Revenge of the Drake Passage

With the polar plunge completed our ship the Magellan Explorer headed towards Deception Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands. The island has this unusual name because it gives the impression of being an island but it is shaped like a horseshoe with a protected natural harbour. The island is an active volcano, as you land on the shore steam rises as the cold sea laps onto the black cinder beaches. Although the surface of the beach is warm to the touch, dig your hand a few inches under the surface and it's unbelievably hot. Due to its location and sheltered bay Deception Island has a chequered history, it was used as a shore based whaling station, where whales were brought to be processed and the oil stored in vast tanks, some of which remain to this day. After the end of the whaling industry the base was used by the British during the war and then as a scientific research station until the volcano erupted in 1967 and again in 1969 after which the base was closed. Some of the wooden buildings on the island and an aircraft hangar remain but are very dilapidated. Deception Island had quite a different look and feel to it compared to the Antarctic continent and surrounding islands but it has a fascinating history and it's not everyday you can say you've sailed into an active volcano. 

Deception Island - steam and oil tanks

The following day we started our re-crossing of Drake's Passage as we headed back to Ushuaia. We had been fortunate on our outward leg that there were only moderate swells, but we were warned that this wouldn't be the case on our return journey. At its peak the seas reached 8m (24ft). Walking around the ship was difficult as we swayed from side to side, sleeping was just about impossible, at one point Meg was flung out of bed and across the cabin, while I gripped onto the mattress to try and stop the same happening to me. Eating became a challenge, not so much to keep stuff down, more getting it to the table and eating it in the first place. The number of people in the dining room reduced significantly from previously, but being British we kept popping the sea sickness tablets and just got on with it. The few American guests who wanted to experience bigger and better waves on the way out weren't so vocal now that their wish had been granted! You never quite know which way the ship will move next and the saying is 'keep one hand for the ship' i.e. make sure you hang onto a rail or something fixed to the ship with at least one hand as you are moving around. I managed that apart from when l let go as I was about to sit down in a chair in the bar, the ship lurched to the right as I was moving to the left. For those that remember him, it was a bit like Big Daddy doing a full body slam, as I landed spreadeagle  on a coffee table. It was probably a good thing, but almost as though the table was a stage prop it just collapsed under me. There I rested with bits of wood everywhere feeling like a complete muppet as the crew came and rescued me. Apart from my pride (and the table) no damage was done.

Deception Island 

It was a relief as we approached Cape Horn and the seas calmed, but little did we know that the drama was just about to begin for us. Although there is (very expensive) WiFi on board the ship it is limited and slow. I don't know what made me look at my emails, but we had received a message from Lufthansa to say our flights back to Frankfurt and then to Heathrow had been cancelled. That was it, no alternative, just cancelled. At that point there was nothing we could do, we had no meaningful WiFi so we just had to wait for 36 hours until we landed and made it to our accommodation in Ushuaia. The problem was caused because of a general strike in Germany which had closed all the airports on the day we were due to fly in and out of Frankfurt. As we tried to sort this out it became clear that on the southern tip of South America we really were 'at the end of the world' and that there were very limited options available to get home. As we started checking out alternative flights the delay in accessing WiFi meant that supply and demand economics had well and truly kicked in, costs for the very limited flight options had spiralled out of control, with some Airlines now charging up to £7000 for flights home. Eventually we came down to a couple of options, we either waited for a Lufthansa flight in 7 days time or we took a convoluted route home via Houston, Texas. As much as we wanted to explore Ushuaia and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago a bit further, this really wasn't somewhere that you would want to be for 7 days. So we applied for our ESTAS to enter the USA which thankfully came through quickly and following two overnight flights and lots of hanging around in airports, we arrived back in Heathrow 24 hours later than originally planned. I always think that the measure of a good company is how they respond to problems that will inevitably occur, especially when you are flying planes all over the world. I can honestly say on every level, communication, website, and processes Lufthansa were hopeless, even to the point as I write this blog 6 weeks after arriving back in the UK we are still waiting for a refund for the cancelled flights. Not so much German efficiency, more total shambles.

Tierra del Fuego 

We were determined to not let this episode overshadow what had been an amazing experience, and on our final day in Ushuaia we did a 4x4 off road adventure around Tierra de Fuego. We had booked this whilst still in the UK, and debated cancelling it with the uncertainty around how we would get home, but I'm so glad we didn't because it was the perfect end to our trip. The temperature here rarely rises above 10°c, with lots of snow in winter and wet summers, so we were fortunate to have a cool but beautiful day with a lovely blue sky, One of the things I'd noticed about Ushuaia is that the air is so clear, this we were told is due to the mossy peat lands that make up most of the Argentinian eastern side of the archipelago absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As we bounced along in our jeep I couldn't help but admire the scenery of this largely unpopulated landscape, we drove through forests and along old road trails at the side of lakes all the time set against the backdrop of the Andes mountains. We saw some of the major devastation in forests which has been caused by the introduction of Beavers which are not native here and therefore have no natural predators this far south. We also learnt that there are no ants or cockroaches in Tierra del Fuego! Finally if you are thinking of driving the length of the trans american highway, 19,000 miles after setting off from Alaska you will complete your journey on Route National 3 in Ushuaia. It is the end of the road at the end of the world!

It has been an amazing adventure. I'm so pleased that Meg asked me to join her as she visited her 6th and the world's most remote continent. I would never have done it without her! I hope through my Antarctica series of blogs that I have been able to share some of our experiences  from this once in a lifetime trip and that you have enjoyed reading about our adventure. 

What Next?

From Antarctica to the Arctic. We are about to set off on a road trip of a lifetime, driving through Norway to the Arctic circle in Marleen the MoHo. Watch this space. 

Blogs in the Antarctica Series:

Blog 1 - Fin del Mundo Preparations for our visit to the 7th continent

Blog 2 - From Baston to Antarctica Our journey to Antarctica

Blog 3 - The Penguin Highway The things we did and saw in Antarctica

Follow Our Antarctic Journey

You can click this link to Polar Steps to read more about our journey and all the places we visited on our Antarctic Adventure. 

Further Info:

We travelled to Antarctica with Antarctica21 on a 10 day expedition. They have a range of packages for visiting the sub Antarctic area.

The Magellan Explorer was built in Chile to the latest polar code specifications and entered service in 2019. She can carry a maximum of 100 passengers plus 60 expedition staff and crew.

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