Antarctica, Day 14: 2-4-22 The Mountains of Madness

It’s time to mention the terrific honor we’ve had aboard the Viking Octantis on its inaugural voyage to “The Mountains of Madness.” We’ve been sailing with one of the great explorers of our time, a true pioneer of this continent and a triumph in women’s exploration, Live Arnesen. On January 6, 1995, Liv from Norway, skied unaccompanied from the edge of the continent in 50 days. She was not only aboard our ship but walked the decks with us, ate at the next table, and gave a great talk last Sunday night about her trek. Her picture hangs near the “Information Center” so if you’re ever on board.

In another talk, Nicki Bunting, the really fun, super strong sea kayak guide, gave a passionate talk about how women have been kept out of Antarctica (mostly because of superstition) and that the first women to arrive at the continent didn’t do so until 1969 and even then, it was only to visit McMurdo station for a couple of hours, then fly back again. Not until 1971, was the journalist, Louise Hutchinson, allowed to spend the night because the weather delayed her flight. Two years later, two women worked at the South Pole. In 1979, a woman physician spent the winter there. Then Liv Arnesen made her trek. These women have “broken the ice” so that now the percentage of women scientists on the continent is increasing every year.

Now to today’s adventure: We left the ship at 9:30, boarded buses, and had a 10-hour tour of the National Park of Ushuaia, given by a very enthusiastic man, Juan. Good job, nice tour. We learned about the Beech tree indigenous to only Ushuaia, New Zealand, and Australia. We saw the Antarctic hawk (has a black wig, like a Beatle haircut!) and took lots of pictures of the Beagle Channel’s more rustic inlets. The most amazing thing, though, was my sighting of “something way out there.” I was specifically looking for penguins—either Chinstrap or Magellanic, both of which nest this far north. John used his super duper telephoto lens to take the picture, which he later downloaded and zoomed in to examine. That “something” had been a colony of nesting chinstrap penguins. Hooray! Another significant wildlife sighting!

We were at the airport by 6:30 and boarded our 757 charter at 9 pm, leaving the small Ushuaia airport for Santa Cruz, Bolivia. There, we deplaned while they fueled. Reboarded for a second leg to Miami. Total travel time, 13 hours. After a five-hour layover in Miami, we will head to LAX. Arrival tonight around 7 pm. The plane is only half full, so we were both able to sleep nicely for most of both legs.

Home soon. It’s been a wonderful trip, a spectacular adventure, and an experience that we’ll continue processing for a long time.