Travel to Antarctica in February. Travel to Antarctica Antarctica is a place where you can merge with nature

More than a month has passed since I returned from Antarctica, but I still haven’t gotten around to starting to write. Particularly because for a better understanding and so that there are fewer questions in the future, some explanations need to be given. And there are quite a few of them, and in this case the story becomes very voluminous. Therefore, it needs to be divided into several parts, which is what I do. This particular first part will be informative, but rather dry and not so visually attractive, since it cannot be accompanied by special illustrations. Therefore, my dear reader, I ask you to be patient and understand that below there will be a lot of letters, but few photographs. Just without some background and some explanations, my story will not be complete.

I've already been to Antarctica. In December 2010, I flew to King George Island for two days. And this, by the way, was the subject of my first story on Tourist. Those who know me well or more or less follow my travels know that I rarely return to places I have already visited before. For this to happen there had to be either some awesome reason, or I had to really, really like this place, or I “didn’t watch it enough.” But Antarctica stands out from this series.

The fact is that when I was in Antarctica in 2010, I wasn’t...

It looks like I have already confused you, my dear reader :-) But I will still try to explain what I mean. The fact is that tourists usually get to Antarctica either on small cruise ships that depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, or by plane to the same King George Island that I visited. Almost all cruises go to the same places - to the area of the South Shetland or South Sandwich Islands, King George Island, and less often they reach the edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. That is, all this action takes place in the region of 60th latitude. Which is generally quite far from the Equator. But as one of the polar explorers told me: “...to consider that you have seen Antarctica and understood what it is like by visiting only King George Island is the same as considering that you have seen Russia by visiting Kaliningrad...”. All the Russian polar explorers with whom I had the opportunity to talk, as one, argued that the Bellingshausen station, located precisely on this very King George Island, “is not Antarctica at all.” Well, that is, yes, geographically it belongs to this continent, but in terms of climate and diversity of flora and fauna, it has nothing in common with Antarctica.

“Remember, Slava, the real Antarctica begins after the Antarctic Circle“- this was the verdict of people who gave decades of their lives to this continent and saw everyone there. And although I understood that this very Southern Arctic Circle is a rather arbitrary thing, I could not disagree with them. And all the last years I have been racking my brains about how I can cross it...

There aren't that many options. And they all start from ~17 thousand dollars - by plane, for several days, in the area of the Russian Novolazarevskaya station, to ~50 thousand dollars - by plane to the South Pole. There are several more options, but the prices for them are simply atomic. It is precisely because of the high cost that most people are content with more affordable cruises or flights to sub-Antarctic latitudes. And not many people dare to take such a trip, so those who have been there are already lucky.

But I wanted more! Since my father wintered in Antarctica six times, everything connected with this continent has always been of special importance in our family. Therefore, I have always been interested in Antarctica, I know a lot about it, and most importantly, I have always had a dream to visit those places in Antarctica where my father worked. And they say that childhood dreams are some of the most powerful.

Soon the fairy tale will tell itself, but not soon, not quickly, and not just the deed is done. One dream is not enough. Something else is needed. And since all of us, born in the Soviet Union, remember that connections in our country sometimes mean much more than money, it was precisely them that I decided to resort to in order to get to Antarctica. My father is no longer alive, but my mother knows very well many of his friends and acquaintances, most of whom still work at the St. Petersburg Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic.

How could these people be useful to me?

Here's what. Russia was and still remains one of the few countries that conduct active scientific activities in Antarctica. In 1955, our first Antarctic expedition went there and since that time scientific research has been continuously conducted and the wintering staff changes every year. Some of the work is carried out using aviation. But the bulk of the cargo and personnel to Antarctica and back is delivered by the flagship of our polar fleet - the Scientific Expedition Vessel "Akademik Fedorov".

The vessel's operating time intervals are approximately the same every year. Since it is easiest to carry out all the work during the Antarctic summer and autumn, from December to April, the ship leaves St. Petersburg in early November and returns six months later, at the end of May.

So my plan was to somehow get on this ship and thereby join the Russian Antarctic Expedition. I will skip all the details of how and with whom I negotiated, but as you understand, it all ended successfully - they agreed to take me on the ship as a passenger! Hurray! Antarctica is ours!!!

Then I just had to decide when and to which part of Antarctica I would go. And here again I need to give some explanations in which the diagram with the work schedule of the 62nd Russian Antarctic Expedition, to which I later went, will help me.

I had two travel options. The first is to fly to Cape Town in early December, board a ship and go on it to the Molodezhnaya, Progress, Mirny and Oasis Banger station areas. This route is marked on the diagram with a solid red line. A very interesting direction and there was a lot to see there. For example, in the area of Mirny station there is, although not great at this time of year, a chance to see Emperor penguins. During the Soviet period, the Molodezhnaya station was our Antarctic “capital” and had a very large area, but the Progress station is the current “capital” and the most modern station in terms of equipment. And in general, this area of Antarctica is least visited by tourists, one might even say that they almost never visit there. In general, this was an excellent and completely exclusive trip option, but it had one significant drawback - it was supposed to last about three months. Alas, I couldn’t afford to take a break from work for such a long time.

Therefore, I began to consider the second option in more detail. It is marked on the map with a red dotted line.

Having completed work in the area of the Progress station at the end of February, the ship was supposed to go to Cape Town to disembark part of the wintering crew, as well as replenish supplies of provisions and fuel. After this, in early to mid-March, “Akademik Fedorov” was supposed to move to the area of the Novolazarevskaya and Bellingshausen stations. This route was, of course, less interesting, if only because it had only two stations and I had already been to one of them, Bellingshausen. But the undeniable advantage was that it lasted only about a month and a half. An additional advantage was that after Antarctica the ship went to Uruguay, which was also a pleasant benefit for me, but I will explain why in the last part of my story. :-)

Well, I’ve made my decision - I’m going to Antarctica in March 2017. The leadership of the Russian Antarctic Expedition agreed on this choice of mine. All that remains is to buy a ticket to Cape Town and wait until the beginning of March :-)

At the end of the first, introductory part, I would like to raise one more question that will probably arise in my readers or those who want to repeat a similar journey. Of course, everyone is interested in how much it cost. Honestly, I don’t know to what extent this is a commercial or any other secret, but I did not receive consent from those who agreed on my participation in the publication of these figures. Let me just say that this is probably an order of magnitude less than what passengers on Antarctic cruises pay. By and large, I only paid for the cost of food.

It is also worth noting that the presence of such passengers is not a practice for the Russian Antarctic Expedition. The ship does not perform some entertainment functions in the polar latitudes, but is engaged in real scientific activities. The number of seats on the ship is limited and I was very lucky that there was one there for me.

It tells about the ship on which I went to Antarctica, as well as about the rules and procedures prevailing on it.

A February trip to Antarctica for strong-willed travelers is an excellent opportunity to test their strength.

Antarctic travel options

WHEN -
HOW TO GET THERE: You can get to Antarctica by plane by purchasing a ticket on one of the commercial Latin American flights. In addition, you can reach the ice continent by ship that sails from the south of Argentina.
TRANSFER - no
TRANSPORT: The arsenal of vessels that transport passengers to the continent includes special inflatable boats. Passengers from the liner are unloaded directly onto them and get to the shore. You can move around Antarctica itself on foot or on a sleigh. In any case, it is necessary to obtain special equipment.
WEATHER: In Antarctica you will experience extreme temperature changes. You need to be prepared for this, so you shouldn’t skimp on workwear. The most comfortable and acceptable weather here is in February. In the middle of winter the temperature will not drop below -5°C.
WHERE WE WILL BE - Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Lemeira Strait, Paradise Bay, Cape Horn, Drake Passage, Drake Gorge.
EXCURSIONS - according to the tour program
ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD: Some cruise ships make a short stop in Antarctica for general information, but in general this place is not very popular, so you will not find hotels or accommodation here. The maximum that they can offer you is a temporary stay with accommodation in a small makeshift camp.

Antarctica is a place where you can merge with nature!

Anyone who has visited at least once in their life will never forget it. The impressions from the excursion are so intense that words cannot easily describe it. A cruise allows everyone to see and feel incredible natural wonders with their own eyes. The northern part of the continent is considered the most picturesque and colorful. It is there that you can meet huge whales, as well as many threatening icebergs. What is really interesting and fun to look at is the fur seal rookery. Having seen this, you will clearly not remain indifferent to these cute and slightly clumsy creatures.

Desperate adventure lovers should definitely go on such a trip in their lives, which can give a huge amount of positive emotions. The process of disembarking is also very interesting and exciting, because you take a boat trip from a comfortable liner to the shore. The view of ideal landscapes, accompanied by fascinating stories from the guides, will be remembered by you for the rest of your life. Going on such a trip in February, you will have a unique opportunity to see shaggy penguin chicks with your own eyes. However, in any case, having visited Antarctica, you can see the Gentoo penguin. It's funny that his habits are very human-like, so watching him is a pleasure.

If you want to see colorful king penguins, you will have to work hard, as you need to get into very hard-to-reach places. The photographs of such birds are simply magnificent. From November to March it is summer in Antarctica. That's when we can go on an excursion with the group. The majestic views are worth the price and your attention. The wild region is incredibly beautiful in February. Accordingly, trips are the most expensive during this month.

An international treaty was adopted in Washington on December 1, 1050. According to its contents, Antarctica was governed by twelve countries, and all decisions regarding it were made through collective decisions. Currently, thirty-eight countries are members of the governing structure. The Russian Federation can also join the governing states, because it was this country that opened the continent of Antarctica to the world.

The weather in Antarctica is very unstable, so choose several different sets of clothes.
The waters in the Drake Passage are rarely seen as calm, so it is better to have seasickness medication with you in advance.
You should make sure to pre-order tickets in a timely manner, as early booking will provide you with a discount.
Some tour operators provide clients with high-quality, special insulated jackets - parkas.

At the ends of the earth

Day 1 - Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia

After arriving in Ushuaia and checking into the ship's cabin, we will walk around the city, taking time to visit Tierra Del Fuego National Park.

Day 2 - Drake Gorge

From the boat we can observe a variety of birds - petrels, greedy noisy seagulls. Perhaps we
even meet an albatross. Drake's Gorge is known for its very capricious temperament, but if we are lucky, the waves will be calm.

Day 3-6 - Antarctica, Lemeira Strait, Paradise Bay

We land on the mainland and see colonies of penguins. If the weather is favorable, we can stop at islets where there are gentoo penguins and enjoy the volcanic landscape and rocky Half Moon. We will also admire Paradise Bay and the Lemeira Strait.
Then a stop awaits us at the Chilean research and scientific base, where we will find a lot of new interesting information.

Day 7 – Cape Horn, Drake Passage

On the way back we go around Cape Horn - the junction of the oceans, and again pass through the Drake Passage. The guide will tell us the story of the legendary polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and many other interesting facts.

Day 8 – packing for home, shopping

Before flying to Buenos Aires, we still have time to purchase souvenirs in local shops. Let them always be the memory of your trip to the harsh continent of Antarctica.

This post is a photo table of contents containing links to all my articles on the Falkland Islands and Antarctica. Created for ease of searching in the future.

The Falkland Islands are truly a unique land. It is very similar to Iceland with its violent winds, but differs significantly from it in the penguins that have chosen this piece of land. Their population here exceeds 770,000 birds. The Falkland Islands are the only place on earth where King Penguins and cheerful Rockhoppers live in large numbers...

The Falkland Islands could be called Anti-Island, by analogy with Antarctica, which means “The land opposite the Arctic.” The Falklands are also located in the Atlantic Ocean and at approximately the same distance from their pole as. The same strong winds blow here, causing rare trees to grow in bizarre shapes. And most importantly, everyone here speaks English, since the Falklands are a small piece of Great Britain, lost on the other side of the world.

The entire population of the Falkland Islands is 3,000 people. This is the only country where all the inhabitants know each other. At the same time, 500,000 sheep and 770,000 penguins live on the islands. I talked about penguins in detail in, and today we’ll talk about the capital of Falkland - Port Stanley, where 2/3 of the country’s population lives.

Today at 6 am we arrived in Antarctica. Our captain decided to take us along the Antarctic Strait - it is through it that most icebergs pass on their way to the warm waters of the Atlantic. We maneuvered between them, trying not to repeat the fate of the Titanic.

Antarctica greeted us with winds of 80 knots, which is 148 km/h or 41 meters per second. Moreover, these are not “wind gusts of up to 40 meters per second”, but a constant, icy, piercing wind, sweeping away everything in its path, constantly “blowing” you with this crazy speed...

At night I woke up to the noise of falling glasses and slamming doors. It was so rocky that some passengers put on life jackets just in case and gathered near the lifeboats. And at 7 am the pumping seemed to be turned off. The sun appeared. We entered Andaward Bay. Antarctica began to turn its face towards us and treat us with its unearthly landscapes...

Antarctica seemed to me a deserted and deserted place. However, just today we met 5 tourist ships. Four of them are in Andaward Bay and another one is in Paradise Bay.

Today you will find group jumps of flying penguins, swimming in the pool against the backdrop of icebergs, the Argentine and Chilean Antarctic stations and Paradise Bay.

Today turned out to be an unusually sunny and windless day for Antarctica. In the morning we took on board 9 polar explorers from the American Antarctic station "Palmer". They made a presentation about their base, talked about the life of polar explorers and took a ride with us through one of the most beautiful places in Antarctica - the narrow Lemar Strait. In the evening we returned them to base, and we ourselves headed to Cape Horn.

It would probably be appropriate to begin the story about this journey with the words “I have long dreamed of one day getting to Antarctica, and then one day this dream came true...”. But this would not be true: I never particularly dreamed of Antarctica. I just thought one day: why not go to Antarctica? And I went.

About 20 thousand tourists from all over the world visit Antarctica every year. This is quite a bit when compared with other places on the planet. Almost all tourists come to Antarctica on cruise ships - mainly on small ships for expedition cruises. Cruise ships visit several points on the Antarctic Peninsula - this, if you look at a map of Antarctica, is a long extension from the mainland that stretches towards Argentina. Some cruises are carried out on real icebreakers, in which case tourists are given the opportunity to go to other points of Antarctica, or even go around it. But it takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money.

The choice of ships on which you can go to Antarctica is quite wide. I settled on Maco Polo. Firstly, because this is the former Alexander Pushkin, a Soviet transatlantic liner, one of the few transatlantic ships that has survived to this day. Secondly, I was satisfied with the price. Cruises to Antarctica are considered to be extremely expensive. This is not entirely true. A 9-day cruise on the Marco Polo cost from €2,399 in an interior cabin, which is certainly more expensive than a regular sea cruise of similar duration, but significantly cheaper than is generally believed.

Some travelers are intimidated by the need to take long flights. This is where I can’t reassure anyone: the road to the starting point of the cruise is very long. You need to fly to the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, located on Tierra del Fuego. This is the southern tip of South America. More than forty hours passed from the moment I left my house in St. Petersburg to the moment I crossed the threshold of the hotel in Ushuaia. I spent all this time on planes and airports, changing trains in Domodedovo, Madrid and Buenos Aires. These are four flights, one of which lasts more than twelve hours, and many hours of waiting for the next flight at intermediate airports. No opportunity to eat normally, sleep normally. For many, such an experience would be torture. But, as historians will write a hundred years later, “at that time there was no other way to get to the other end of the Earth.”

It's summer in Buenos Aires. But I'm not here in the summer for long. This plane will take me to cool Ushuaia:

Three and a half hour flight between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. Beautiful weather, picturesque views in places. To the right is the coastline, to the left is the Atlantic Ocean. This time I didn't get a seat by the window. But I still filmed the approach to Ushuaia as best I could - it’s very beautiful there:

Ushuaia is a small town at the end of the world. We will get to know this city in more detail on the way back, and then I will tell you about it. This is my second time in Ushuaia. The first time I was here was exactly six years ago during a cruise around South America. My impression of the city was then spoiled by the fact that I called at work and they told me how things were going there. Never do this! If you rest, then rest. But I was young and inexperienced, and therefore I learned about the failure of the contract with the Swedish partners. And I got upset. What a vacation this is. So Ushuaia didn’t make much of an impression on me then. But now, with great pleasure, I dropped my things at the hotel, walked around the city and had dinner at a wonderful local restaurant. Local sea crab soup, juicy steak, lots of beer! All this with sea views. Well, wasn’t it worth flying here so much because of this?

That's it, now we can probably go to the hotel to sleep. Isn’t this what I’ve been dreaming about for the last 24 hours?

The morning turned out to be rainy.

There are a few hours before boarding the Marco Polo. What to do with them? For me, there is no better option than a cruise, even a mini-cruise, even in anticipation of a big cruise. In the morning, several pleasure catamarans depart from Ushuaia for excursions along the Beagle Channel. I take a seat in one of them.

Upon departure, I admire Ushuaia and the port. On the left is the Marco Polo, on which I will visit Antarctica.

The salon is lively:

There is also a small cafe here:

The Beagle Strait connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and is located south of the Strait of Magellan. The Beagle Channel marks the border between Argentina and Chile. Its length is 180 kilometers, and its width varies from four at its narrowest point to fourteen kilometers. There are many small islands in the strait. Some of them are densely populated by birds and fur seals. We are approaching one of these islands:

Birds that look like penguins, but are not them, live here. They are excellent divers, easily reaching depths of 80 meters.

Fur seals live on this, as well as on the neighboring islands:

We disturbed them a little with our approach.

Nearby you can see a lonely lighthouse - as it is called, “the lighthouse at the end of the world.” Built in 1919, the lighthouse is completely autonomous and runs on solar energy:

By noon we return to Ushuaia. Today, very worthy and bright representatives of the world expeditionary cruise fleet have gathered here. Here stands the Explorer II, built in 1992 in Nikolaev, Ukraine. Previously known as Minerva, it has visited many remote parts of the world.

And this is the newest expedition ship, the Norwegian Fram. It is designed for expeditions in Arctic and Antarctic latitudes, but was also built with the ability to work on the Norwegian coastal transport line Hurtigruten. In the summer, Fram will have interesting cruises along the Greenland coast to the ice line, and now she is in the Antarctic season.

Ocean Nova used to operate under the name Sarpik Ittuk on the Greenland transport line and connect the villages of Greenland. After reconstruction, the ship received a new name and became a purely expeditionary cruise ship. Ocean Nova is a very small ship, and this allows it to enter small bays and straits where larger ships cannot enter.

Every ship has its own character, its own destiny. A huge contrast with the identical megaliners being built en masse these days. Marco Polo, the former Soviet transatlantic liner Alexander Pushkin, which has been operating on unusual cruise routes around the world for more than fifteen years, looks very worthy in this company. Marco Polo traditionally spends three months a year from December to February on Antarctic cruises.

Landing and all the accompanying formalities took no more than five minutes, and now I was already in my cabin:

At 20.00 "Marco Polo" said goodbye to Ushuaia and headed west, towards the Atlantic Ocean, towards the exit from the Beagle Channel.

The weather in the strait was cloudy and there was occasional rain, but this did not darken the joyful mood on board. After all, very soon we will meet with one of the most mysterious places on Earth - Antarctica. The nights here at this time of year are light, the temperature is about ten to fifteen degrees Celsius. Not so bad for the "end of the world."

At 23.30 we landed a pilot who helped our ship pass through the strait to the ocean. Around midnight we went out into the ocean and set a new course - south, towards Antarctica

Today is a sunny day. The Marco Polo crosses the Drake Passage. There are no stops on this day, and there is nowhere to make them here. All around is only water and the horizon. Slightly shakes.

Let's take a closer look at the ship that previously bore the name "Alexander Pushkin".

The motor ship "Alexander Pushkin" was built in Wismar, East Germany, in 1965 as part of a series of five motor ships ordered by the USSR. In addition to "Pushkin", the series included "Ivan Franko" (the lead), "Taras Shevchenko", "Shota Rustaveli" and "Mikhail Lermontov". These were modern and comfortable ships for their time, the pride of the Soviet passenger fleet.

"Alexander Pushkin" was assigned to the Baltic Shipping Company and assigned to Leningrad, and a year later opened a new transatlantic line Leningrad - Helsinki - Copenhagen - London - Quebec - Montreal, successfully competing on the transatlantic line with such well-known companies as, for example, "Cunard Line" . At Pushkin, for the first time in the USSR, passenger service standards adopted in the West were applied.

In winter, "Alexander Pushkin" worked as a charter for foreign cruise companies, and after the closure of the Leningrad-Montreal transatlantic line in 1979, it completely switched to cruise work. By the way, the Pushkin was one of the last liners operating in the linear transportation of passengers across the ocean - in the 1970s, transatlantic ships were almost completely replaced by aviation.

In 1985, Pushkin was transferred from Leningrad to Vladivostok, to the Far Eastern Shipping Company, where it continued to operate on the foreign cruise market. Due to financial problems of the shipping company, in 1990 the ship was arrested in Singapore. It is difficult to say what the future fate of the Alexander Pushkin would have been, but a year later a buyer was found for it, a British businessman who needed a ship for the new cruise company Orient Lines. The Far Eastern Shipping Company was very happy to get rid of the ballast, which by this time was an old ship for it.

In the same year, the reconstruction of the Alexander Pushkin began, which lasted two years and cost the shipowner, according to various sources, from 20 to 60 million dollars. The reconstruction was carried out successively by two Greek ship repair enterprises - at the first, mechanical work was done and machines and mechanisms were replaced, at the second, new passenger and service premises were equipped and finished in accordance with the new layout of the ship. The new passenger spaces were created under the direction of the famous naval architect Knud Hansen. The superstructure of the ship was also lengthened and the chimney was raised. The ship was named Marco Polo and went on its first cruise in 1993.

No traces of the former interiors of the Pushkin have been preserved: during reconstruction, the ship was stripped to its bare metal. But still, I carefully examined all the accessible rooms of the ship in the hope of finding at least something from the old Pushkin. In vain. There is nothing on Marco Polo that reminds him of his past. Except for two things. The first is a bell with the inscription "Alexander Pushkin" in one of the salons. And the second is the ship’s electrician, a Russian who has been working on the ship since the time when it was called “Pushkin”.

Over the course of fifteen years, the ship acquired many fans who became its regular passengers. Indeed, Marco Polo is well suited for those who love interesting routes and a warm atmosphere on board. Marco Polo is Orient Lines' only ship and many of the crew have been here for a long time, some from the very beginning of Marco Polo's operation. You can see how much they love their ship and care about it and its passengers.

There is another reason for the attractiveness of the ship - low prices for cruises. Judge for yourself. 9-night "Best of South America" cruise, interior double cabin - from €699. 22-day transatlantic cruise from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon - from 1399 euros. Cruises to Antarctica, as I mentioned, are more expensive, but they are also less expensive than ships of other companies - from 2399 euros for a 9-day cruise. In other words, this is a very attractive ship for the price.

To be fair, Marco Polo is difficult to compare with modern superliners. It lacks a lot - cabins with balconies, a two-tier theater, an impressive atrium, alternative restaurants, an indoor pool. Well, in order to see what this ship has, let’s walk around it with a camera.

The main restaurant is called "Seven Seas":

The second restaurant (self-service) is located aft, and from it you can access the spacious aft deck with a swimming pool, where in good weather you can dine al fresco:

The winter garden is a cozy place to observe the landscapes in any weather:

Salon "Polo", where there is a bar and live music at certain hours:

The Ambassador Theater, where meetings, lectures, and concerts are held in the evenings:

The Charleston Club is another popular meeting place, serving drinks and snacks at certain times:

Computer lab with 24-hour Internet access:

The gym consists of two parts. In one there are exercise machines, in the other there is a table for playing tennis:

Cozy ship's library:

The small gaming salon displays commemorative plaques from the ports where the Marco Polo called at different times, and in the corner there is a bell market with the inscription “Alexander Pushkin” - a reminder of the ship’s past life.

The ship's store sells souvenirs, clothes, books and various useful and useless little things:

A few words about Antarctica, where Marco Polo is heading.

Speculation about the existence of Antarctica appeared long before the first explorers landed on this continent. But reaching Antarctica turned out to be very difficult. A landmark event was the expedition of James Cook, who in 1773 successfully circumnavigated Antarctica, but, oddly enough, was unable to discover it. As it became known later, in those places where Cook moved as far as possible to the south, the coastline of Antarctica, by coincidence, also deviated to the south. The Russian navigators Lazarev and Bellingshausen, who reached the Antarctic Peninsula in 1820, are considered the discoverers of Antarctica. Coincidentally, just three days later the Antarctic Peninsula was discovered by the Englishman Bransfield.

Over the past almost two centuries, many countries have regularly claimed their rights to certain parts of Antarctica. But they could not ensure these rights, and they did not particularly care about it. As a result, in 1959, a number of large countries, including the USSR, signed an agreement according to which Antarctica was declared neutral territory. Currently, scientific stations of several countries, including Russia and Ukraine, operate in Antarctica. There is no permanent population in Antarctica: usually the stay of employees of research stations on the mainland is limited to several months.

In fact, the only possible type of tourism in Antarctica is sailing to its shores on cruise expedition ships. The tourist season lasts from December to February, that is, during the summer months of the southern hemisphere. The rest of the time, Antarctica is completely unsuitable for tourism: it is dark and very cold. Even some scientific stations are curtailing their activities for the winter.

Despite the fact that Antarctica is not the territory of any country, it is closed to free visitors, and it is impossible to get there without permission from the relevant government organizations. To obtain such permission, it is necessary to justify the purpose of the visit in detail and agree on the route. Cruise companies take on these issues themselves, but at the same time they also take responsibility for ensuring that tourists comply with strict rules of behavior in Antarctica.

The stay of tourists in Antarctica is strictly regulated. Everything is aimed at ensuring that their visits do not disturb the mainland’s biosphere. Therefore, only certain places are reserved for visiting, limits are set on the simultaneous presence of people on the shore (usually from twenty to one hundred people), walking routes are carefully chosen so as not to disturb penguins and other representatives of the Antarctic fauna. After returning to the ship, tourists' shoes are treated twice with special solutions to eliminate the possibility of transfer of biological material from one part of the continent to another. Thanks to these measures, we can see the nature of Antarctica in the form in which man found it two hundred years ago.

Despite all these measures, voices are increasingly being heard about the need to ban tourist visits to Antarctica. But while there is no such ban, we are heading there.

Passengers on this expedition cruise come from a wide range of ages. And perhaps they all have one thing in common - a positive life position and a desire to learn something new. Being on board with such people is pleasant and good for your mental health. Many people are interested in Arctic fauna. Some people stand on the deck for a long time, tracking and photographing different birds:

A couple of times I also joined them and photographed something like this:

Birds found far from the coast spend most of their lives at sea, and, one might say, live here. The birds seen are recorded on a board standing here on the deck:

On this day, several lectures by scientists about Antarctica, its history and fauna were held in the main salon. Such lectures are a distinctive feature of expedition cruises; they are interesting and broaden your horizons.

In the evening there was a captain's cocktail. Captain Göran Blomkvist, originally from Sweden, turned out to be an extremely pleasant and witty (with a bit of self-irony) person. He has worked on expedition cruise ships for many years and has extensive experience in Antarctic waters. In the Antarctic ice he is assisted by ice captain Kenneth Harström.

Early in the morning the Marco Polo approached the South Shetland Islands.

Our first visit was Deception Island. This is an island of volcanic origin, which is an active volcano whose crater is filled with water. It is into this crater that we will now enter the Marco Polo through a narrow entrance, which sailors sometimes call the “gates of hell.”

Inside is one of the best bays in the world, with great depths and protected on all sides. This, coupled with Deception Island's strategic location, has made it the subject of years of territorial disputes between Britain, Argentina and Chile. Currently, Deception, like other subantarctic islands, is neutral territory.

The volcano sometimes makes itself felt, and it has repeatedly happened that water boiled in the bay, washing off the paint from the sides of the ships in it. Now they are talking about the threat of another eruption, which could also affect the coast. Advice for ships entering Deception Island states that in the event of a volcanic eruption, they should immediately leave the bay, preferably taking all people on the island with them. How exactly to do this is not specified, which is a pity, because only one of these two recommendations can be followed.

Here, inside the island, on the shore of the bay, there are two summer Antarctic stations - Spanish and Argentine. The Argentine station is served by a small former military ship, which is visible in the photo:

Having made a circle around the bay, we leave Deception Island and head to Cuverville Island.

There is a Jacuzzi on the open deck. Antarctica is Antarctica, and traveling on a large cruise ship has its advantages:

It is sometimes possible to observe whales from one side or the other. The appearance of another whale is announced via loudspeaker from the control room. But I didn’t manage to take a photo of the whale. They appear above the water quite quickly, wave their tail, raising a fountain of spray, and - no matter how long you wait, there is no whale.

The air temperature on this day is about 10 degrees Celsius, clear skies, but windy.

The next destination is Cuverville Island, discovered in 1897 and named after the French Vice Admiral Cavalier Cuverville. This is the Antarctic Peninsula, that is, the real Antarctica. There is a large penguin colony here. Almost all accessible places on the island are occupied by penguins, and it is almost impossible to go ashore without disturbing the safe distance of five meters for the well-being of penguins. Therefore, here we do not plan to land on the shore, but to walk around the island on Zodiac rubber boats.

Cuverville Island (a rock not covered in ice or snow) is visible in the photo on the right. The same photo shows how the Zodiacs are launched into the water:

Zodiac boarding is organized in groups, each walk lasting approximately 45 minutes. Each boat has its captain (one of the crew members), a guide who gives explanations along the way, and twelve passengers. Mandatory equipment is a red expedition jacket (issued at the beginning of the cruise as a gift from the company), a life jacket (issued and put on when boarding the Zodiac) and rubber boots. It is also advisable to wear waterproof trousers, gloves, a warm hat and sunglasses.

We are approaching the island.

What does Antarctica smell like? Probably few people have asked this question. Well, ice, well, snow, well, fresh air, you say. Nothing of the kind. Antarctica smells like penguin droppings. The smell is similar to that present in any pigsty. You quickly get used to it and soon stop feeling it.

The water in Antarctic waters is very clean, and in some places, despite the great depth, the bottom is visible. Icebergs of various shapes and sizes float wherever possible.

We return to Marco Polo.

If you look closely, below the name Marco Polo you can see the filled-in letters of the old name “Alexander Pushkin”:

In the evening the Marco Polo weighed anchor and headed for Port Lockroy. We are scheduled to land there tomorrow.

The day began with boarding the Zodiac.

Today we will go ashore on Winski Island in the Port Lockroy area. Port Lockroy is a small bay with a former British research station located there:

We are heading to a large colony of penguins located nearby.

All movements by land are carried out only within a limited area. If any penguin decides to enter the path of tourists, then at the command of a crew member, people stop and stand until the penguin clears the way. Everything is done in order not to interfere with the penguins living their normal lives. By the way, recent studies have shown that the appearance of people in penguin habitats, if accompanied by appropriate precautions, practically does not bother penguins and does not harm their health. And for tourists, such an acquaintance with real wildlife cannot be compared with what can be seen in nature reserves and zoos. Everything here is real, as if there were no people in these places.

There are also impressively sized whale bones here.

Several species of penguins live in Antarctica. They live in pairs and lay eggs (two eggs in total) once per season. As a rule, one of the two penguin chicks born soon dies.

The next photo shows a newly born penguin with its parents. The gray lump is the little penguin:

Unfortunately, sometimes this happens:

Meanwhile, the artist from our ship paints the landscape and penguins:

Before boarding the Zodiac, tourists' shoes are thoroughly washed to remove dirt:

Immediately after arriving on board, the shoes undergo special treatment:

Then the shoes are taken by stewards, who treat them with a special compound and only then return them to tourists. This is done to ensure that biological material is not transferred from one place in Antarctica to another. Probably, similar treatment of shoes will be done on future interplanetary expedition cruises after visiting the next planet. Antarctica really is somewhat reminiscent of another planet.

The air temperature dropped to almost zero, and it began to snow. At 16.00, at a latitude of 65 degrees 13 minutes, not far from the entrance to the strait, our path was blocked by a cluster of icebergs. You can't go any further. They say that the Lemare Strait seems to be created for photography, it is so photogenic. But what can you do - we were unlucky that day. We stood for a while at the entrance to the strait:

And they turned back. This was the southernmost point of our journey.

At 18.40 "Marco Polo" dropped anchor in Paradise Bay. There is a Chilean scientific station nearby. We are planning to visit it tomorrow.

In the evening, a piano evening by Russian pianist Elena Ivantsova took place on board. I was very impressed by her performance of some works by Grieg, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. "Barcarolle" came with a video sequence - photographs of St. Petersburg at dusk. This touched me deeply.

The evening in Paradise Bay turned out to be ideal for walking along the decks - quiet, warm and windless.

We will spend the whole night here.

Today is a beautiful sunny day in Antarctica. The air temperature is ten degrees Celsius.

We board the Zodiacs and head ashore.

By the way, Zodiacs are used not only for transporting people to and from shore. They also move small icebergs away from the Marco Polo anchored in the roadstead. And when a large iceberg approaches, the ship itself moves to another place.

Our path lies to the Chilean military Antarctic station, opened in 1951 and named after Chilean President Gabriel Gonzales Videla, who in 1948 became the world's first head of state to visit Antarctica.

The station is located in a very picturesque place, among colonies of penguins, and is open to visitors. A local employee, a sergeant, gives everyone a map of the station when tourists disembark. Perhaps this is the second most important tourist site in Antarctica after the South Pole.

A separate building houses a museum dedicated to the construction and operation of the station:

The museum has a small gift shop. The museum and store are run by military personnel working at the base.

The place shown in the following photo has great historical value. British scientists Bagshave and Leicester lived here for a whole year in 1921-22 and carried out a colossal amount of scientific work. Their home was a large sea boat, pulled ashore and adapted for wintering in Antarctica. This was the smallest (only four people) Antarctic expedition of all time. However, she left a big mark on the history of the exploration of Antarctica. The museum at the Chilean base has a separate section devoted to this expedition, which displays photographs taken by Bagshave and Lester. Unfortunately, the boat in which the scientists lived did not survive: in the winter of 1956, it was blown away by a strong wind. The place where she stood can be seen on the right side of the photo:

Not far from here, the Aregentine Antarctic station "Almirante Brown" used to exist, but in April 1984 it was burned down by the head of this station, who did not want to stay here for another winter. The station's personnel were evacuated by the Americans, and penguins settled among what was left of it. Unfortunately, this place is not visible to the naked eye.

There are penguin nests everywhere you look:

Newly born penguins:

But what is it? Suddenly, a winged predator arrived, which would not mind feasting on the penguin chicks. Or maybe take the baby penguin to be torn to pieces by his chicks.

The penguins got worried. Arching their necks, they began to make hissing sounds, trying to keep the predator away from the chicks.

The little penguins didn't try hard. The bird of prey flew away empty-handed.

Penguins, being quite edible birds, have helped expedition members more than once. Penguin meat tastes like beef, poultry, and fish. It is quite tough, but very tasty when fresh. At least these are the reviews of polar explorers. One of the Antarctic recipes for preparing penguin meat is this: cut the meat into thin slices and fry it in a penguin (or non-penguin) egg with bread. Penguin eggs are somewhat different from chicken eggs: their white does not harden even after thorough frying, and the yolk is red.

We return to the ship. The weather completely spoiled us: it became, perhaps, even hot. And such beautiful days happen in Antarctica. But don’t delude yourself: the weather here can change in a matter of minutes.

With all the beauty of the surrounding landscapes, do not forget: literally everywhere here is dangerous for humans. These places are not intended for human life. If you fall into the water, you will most likely die: the water temperature is close to zero. The land here is deserted: only stones, snow and ice. In winter, these places are eerie: constant darkness, intense cold, strong wind.

But whatever you say, it’s beautiful. Explosions are heard one after another in the mountains: these are avalanches. You look at the Antarctic mountains, and you just want to build a couple of ski slopes there. And, by the way, such projects exist, no matter how fantastic it sounds.

After the arrival of the last Zodiac, we moved on. We will no longer have stops on the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula; our next destination is Half Moon Island. It is located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, but already belongs to the subantarctic South Shetland Islands. On previous cruises this season (and there were two), due to strong winds and rough seas, landing on Half Moon Island on the Zodiacs did not take place. Let's see if we get lucky.

Along the ship's course there are continuous clusters of large and small icebergs. Sometimes it becomes unclear where to go so as not to stumble upon an iceberg. But the Marco Polo confidently follows between the icebergs, some of which pass very close to the side.

Finally managed to photograph a piece of a whale. The appearance of the next whale is announced via loudspeaker from the wheelhouse, but it is very difficult to photograph them in time: the whales categorically do not want to pose. Here's what happened:

Today turned out to be a busy day for fauna lovers. Some enthusiasts spent half a day on deck with cameras and photographed all the whales and other wildlife that appeared. This is what we managed to see through our collective efforts that day (translating individual titles into Russian is a bit difficult for me, so please do it yourself):

As can be seen from this entry, we encountered as many as forty-four whales today, of three different species. It must be interesting to be a whale enthusiast. They discuss the whales they have encountered and photographed, and are able to identify them. Unfortunately, the number of whales, especially certain breeds, in Antarctic waters is small - in one hundred and fifty years, almost all of them were killed by whalers. These days, the whale population is slowly but recovering. Whalers still exist today - mostly Japanese ships that officially harvest whales for scientific purposes. They say, however, that these whales then appear in Japanese restaurants.

In the evening, the Antarctic Peninsula was left behind. Goodbye, Antarctica! Ahead is the ocean, and somewhere in it are the South Shetland Islands and Half Moon Island, where we will arrive early in the morning.

The Zodiacs began heading ashore at 6:30 am. Today I'm in the first group. Having had a quick breakfast at 6 am, we board the Zodiac and head ashore.

Half Moon is a small island located in the South Shetland Islands archipelago between the large islands of Greenwich and Livingston. The first person to visit the island in 1820 was the American sailor Nathaniel Palmer. The island later became famous as a place where seals were found in large numbers. Therefore, as is customary among people, almost all seals here (and in other places in Antarctica) were exterminated. Now their population is gradually recovering.

In general, people sometimes do God knows what to their smaller brothers. On one of the islands, people killed all the seals, but for some reason they brought cats there. Those, naturally, over time multiplied and devoured all the penguins. In order for the penguins to return to the island, all the cats were methodically shot several years ago (as part of a special government program to restore the penguin population). I believe that if the extraction of penguin fat becomes economically justified, then these penguins will also be killed “for scientific purposes” or “to regulate the population.”

The next photo shows Half Moon, a small, dark island set against the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains of Livingston Island. The weather today is somewhat cloudy.

It's cool early in the morning and everyone is sleepy. In addition to the cheerful captain of the Zodiac:

An unexpected pleasant meeting: the motor ship "Lyubov Orlova", docked nearby in the roadstead. This is a former Russian motor ship, which now operates as an expedition cruise ship under lease from the famous company Quark Expeditions. After a recent major overhaul, the Orlova's superstructure has slightly changed in appearance.

A little later, when the Lyubov Orlova weighed anchor and set sail, we managed to photograph them together with the Alexander Pushkin. Here is such a meeting of two wonderful ships. Once upon a time, both ships worked together in the Far Eastern Shipping Company. Only if "Alexander Pushkin" was under charter from foreign companies and carried out various cruises around the world, then "Lyubov Orlova" worked on Far Eastern transport lines. Her “sisters” from the Far Eastern Shipping Company “Alla Tarasova” and “Maria Savina”, having changed owners, countries of registration and names, became cruise ships. "Alla Tarasova" under the name Clipper Adventurer can be found here in Antarctic waters. The remaining three Far Eastern friends - "Olga Androvskaya", "Olga Sadovskaya" and "Antonina Nezhdanova", unfortunately, have already been cut up for scrap metal. But their northern sister “Klavdiya Elanskaya” is in perfect order, and works on the transport and excursion lines of the Murmansk Shipping Company. "Maria Ermolova", which became famous in Soviet times thanks to its "Arctic cruises", is now preparing for cruises in the Caspian Sea. This is the fate of the series.

When landing we had to walk a couple of meters through the water. Rubber boots did not help - water still filled into one of them.

There is a wooden boat on the shore of the island. Historians have not yet agreed on what kind of boat this is and how it appeared here. In any other corner of the world, no one would have paid attention to the old boat, but in these uninhabited regions it is one of the famous and remarkable objects.

On the opposite side of the island there is an Argentine scientific station, operating only in the summer months from mid-January. Its buildings are visible in the photograph:

Most of the island was occupied by penguins.

The ground, as in many places in Antarctica and surrounding islands, is densely filled with penguin droppings. You quickly get used to its smell.

And here is the preserved seal. I had to shoot at maximum magnification. From a distance it can be mistaken for a snag. But where do the snags come from?

After walking around the island, we return back to the ship. The time is 7.45 am. You can continue the interrupted sleep. And then wake up at 11 o’clock and think: what can you dream about on this cruise: some seals, penguins, and even a boat on the shore.

To ensure that it is not too cold on deck, there is a secluded corner on the ship where mulled wine is poured:

We move for a long time to the northeast along the South Shetland Islands:

Finally, the islands are left behind, and we go out into the open sea:

In the sea we come across a cluster of large icebergs:

The ship confidently moves between the icebergs at full speed, without slowing down.

When the icebergs were left behind, there was excitement. The Drake Passage is famous for its storms. Today's excitement cannot be called a storm, but still the Marco Polo is noticeably rocking. Any ship at sea rocks from time to time. Regardless of the size, region of operation and power of the pitching stabilizers. Cruise brochures claim otherwise, but their writers are lying. There are no ships that are not subject to pitching. Shipbuilders have been addressing this issue for many years, and so far they have not achieved success.

Another thing is that a person can quickly get used to rocking, while others can tolerate it very well initially. Fresh air helps some people. For the rest, there are pills for seasickness, which on most ships are given to everyone, most often free of charge. And is it worth giving up such a pleasure as a sea cruise because of pitching, which may not exist?

In the evening there was a Filipino folk show. The crew members spoke.

On the Marco Polo, the command staff is represented by Swedes and Norwegians, but the bulk of the crew are Filipinos. Residents of the Philippines form the basis of the crews of most cruise ships, and not only cruise ships. These kind and hardworking people deserve great respect for their daily work. It is sometimes said that the advantage of Filipinos at sea is only that their work is paid lower than the work of, say, a European. This is true, but it's not just that. Filipinos are excellent sailors and excellent specialists. I think that on Russian ships, many crew members, especially those involved in passenger service, should be replaced by Filipinos, and a positive result would not have to wait long.

Crew shows are a tradition on many cruise ships. Today's show was almost professional: it felt like the crew had been working together for a long time.

By nightfall, the excitement calmed down a little, and a haze settled over the sea. Tomorrow Cape Horn.

Motor ship in the Drake Passage. This is a strait between Antarctica and South America. In the morning the deck is full of enthusiasts with cameras.

By half past nine in the morning they were making good progress. We managed to see different birds, and five dolphins of unknown species:

While on board the Marco Polo, you think about the fate of the other ships in this series. Five of them were built. Only "Marco Polo" ("Alexander Pushkin") has survived to this day. The end of each of the others was unexpected and even absurd.

The first to go was the Mikhail Lermontov, which sank in 1986 in New Zealand due to a pilot error.

“Ivan Franko”, unexpectedly for many, was removed from the Middle East line in 1994 and put into storage, where it gradually fell into disrepair. The Ukrainian authorities took some measures to find work for the ship, including contacting the owners of the Marco Polo, but to no avail. Three years later, the ship was declared beyond repair and sent to India for dismantling.

“Shota Rustaveli” was left without work in 1998, and spent two years laid up in Ilyichevsk. After a change of owner and name (it became known as "Assedo"), the ship began working with Russian tourists on lease from the Metropolis Tour company. The work was seasonal; in the winter, "Assedo" stood idle. There were attempts to organize winter cruises around South America, but Russians, accustomed to vacationing in the summer, did not buy trips. I think that the seasonality of work ruined the ship. In 2002, the owners, who considered that it was more profitable for them to sell the ship than to maintain it, put it up for sale. They did not want the destruction of this still good ship, but the buyers of ships for metal offered them the best price. And in November 2003, after the successful completion of the next season, “Assedo” went to India for cutting.

"Taras Shevchenko" fell into disrepair in Ilyichevsk in 1998. There were attempts to revive the ship, the mechanisms and passenger premises of which were maintained in exemplary order even during the layover. In 2003, Shevchenko was acquired by the Antarctic company, which announced its desire to revive the Crimean-Caucasian line. True, they tried to challenge this deal. Five million dollars were invested in the reconstruction of the ship's passenger premises. But not a single flight took place. Soon "Shevchenko" went to Bangladesh for cutting.

Only the Alexander Pushkin, the happiest ship in the series, remained in service. His biography is full of interesting episodes, he has visited various parts of the world, and, despite his venerable age - forty-two years, he is not going to leave. True, it will have a change of ownership in March, I will mention this later.

(taken from deck eight)

As we approached Cape Horn, the seas became very noticeable: the sea level reached five points, and it began to rain. I remember one of the articles from Soviet times about the same type of motor ship "Shota Rustaveli". The senior mechanic said that the stabilizers consumed too much fuel, and in order to save socialist funds, he proposed not to turn them on. The commercial service objected that in this case, passengers would stop visiting stores and foreign exchange earnings would decrease, so fuel savings would be negated. At the same time, no one remembered the well-being of the passengers on board. I hope things are different these days.

Here is Cape Horn, an island considered to be the southern tip of South America. In these places there is almost always wind and waves. A lot of ships were lost here. Most ships choose the safer, although extremely difficult for navigation, narrow Strait of Magellan, located significantly north of Cape Horn.

Despite the bad weather, tourists went out on deck. When I was here six years ago, the weather was perhaps even worse. But there are brave souls who go around Cape Horn under sail. I’ll watch Horn now and go to a warm cabin. What about them? Although I remember a six-day sailing trip on a yacht in the Baltic during my student years. We sailed from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad under sail, without a motor, in an incessant storm. Nothing, it was great. Someday we should go around Cape Horn under sail. They say that the one who did this has the right to put two feet on the table.

Here it is, Cape Horn, an island at the junction of two oceans. On its left side is the southernmost point of the island, and therefore South America. There is also a lighthouse there. The lighthouse keeper's house is located on the right, lower part of the island. There are no other buildings on Cape Horn.

At seven o'clock in the evening we entered the Beagle Channel, it became warmer, and the rolling stopped. Sailing along the strait is reminiscent of sailing on a river, where both banks are very close. Even unusual after the harsh Drake Passage. After the inaccessible rocks of Antarctica, the eye rests on the green mountains and hills. After a week of silence, the phone started working. Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America, the farthest edge of the world for most people, after Antarctica seems almost like home to me.

Here you can meet another cruise expedition ship. Corinthian II is heading to Antarctica. Oh, and he'll rock them tonight...

But this ship, apparently, has sailed:

In the evening, the restaurant hosted the “Alaska Parade” - a traditional procession of waiters with ice cream cakes for the penultimate evening of the cruise:

Our waiter, Oliver from the Philippines, has been working for Marco Polo since its very first voyage.

Then the chefs introduced themselves to applause:

At half past eleven the lights of Ushuaia appeared.

At the beginning of the first night we arrived at the passenger pier in Ushuaia.

This cruise has a somewhat unusual ending: tomorrow we have a whole day to explore Ushuaia and do excursions, and only disembark the day after tomorrow morning. So despite arriving at the final destination, the cruise is not over yet.

In the morning, there are only two large ships in the port of Ushuaia: the Marco Polo and the Russian research motor ship Akademik Ioffe, which has been retrained as a cruise ship and is preparing for the next voyage to Antarctica.

Later, Norwegian Dream arrived, cruising to cities in South America. There are always many Russians on board on South American cruises. From May to September, this ship regularly calls at St. Petersburg, where it is boarded by Russian groups for two-week cruises in the northern seas. Despite its imposing appearance, Norwegian Dream is an NCL veteran. Some time ago he underwent lengthening surgery: the vessel was cut in two and a new part was inserted into the middle.

The Marco Polo is loading food for the next voyage:

Our excursion today is dedicated to getting to know Tierra del Fuego and the museum in the building of a former prison in Ushuaia.

While in these places, Magellan observed many fires that were burned by the Indians who lived here. Therefore, he called the land located south of the Strait of Magellan discovered by him (which we know as Tierra del Fuego). In the 19th century, this territory was secured by Argentina, although it was also claimed by Chile and European states. To curb the ardor of competitors, the Argentine authorities founded a colony here for dangerous criminals. Tierra del Fuego remained with Argentina.

Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, is a small city very popular among tourists all over the world. People come here to see the beauty of Patagonia, as well as to travel from Ushuaia by boat to Antarctica.

Our route follows the Pan American Highway deep into Tierra del Fuego. Along this highway you can get all the way to Alaska, crossing the Strait of Magellan by ferry. You will have to travel 17 thousand kilometers. There are known enthusiasts who have made such trips. One American couple traveled along this highway from Alaska to Patagonia by car for three years. After returning to New York, they had a son.

One of the most beautiful natural sites of Tierra del Fuego is Lake Escondido. In some places its depth has not yet been determined, and in any case exceeds four kilometers. The water temperature in the lake in summer is about ten degrees.

In winter, alpine skiing is popular in these places. There are ski resorts with modern lifts.

There are several dog kennels in Tierra del Fuego.

Here these dogs are cooked very tasty.

Joke. The photo shows lambs. It’s also a pity, I don’t argue. And dogs are used in a popular winter attraction here - dog sledding.

The next stop is at a former prison.

I have already mentioned that particularly dangerous criminals were sent to Ushuaia. They were kept right here. Part of the prison has been turned into a local history and maritime museum, part into an art gallery, but another part tells the story of the life of criminals in this prison and tells about some of them. The models of the criminals were recreated from life-size photographs and are very reliable.

This man killed a telephone operator for money, mistaking her for a prostitute:

And this is the Russian anarchist Semyon Radovitsky, who blew up the chief of police with a bomb:

There are other criminals represented in the prison-museum, but I will not upset dear readers with descriptions of their crimes. Let me just say that the conditions in this prison for dangerous criminals were relatively mild. Many prisoners were allowed to exercise, everyone received money for their work, and the worst punishment was a temporary restriction of the diet to bread and water. It was possible to escape from the prison if desired - it was poorly guarded, but there was nowhere to run. True, the above-mentioned anarchist Semyon Radovitsky was still able to escape from Ushuaia, but his escape was prepared from the outside: the ship on which he sailed was waiting for him in the wild. In most cases, the fugitives were caught by the police in the very first days, or they returned on their own.

That evening, an Argentine dance show by a local group took place on the ship.

That's it, the cruise is over. It's the last night left on the Marco Polo, and tomorrow morning we'll head to the airport, from where we'll have a very long journey home, consisting of four flights and long waits at airports.

Changes are coming soon in the life of the ship "Marco Polo". NCL, owner of Orient Line, is selling the vessel to a new Greek shipowner, from whom it was chartered by German cruise line Transocean Tours. This will likely entail a change in the name of the vessel. The ship will operate on the German market, but will also provide a full English-language program on board - this way the new operator will be able to retain part of the ship's old English-speaking clientele, and attract new ones. Itineraries have not yet been announced, but they are said to include cruises to Northern Europe and Antarctica, the same destinations that Marco Polo operated on.

Once the ship arrives in Lisbon on March 23, 2008, Orient Lines will cease to exist. It was a famous and beloved cruise company that created a unique product - inexpensive cruises on interesting routes on a classic liner with good service. But everything in the world comes to an end. Now this company will no longer exist.

The crew will also work on the ship only until the end of March. The new shipowner is recruiting a new German-speaking crew. NCL has already offered all crew members places on its cruise ships - it has twelve of them. So no one will be left without work, on the contrary, everyone will switch to more modern and larger ships. But the wonderful team that is the Marco Polo crew will no longer exist. This crew took shape over many years, this crew loved their ship very much and took care of it. And it was truly a Team. I'm very sorry for her.

To sum up the cruise, I can say that it was a very unusual trip, different from all that I had previously made. For those who want to go on a boat to Antarctica, I would first of all recommend not to tune in to the obligatory enchanting impressions. In Antarctica, everything depends very much on the weather. There are cruises when all the days are cloudy, raining, and due to rough seas, landings are canceled one after another. This was the previous Marco Polo cruise. And then Antarctica will remain in memory as a gloomy, gloomy place. I'm lucky. In my memory, Antarctica remains like this:

Goodbye, "Alexander Pushkin"! I will definitely come to see you when you come to St. Petersburg.

And to everyone who read my notes about this cruise, I want to say thank you and wish you interesting travels and good memories of them.