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Itinerary
Antarctica and the Weddell Sea by Small Ship
12 days - Jan-Feb - From US $ 6,250
DISCLAIMER: All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions and in order to take advantage of opportunities to see wildlife. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.
Season: January 2008
Day 1: In the afternoon, you will board the Aleksey Maryshev in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. This picturesque city is the southernmost city in the world and is located at the Beagle Channel. During the rest of the evening, you will sail through this scenic waterway.
Day 2-3: During these two days, the ship will sail across the Drake Passage and the Antarctic Convergence, arriving in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. In this area you can see wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels and Antarctic petrels.
If the winds are favorable, the ship might make its first landing in Antarctic waters in the evening of the third day at Aitcho Island or Penguin Island at the South Shetlands. These volcanic islands are windswept and often shrouded in mist and fog, but do offer subtle pleasures. There is a nice variety of flora (mosses, lichens and flowering grasses) and fauna, such as gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins and southern giant petrels.
Day 4-9: The ship will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice clogged Antarctic Sound. Huge tabular icebergs will announce your arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Hopefully, you will also visit Paulet Island (a place with a million pairs of Adelie penguins and the remains of the Nordenskiöld expedition), Seymour Island (where many fossils have been found), and Snow Hill Island (where polar expeditions as early as 1902 wintered). The ship may also visit Brown Bluff and, further into the Weddell Sea area, you may also visit Devils Island and Vega Island, home to a large colony of Adelie penguins and a magnificent view from the top of the hill. Melting ice sometimes creates a spectacular waterfall from the cliffs close to Cape Well-Met.
As you sail back through the Antarctic Sound, you may visit the Argentinean station Esperanza on the Antarctic Continent. You will want to keep an eye out for emperor penguins, as there might be a chance to see one on an ice floe.
Further west, the ship will sail south with plans for a zodiac cruise around the rarely visited Astrolabe Island where Antarctic fulmars, chinstrap penguins, brown skuas, and blue-eyed shags breed and Weddell seals and Antarctic fur seals haul out.
In Neko Harbor and Paradise Bay, you will reach the southernmost area of your voyage, where you will, again, have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent amid a magnificent landscape of huge glaciers. In this area, there will also be a good chance to see humpback and minke whales.
At Deception Island, the ship will try to land at Baily Head, with its colony of tens of thousands of chinstrap penguins. Deception Island is a huge volcano where the crater opens into the sea, creating a natural harbor for the ship. Here, you will find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, cape pigeons, Dominican gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. Wilson’s storm petrels and black-bellied storm petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. The ship will continue to Hannah Point, which contains rich wildlife featuring elephant seals, cape pigeons, southern giant petrels, and macaroni and gentoo penguins.
Day 10-11: You will see many seabirds as you sail through the Drake Passage.
Day 12: You will arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia.
Season: January 2008
Day 1: In the afternoon, you will board the Aleksey Maryshev in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. This picturesque city is the southernmost city in the world and is located at the Beagle Channel. During the rest of the evening, you will sail through this scenic waterway.
Day 2-3: During these two days, the ship will sail across the Drake Passage and the Antarctic Convergence, arriving in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. In this area you can see wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels and Antarctic petrels.
If the winds are favorable, the ship might make its first landing in Antarctic waters in the evening of the third day at Aitcho Island or Penguin Island at the South Shetlands. These volcanic islands are windswept and often shrouded in mist and fog, but do offer subtle pleasures. There is a nice variety of flora (mosses, lichens and flowering grasses) and fauna, such as gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins and southern giant petrels.
Day 4-9: The ship will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice clogged Antarctic Sound. Huge tabular icebergs will announce your arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Hopefully, you will also visit Paulet Island (a place with a million pairs of Adelie penguins and the remains of the Nordenskiöld expedition), Seymour Island (where many fossils have been found), and Snow Hill Island (where polar expeditions as early as 1902 wintered). The ship may also visit Brown Bluff and, further into the Weddell Sea area, you may also visit Devils Island and Vega Island, home to a large colony of Adelie penguins and a magnificent view from the top of the hill. Melting ice sometimes creates a spectacular waterfall from the cliffs close to Cape Well-Met.
As you sail back through the Antarctic Sound, you may visit the Argentinean station Esperanza on the Antarctic Continent. You will want to keep an eye out for emperor penguins, as there might be a chance to see one on an ice floe.
Further west, the ship will sail south with plans for a zodiac cruise around the rarely visited Astrolabe Island where Antarctic fulmars, chinstrap penguins, brown skuas, and blue-eyed shags breed and Weddell seals and Antarctic fur seals haul out.
In Neko Harbor and Paradise Bay, you will reach the southernmost area of your voyage, where you will, again, have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent amid a magnificent landscape of huge glaciers. In this area, there will also be a good chance to see humpback and minke whales.
At Deception Island, the ship will try to land at Baily Head, with its colony of tens of thousands of chinstrap penguins. Deception Island is a huge volcano where the crater opens into the sea, creating a natural harbor for the ship. Here, you will find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, cape pigeons, Dominican gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. Wilson’s storm petrels and black-bellied storm petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. The ship will continue to Hannah Point, which contains rich wildlife featuring elephant seals, cape pigeons, southern giant petrels, and macaroni and gentoo penguins.
Day 10-11: You will see many seabirds as you sail through the Drake Passage.
Day 12: You will arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia.
