![]() Our ship, the Ocean Nova and Antarctica XXI ’ s Expedition staff were there to greet us, get the group and our luggage out to the ship and help us settle in. The plane landed on Frei Station ’ s rocky runway, a joint Chilean/Russian/Chinese Research Facility in the South Shetland Islands just off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. While it may have seemed a challenge, everyone found a way to hit the mark and we had no issues doing the fly over. It was a very civilized 9AM flight.īecause this is a flight to a remote area with no paved runway, we were restricted to certain weight limits. During dinner we were given our flight time window. Following the briefing we enjoyed a cocktail reception and lovely dinner at one of the older elegant hotels in Punta Arenas. Antarctica XXI really showed their colors, the organization was top notch. This was where we got all our questions answered as well as fitted for boots. The group was on their own until the late afternoon when we had a briefing on Antarctica and the procedure for the next day ’ s flight to Antarctica and the ship boarding by Zodiac. ![]() This was good as we could enjoy a breakfast and a catch up nap. ![]() We arrived in Punta Arenas around 9:30 in the morning and had early check in at our hotel. The trip to the airport and flight down to Punta Arenas was easy and smooth. I knew we are off to a good start when everyone made the bus on time and we had no one that was late. Wake up calls were set for a 3AM departure from the hotel for a 5:50 AM flight to Punta Arenas. During our briefing we prepared the group for long days and then announced we were going to be experiencing such a day on our first day. We hosted a small reception and introduction about what to expect followed by dinner on our own. It was quite a pleasant day.Īrriving back at the hotel we found the rest of the group that was traveling to Antarctica. We enjoyed a beautiful lunch at a seaside restaurant and a lazy afternoon of enjoyable photography. We had a wonderful day with our guide walking the streets and photographing street art and street scenes. From what I understand, the city promotes artists to do real art rather than the graffiti fund all over Chile. However, in the city of Valparaiso they tried something different. It hasn ’ t occurred to the folks in Chile yet. In cities like New York they solved the graffiti problem by banning the sale of cans of spray paint. It kind of reminds me what it was like in the 70 ’ s and 80 ’ s in the big cities of America: graffiti everywhere. Graffiti is a big issue in Chile and also in Argentina. Since we had a day before the departure, the LuLa team hired a guide and a driver and visited the sea coast town of Valparaiso a small town built on a hillside and before the Panama Ccanal opened, one of the busiest ports on the western coast of South America. I was very pleasantly surprised by Chile and what a great country it is. It ’ s funny how you sometimes have preconceived ideas about countries you are visiting. We had one lost set of luggage which was found and delivered to the hotel in less than 12 hours – off to a good start. As it turned out everyone made it on time. As the leader of the workshop, one of my big worries is that someone cannot make a flight. This allowed a day and a half buffer before our flight to Punta Arenas on the southern extremity of Chile – a wise decision since it prevented anyone from missing flights due to winter weather issues in the north. The trip began with arrival in Santiago, Chile on January 25 th. On this recent trip, they were there for us from start to finish and made the logistics of handling our group of 65 people a breeze. Their attention to detail and planning is second to none. ![]() This trip, as well as the future trips we have announced and are planning, is administered by Antarctica XXI. It can be unpleasant or can be truly exciting but it is a badge of accomplishment to say that you crossed the Drake. Now, I would suggest that if you are going to Antarctica more than once, at least one of those trips you experience the Drake. Unlike past trips this one was going to be different: we were going to fly over the Drake Passage and avoid 5 days in total of what can be very miserable sailing. There has never been any doubt that this my favorite place on earth and leaving for my fifth trip brings just as much excitement and anticipation as my first trip in 2005 did. The day finally came to leave for another trip to Antarctica. All Photographs By Kevin Raber The Fly Over Antarctica Workshop
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