Antarctic Dream Itinerary


	Antarctic Dream 7 Nights/8 Days Day 1 Depart Ushuaia, Argentina Passengers board the M/V Antarctic Dream. There you will be greeted by our Expedition Leader and staff and shown to your cabin. Check-in will begin at 16:00 hours. on departure day. Day 2 & 3 Drake Passage Wandering albatrosses, storm petrels and other seabirds will escort the vessel as you sail south across this famous passage named after Sir Francis Drake, the 16th-century English navigator. We will continue towards the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar waters sink beneath the warmer waters of the more temperate zone. On our second day of navigation through the Drake Passage, we'll start seeing the first glimpse of the White Continent, icebergs on blue and green tones and penguins swimming in the frigid waters. At night we should be leaving South Shetland Islands behind us. Day 4 Base Esperanza & Brown Bluff In the morning we shall be at Hope Bay, right in front of Mount Flora on the Antarctic Sound. The Antarctic Sound was named after the vessel used in the Nordenskjold Expedition 1902—1904. Landing operations will start at the historical site where the Argentinean Base Esperanza is set. Here we will have our first close encounter with Gentoo and Adelie penguins that nest close to the base. Sailing through tabular icebergs we will go south into the Antarctic Sound till we reach Brown Bluff. This dark rocky cliff is surrounded by incredible glaciers. Day 5 Paulet Island & Astrolabe Island Overnight, we will sail across the Antarctic Sound up to Paulet Island. Here we can find a huge Adelie penguin’s colony, one of the two penguin species considered endemic of Antarctic. We can also find a colony of blue eyed shags on the volcanic scree slopes. At this site, we will find the remains of a stone refuge built by the "Antarctic" shipwrecked survivors, crushed by heavy Ice at the Weddell Sea on 1903. During lunch time the ship will re position up to Astrolabe Island, on the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsula, now outside of the Antarctic Sound. Astrolabe is a very rich site in wildlife, penguins and seals have colonies all over this scenic place. Day 6 Cuverville Island & Port Lockroy Through the night time we will sail south west into the Bransfield Straight up to Cuverville Island, where the largest Gentoo penguin colony on Antarctica sits surrounded by stunning mountains of the Gerlache Straight. Cruising into Herrera Channel up to Paradise Bay, on the north shore, high mountains raise up to 1000 meters on the south shore of the Andean Mountain extension range. High Cliffs and hanging glaciers fall into the frigid waters. This is our best chance for a zodiac cruise following the coast line, contemplating glaciers and cliffs where incredible geological formation shows up in the form of copper and iron dikes and instructions. Also known as “Base A” by the Brits, Port Lockroy sits on Goudier Island. This small island is surrounded by Winke Island, a great view for the visit to this historical site, where important ozone layer research was done. The rest of the island that holds this small museum, it´s a Gentoo penguin rookery, that developed through the 80´s long after humans had set base on this spot. Day 7 Deception Island & Robert Point While we have dinner on the best restaurant in Antarctica, Antarctic Dream´s dining room, we cruise through Neumayer Channel and then into Gerlache Straight. Next morning we will be exploring the coast of the South Shetland Islands. Depending on wind and swell conditions Captain and expedition leader will coordinate a landing either on Deception Island or Halfmoon Island, Yankee Harbor or Robert Point. Flexibility and adaptability are key on this operation, due to important role that weather conditions play on decision taking for this type of operations in Antarctic waters. Day 8 Fildes Bay – Punta Arenas, Chile Fildes Bay is our final call for this expedition, here sits Chilean Base Frei. After a short visit to the base facilities we should be ready to get back via airplane, to Punta Arenas – Chile, over the northern coast of the Magellan Straight, Chile. At this point, you should go back home as ambassadors to the White Continent, go share it and tell all of your friends how amazing this experience was.

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