Our stops are dependant on weather, but we'll visit as many islands, coves, fjords and glaciers as possible.
Staging area for our Antarctic explorations, Tierra del Fuego if a region of rugged beauty.
Tour 704-17 Days, Departing January 31, 1997, Returning February 16, 1997
Tour 705-16 Days, Departing February 13, 1997, Returning February 28, 1997 (Embarks in Usbuaia)
Inspired by the exploits of our lecturer and celebrated explorer, Wally Herbert, these new ice cruises are designed to explore both the western side and rarely visited sites along the eastern side of the Antarctic peninsula. A full seven days in the Antarctic allows us to venture farther afield intoareas unexplored by other passenger vessels. Tour 704 begins in the Falkland Islands and includes visits to Stanley, New Island and Carcass Island. Tour 705 focuses primarily on Antarctica, embarking in Ushuaia with a sightseeing tour of this southernmost town in Tierra del Fuego. Wally Herbert will accompany us to the region he first mapped over thirty years ago.
Holder of the coveted "Explorer Medal," cruise lecturer Wally Herbert has lived in polar regions for 13 years, logging over 25,000 miles of travel by dog sled and open boat.
| Day 1 Miami | |
| We depart on our Lan Chile flight to Santiago, Chile. | |
| Day 2 Santiago | |
| We arrive in the moming and transfer to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure with dinner on your own this evening. | |
| Day 3 Santiago/Stanley | |
| We board our flight to Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands, where we explore a charming town that feels "more English than England." Shop for handicrafts or unique postage stamps, or sample the ales at a local pub, and view the countryside before we board our expedition ship. | |
| Day 4 Carcass Island and New Island Nature Reserve, Falklands | |
| We land at Carcass Island, where one of the Falklands' foremost sheep farms co-exists with a wildlife sanctuary crowned by a gentoo penguin colony. Here we're invited to the island owner's home to partake of a traditional Falkland Islands tea, including a sumptuous array of home baked delights. On nearby New Island we explore a natural amphitheater filled with bounding rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatross, in a reserve also known for its population of rare Johnny Rook, "the most mischievous of all the feathered creation." | |
| Days 5-6 Drake Passage | |
| A trip "around the Horn" was once a feature of every trans-oceanic sea voyage before the opening of the Panama Canal, so as we set sail across the Drake Passage toward Antarctica we follow in the wake of nearly four centuries of master mariners, including Sir Francis Drake. This is an opportunity to find our sea legs and to prepare for the wonders of the Antarctic at a continuing series of presentations by our lecturers. As we continue south, guided by naturalists, we'll also begin to spot Antarctic birds or, with luck, whales from the deck. |
Our stops are dependant on weather, but we'll visit as many islands, coves, fjords and glaciers as possible. |
| Days 7-13 Antarctica | |
| One of the great pleasures of any Antarctic cruise is a flexible itinerary. With unpredictable weather and ice conditions dictating the possibilities on any given day, we choose the best option available for maximum enjoyment and the destination is so rich that we literally cannot make an uninteresting choice. | |
| Unlike our other Antarctic itineraries, this expedition features a full week for exploration in Antarctica. We plan to visit the Lemaire Channel, Paradise Bay and Deception Island, some of the favorites of the western side of the peninsula, and in the true pioneering spirit of the "little red ship" we also intend to transit the Antarctic Sound to explore the little known and distincty different eastern side of the Peninsula. Here fomiidable ice conditions in the Weddell Sea have prevented all but a few ice breakers from venturing south of Paulet Island, but recent warming trends seem to offer us a rare opportunity. In 1995/96 the Erplorer made landings on James Clark Ross Island and other locations not previously visited by passenger vessels. Travelling with us will be renowned polar explorer, Wally Herbert, who mapped this entire area on foot in the 1950s and '60s. With his intimate knowledge of the region, we hope to break new ground and create a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all participants. |
Staging area for our Antarctic explorations, Tierra del Fuego if a region of rugged beauty. |
| Day14-15 Drake Passage | |
| Cruising back through the Drake Passage, there's time to recap the exciting experiences of past days, comparing notes with our lecturers and fellow passengers, and adding final touches to our journals and sketchbooks. | |
| Day 16 Usbuaia | |
| Explorer docks at Ushuaia, southernmost town in Tierra Del Fuego and, after breakfast today, we disembark for a sight-seeing tour. Later in the day, we transfer to the airport to board a flight to Miami via Santiago. | |
| Day 17 Miami | |
| Upon arrival in Miami this morning we connect to homebound flights. |
