Sunday Jan 11 - the Scotia Sea - on the way to the Falklands
We settled into our 2 sea-days with a late breakfast at 8am followed by a series of lectures interspersed with meals and snacks. Subjects included - cold water diving, living and working in Antarctica (Mc Murdo Sound), another photo workshop and the life cycle of krill and related environmental issues.
Monday Jan 12 - the Scotia Sea - still on the way to the Falklands
The seas had picked up overnight and our new ETA at Port Stanley was now mid-day / early afternoon on Jan 13. We again filled our day with lectures, eating, reading, photo editing etc. Lectures covered: The noisy sea (impact of sonar on whales etc), an introduction to the Falklands, climate change and a photo review where our on board photographers (Ralph, Cotton and Sisse) critiqued photos submitted by guests.
Tuesday Jan 13 - Stanley and the Falklands
We continued on our way to Stanley arriving around 3:00pm. The sick passenger was whisked away and medivacced to Santiago. We spent a rainy afternoon wandering around town stopping for a drink at the ‘best' pub in town, The Globe. Back on the ship it was the usual routine of showers, sixes, wrap up and dinner.
Wednesday Jan 14 - Steeple Jason & Carcass Islands (Falklands)
We landed at Steeple Jason Island, one of a chain of islands stretching 40 miles NW of the Falklands. We elected to do the “long” hike option to the black-browed albatross colony (largest in the world) then down to the ocean side nesting area with 160,000 pairs, each with an adorable fluffy chick in their nest. The walk was very windy (situation normal in the Falklands) - Dieter went up a bit higher and steeper than me. Intermixed with the nests were nesting rock-hopper penguins also with chicks - they do this to gain protection from the evil skuas who will not approach albatross areas for fear of their life.
After lunch (a BBQ on the back deck) we landed at Carcass Island (a family owned island still with farms sheep). We again took the long walk which was pretty easy - first stop was on the other side of the island at a white sandy beach covered with Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. These black and white fellows looked spectacular on the white sand. We even saw some “tobogganing” on the sand like they do on the ice. We also saw the flightless steamer ducks, many upland geese and kelp geese and a few lonely oyster catchers. After the walk (1.5 hours) we stopped at the homestead for afternoon tea - instant coffee for non-tea drinkers and dozens of assorted goodies.
The bay was teaming with dolphins who were playing chase with the zodiacs as we zoomed around in circles.
The evening was the Pristine Seas Cocktail Party with a fund-raisers for this Lindblad charity with free cocktails. Dinner was a themed “Best of British” with a set menu and free wine. It was then an overnight run to New Island.
Thursday Jan 15 - New Island - The Falklands
After a bit of rough night we landed at New Island, the Falklands most westerly and remote uninhabited island, around 7:00am. We opted for the “long hike” which took 3 hours and was quite difficult due mainly to the very high winds. Our turnaround point was a colony of Falkland Fur Seals which look very similar to their South Georgia cousins but are very timid. Interspersed with the seals was a colony of Rock Hopper penguins.
On the way back from the hike we stopped at some more cliffs covered with nesting cormorants, albatross and rockhoppers - all with many cute chicks. Then is was back to the ship for lunch and anchors away as we started the long haul back to Ushuaia. We had been advised that some heavy weather was in store which proved to be very true indeed.
Friday Jan 16 - Estrecho de le Maire & The Beagle Channel
The heavy weather continued all day and well into the evening / night. Winds up to 80km with high seas. The day was spent relaxing, packing and attending a couple of lectures, including: Sisse and Cotton gave a presentation on their life as NG photographers, a behind the scenes presentation and video by the hotel manager, Tracey. The laptop gallery scheduled for the afternoon was cancelled due to the rough seas. The day ended with the Captain’s farewell cocktail party and gala dinner - some guests were unable to attend due to sea sickness (including our new friends John and Moe) but we were OK. Finally at 3am in the morning the Orion made a very noisy docking at Ushuaia - some hours later than planned due to slow overnight progress across the Beagle.
Saturday Jan 17 - Ushuaia and The End
After breakfast we disembarked and found our lift to our hotel for the next 2 nights - Arakur.