The trip we had been trying to do since we first started our big travels together has finally come and gone – Antarctica and Patagonia! We had been wanting to go to Antarctica forever but given the cost and distance we didn’t want to go without also seeing Patagonia. We had been in love with that region after seeing Art Wolfe’s coverage of it in his TV series. Our opportunity came when Aurora Expeditions out of Australia, an operation we had visited the high artic with, offered a combo of the two regions with a discount for the package. We lined up some dates and committed. This decision turned out to be an awesome choice. We were blessed with really good weather, traveling companions and guides. We were also back on our boat from the artic, the Polar Pioneer!

The journey down was complicated but doable. Turns out it took longer than my business trips to India due to airport switches and multiple hops. Thankfully the time difference is only 5 hours so at least jet lag wasn’t that big of a deal. The 3am trip to the domestic airport in Buenos Aires with a driver who spoke no English unless it came from AC/DC or Black Sabbath which blasted on the radio and sung along with was an adventure all it’s own.

Patagonia a lovely region with amazing physical sights to see. We did 10 days in the two parks in Argentina and Chile with 4 days of hard hiking. Well worth the effort! The lodges we stayed in were excellent and provided for recovery after the difficult hikes. Lelia, from Aurora, not only guides us for the 10 days she also designed the program originally and did an excellent job!

We came back with a lovely set of images you can enjoy here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel to Antarctica involved 60 hours each way across the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean, easily one of the roughest sections of water on the globe! About half the boat was sick on the way down with less on the way back. However all was worth it for some of the most amazing sites on the planet! MASSIVE icebergs, glaciers, whales, seals, penguins and the list goes on!

We came back with tons of photos. Checkout our selections: Brad’s Ice, Red’s Great Work and Brad’s Wildlife.