Chile, Argentina and Antarctica

After visiting the Arctic and Svalbard in 2022, we thought it would be cool to also experience the ice, mountains and glaciers on the other side of the globe - Antarctica. Yes, these trips to the more remote and untouched areas of the world have an expeditionary character. You cannot know in advance exactly where you are going and what is possible. Weather, ice and wind determine what can be done. Exciting!

Also in South America there are two destinations that we have wanted to visit for many years: the Atacama Desert and Patagonia. We have a passion for extreme nature and adventure. So we booked a trip to the Atacama Desert, Patagonia and Antarctica.

It was a magical trip on the other side of the world. I don't know if I can summarize the wonderful things we experienced in words. But I will try.

Santiago de Chile

After a long flight down to Santiago de Chile - a large metropolis - and only one night's stay, we flew up to northern Chile and the Atacama Desert. From the small oasis of San Pedro de Atacama we made several excursions:

Atacama Desert

Fascinating walks in the Atacama desert through a salar (salt plain) with many flamingos and a wonderful play of colors between the blue water, pink landscape and blue mountains on the horizon.

A hike in the Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna) with the fascinating geological folds of the landscape.

An excursion up the Andes at 4300m to one of the world's largest thermal fields (El Tatio) with geysers and hot springs between the high peaks, all of which are volcanoes.

All extreme places - that's exactly what we're looking for!

Patagonia

After the desert, we flew back to the capital to board the ship MS Fridtjof Nansen at Valparaiso, which would take us down the Chilean coast and through the beautiful fjords south down to Patagonia.

A dream destination for anyone who likes mountains and glaciers. The time on board between the various shore excursions was used intensively for various lectures by the scientists who traveled with us, such as geologists, biologists, ornithologists, whale researchers, etc. The "Torres del Paine" National Park is one of the most attractive landscapes in the world and attracts tourists from all over the world. Jagged mountains, glaciers and turquoise lakes. This landscape is also known for bad weather with fog, clouds and strong winds. We experienced this when we hiked along Lago Grey where it was really windy. But it was worth it because the dramatic views with the mountains, clouds and the glacier on the other side of the lake were absolutely magical.

Antarctica

 After Patagonia, the journey continued south to the main destination - Antarctica! From the Land of Fire in southern Patagonia, the ship rounded Cape Horn and continued straight south across the infamous "Drake Passage". The world's most stormy sea with high waves so it can rock properly on the boat. However, we were lucky and the sea was relatively calm. After 36 hours on the open sea, we reached Deception Island at dawn - a caldera in the Antarctic archipelago. There we got to go ashore for the first time and see penguins in their natural environment. Funny creatures. It was cold and windy but we took courage and went for a swim in the sea (water temperature minus 1 degree). The penguins looked uninterested and probably wondered what kind of weirdos they were. A great experience for body and soul.

Continuing down to the south and visiting the Antarctic peninsula.

 We spent four days in Antarctica with several land excursions and zodiac cruises between the icebergs. I took lots of pictures of icebergs, glaciers, mountains, penguins, albatrosses and whales. I experienced a magical moment when a humpback whale appeared five meters from the zodiac. Totally peaceful. The whale probably wanted to know what kind of people were cruising around in his territory. Then the whale disappeared into the depths of the ocean.

Argentina

On our way home we visited Ushuaia and Buenos Aires

 I hope I was able to convey some impressions of the incredible journey of our lives that still touches us emotionally. It was full of wonderful experiences, beautiful environments and nice people.