DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY
DAY 1 - DEPART GATEWAY
Depart from the United States.
DAY 2 - BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
Arrive in cosmopolitan, seductive Buenos Aires; check into the deluxe Marrriott Plaza Hotel, adjacent to the chic boutique-lined Calle Florida. This evening, attend the welcome reception.
DAY 3 - BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
The city tour highlights Buenos Aires' diverse barrios (neighborhoods), from the colorful La Boca district and the grand public buildings of the city center to the parks of Palermo, the charming old quarter of San Telmo and the historic Recoleta Cemetery, famous for its ornate vaults, sculpture and as the final resting place of the legendary Evita Perón.
DAY 4 - BEUNOS AIRES/USHUAIA
Fly to rustic Ushuaia, gateway to Antarctica and the world's southernmost city. This afternoon, embark M.S. Le Diamant and depart Ushuaia, cruising through the Beagle Channel, named for the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his South American voyages. Attend the captain's welcome reception this evening.
DAY 5 - CRUISING DRAKE PASSAGE
En route across the legendary Drake Passage, watch for seabirds feeding on plankton and krill brought to the surface by cold Antarctic surface waters merging with the warmer waters of the South Pacific and Altantic Oceans at the Antarctic Convergence. The expedition team of naturalists will present insightful lectures to prepare you for your arrival in Antarctica.
DAY 6-10 - CRUISING ANTARCTICA
The ship cruises below the 60th parallel to the outer shores and islands of the Antarctic Peninsula, the world's last frontier. Here you will explore Earth's most pristine wilderness, where towering mountains of ice and lava rise abruptly out of the ocean, and constantly changing patterns of ice stretch as far as the eye can see. In this seemingly harsh environment, a vast array of wildlife flourishes, including millions of penguins, countless seabirds and thousands of seals and whales. From spectacular volcanic topography and majestic glaciers to fascinating wildlife and historic outposts, this itinerary incorporates the following destinations for the complete Antarctic experience.
Please note that M.S Le Diamant's specific itinerary is dependent on weather, ice and sea conditions.
Begin your exploration of the Antarctic Circle with an afternoon arrival on one of the smallest, but most beautiful of the south Shetland Islands, Half Moon Island. A crescent-shaped isle known for its craggy volcanic rock formations and tranquil lagoons, it is also the site of Camara Station, a base staffed by Argentine biologists monitoring regional wildlife. Observe the antic of the island's colony of chinstrap penguins and enjoy the lingering twilight of the Antarctic summer.
Deception Island is actually the rim of a massive volcano that encircles a crater lake known as Port Foster through Neptune's Bellows, a sublime harbor ringed by snowcapped peaks and sheer cliffs. In Pendulum Cove, you may, conditions permitting, have the opportunity to swim in its steaming, geothermally heated pools. While on Baily Head, see a colony of a quarter of a million chinstrap penguins before walking along the black sand beaches of Telefon Bay to nearby craters, which offer fascinating insights into the volcanic activity that created the island and played such a pivotal role in the natural history of the region.
In Paradise Bay, awesome cliffs of ice descend from the surrounding mountains into the floating iceberg-laden waters along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Named by 19th-century whaler who sought shelter in its coves, Paradise Bay is an ideal sanctuary for marine wildlife including humpback whales, crabeater seals and Cape petrels. Listen for the low rumbling of Rudolf Glacier as it calves chunks of ice into Neko Harbor, one of the most dramatic and spectacular sights in Antarctica. Named for an early 20th-century floating whiling factory, the harbor is surrounded by towering glaciers and snow-covered mountains. Here, you will make your first "continental landing" in Antarctica.
Cruise through breathtaking, glacier-lined Neumayer Channel to Port Lockroy. Originally constructed in 1944 by an eight-man team as an intelligence post for British espionage during Wolrd War II, Port Lockroy was converted into a whaling station and scientific base in the 1950's. It is nestled among glistening mountain peaks high as 6,000 feet, while blue-eyed shags and gentoo penguins populate the surrounding grounds. Gain insight into the lives of past explorers at the British Antarctic Survey Museum and send a postcard with an Antarctica postmark from the official British Post Office.
An excursion to the rocky shores of Jougla Point of Wiencke Island, just off of Port Lockroy, offers a rare opportunity to view the nearly intact skeleton of a large whale, in addition to large numbers of gentoo penguins and birdlife, particularly blue-eyed shags and kelp gulls.
Lemaire Channel, flanked by towering cliffs of glaciers that fall straight into the sea between the Antarctic Peninsula and Booth Island, offers views of seven majestic miles of mountains and wildlife combined with fascinating patterns of ice floes. Call at Petermann Island, the southernmost point of your journey, and watch its thriving rookeries of Adélie and gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.
Enter the Weddell Sea and spot the enormous tabular icebergs that have broken off from the Larsen Ice Shelf. See Brown Bluff's 750-foot-high, rust-colored cliffs jutting into the Antarctic Sound, and land on the shelving beach at the base of the bluff, where members of the area's flourishing colony of Adélie penguins, or perhaps an inquisitive snow petrel, may greet you.
DAY 11 - CRUISING DRAKE PASSAGE
Relax and reflect onboard today as the ship turns north and crosses the Drake Passage.
DAY 12 - DRAKE PASSAGE/CAPE HORN
Enjoy a lively, informative discussion with the ship's naturalists. Watch for seabirds and breaching fin, humpback and minke whales as you cruise across the Antarcitc Convergence and past the infamous Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America. Attend the captain's farewell reception this evening.
DAY 13 - USHUAIA
Disembark and fly to Buenos Aires. Your return flight to the United States departs this evening.
DAY 14 - UNITED STATES
Arrive early this morning in the U.S.
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