We began our morning in Stromness, a whaling station that was operating when Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, and Tom Crean made their epic journey across South Georgia in 1916. Many of us hiked to the Shackleton waterfall, traversing the final few kilometers of the crossing. This morning we also conducted a BioBlitz where guests captured images of plants and animals seen on their hike to submit to the popular nature website iNaturalist and help support citizen science initiatives. In the afternoon, we visited Prion Island, one of the only visitor sites where the wandering albatross can be found nesting.
3/14/2022
Read
National Geographic Explorer
Ushuaia, Argentina
A storm system redirected National Geographic Explorer to dock in Ushuaia one day earlier than anticipated at the beginning of the trip. Our last day together was spent touring the countryside of Ushuaia via buses organized by our wonderful team of agents based in the area. These agents provided a day full of breathtaking landscapes and an assortment of weather patterns. The buses served as a comfortable transport to two different lakes, Lake Escondido and Lake Fagnano. Lake Escondido is also known as Hidden Lake. It earned this name by often being covered in a thick layer of fog that conceals its location. We were lucky the winds were strong enough to provide us with a view at the photo stop alongside the road. At Lake Fagnano, our guests were invited to stroll along the marsh to look for birds. After our visits to the lakes, we were escorted to the top of Ushuaia, giving us a great view for our lunch before returning to the ship. A great day of forest views, snow, and peat bogs.
