Day 1 Ushuaia
Ushuaia lies on the triangular-shaped island of Tierra del Fuego. While Ferdinand Magellan was exploring the straits between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in 1520, he was amazed by the smoke and fires which seemed to appear at every turn. These fires, kept continuously alight by the Yaghan and Ona Indians, became the inspiration for the name "Tierra del Fuego," Land of Fire.
Day 2 South Atlantic Ocean
Day 3 West Point Island & Saunders Island (Falkland Islands)
Day 4 West Port Stanley (Falkland Islands)
Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands – an archipelago long of importance to both scientists and seaman located some 350 miles east of Tierra del Fuego, 1,000 miles north of Antarctica and, as the locals claim, a mere 8,000 miles from Britain. Explore the Historic Dockyard Museum with galleries dedicated to maritime exploration, Antarctic heritage and the 1982 Falklands War. See the whalebone arch near Christ Church Cathedral, and look for magellanic penguins gathering at Gypsy Cove.
Day 5 South Atlantic Ocean
Day 6 Elephant Island
Named for the elephant seals early explorers spotted on its shores, this rugged, ice-covered island earned its place in history for the role it played in the 1916 survival of explore Ernest Shackleton’s crew of 22 after the loss of his ship, the Endurance.
Day 7-8 Weddell Sea
Day 9 South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
Boasting extraordinary scenery and wildlife, this archipelago is about 75 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula, separated by the Bransfield Strait. Notable islands here include King George Island, home to international research stations; Elephant Island, renowned as the spot where 22 crew from Shackleton’s “Endurance” were stranded; and Deception Island, the flooded caldera of a submerged volcano, once a base for sealers and whalers. Adélie, chinstrap, gentoo and macaroni penguins breed here.
Day 10-13 Antarctica Peninsula
Day 14-15 Crossing the Drake Passage
Day 16 Ushuaia Disembarkation
Ushuaia lies on the triangular-shaped island of Tierra del Fuego. While Ferdinand Magellan was exploring the straits between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in 1520, he was amazed by the smoke and fires which seemed to appear at every turn. These fires, kept continuously alight by the Yaghan and Ona Indians, became the inspiration for the name "Tierra del Fuego," Land of Fire.
