ODO: 334,053
We wake up to a VERY windy ocean. And of course, more driving. In this stretch of Argentina the roads have traded potholes for very deep ruts, some looking almost six inches deep in places. Between the ruts and the gale force winds, Berne is in full serious driving mode as he wrestles the truck down the highway. At least there are endless wild llamas, rheas and even an armadillo for us to look at while we both white knuckle it. We saw more of the first two than we could count. Mid day we get a bit of stress relief, our cruise is delayed by a day due to engine troubles. Our pace can slow and we wont miss our boat! Our long day ends at a literal roadside camp spot. Our criteria for a spot if very different while we hustle, but at least Ushuaia is now only a day’s drive in front of us.
Another morning of aggressive wind and rain, so we get on the road quickly. Today is windier than yesterday, something we didn’t think possible. We need to cross back into Chile for a couple of hours, KoKo is nervous. It starts with a line that wraps around the building, outside, in the cold wind. And ends with no inspection, and no food being taken away. Awesome! Less than an hour later we are waiting in line to cross the Straights of Magellan. High winds keep the ferry from running for four hours, but eventually we get on board. The seas are rough, but we enjoy a hot dog and some hot chocolate while we cross. Because of our ferry delay, we only make it another hour before we have to stop for the night in a wide open area where we are greeted by a small fox. In this moment we are very grateful we don’t have to push another four and a half hours tonight.
This is a rough night, very cold and still very windy. A newly discovered diesel leak means we have to break out our reserve diesel, and we wont be able to run the heater all night. No one sleeps well. First thing in the morning we cross back into Argentina, they have a cat on staff!! By late morning we finally pull into Ushuaia! We made it! All of the long driving days are over! It’s two days until our boat sets sail, so now it’s time to relax, but also do all of our last minuet errands. Hotel and nap are first on our list, followed by laundry and some exploring town and FOOD! Ushuaia has a touristy mountain town vibe about it, but much less busy than a Banff or Breckenridge. Berne finally gets the Argentinian steak dinner he’s been wanting since we crossed (and then re-crossed) into Argentina. Everyone sleeps really well tonight.
It’s serious errands day today: postcards, waterproof pants, phone lanyards, putting away laundry, charging all our batteries, buying chocolate for the boat crew, finding a yarn store. You know, all the important things. We have a pre-sailing meet and greet this evening at a local brewery, and have no idea what to expect. This is where we learn that we are on a boat that has been chartered by the Hash House Harriers, a self proclaimed drinking club with a running problem. The group is a long historied, global, non-competitive running (and walking/hiking) club, and so far they seem like a fun bunch. We meet a few people before turning in at a respectable 11pm.
Today is the day we leave for Antarctica! It doesn’t feel real yet. We still need to pack, and drop off our luggage, and get the truck ready for storage, and then actually store the truck somewhere! At luggage drop off we meet a couple who drove from Alberta, and we follow them to their vehicle storage. It’s noon, and we’re ready!! But we don’t load the boat until 7pm. That’s too much time for some wandering and some eating, and some more wandering around town, before we head for the bus that will take us to our boat.
On our boat, The Ocean Albatross, excitement is high. They greet us with a welcome mocktail, get us into our new expedition parkas (jackets are included!), and run us through a safety briefing, before turning us loose for a delicious dinner and a Super Bowl party! What a start! We finally get to see our room, and its very fancy, we weren’t expecting this! And it comes with a balcony! Energy on the boat is at maximum as people start making friends while we set off through the calm waters of the Beagle Channel.
Around 3am we enter the Drake Passage (open waters) and the boat starts to move. A lot. Sleeping is difficult, but we manage some. KoKo wakes up pretty seasick, Berne wakes up fine. We have some more mandatory briefings to attend on our first day of crossing the Drake, and they are hard. There are several people, including KoKo throwing up in the morning briefing. As KoKo heads back to bed, Berne is left to explore the boat and make friends on his own. Swells are ten feet, which is small for the Drake Passage. Because of the good conditions, the Capitan is hustling us across. One of the first people Berne befriends is the Captain, so he gets all the insider information. We also have a big tailwind from a large storm we are currently skirting. Yikes.
Day 2 (the final day) of crossing the Drake is better for KoKo, she is less sick, and can get out of bed by lunch time. On the boat we learned about seasickness bands, patches, ginger candies, and tea as remedies, all of which KoKo is now doing at the same time. Whatever it takes. Many people who were sick on the first day start to resurface today. Out of the endless expanse of water emerges our first iceberg, and our first wildlife! We see evidence of whales. The boat is great about making announcements about wildlife, so we know where to look.
Today, we also learn what hashing is. It’s a trail that needs to be discovered while you are run/walking it. There are wrong turns planned into it, with the goal of exploration and team work. The objective is for everyone to get to the end together and then enjoy a drink and sing some songs. It’s not a cult, they tell us this repeatedly. We slowly do our first hash around the boat. As promised, it ends with a drinking song in the upper bar. It’s not a cult.
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