Ushuaia

Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world

Clinging between sea and mountains, Ushuaia makes the most of its status as the southernmost city in the world. You stroll along Avenida San Martín, get your passport stamped ‘Fin del Mundo’, and visit the old prison turned museum, which tells how the city grew out of a penal colony. The harbour comes alive to the rhythm of the expedition ships: it is the gateway to Antarctica.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

A few kilometres from town, Tierra del Fuego National Park unfolds lenga forests, peat bogs, lakes and bays where the mountains plunge into the sea. This is where the legendary Ruta 3 ends, at Bahía Lapataia, 3,000 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. You hike along the coast, look out for beavers and foxes, and can ride the Tren del Fin del Mundo, a little steam train following in the footsteps of the former convicts.

Boating on the Beagle Channel

From the harbour, boats set out on the Beagle Channel, the waterway separating Tierra del Fuego from its islands. You pass colonies of sea lions and cormorants, sail beneath Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, the ‘lighthouse at the end of the world’, and some excursions land on Martillo Island, home to a penguin colony. A fine appetiser before the open sea.

Which Antarctic cruise should you choose?

Almost all expeditions leave from Ushuaia and last ten to twelve days, with two days at sea each way to cross the Drake Passage, then six to seven days along the peninsula. To avoid the Drake, the ‘fly-cruise’ option takes off from Punta Arenas, in Chile, to the South Shetland Islands, where you board: more expensive, but shorter and free of seasickness. The longer voyages (eighteen to twenty-two days) add South Georgia and its king penguin colonies, a wildlife paradise. A crucial point: the size of the ship. Small expedition vessels (fewer than 200 passengers) can make landings, because international rules limit the number of people ashore at once to 100; big cruise liners often just sail along the coast. Choose a small ship to maximise your landings.

The Drake Passage, gateway to Antarctica

Between Cape Horn and the South Shetlands, the Drake Passage is one of the most feared stretches of sea in the world, where three oceans meet. People talk of the ‘Drake shake’ when the sea is wild, and the ‘Drake lake’ on calm days. For two days you scan the horizon, rocked or shaken, while albatrosses and petrels follow the ship's wake. Crossing the Drake is already stepping into the legend of the explorers.

The Antarctic Peninsula, another world

Then the first land appears, and it is a shock. The Antarctic Peninsula unfolds channels lined with glaciers, mountains dropping sheer into a glassy sea, and a total silence broken only by the cracking of ice. You sail through legendary passages such as the Lemaire Channel, so photogenic it is nicknamed ‘Kodak Gap’. Everything here is on a colossal scale, and you feel tiny.

Icebergs and blue ice

Antarctica is the kingdom of ice in all its forms: tabular icebergs as big as cathedrals, blocks sculpted by the waves, and that electric-blue ice, so dense that it reflects only the blue of the light. Every iceberg is unique, and the ship threads between them at a crawl. By Zodiac, you get as close as possible, in an unreal setting.

The midnight sun

In December and January, at the height of the southern summer, the sun almost never sets. Nights cease to exist: they turn into an endless golden sunset that sets the mountains ablaze and is mirrored in still water. It is one of the most spellbinding sights of the voyage, and photographers stay up late for want of any real darkness.

Penguins by the thousand

They are the stars of the continent. Gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins gather in colonies several thousand strong, with an unforgettable din and smell. You watch them waddle along their ‘penguin highways’ carved into the snow, feed their fluffy chicks in January and February, and dive like rockets. Curious and fearless, they sometimes come right up close: they are the ones who decide the distance.

Seals on the pack ice

Sprawled on drifting floes, the seals seem oblivious to the world. You come across the placid Weddell seal, the crabeater seal (the most numerous seal in the world), and sometimes the fearsome leopard seal, a predator of penguins, recognisable by its reptilian jaws. Watching them laze in the sun a few metres from the Zodiac is one of the great moments of the expedition.

Whales

As the summer wears on, whales flock in to gorge on krill. Humpbacks and minke whales become easier and easier to spot from February to March, sometimes right next to the ship or the Zodiacs, with a loud blow and a powerful smell. With luck, you may witness orcas at play. Humpbacks even practise bubble-net feeding, a rare and fascinating sight.

Setting foot on the continent: Zodiac landings

The heart of the expedition is the landings: twice a day, you pull on boots and parka and jump into a Zodiac to set foot on the white continent, walk among the penguins or skirt a glacier. Everything is strictly governed by international rules (IAATO): safe distances from wildlife, disinfecting boots so as to introduce nothing, no waste left behind. Some ships also offer kayaking, snowshoeing or even a night camping on the ice.

Research stations and historic huts

Antarctica belongs to no one: governed by an international treaty, it is dedicated to peace and science. Dozens of bases, of every nationality, study the climate, the ice and the wildlife. Cruises often call at Port Lockroy, a former British base turned museum and the famous ‘penguin post office’, from which you can send a postcard from the end of the world. You also come across explorers' huts and the rusting remains of the whaling era, as on Deception Island, a volcano whose flooded caldera you can visit.

Life on board: our cruise with Hurtigruten

Between outings, life on board is a pleasure in itself. We sailed with Hurtigruten, and the experience lived up to the scenery: a comfortable, modern ship, a panoramic lounge from which to watch for whales in the warm, and a fascinating expedition team (biologists, glaciologists, historians) who give talks and accompany every landing. You leave having learnt as much as you dreamt.

Dining on board

Another pleasant surprise: the food. On board, the cooking was quite simply exceptional, refined and carefully made, light years away from the cliché of canteen meals at sea. Quality produce, beautifully plated dishes, attentive service: after a day in the cold, these dinners were among the best moments of the day.

Preparing for your cruise: seasickness and gear

A few tips for setting off with peace of mind. Against Drake seasickness, bring a remedy (patches or tablets) or opt for the fly-cruise. As for gear, most companies lend the parka and sometimes the boots; it is up to you to bring thermal layers, gloves, a hat, sunglasses and a good sunscreen, since the glare off the ice is intense. A camera and binoculars transform the trip. Finally, book early: the best cabins and the small ships sometimes sell out a year ahead.

Did you know? Blood Falls, the blood-red waterfall

It is one of the strangest curiosities on the continent: Blood Falls, a blood-red waterfall flowing out of the Taylor Glacier. Its colour comes from very salty, iron-rich water, trapped under the ice for millions of years, which rusts on contact with the air. Unfortunately, it lies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, at the other end of Antarctica: out of reach of peninsula cruises. A dream for a future life as an explorer.