Argentina & Antarctica Itinerary

I meant to post this a few days ago, but here is my rough itinerary for Argentina & Antarctica.  I don't have a real set plan for most of my days in Buenos Aires or Ushuaia so most of the information listed is a general guide of what I'd like to see or do.  

Friday March 1^st:  Depart MSP at 4:04pm

Saturday March 2^nd: Arrive in Buenos Aires at 10:20 am.  Check into hotel.

·      Plaza de Mayo – Casa Rosada, Catedral Metropolitana, Café Tortoni

·      Calle Florida

Sunday March 3^rd: 

·      San Telmo for their Sunday Market

·      La Boca– colorful Caminito Walkway, La Bombonera Soccer Stadium

Monday March 4^th:  Depart Buenos Aires (EZE) for Ushuaia @ 7:20 am

·      Arrive in Ushuaia at 11:05 am.

Tuesday March 5^th:  Ushuaia

Wednesday March 6:  Embark for Antarctica at 3:30pm. Meet expedition and lecture staff.  Sail along the Beagle Channel and the scenic Mackinlay Pass.

March 7 & 8: Crossing the Drake Passage, named after the renowned explorer, Sir Francis Drake. The Drake Passage marks the Antarctic Convergence – the biological barrier where cold polar water sinks beneath warmer northern waters. Lecturers will be on deck to help in the identification of many seabirds.  The first sightings of icebergs and snow-capped mountains indicate that we have reached the South Shetland Islands.  With favorable conditions we make our first landing and have your first encounter with penguins and seals.

March 9 - 13: Exploring South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Vast penguin rookeries, fur seals, and Southern elephant seals.  Sail through the narrow passage into the flooded caldera of Deception Island. King George Island features colonies of Adélie and Chinstrap Penguins, Kelp Gulls, Blue-eyed Cormorants, Antarctic Terms, and Southern Giant Petrels and is home to scientific bases of many different countries.

Macaroni, Chinstrap, and Gentoo Penguins as well as elephant seals await us on Livingston Island. Apart from penguins and seabirds, we’re likely to see Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals as well as Minke, Orca, and Humpback Whales at close range.

Depending on ice conditions, we will navigate the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel, and the Lemaire Channel with narrow passages between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers.  We plan to make at least two landings a day, and possible landing sites may include: Paradise Bay and paulet Island where the Nordenskjöld expedition built a stone survival hut in 1903 that now has been taken over by nesting penguins.  Further exploration will take us to Melchior Island, Cuverville Island, Portal Point, Neko Harbour, Pléneau Island and if ice conditions permit, to Petermann Island for the southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguins.

March 14 & 15: Head North across the Drake Passage.  Lecturers and naturalists will be on deck as we search for seabirtds and whales. 

Saturday March 16^th:  Arrive back in Ushuaia at 8am – disembark after breakfast.

·      Hike Glacier Martial – start at Aerosilla del Glacier chairlift. 2 hrs.

Sunday March 17^th: Tierra del Fuego National Park & End of the World Train ride.

Monday March 18^th: Ushuaia

Tuesday March 19^th:  Depart Ushuaia at 11:45 am. 1 stop in Santa Cruz.

·      Arrive in Buenos Aires (AEP) at 4:43 pm.

·      Puerto Madero for sunset

Wednesday March 20^th: 

·      Recoleta Cemetery

·      Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar

·      Teatro Colon.

Thursday March 21^st: 

·      Pslrtmo Viejo – Plaza Serrano & Pasaje Russel

·      Avenida Santa Fe

·      La Confiteria Ideal

Friday March 22^nd:  Full Day Tigre Delta Tour

Saturday March 23^rd:  Depart Buenos Aires at 8pm

Sunday March 24^th:  Arrive in MSP at 3:32 pm.