The End of the World

And the beginning of adventure.

The last two days have been a whirlwind.

Sunday night, we met up with the National Geographic group in Santiago, followed by an early morning flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, on Monday morning. (Ushuaia is the southernmost city of the world, "El fin del mundo").

The travel to Ushuaia was a dramatic entry -- as the pilots needed to maneuver the descent along the Beagle Channel between two sections of the Andes. The weather cooperated.  We were treated to an amazing overhead view of the mountains, channel, and Tierra del Fuego.

The expedition company also chartered a bus tour in Tierra del Fuego, stopping a few times to take in the beautiful scenery where we got some close shots of Skuas.

Enjoying Tierra del Fuego National Park

Andes mountain scene

Then lunch on a catamaran boat in the Beagle Channel, where we saw sea lions and cormorants (not penguins, but they certainly resemble penguins).

Wildlife on a lighthouse island

Seals covering the lighthouse island

By 5 pm, we were embarking on the National Geographic Resolution. And a whole new experience.

National Geographic Resolution -- our home for the next two weeks.

View as we depart to sea

View of Ushuaia as we sail

Cheers to the voyage ahead

After touring through some of the ship (there’s still more to explore), a welcome talk dinner, drinks – we were done the day.

Last night we both slept surprisingly well, and when we woke up – we were about 100 nautical miles from Antarctica.

Crossing the Drake Passage has been quite pleasant. At times a little strange – swaying at times, some sudden changes in weather, and nothing but sky and sea all around us. Having said this, we were expecting a much rougher sail than what we experienced (so far).

I’m writing from our balcony, and it's hard to believe that this is our life (for now).

Here’s to adventuring!