HITCH-HIKING TO ANTARCTICA ON BOARD MV USHUAIA

Ever since we started planning this new round the world hitch-hiking expedition Laura and were appallingly conscious that reaching Antarctica was a dream rather than a challenge. While setting foot on Ushuaia we understood that roads ended in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina’s and South America’s southernmost tip, but welcoming seas opened. We wanted to sail! Anywhere! We considered we had some chance of finding a ride to Puerto Williams, just opposite Ushuaia on Chilean Isla Navarino, but no chance whatsoever of getting a lift to Antarctica but…

… we cannot surrender without trying first! We had found out that last minute tickets to the white continent started from USD 3200. Taking part of Ushuaia’s Book Fair and making friends had kept us busy for two weeks before we actually did matter about trying a bit harder to find a vessel. But our first attack was not hanging around the peers. We decided to ask in the cruise ship offices first. Antarpply Expeditions was the only tour operator sending tourist to Antarctica to there we headed, with a pink folder full of newspaper articles about our journey.  We explained everything as they let us talk. Eventually they advised us to send an e-mail explaining everything to someone on the decision making department. We thought that was the end of the line. We arrived to Ana’s place, we typed the e-mail, have it sent as the rice boiled in the kitchen. Half an hour later the phone rang. “Could you board on Saturday?” We had two days to adapt our gear to an Antarctic expedition. We couldn’t help but jumping just out of cosmic happiness and run deliriously around the house. Ok, let us say, despite the extreme surprise, Laura and I are conscious that the kind of specialized publicity our next book will bring to the cruise ship operators is well worth their two free tickets. The blogs are in the top of Facebook’s travel blog ranking, so we trust this will invite adventurers from around the world to make Antarpply Expeditions their choice when dreaming about Antarctica.

 
 

So after having hitched the windy Ruta 3 from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and climbed to infinte truck cabins we were on board the MV Ushuaia. This was the sight towards Tierra del Fuego coastline. On the bottom picture the sunset profiles of Picton and Lennox Island, while sailing across the Beagle Channel. Everything is possible. As Kinga said: every dream is given to us with the power to make it come true. And I add: the formula of hapiness is launching an assautl on it... This is us, hitch-hiking to Antarctica!