We made it to Ushuaia in plenty of time for our cruise, so we managed to do a detour to a gorgeous old Estancia (farm/station) at Haberton. It was at the absolute back of beyond with some lovely free camp spots right on the Beagle Sound. Then we had a night in a hotel (part of our cruise package), where we arranged to store GR2 while we were away. John took the opportunity to get an oil change and swap the wheels over.
Then we were off - seasickness patches firmly attached. We had a great crossing with swells only 4m high. Most of the time the rocking lulled us to sleep - especially me during the many lectures about birds, seals & glaciers.
Once over the Drake Passage our days were filled with zodiac trips, meals & more lectures. Just getting ready for a trip was a mission - getting on countless layers of clothes and heading to the mud room to get on the final layers of waterproofs and gumboots. Our landings were awesome....as seen by the many, many photos here on our blog. Lots of penguins, icebergs & fantastic scenery. John even had a swim, completing his quota of Artic & Antartica! To top it off the food was fantastic.
Even our return via the Drake Passage was smooth. Our only drama was when one of the passengers had acute appendicitis and had to be helicoptered to Ushuaia as soon as we were near land, meaning we missed Cape Horn and getting us back nearly a day early.
All in all a FANTASTIC trip.
