ANTARCTICA A Kaleidoscope of Experiences

“Welcome to the Antarctica Cruise” said Expedition Director Ralph in the first discussion after we boarded the cruise on 1 December, 2025. “Don’t think this is a holiday, it’s an Antarctic expedition and you have to be prepared for the unexpected, on sea and land.” he added. That promise was realised in full measure

For my wife Uma and I, a short holiday of ten days in New York served to eliminate all jet lag and prepare us for the fifteen days of pleasure, including some pulsating hours that would follow. Ushuaia at the tip of Argentina where we boarded the cruise is wreathed by snowcapped mountains and after exploring the city for a few hours, we were gladdened by the extraordinary efficiency and hospitality of the crew when we boarded the Swan Hellenic Vega ship. An ultra-modern small ship (142 passengers and 122 crew) that has self-stabilisation without need for an anchor gave us the confidence that the much dreaded “Drake Shake” across the Drake Passage which can bring speeds of up to twenty knots and waves as high as thirty feet would not totally destroy us. And, sure enough, while there were a few hours of shaky feet and navigating the ship like drunks, the two days each at sea to and from the Antarctic Peninsula passed without incident.

The Antarctic Peninsula was truly an expedition and as the Nordic Captain and the German Expedition Director kept saying, it was a choice available to each person how many of the eight shore landings in ten-seater Zodiac ships we would choose to make. And for the more adventurous, there were frequent kayak and snow shoe opportunities and half the ship even chose to do the “Polar Plunge”, a jump or dive into the freezing Antarctic Ocean. The free-flowing drinks and unfailingly sumptuous food provided enough motivation to be extra adventurous of course. Four days navigating the mainland and various islands including landing on a still live volcano with warm sands and water and the only post office in the continent manned by helpful British on five month deputations and various talks and presentations on board helped us to soak in the history, geography and even the psychology of this relatively unexplored part of the world (15,000 visitors in one year). As we chatted with the crew on the return passage, it was apparent that our experience with snow and rain on the first day, which cancelled one landing, and superb weather on the other days was not unusual. In some ways, this reminded one of Calgary in Canada which can exhibit four seasons in one day.

A short flight from Ushuaia to El Calafate took us to the Patagonia region for three days of completely different experience. Strolling around the little town in freezing weather was quaint with extremely friendly and helpful local people. The first exploratory visit was to the Perito Moreno Glacier that revealed both the grandeur of nature with the magnificent moving and calving glacier and the wonderful showcase developed in Patagonia. In three hours, we saw the glacier from the road, entered the national park where we took a boat out to see the North side of the glacier and then drove up a high mountain point for long treks to see the glacier again from the top, initially the centre and then the south. The next two days took us to other parts of the region – El Chalten with its mountain treks and waterfall walks and the Walichu Caves facing the almost sea like immense Lake Argentina. Again, a treat from both geography and history perspectives.

While we had thought that we would use the final two days in Buenos Aires to rest and recuperate, the spectacular architecture in every city square, the five hectare mausoleum for the rich and famous, art and history museums, an amazing evening at the Señor Tango Show (multiple audio visual delights with the quality standards of the best broadway musicals) and entertaining attempts to make our limited Spanish interact with the better English of an extremely tourist friendly public made the time too short. Finally, we embarked on our long flights back to India humming the line from the immortal Evita number “Don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is I never left you.” Truly this trip will have a special place in our mind and heart for a lifetime.

Ganesh and Uma Natarajan have traveled to over eighty countries and are senior members of the corporate and social community in Pune.