Days 29 & 30 : Heading Home!

Saturday 11^th March, 2017

Thursday 9^th was our last day in Tahiti. We had another wander around the Papeete in the morning, and in the afternoon did an Around the Island Tour which was great. Now it’s night, and the view from our Papeete window is just lights on boats; no clouds, no sunset, no ferries …

We caught a 2 AM plane to Auckland and arrived there at 6 AM on Saturday. Friday was a brief affair! Sydney and Hobart then followed later on Saturday.

The flight home turned out to be totally uneventful, just the way they should be! Once we left Tahiti navigating queues were much quicker as typical NZ and Australian efficiency took over. I was surprised Australian customs were not in the least bit interested in our having been meandering amongst penguin poo! Why did we even bother declaring that?

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Since coming home I have completed various entries, and now changed the publication dates of the posts so that you can read them more or less in chronological order! I’ve also added the various labels (Antarctica, Easter Island, Ecocamp, Patagonia, Tahiti) that you see as tabs below the title of the blog. Select one of these and you’ll see only the so-labelled entries.

In due course I might write a final entry on reflections of the trip, written with the advantage of a month or two of hindsight!

Meanwhile, enjoy …

Days 8 & 9 : Ushuai, “Capital of Antarctica”

Friday 17^th to Saturday 18^th February, 2017

The claim “Capital of Antarctica” probably stems from the fact that Ushuaia is the world’s southernmost city, and the closest to the Antarctic mainland. It is a major stepping stone to Antarctica for both tourists and scientific expeditions. I recall something like 90% of Antarctic tourists pass through Ushuaia on their way to Antarctica.

 

Boats on their way to Antarctica. The Polar Explorer is right of center

 

Day 7 : El Calafate

Thursday February 17^th, 2017

El Calafate is a small town of around 23,000 permanent residents on the southern shore of Lago Argentino, whose western end becomes a series of glacial valleys or fjords running leading into the southern end of Parque Nacional dos Glaciares. El Calafate is a major tourist centre and the little CBD was bustling with tourists and locals alike, despite the pouring rain.

Day 6 : EcoCamp Safari to French Glacier

Wednesday February 15th, 2017

On our third day Krista stayed in camp for the day, so I joined three others of our original group on a 17 km return walk to the French Glacier, led by our guide Pablo. The French Glacier and river drains the central part of the massif, south into Nordenskjold Lake. There had been a little rain overnight, but the morning was dry with high cloud. Our return walk was windless and in a very light drizzle, but not enough to dampen our spirits! Besides, the reflections were stunning!

Refelctions on Sköttsberg Lake

Day 5 : EcoCamp Safari to Lake Grey

Tuesday February 14th, 2017

Whereas our first night had been cloudy, very, very windy and overnight rain, our second day dawned absolutely clear, no wind and decidedly cold. I got up early and saw the sunrise painting the Torres with red light. Quite a sight! I also found the Contemplation Walk and explored that.

Early morning light on the Torres

Lake Grey, today’s destination, is a glacial lake in the western end of the park, and has highest point – Paine Grande – of the Torres del Paine massif rising nearly 2600m right out of the lake. We were bussed to the hotel at bottom end of the lake via numerous lookouts over various lakes, and of course constant views the massif itself. We were now familiar with the view from the eastern end, with the various towers standing dominant. But now these were hidden and we were seeing new features, and finally Paine Grande itself.

Day 4: EcoCamp Safari to Laguna Azul

Monday February 13^th, 2017

Each day at the EcoCamp we had a choice of easy, medium or hard activities. We chose easy, except for the last day when Krista stayed in camp and I went on a medium 17 km hike. The easy outings were nature based, and had some short walks of up to 4-5 km. More or less everywhere we went, the scenery was dominated by the Torres del Paine massif, and we ended up seeing it from the east, south and west.

Just one of the many panoramic views of Torres del Paine massif

 

Days 3-7: EcoCamp Patagonia

February 12^th –16^th, 2017

Torres del Paine is a massif to the east of the main Andes and is a major tourist attraction for general tourists, hikers and serious mountaineers. There are several hotels in and near the national park, each of which also has camping grounds. And then there is EcoCamp Patagonia …

EcoCamp Welcome Dome with Torrres del Paine in the background

Day 2 - Punta Arenas

Sunday 11^th February, 2017

Today in Punta Arenas was our recovery day from confinement in airplanes and interminable queues …

… and it was a day of warm (for here!) sunshine but a very strong northerly wind. We are in the furious fifties here (53 S) and the strength of the wind reminded us of that fact. If it had been from the south it would have been frigid, to boot! We wandered around the waterfront and Centrum (the CBD), had a meal, visited a café, found a supermarket, bought a sim-card for my phone, and chatted with tourists from a cruise ship.

The Victoria anchored off Punta Arenas

But first …

Day 1 … Sardine Tin Travelling

Friday 10^th February, 2017

Today, Day 1, is a long day, so long that we have a night in the middle of it, and arrive in Santiago before we have left Sydney! It’s all because we cross the international date line, and the date is turned back one day. But the actual time difference between Sydney and Santiago is 14 hours.

It’s also a long day of travelling; nearly 30 hours from when we got up in the morning to when we get to Punta Arenas in southern Chile,  our destination – and still on the same date.

Introduction

Thursday 9^th February, 2017

Both Krista and I have long had a fascination with Antarctica.

I was drawn to Antarctica when I was a kid by reading books of early Antarctic exploration. Then there was the 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition lead by Edmund Hilary and Vivian Fuchs. While in high school my interest in science grew and the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year grabbed my attention. This featured a range of Earth Science subjects, many focusing on Antarctica such as ionospheric and aurora physics, and cosmic ray research.

By the time I'd completed my BSc degree at the University of Tasmania I'd also developed a passion for mountaineering and skiing, which Patagonia and Antarctica clearly offered in abundance. But a PhD in Theoretical Physics specialising in optics was not a good CV for a stint in Antarctica! However, I continued to dream of visiting Antarctica, whilst recognizing it was simply that, a dream! I'm not sure how the young Krista, still resident in Finland, thought she could wangle a trip to Antarctica, as a degree in entomology and experience with leaf hoppers seems equally unsuitable as a CV as mine!

So a visit to Antarctica - along with Nepal and Patagonia, and a few other places - was on our bucket list!

Three friends independently made cruises from Ushuaia along the Antarctic peninsula in the summer of 2015-16. This encouraged us to think, "Well, why not us?", and having made that decision, it became "Why not also Patagonia?". It's a long flight across the Pacific Ocean, so we soon decided to break the journey by visiting Easter Island, and finally the vagaries of airline time tables suggested a couple of days on Tahiti. So an 11 day cruise became 4 weeks of travel!

So this blog documents our travels and travails, from Antarctica to the Tropics.