Antarctica Cruise : Weddell Sea & The Antarctic Peninsula - Walking Expedition, 11 days/10 nights
Designed as an ice-strength vessel, the Molchanov was built in 1983 as an oceanographic research ship. Since then, the ship has been transformed into a passenger vessel great for polar exploration. You will be accompanied by an excellent staff of nature and hictorical lecturers which will fill you in both on the ship and during your many landings and wildlife sightings.
Triple with Shared Facilities
Located on Deck 3 with two lower and one upper berth, a desk, a small washbasin, storage and hanging space and portholes. Shared shower and toilet facilities are conveniently located on the same deck.
This vessel was originally built as a research vessel and has since been transformed into a passenger vessel reinforced for the icy, polar conditions. The ship is home to comfortable amenities and an excellent staff and crew including nature and historical experts which will keep you informed throughout the voyage.
Triple with Shared Facilities
Located on Deck 3 with two lower and one upper berth, a desk, a small washbasin, storage and hanging space and portholes. Shared shower and toilet facilities are conveniently located on the same deck.
Get ready to set sail through the South Shetland Islands, and into the Weddell Sea along the Antarctic Peninsula. You will see rich wildlife and incredible landscapes all seen as normal during a trip to Antarctica!
Day 01 :
We embark in the afternoon and set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. We continue through the Beagle Channel in the evening.
Days 02-03 :
These days will be spent at sea.
Days 04-05 :
At Brown Bluff we land at the Antarctic Continent, near the young of an Adelie Penguin colony, which have not left for the sea yet. We walk along the coast and try to climb along a gentle slope to above the rim of the cliffs. At southeast Dundee Island, we walk to a landing strip for planes, used by the American explorer Ellsworth, for the first over flight of the Antarctic Continent in 1935. Here, there is an area where we can make an extensive walk along the coast without disturbing the animals. Another historic place is Paulet Island, where members of the Swedish Nordenskiöld Expedition built a stone emergency hut in 1903.
Day 06 :
In the Weddell Sea, at Snow Hill Island we land near another Swedish cabin from 1902. Nearby Seymour Island, is completely ice-free, and famous for its fossils. We will make a walk of about six hours along the coast from the southern tip to the Argentinean Base Marambio. We will have a fantastic view of the table icebergs in the Weddell Sea, while we get a glimpse into Antarctica's much warmer past (fossils of leaves).
Day 07 :
On Devil’s Island with penguin colonies, we walk around the island and also climb to the middle ridge of just above 200 m. An alternative for this walk is the 8 km long and 300 m high Beak Island in Dusen Bay, which is also ice-free and close to the continent. Later on in the day we will have a zodiac excursion along a glacier front on the Tabarin Peninsula.
Day 8 :
We land at Baily Head (Deception Island) near a Chinstrap Penguin colony, and walk to from there, in six hours to the deserted whaling station in Whalers Bay. If we cannot land at Baily Head due to high seas, we will directly sail to Whalers Bay and walk from Fumarole Bay to a Chinstrap colony at Vapour Col and back. We conclude the day with a bath in the warm sea at Pendulum Cove, where volcanic vents heat the water.
Days 9 & 10 :
These days will be spent at sea.
Day 11 :
Disembark in Ushuaia.
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