Itinerary

The itinerary below was provided form Lindblad Expeditions. (www.expeditions.com)

January 3-4th U.S./Santiago, Chile
Depart Miami this evening on an overnight flight to Santiago.

January 4-6th Santiago
We arrive in Santiago in the morning. With the soaring Andes as a backdrop, Santiago makes a spectacular and welcoming first impression. In the afternoon, we have a panoramic overview of the city including a visit to the Pre-Columbian Museum.

January 7th Santiago/Ushuaia, Argentina/Embark Ship
The morning's charter flight offers some rare views as we fly over the vividly rugged terrain of Patagonia before landing in Ushuaia, Argentina the southern most city in the world. We'll have a traditional Argentinean barbecue for lunch and board National Geographic Endeavour.

January 8th At Sea
We awake this morning well into our journey across Drake Passage. Lying between the Cape Horn and the Antarctica Peninsula, the Drake holds a unique place in a maritime lore. Sometimes misty and gray, other times calm and clear, crossing the legendary Drake Passage is unforgettable- a milestone in any adventurer's personal travel history.

January 9th Antarctica
Our first landfall is at one of the many islands of the Antarctic Peninsula region, taking hikes and Zodiac forays with our Naturalists.

January 10-15th Antarctica
With nearly 24 hours of daylight at this time of year, we make the most of our six days exploring the Antarctica Peninsula and its surrounding islands. Out there, our ship will freely roam. Our expedition team with their expert knowledge of Antarctica's water enables us to take advantage of the unexpected. We'll be out daily-experiencing Antarctica with our senses as we walk, cruise in Zodiacs, and paddle kayaks through berg fields, hearing the Antarctic seltzer (gases escaping from dissolving icebergs) around us, the cries of the penguins, and the huge, nurturing silence of this perfectly pristine place. We may sail through the incomparable Lemaire Channel, known as Iceberg Alley, where a hush falls over onlookers as bergs of beauty and scale drift by. We'll learn to identify penguins, paddle kayaks through berg fields and land with Zodiacs on the "White Continent."

January 16-17th At Sea
As we sail back to Ushuaia, an albatross or two may join the avian escort of seabirds that cross our brow.

January 18th-Ushuaia/Disembark/Santiago
After breakfast, we disembark in Ushuaia with some time to explore before proceeding to the airport for our charter flight to Santiago and overnight flight to Miami.

Introduction

Hello Friends, Teachers, Students and interested MMA members:

This blog was created for you to follow my trip with Lindblad Expedition and the Maria Mitchell Association to The White Continent: Antarctica. It has been a year and a half since MMA and I promoted this once in a lifetime opportunity. Seventeen poeple have responded and will be traveling with me to Antarctica January 5th-18th 2009.

During the trip I will be trying to blog my adventure (I stress "trying" since I will not always have internet connection) on a daily basis. In additon I will post questions for students to try and answer before my next blog entry. Please also feel free to post questions to me and I will do my best to answer them all.

Finally, I ask everyone to be respectful to anyone who is reading and participating in the blog.

Thank you all for your interest,

Darcie