Highlights of Antarctica & Argentina Tour

In the morning, literary fans venture back to Calle Florida and the Torcuato di Tella Institute to pay respects to the former residence of the great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. The sounds of the city come to life once more in the form of boutique shops opening, dancers performing, and antique shop owners bargaining with customers. Before setting out to explore it all, at breakfast, you can sip a frothy cappuccino accompanied by the buttery crust of a media luna, a traditional pastry similar to miniature croissant. Your guide will greet you in the hotel lobby eager to introduce you to the fascinating charms of the city found beyond the gallery windows and welcoming cafes.

Your tour will begin at the Recoleta Cemetery, where some of the most prominent names in Argentina’s history have been interred. The grounds were first established in the early 18th century, and have long been a popular spot to stroll through for tourists and locals alike that are drawn by the elaborate mausoleums. The crypts remain a testament to the national interest in death, which remains an important symbol of Argentinian culture to the point that citizens celebrate family members’ birth- and death-days alike.

Before visiting the Eva Peron mausoleum, the most popular landmark on the grounds, your guide will lead you across the cobblestones to reach the mythical tomb of Rufina Cambaceres. Legend states the socialite was buried alive and an Art Nouveau masterpiece of sculpture features a young Rufina holding the door to her own mausoleum as a tribute to the legend of her death. In the evening, you can venture to a celebrated tango show and sit near the stage. The dinner and dancing begin simultaneously, bringing the rhythmic footsteps of the passionate dance mixing with the sensational aromas of grilling steak.

The aroma of creamy cappuccino and decadent espresso drifts through the doors of a historical theater in the Recoleta district that is now renovated as a bookstore and café. The gallery unfolds before the stage with stacks of books that take over the three floors once flush with seats. The café is located on a stage that overlooks the gallery and blends the scent of pastries with the fragrant aroma of aged paper. Your guide will soon escort you away from the bustling streets of the capital city to reach the famed pampas, the plains from which legends of the gauchos grew.

The Argentinian cowboys have risen through the ranks of historical legend on par with the country’s established parilla and the mythology surrounding tango. You will venture to the town of Tigre, located less than 20 miles outside of northern Buenos Aires but featuring the ambiance of a different world. The town is situated on Parana Delta, which covers 5,400 square miles between the cities of Santa Fe and Rosario. The town itself encompasses a small island created by the confluence of several streams. The water rushes past the quiet canals running around the city. Wealthy portenos, residents of Buenos Aires, use the stunning town as a weekend or summer getaway.

Boats dock beside the river’s edge and offer scenic cruises down the canal. The rowing club features Art Deco embellishments that overlook the steps that lead into the water. Locals live a peaceful life amongst the water and land, enjoying a relaxed pace while kayaking, canoeing, or sculling. In the early afternoon, your guide will bring you to a ranch surrounded by a sea of grass to find the alluring aroma of asado, grilling meat, emanating from the barbecue. Cowboys rush through the grounds on horseback showcasing their skills as you drift to the table to enjoy the selection of delicious meats traditional in an Argentinian barbecue.

The sunlight will wash over the pink facade of Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential palace, which crowns the Plaza de Mayo across from the National Museum of the Cabildo. After an early breakfast accompanied by a delicious cappuccino, your private transfer will take you to the airport for your flight to Ushuaia. You may be waving goodbye to the alluring ambiance and fascinating history hidden around Buenos Aires, but will exchange the cosmopolitan thrills for the wonderment of the wilds at the World’s End.

Ushuaia lays claim to be the world’s southernmost city, highlighting its remote placement framed by the snow-capped Martial Range to the north and the steely blue waters of the Beagle Channel to the south. Ships sail through the waters of the Strait of Tierra del Fuego to reach the city, passing around Cape Horn or gliding down through the Atlantic Ocean.

Your private driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the port to board your ship bound for the southern edge of the continent at Cape Horn. The vessel comfortably holds less than 75 passengers in elegant suites designed for comfort. The ship weighs anchor and travels along the famous Beagle Channel named after Charles Darwin’s vessel from his expedition to South America in the 19th century. You will travel five miles through the channel before reaching Puerto Navarino and taking the remaining 32 miles to the Chilean town.

The majority of ships traveling to the Antarctic offer nothing more than a glimpse of the fascinating tip of the South American continent without stopping to allow passengers access to the fabled landscape. Your ship will weigh anchor in a safe harbor, providing a transfer by zodiac boat to reach the shoreline in the shadows of the staggering rock face at nearly 1,400 feet above sea level. The point at which the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet creates a tempestuous climate caused by the mixture of warm and cold waters, creating strong waves, winds, and currents.

You will reach the coastline in the cool air reaching an average temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit and climb to the top of the point. The view offers a stunning panorama that encompasses the point at which the oceans converge with nothing but an expanse of water that leads to the horizon. You will find the statue of the silhouette of an albatross decorating the summit as Chilean sculptor Jose Balcells designed the piece and placed it on the cliff top in the early 1990s to commemorate sailors who perished while attempting to “round the Horn.”

After listening to the stories about the legendary waters at the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, you may have thought that you had reached a limit of tales connected to the staggering waves and winds until the crew shares the accounts of the tumultuous waters along the Drake Passage. Listen as you sip your coffee at breakfast, captivated by the tales of near-mythological proportions of waves that reach heights greater than 50 feet tall and winds that tip large vessels onto their side. The crew exaggerates the stories as you travel across the Drake Passage, whose tempestuous features stem from the same hydrology, this time caused by the combining waters of the Atlantic and Southern oceans.

You can take the time to relax in the calm waters of the Drake Passage, a 500-mile wide body that separates Cape Horn from the Antarctic Peninsula. You will enjoy the cold breeze on deck while keeping an eye out for the avifauna known to hunt in the region. A giant petrel hovers over the water using the wind to buoy themselves to a position above the water.  The large bird grows to a greater size than its northern counterpart, with a wingspan reaching nearly 85 inches wide, and their strong legs allow them to walk on land as well as wade in the water.  You can continue to watch the water waiting for a possible whale sighting, finding instead a pod of hourglass dolphins leaping out of the boat’s wake.

The ship weighs anchor off the coast of Livingston Island, a part of the South Shetland archipelago. Snow and ice cover the pointed contours of Renier Point, and while the island is located less than 70 miles northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula, it is nearly 500 miles from the tip of Cape Horn. Ice cliffs have decorated the shores of Livingston Island since its discovery in the mid-19th century, revealing stunning silhouettes of shaped by the elements. A number of the cliffs have withdrawn over the last century and a half, shifting to isolated patches of land nestled between the ice cap and crevassed segments of the glacier. Your guide will lead you to Hannah Point, an ice-free section of beach situated beneath the sloping foothills edging the coastline.

A colony of Gentoo penguins nests on the pebbles and the rocky shore close to the water. The Gentoo penguins have a white streak atop their heads resembling a bonnet, a mark distinguishing themselves from other penguin species. They grow to 35 inches in height and can weigh over 10 pounds as their black and white coloring resembles the iconic image of a penguin dressed in a tuxedo. You can spend your time enjoying the view before noticing a number of macaroni penguins nesting in the area. Although not unusual, viewing macaroni penguin on the island is not common. The yellow and orange crest above their eye shines against the black plumage around their crown. They are much smaller than the Gentoo penguins, reaching 28 inches tall.

Since different countries have built research stations on King George Island, the land mass has long been considered a gateway to the Antarctic Peninsula and beyond. However, the 440 square miles of land contains much more than just a stop-over to the greater continent or a destination to reach a flight bound for Punta Arenas, Chile. The island itself is a feature of the South Shetland archipelago, and staff from the various research stations have created over 12 miles of tracks and roads since the 1970s to provide a maze that networks the different stations together, along with reaching biological and ecological research areas.

You will board your zodiac boat bound for the shores and keep an eye out for an orca pod that could be patrolling the coastline. Chinstrap, Gentoo, and Adelie penguins compete for supremacy around the pebbly beaches, along with seals eager to catch their daily fill of fish. The white spires of the Russian built Church of the Holy Trinity are visible from the Chilean base Eduardo Frei Montalva. After exploring the complex that can hold up to 170 people during peak season, a number that dwindles to the low 40s in the winter, you will board your plane bound for Chile, passing over the possible tumult of the waves along the Drake Passage.

In the morning, the adventurous path you took to the edge of the world has come to an end, bringing you to savor the comforts of your hotel that overlooks the Strait of Magellan and the colorful buildings that decorate the shoreline and border the streets. The aromas of barley and hops emanate from the Austral Brewery, a favorite for locals due to its traditional production and position as one of the few breweries in Southern Patagonia. On the outskirts of town, the San Isidro Lighthouse bathes the surrounding rocks in color to protect ships traveling from around the Strait. Your private transfer will greet you at your hotel after breakfast and escort you to Presidente Carlos Ibanez del Camp International Airport for your flight home.