Yesterday was full of excitement and anticipation. We began early at the lovely hotel in downtown Buenos Aires so that everyone could have a hearty breakfast before boarding the coaches to drive the short distance to the domestic airport. After a small delay due to other flights leaving and the air traffic congestion, we were off heading southward to the Beagle Channel, which forms the south side of Tierra del Fuego. For the last 30 min of the flight we could see the shoreline and the landscape of large island. The pilot of our flight made a gentle landing at the Ushuaia airport helped by a strong westerly wind. Stepping out of the plane we were immediately struck by the reputation of Patagonia—wind. 

Whisked onto buses we then drove past the town of Ushuaia and to the west to the end of the road where we walked a short distance to a waiting catamaran. For the rest of the afternoon we had a very scenic and pleasant ride with the wind down the Beagle Channel. At the end of the ride we docked almost below the bow of our next form of transportation and the one which would take us further south to the Antarctic Peninsula—National Geographic Explorer.

Our first evening on board was filled with information about the ship and about being comfortable in our home for the upcoming experience. Then after a fine first dinner we were off to our respective cabins to settle in and regain some energy via slumber. At some time during the night when all were in a deep sleep we left the eastern end of the Beagle Channel and changed course to a southeasterly direction, which would take us to the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was then that some on board may have noticed an increase in the movement of the ship.

This morning there was still a bit of motion, although it may have been a very relative evaluation depending on how one felt. Some people decided to stay in bed through the morning while others began searching for birds or just becoming more familiar with the ship. After breakfast the ship’s naturalist staff introduced themselves and explained a bit about their interests and expertise. Then we were introduced to digital photography and what we might expect during the voyage for photo opportunities.

The afternoon also had a full schedule of presentations with Ian Bullock talking about the lives of seabirds in the Southern Ocean. Then later we were treated with the first presentation by our Global Perspective guest speaker Joe McInnins. Then topping off the day our first evening Recap by some of the staff talking about various subjects pertinent to the day’s events. By the time Recap began most of the guests appeared in the lounge and then to dinner as the ocean motion had moderated as we sailed into the official Antarctic territory getting south of the 60th line of latitude. Anticipation for adventures to come was high as we closed our eyes for the night’s slumber.