ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION & PATAGONIAN FRONTIERS

23 November 2024: As Your Tour Manager, Richard Moras Welcomes You On This Journey

23 November 2024: Your Accompanying Tour Doctor For This Journey is Dr Ralph Levin

Settle into The Singular Santiago. Get to know your fellow travellers during a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast at our hotel this morning, we board a flight for the city of Punta Arenas in southern Chile. We will be joined by 200 of our fellow cruise guests aboard this plane, which has been chartered by Silversea. Following lunch and a brief tour of the city, we check into Hotel Cabo de Hornos. We attend a briefing from our Antarctic Expedition Team in preparation for our departure tomorrow. This evening, we dine with our fellow cruise guests. 

At the confluence of the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern oceans, the Drake Passage can be a treacherous stretch, but it must be crossed to reach Antarctica. While others steel themselves for two days at sea, Silversea’s chartered 50-seater BAE-146 aircraft makes light work of the crossing and we touch down on King George Island, the largest of the South Shetland Islands and the gateway to Antarctica. We are whisked away by Zodiacs to join our waiting ship, Silver Endeavour, our home for the next six nights.  

The profound vastness and isolation of Antarctica can only ever be fully appreciated at close range. This is an experience enjoyed by only a fortunate few. We begin our voyage at the northernmost tip of the White Continent, as we cruise into Antarctic Sound. We glimpse the jagged profiles of scattered icebergs, while anticipating the excitement of a whale’s splashing tail. As we draw nearer to huge slabs of ice, keep watch for colonies of gentoo penguins. While up above, graceful petrels soar. When conditions prove favourable, we climb aboard Zodiacs, accompanied by our Expedition Team, for closer inspection of this world of wonder. Secure inside our warm expedition gear, we may also have the opportunity to kayak amid the rugged ice and polar seas.

Our captain charts a route determined by weather and ice conditions. Irrespective of nature’s vagaries, our scenery never fails to leave us in awe. We explore regions few have seen firsthand; the only other humans we may sight from afar are those stationed at the occasional research base. Our vessel escorts us by colossal icebergs and glaciers tinged a subtle shade of blue. Expansive mountain ranges punctuate the boundless landscape, the occasional proud peak displaying a surface of exposed rock. As we trace the shoreline aboard our trusty Zodiacs, we keep watch for a waddle of Adélie penguins. Should conditions permit, our Expedition Team may lead us ashore for a hike in this pristine environment.

Awakening to another day on the edge of the White Continent, we may find seabirds keeping us company. Look to the sky to see the proud wingspan of a wandering albatross, or down below to admire the fishing prowess of a king cormorant. With favourable conditions, our Zodiacs may once more be lowered into the icy seas for further explorations ashore. Our Expedition Team comprise polar explorers and marine biologists. As we traverse the ice-covered landscape, our guides illuminate the seemingly inexplicable permeating this magnificent continent.

After breakfast on board our ship, be on the lookout for wildlife. Our captain, crew and Expedition Team will alert us to sightings of penguins, seals and whales as we cruise along. Should the weather be suitable, perhaps take your position along the bow of the ship for a more close-up view of the exquisite terrain. We continue to navigate a path through a series of monumental ice structures, as our captain looks for further opportunities to take us ashore.

To the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, across the Bransfield Strait, we find the South Shetland Islands. While their sovereignty is a matter of some contention, the Antarctic Treaty has sanctioned the establishment of research stations, belonging to 13 countries, here. Though their claims to the territory may not be heeded by any such convention, the elephant seals and penguins who call this place home continue to go about their lives relatively untroubled. 

The imposing peaks of Mount Foster serve as the principal landmark as we approach the archipelago. We take our places up on deck as our ship draws nearer Deception Island. Our vessel makes its entrance through an opening in the island’s volcanic caldera. We reach land and set out on a hike of the former whaling outpost, taking in its mystical landscapes. The adventurous among us may even choose to take a dip in the geothermal waters at Pendulum Cove.