Redefined Timeline

I’m honestly not even sure where to begin with this part of the trip. I’m standing at my kitchen island browsing through page after page after page of notes and quotes and musings in my travel journal that I take with me everywhere I travel. I have literally thousands of photos to edit and sort through. I have absolutely no idea how to even go about breaking down the stops, zodiac excursions, or the cruise and crew themselves. My original goal was to post our final two trips of 2022 before leaving for South East Asia at the end of March. Epic fail on my part since I am not even close to finishing trip one of two from the end of last year. I still have all of Antarctica, plus Costa Rica and Panama on the to do list. Where has all the time gone?!

After much deliberation, I have decided to describe the ship, Ocean Endeavor, and post up a nice little photography teaser of the astonishing place that is Antarctica and the very end of the world. And then gradually work on the full posts. Procrastination has prevailed for now. So here we go!

The Ocean Endeavor is a nine deck ship, significantly smaller than Caribbean ships with far more stabilization installed than the tropic island hoppers. The waters tend to be MUCH rougher where these baby-sized vessels travel. There are also far fewer people packed into the steel floating device. We had a whopping 194 passengers with 200 staff members aboard the ship for the entirety of the expedition. A lot more intimate than getting stuffed into the huge people movers crammed with obese, waddling travelers floating around the sunny northern seas. I hate regular cruises, but this one I could absolutely handle!

Ocean Endeavor was built in Poland in 1981 and was still in remarkably good shape, replete with several lounges and restaurants, a gym and sauna, hot tub, doctors quarters, mud room, and library. Personally, we did not see anything lower than Deck 4 (I take that back… we saw the stairwell of Deck 3 as we hobbled towards the gang plank bound for the zodiacs). The only reason half the passengers even saw the 4th deck was because the mud room was down there, which is where we dressed to depart the ship on the zodiacs. We peasants, however, had our accommodation on that level as well. It made for lots of stumbling up and down stairs. Honestly, I was just happy we at least got a porthole!

The basic layout of the Ocean Endeavor:

Deck 4: Mud room and domiciles – For dressing and sleeping.

Deck 5: Reception and doctor and more rooms – For handling of onboard financials, medical needs and sleeping.

Deck 6: Nautilus Lounge, Polar Boutique, Compass Club and Polaris Restaurant – For lounging and drinking, shopping, coffee preparation and reading, and eating.

Deck 7: Aurora Lounge – For… very little honestly. I think I only stepped foot in there a handful of times.

Deck 8: Sauna, gym and spa, and bridge – For steaming, working out, massages and piloting the ship.

Deck 9: Meridian Club – For taking in the views, reading and playing games, and yoga-ing.

Each day, we dined in The Polaris Restaurant where meals were served buffet style. Group meetings were generally held in the Nautilus Lounge where we enjoyed adult beverages from the bar while listening to the expedition guides provide boat loads of information. I spent much time flying around the gym as the ship rocked from side to side during my daily workouts. The Aurora Lounge was great for reading and playing board games, along with a few rounds of yoga. It was the ultimate test of one’s balance! There is also a hot tub, pool and sauna, but I never managed to take advantage of any of them. All of the furniture was bolted to the ground and handrails were installed in every space imaginable. Eventually, it became obvious why.

Open air decks were littered around the boat, allowing for views of the pristine landscape. When waters were rough, however, access to these decks was forbidden. Sadly, I was not permitted to do a handstand on the continent itself. ONLY muck boots and walking sticks are allowed to touch the ground per IAATO guidelines. I had to settle for boat handstand on an outdoor deck with the beautiful, snowy, polar mountains in the background.

Interesting tid bit… the Ocean Endeavor was originally a Soviet ship for the first decade of it’s life with the port of registry listed as various places in the former Soviet Union. Wild, that we spent nine days sleeping aboard a Cold War Era ship. Since it’s sinister beginning, it has undergone multiple refittings, and I’m sure barely resembles what it did in during its malevolent inception. It is now owned through a joint venture with Intrepid Travel and Chimu Adventures registered in Nassau, Bahamas.

Second Fun fact… we had zero seafood while on the ship. What the hell?!?! Some of the freshest seafood is pulled from the waters around Ushuaia. Why, you ask? Any of the seafood obtained there was not up to the standards of Intrepid Travel – only sustainable food was served to us from local providers. Okay, I can live with chicken and beef for the good of the environment for nine days.

After boarding the Ocean Endeavor, we were greeted with a welcome juice made of only the freshest fruits. After unceremoniously dumping our belongings in our state room, we all piled onto the upper decks to snap photos of Ushuaia in the setting sun. We watched with anticipation as the dock crew untied the ship and prepared for our departure. Loud cheers and clapping erupted as the ropes flopped into the bay. We were underway.

The next morning we would awake at the Lost Continent of Antarctica. I smile just thinking of the sights that tantalized my senses at daybreak.