Beginning at the End
Brenda at the End of the World (Fin del Mundo)
If you are going on an epic adventure, you don’t begin somewhere ordinary. What better place to begin a journey to some of the remotest places on earth than at the End of the World. “Fin del mundo” as the locals say. Ushuaia is known as the end of the world as its the southernmost city in the world.
Boarding the Ocean Diamond.
Today is the big day. Today we board the ship and the real adventure begins. We board our ship, The Ocean Diamond in the late afternoon. After running through some safety drills, we settle into our cabin which will be our home for the next 21 days. Its not large but its nice and we have a great window view. As evening sets in, we set sail and travel down the Beagle channel for the entire night. First stop, the Falkland Islands.
It takes a day and a half to reach the Falklands so our first day on the ship is literally a day on the ship. The guides, those who lead the excursions and give presentations, and the crew, people who work on the ship and provide hospitality for passengers, keep us busy while underway. The dining room serves 3 meals a day. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style while dinner is a 4 course meal selected from a menu. Wine is complementary and the servers never let your glass get empty!
There is no assigned seating, so you get to meet new passengers at each meal. Its a great way to get to know the other 163 passengers on board. The day is filled with presentations from the guides on various topics including history, wildlife, photography and geology. Our guides are exceptional and their presentations were both informative and very entertaining.
We were lucky to be able to sign up for the sea kayaking program. They only allow 16 passengers in this program and we were very fortunate to get a spot. This allows us to sea kayak during every excusion, weather permitting. This was one of the highlights of our trip and we’ll talk more about it in future posts.
One downside of kayaking is that you need a whole other set of gear; dry suit, booties, kayak skirt, gloves, another life vest (this is our third). Our cabin was already full with all the cold weather clothes we brought and now its even more cramped!
The first of many awe inspiring wildlife encounters happened on our way to the Falklands. After dinner on our second night, hundreds of Albatrosses and Giant Petrels surrounded our ship and flew along with us for an hour or more. It was truly a spectacular sight and even the crew was amazed. It was such a sight that they cancel the evening “Bar Talk” so that everyone could be on deck to witness such a rare event.
Hundreds of Albatroses and Giant Petrels flying with the ship
The next morning we reached our first destination, Carcass Island in the Falklands. We gear up and get out on our first sea kayaking adventure. After an hour and half of exploring the coastline in our kayaks, we paddle right onto the beach where the Zodiacs bring the other guests. As we approach the beach, two Commerson’s dolphins swim amongst us going from one kayak to another. On land, its a short hike across the island to another beach where Magellanic penguins play in the surf and gather on the sand.
Magallanic penguins on the beach at Carcass Island
Then its back to the ship for lunch and we cruise to another landing at West Point Island. This time we all Zodiac to the island where we follow a mile long trail up the hillside and across the island to a large Albatross and Rock Hopper penguin rookery. Its interesting to see them intermingle with each other. We still can’t understand how the penguins are able to climb up these cliffs with their tiny little legs. Its hilarious to watch them hopping around. The baby Albatross chicks are being tended to by their mothers and are so cute to watch.
On the way back across the island we stop at the caretakers home. They have prepared a wonderful afternoon tea for the whole group along with a wide assortment of homemade pastries. We enjoy some tea and biscuits and then head back to the ship.
The next day we reach our final destination of the Falklands, Stanley. Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands and very pretty little town. We walked around the town and took a shuttle to Gypsy Cove for a short hike. We really hoped to have a beer in the local pub but since we needed to board the ship by 11:30 am, it was a little too early for the pubs.
Church in Stanley
Back on the Ocean Diamond we settle in for two days at sea as the ship heads for South Georgia.