To cheers and applause, last night we learned that Kapitan Khlebnikov is due in on Sunday. We’ll be aboard by Monday. Snow Hill here we come. And we learned if the weather is kinder to us than it has been to previous trips this year, we’ll spend a few days in the Falkland Islands. This is still a wildlife cruise.

Yesterday, a motorcoach took a few of us over the Andes to a large lake. En route we stopped for lunch at a ski centre – cross-country skiing. They served an asado bbq lunch: chicken, lamb and sausages on hot braziers. As we munched away a Fuegian red fox appeared. Fat and sassy. Yes – that’s the one to the right.

That Magellanic Woodpecker has been creating quite a fuss amongst the dedicated birders. Some have hired cabs to return to the Park to capture it on film. The female does have a white stripe on her back. The male has a bright red head! A pair of males were busy courting the lady.

Just sitting here typing I have seen a skua and gull and something I don’t know the name of – I must invest in a book about Patagonian wildlife. Tierra del Fuego is a must for birders.

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We have a team of five very tired Customer Service professionals in Ushuaia who have materialized hotels, meals and activities out of thin air. John McKeon is leading the team. Marcelo, Lynn, Scott and Amalia are his stalwart companions. They’ve led the briefings, patiently answered questions and have been the last to bed and the first to rise. I’m proud to call them colleagues.

I had some business to take care of yesterday, so I my only adventure was walking down a mountain. I took the photo of Ushuaia about half way down. I mention this only because at the end of the day, as our guests returned from their adventures, two different, completely unsolicited people raved about the 4×4 adventure they had had. I’ve signed up for it on Friday. Today, I’m participating in a coach tour across the Andes!

The weather has changed. Rain and clouds. I’m wearing long underwear, and I’ll have to carry the outer shell of the parka to keep dry. This is an expedition after all!

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When I drew back the curtains this morning, Ushuaia harbor was at my feet aglow with the light of a dawning day. The snow on the mountains and the billowing clouds reflected the light. The street lamps were bright beacons, yet I could see clearly the outlines of buildings and ships. The bay was aglitter. Absolutely stunning. The photo just does not do it justice, but I share it with you anyway.

Last night as we gathered for drinks in the bar to await news about the arrival of Kapitan Khlebnikov, we chatted about the news stories we’ve seen on Argentine TV, online and on BBC World News. My traveling companions are a sophisticated group. They chuckled at the sensationalism, the “anonymous” sources and the tempest in a teapot. Granted, we said, we aren’t aboard the icebreaker, so can’t truly speak of the experience aboard her at this moment. Yet, out of a group of 100, here in Ushuaia, only a handful have never been aboard the truly legendary Kapitan Khlebnikov.

The overwhelming response from the veterans was there is no safer ship to be on in difficult ice conditions and that the Captain and Expedition Leader were so experienced that worrying was unnecessary. After all, they told me, we’re choosing to wait to begin a return voyage to the Weddell Sea. Conditions haven’t changed much at the moment, so we too can expect lots of ice, winds and the possibility of white outs. We may never reach the rookery. We know it, yet we are hanging in!

Don’t get me wrong, there is no hardship accompanying the “hanging in.” We are well fed, occupied with a variety of activities. The birders are ecstactic. We saw a Great Grebe, a Buzzard Eagle, and a Magellanic Woodpecker. That’s like saying we had tickets to the Super Bowl, and the Stanley and World Cups, I was told by an experienced birder.

I saw the grebe and woodpecker. Got great shots of the lady pecking away at lunch – I only know she was a female because a birder took pity on me. I took pictures, got back to the hotel and found I had left the card out of the camera. Yes I did use an expletive!

Lunch was King Crab au natural. In Ushuaia, that means steamed crab meat service cold with a side of lemon or lime to squeeze over the massive pile of pink, sweet flesh. The crab is fished from the Beagle Channel. All the best restaurants are serving it at the moment. I could live on King Crab!

I forgot to mention the panqueque dulce de leche. Translation – crepes with warm carmel inside. Oh my, oh my… Don’t worry for a moment about us, down here at the bottom of the world waiting for Kapitan Khlebnikov’s return. We are well taken care of and having the time of our lives!

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We spent a day on the Beagle Channel yesterday. The group of us boarded a catamaran that sailed east down the channel to a King Cormorant rookery. They are as elegant as Fred Astaire in the their black and white. From there we stopped to watch seals hauled out on a rocky island. Much bellowing and unpleasant smells accompanied our silent appreciation. There was a lots of room on the rock, but they appeared to prefer to pile on top of each other.

Our next stop was a Magellanic Penguin rookery. It was early in the breeding season, so the 3,000 breeding pairs that would inhabit the rookery had not arrived. But the early birds were industriously climbing hills and waddling across the beach. Above them was a handful of Gentoo penguins who have taken up residence on the island. Gentoos love the higher ground.

Our landing was at the oldest estancia on Tierra del Fuego, Estancia Hamberton. Still in family hands a portion of the 50,000 acres are set aside to protect indigenous plants. We saw the 3 kinds of false beeches that grow along the channel and a calafate. The Argentine equivalent of a blueberry plant. Lichen hung from the trees. A lovely spring walk that turned into a birding adventure.

We returned to Ushuaia with sunburned faces and the hope that Kapitan Khlebnikov had begun to sail north to collect us. We were delighted to learn she was making some headway.

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We learned last night from the Customer Service Team in Ushuaia that Kapitan Khlebnikov is delayed. The Weddell Sea has lived up to its reputation as one of the iciest seas on the planet. Antarctic winds, low clouds and the capriciousness of Nature has kept the vessel safely locked in ice. I envy all on board for experiencing Antarctica of old.

The continent is once again reminding us how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. Unlike the explorers of old our explorers are safe and warm. The adult Emperors have come to them, so I’m told.

We’ll not board until Wednesday, earliest. Alternate plans have been made for those of us who wait in Ushuaia. Exciting plans. The Adventure has begun!

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When last I wrote I left you wondering if I were going to crash or be captivated by views from my hilltop hotel. Neither happened. Embracing the unexpected…that is the expedition way. The hotel turned out to be on the shore of the Beagle Channel with nothing but a 2 foot high wooden post fence to separate me from the sea. The dining room with a 20 foot soaring ceiling and picture windows that stopped just a foot from the ground provide a 180 degree aspect. To the east were the lights of the airport causeway sparkling. To the west mountains. and in front…Chile and the channel. When I sat down to eat at 21:30 local time, dusk was providing a contrast between the lights, the water and the sky. By the time I finished darkness was complete.

We arrived to an overcast sky. The pilot had to land with instruments. If you don´t know Ushuaia, it is a piece of cake. Sometime ignorance is bliss. When I stepped outside this morning, my first complete day in Ushuaia, the sun shone and the snowcovered mountains were sparkling. Seabirds lined the shore and a seal was chasing something just off the coast. The tide was turning. The first word out of my mouth was WOW, then I said Oh My Goodness, when I understood the skill required to land safely in thick cloud.

Snow has been falling off and on for the past two weeks. Ushuaians tell me – everyone I´ve met since arrival – ¨This isn´t typical weather for November.¨ I think I´ll believe them, because the daffodils are in bloom and all the flowering trees have buds on them.

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What a Friday the 13th I´ve had. If the first one had been as good as mine has been so far today, then there would be no negative connotations at all.

Getting through immigration in Buenos Aires took some patience, but once through the other side, Jose and Hernando were waiting. Jose is one of our English speaking representatives in BA. Hernando is a professional driver with a marvellously turned out car. The two of them escorted me across the city in morning rush hour to the domestic airport. En route I learned oodles about the city, including that the legal name Buenos Aires was enacted only in 1996! Until that time the real name of the city was so long and involved that all I can remember is that the Holy Trinity and Our Lady of Buenos Aires were involved.

The weather is fabulous. Shorts and t’shirts. I´ve already tasted my first Argentine lamb and I´ve got a fabulous view of the Rio Plata as I type this. Only negative is the Argentine keyboard. Way too many symbols I don’t know what to do with keep appearing. There is no Internet wireless at Newbery, so I´m working at a kiosk. 7 pesos an hour. That´s about 3 USD per hour, to the rest of us.

I´m covered in trail dust and managed to spill something on my shirt. Just enough to be noticeable, but not enough to be a total disaster. I am going to crash when I reach the hotel. Unless, of course, I´m mesmerized by the view. My hotel sits atop an Andean foothill overlooking Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. Superlatives…I´m going to run out of superlatives.

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No pink sports jackets with rolled up sleeves. Nor is there a carrot topped, sunglass sporting detective with a propensity for tilting his head when he speaks. I”m just passing through Miami en route to Buenos Aires. My vice is ice – Big Ice.

By the time I arrive in Ushuaia in the late evening of Friday 13th, I’ll have been on the road for 36 hours. Does it always have to be that way? No…I could have done it in under 30 hours. There are two ways to reach Ushuaia by air, through BA, like I’m doing, or through Santiago, Chile, which I’ll do on the way home.

Getting to either is relatively simple, as they are international gateways. The thing you might not know is that the leg from BA to USH is usually on a domestic connection that stops at a number of small towns in southern Patagonia. If the weather is great, you’ll see pampas spread below for miles. Stunning. From Santiago, there may be a stop in Punta Arenas, before arriving in USH.

You really should count on taking at least 24 hours to arrive in Ushuaia and to return home when you are planning your Antarctic expedition.

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