hiding their height. Drifting in a Zodiac with its engine off, you’ll experience a silence so complete that you’ll hear your own heartbeat. A seal or whale may pop out of the water to gaze at you over the pontoon.

• Antarctica is a land of incredible colors where the evening sky can paint the snow shades of rose and orange. The green moss vibrates beside the rusty red lichens growing on rocks. Icebergs run the gamut from turquoise to violent in different light. The ocean appears inky one minute and as clear as glass the next. Opportunities for photography are extraordinary; be sure to bring a camera.

• The Expedition Team will hold recaps of what you experienced during landings. These sessions provide opportunities to relive the explorations, share your experiences and ask questions of shipboard specialists.
• Each new adventure shared adds to the last. Every moment of memory and awe will become a life-long memory you will cherish.

• Members of the Expedition Team will continue the education program with subjects ranging from the historic age of exploration to the whales of the Southern Ocean.
• You can spend the day on deck watching the large seabirds that you probably recognize by now or relive your adventures as you exchange photos with your companions aboard the ship

• Continuing recap session provide opportunities to discuss how you, a newly-minted Polar Ambassador, can help preserve Antarctica for future generations.
• Final remarks and instructions for disembarkation are made on packing day so that you will know when to place your luggage outside the corridor for collection.

• In the night a small vessel will come alongside our ship and a pilot will come aboard to help us navigate the last stretch of water before arriving Ushuaia. If the weather permits, you’ll have the opportunity to see the lights of the austral summer night
• After breakfast aboard the ship, you’ll be transferred by bus to the passenger collection point at the end of the quay
• We intend to be moored by 8am but sometimes conditions make it difficult so we recommend that you schedule your flight for the afternoon.

• Hotel accommodation with continental breakfast the night prior to embarkation
• All breakfasts, lunches and dinners on board throughout your voyage
• Zodiac transfers and sightseeing while aboard
• In-depth educational program
• Group transfer between hotel and vessel for embarkation
• Group transfer between vessel and airport following disembarkation
• Tierra del Fuego National Park Tour and BBQ lunch
• Rubber boots loan service on both vessels
• A glass of house wine with dinner on board

PLEASE NOTE:
As of 1 January 2010, an entrance fee (Reciprocity Fee) is chargeable for citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia visiting Argentina. For further details, please read this article on the Latin America For Less Travel Blog.