February 2010

Ended my Spanish classes near the beginning of the month. Booked my flight to Ushuaia. I had some extra time so I went over to Uruguay. Took the ferry over on the Buquebus. Spent a week in Montevideo got to see the Carnival. Though it isn't as big as the Rio one it still impressed me. I had a great time in Montevideo walking around the old parts of town drinking Mate with fisherman and going swimming in the ocean. Took a bus up the coast to Punta Este. Punta Este is one of the many places that the Porteño's like to go for vacation. My host family had said it is very beautiful place. So I spent 3 days at the beach there mingling with them. Around the 11th got back to Buenos Aires via Colonia. Left the next day for Ushuaia. In Ushuaia(Fin del mundo) I went hiking in the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. Spent a few days looking for supplies for my Expedition Cruise that I booked through a company called Antarctica Ushuaia Tourismo. My sales associate who was very helpful through out my 3 weeks of contact is named Daniela. I definitely recommend her. Anyways picked up some ski Gloves and a neck warmer. The company provided boots, waterproof pants, and a Parka. Which was nice not having to buy these. I booked a last minute cruise which was half the price of the listed price. I met a few people at the hostel I was staying at(La Posta) spent some time hanging out with them(met up with them later in Buenos Aires). I left on the Antarctic Dream on the 18th of February on my 11 day expedition to Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands. I can not convey how amazing this experience was. Not only was the place amazing but the crew and passengers were awesome. I had an amazing time. So much so I would like to go again. We saw Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo penguins, Humpbacks, Minke whales, and Orcas. Saw many types of birds including the Wandering Albatross. Saw seals such as the Antarctic Fur, Elephant, Leopard, Weddel seals. I took close to 10,000 photos in those 11 days. Swam in the Antarctic Ocean and stepped foot on the Antarctic Continent. The Saddest part of the trip was upon arrival back in Ushuaia the Chilean crew found out that just the morning prior the catastrophic earthquake hit Concepción. There was no word on how the families of the crew were. The hardest part for them was they had another trip leaving the next day. That must have been the hardest trip of the season. I ended February on the bus to El Chalten. My bunk mate Yui had told me how there was some very cool trails most notably Fitz Roy which is part of the Parque Nacional los Glaciares.

Pictures
Top to Bottom:
Chinstrap Penguins(Pygoscelis antarcticus)
Me with Ushuaia Harbor in the background
Sunset in Montevideo, Uruguay
Me on one of the South Shetland Islands with the Antarctic Dream and Antarctic continent in the Background.