MALVINAS, SOUTH GEORGIA AND ANTARCTICA 28DEC24

Explore the sights of Ushuaia, visit the museums and Argentinean leather markets, or continue relaxing at the hotel. The optional evening briefing is a great opportunity to ask questions and meet some of your fellow explorers.

Spend your morning exploring Ushuaia or unwinding at the resort until our mid-afternoon escort to the ship. Our Expedition Team and ship staff will welcome you on board and get you settled in, followed by a safety and orientation briefing and our Captain’s welcome dinner. We’re on our way to Antarctica!

As we sail south, important briefings on environmental regulations and expedition safety are held, and you won’t want to miss our scientific and environmental experts as they begin their deeply knowledgeable, and always entertaining talks about the wildlife, history, and geology of the areas we will soon be exploring.

We’ll be exploring some of the westernmost settled outposts in the Falklands/Malvinas, a remote South Atlantic archipelago renowned for its rugged terrain and cliff-lined coast. As we stretch our legs along the farmland and beaches, we’ll have an opportunity to visit Albatross and penguin colonies. Look for Rockhopper, King and Magellanic penguin rookeries.

From the comfort and safety of your Zodiac, artfully dodging the early season’s brash ice and “bergy bits,” you begin to anticipate your first face-to-face encounter with Antarctica’s majesty.

The archipelago’s largest island, Stanley, is a lively hub of activity nestled in a sheltered harbor. Here, the Falklands Islands Museum has fascinating exhibits devoted to maritime exploration, natural history, and the 1982 Falklands War. We’ll likely visit Gypsy Cove, part of Cape Pembroke peninsula, a National Nature Preserve. Magellanic penguins, also known as Jackass penguins for the braying sound they make, breed here, nesting in underground burrows. Other native bird species include Black-Crowned Night herons, Long-Tailed meadowlarks, Two-Banded plovers, and Upland and Kelp geese. Nearby Ordinance Point is the final resting place for several World War II guns

Whether you’re in a kayak or a Zodiac, don’t forget to look down as well as up. This time of year, the water is so clear, opportunities for wildlife sightings are literally everywhere.

Things continue ramping up with plenty of birdlife sightings as we make our way east across the Antarctic Convergence and officially enter Antarctic waters. See if you can identify the world’s largest bird, the Wandering albatross. From soaring giants like the Southern Giant petrel to the tiny Wilson’s Storm petrel, a range of impressive bird species will be hitching a ride on the updrafts created by ocean swells and waves. And be on the lookout for whale blows and our very first iceberg sighting.

South Georgia is often referred to as the ‘Serengeti of the Southern Ocean’ and it’s easy to see why as you take in tens of millions (not a typo!) of breeding penguins, seals, and seabirds. Breathtaking mountain scenery, majestically sculpted icebergs, glaciers in every direction, and a rich historical tapestry are all here to complement the incredible array of wildlife on view as we travel down South Georgia’s leeward coast. We’ll also visit the historic Grytviken whaling station, featuring the tiny graveyard where the great Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried.

Heading farther south, we’ll continue our informative presentations and wildlife spotting as the icebergs become bigger and more plentiful.

Here we’ll explore any number of picturesque bays and famed harbors, maneuvering through iceberg-rich channels as we travel alongside an array of wildlife. There are opportunities to stop at several active scientific bases and historic landing sites as we take in the wide range of penguin species, seals, and whales along the rugged coastlines and in the sea.

We leave this magical place and make our way north, once again heading across the Antarctic Convergence and the Drake Passage. We have one last hurrah as we celebrate the conclusion of our expedition with a special slideshow and a final meal together.

With huge smiles on weary, content faces, we disembark in the morning, letting you catch a flight to Buenos Aires or stay in Ushuaia for more sights and adventure.