stripped-down acoustic version of one of our most requested original songs, for anyone who has moved around and left home.
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Moving up the line of Longitude at about 64 degrees West, back to a land with a little more blue and green, I spent a nice few days relaxing and hiking in Ushuaia- part of the Tierra del Fuego province and Patagonia region of Argentina. The first few photos are from a hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park, next few are from around town and the last ones are from a large museum in an old prison. The cells were individual exhibits. One hall was made to look like it did while it was in use and it was extremely creepy. I also pretended to watch the world cup round 16 game where Argentina beat Australia. There were celebrations in the street!!
More Wildlife in Antarctica!!
Okay, here is my last Antarctica post (most likely). For the afternoon of day 3, after I hiked up the hill on Cuverville Island and saw the clearest and most majestic view of Antarctica, we cruised around on zodiacs to see wildlife. We saw a weddell seal plopped on the shore and another chilling on the ice. We cruised through the gorgeous iceberg landscapes. Someone mentioned that no one is going to want to see a bunch of pictures of ice, but I think every angle and view was beautiful.
Later on I was supposed to kayak again, but winds were too high so we went out on zodiacs again for our last interaction with Antarctica. It was windy and snowy and icy but right as we got out there, we saw a few humpback whales circling around. Then we saw two Adelie penguins sitting on an iceberg in the middle of the bay. Along the shore we saw a chinstrap penguin bouncing around. We sat and we took in the splendor of it all.
Due to an incoming storm we had to head back to South America a day early to avoid problems on the Drake Passage. This meant sitting on the boat passing time for 3 days, but another ship ended up having a serious mishap in that same storm, so it was for the best. There was lots of dancing and trivia. The afternoon that we left Antarctica, I sat in the hottub in the back of the ship as it continued to snow and we pulled away from the blurry dream of it all.
The group I went with was organized by a travel writer I have followed for 9 years, @youngadventuress. It was a great trip!!
A perfect morning in Antarctica.
On our third day in Antarctica, we woke up to the most incredible views of icy mountains surrounding a bay. It’s rare that the sky is so clear there. From the ship, I could see hoards of gentoo penguin colonies, and we knew there were humpback whales in the water. We went to shore and I hiked up a hill to take it all in. Midway up the hill, I turned around and could see a humpback whale lob-tailing in the distance. A part of me wished I could have been closer to the whale, but the whole view was one of the most incredible sights I’ve seen- glacial mountains, icebergs, colonies of penguins and a humpback in the distance. This is the image of Antarctica.
A quick dive and hike at Neko Harbor in Antarctica!
After surviving camping, the boat traveled a bit through the Neumayer Channel into the Gerlache Straight where the expedition team announced we would be doing the polar plunge! Within 24 hours this makes: waking amongst penguins, kayaking, ice camping and diving into the southern ocean. It was cold but not too bad, I just hopped in and then out and they provided music and vodka shots. Afterwards, we went for a nice walk at Neko Harbour where the icebergs and gentoo penguins were glowing in sporadic sunlight through the clouds. I hiked a bit up the hill for a nice view. Incredible day.
Ice Camping in Antarctica!!
Our first day in Antarctica was probably the most extreme 24 hours of my life. After surviving 2 days on the Drake Passage with no seasickness, but unfortunately a nasty cold (covid-tested negative, luckily), my head was clearing up and it was time to hit the ice. For the morning our trip to Port Lockroy to see penguins in the snow was on queue, then the afternoon would lead to kayaking (previous posts) and the evening would bring Ice Camping.
It was a snowy day so some of us were thinking and maybe wishing ice camping would be postponed, but in Antarctica you have to make the best of your weather and there is a possibility that if we hadn’t had gone the first night, we may not have gone at all.
So we suited up with merino wool base layers, fleece mid layers, water proof outer layers, a bivy bag, a sleeping pad and a super warm sleeping bag and took zodiacs to shore.
When we arrived on land it was 10pm but still light out. Fresh snow was falling so our boots would disappear into the powder if we didn’t stay on packed paths our guides had shoveled out for us. I found a clearing a bit to myself in the middle and plopped down my things. I wanted set up while enjoying the peace and scenery but I quickly realized the only way to get set up would be to just get in the bag…
I stuffed my waterproof pants into my boots so they wouldn’t get filled with snow and slipped in. I was warm and comfy. By 11pm it was snowing pretty heavily so I had to zip myself up and just lay in my body bag, hoping to get some sleep. The wind and the snow picked up to about 30 knots throughout the night.
At around 1am I started to get claustrophobic in the bag. I knew it was fine and I could tell that snow had fallen and I should *not* open my bivy bag but my brain yelled “claustrophobic!!!” In a panic I punched around looking for the zipper and opened it anyways. It was still light out (midnight sun) and a wall of snow had formed around me. I repeated this panic a few more times, opening and closing the sack until I finally found a position that felt more breathable and I watched the wind and snow beat the red bag over my head until I actually managed to sleep. I was a bit worried that in my opening and closing of the bag I might have lost my beanie or other small items in the snow, but that was future Jenna’s problem.
Around 5am I heard people shuffling around and packing up. Even though I had actually found a comfy position and was managing some rest, I decided to open my bag and see what was happening. It was snowing and windy, and I probably looked warn and confused (see photo) and a guy asked if I was okay. I was fine but I asked when the boat was likely to come. He said 6.
I had an hour but it was too late, snow was gathering in my bag so I had no choice but to continue packing up and gathering my things before I was snowed in. Overnight my waterproof bag next to me had been completely buried by snow. I was pretty deep in it as well. There was a moment as I cleared snow off of my sleeping bag with freezing hands that I thought to myself “what the hell are we doing here?” But I carried on and put my stuff away. I had a lot of time to kill before we were to be rescued back to the ship so I scooted over in the deep snow towards some friends and we all joked in disbelief at what we were doing until we saw the ship dropping zodiac boats into the water and it was time to get the hell off that island.
Despite the situation being a bit absurd, when we arrived back on the ship, I felt amazing. It was the most alive I had felt on the trip so far. My dreariness from the head-cold was behind me and I was in my element! This is when I realized for good that I really do enjoy things more when I torture myself for them. Sitting around on a boat and eating at a buffet for every meal was killing me, but sleeping in the snow during a storm brought me back to life.
Would I do it again? Probably. But I don’t love bivy bags.
Kayaking in Antarctica!!
In Antarctica you are at the mercy of rapidly changing extreme weather so we only ended up kayaking once- mostly due to high winds, but I had the chance to go out while it was snowing on our first day on the peninsula. Our guides were two awesome couples from Canada who own kayaking outfitters (and also like to boogie down) @capelahaveadventures and @learntokayak.
I wore merino wool base layers, fleece mid layers and a dry suit and I was really warm!
It was incredible to be on the water, hearing the crack of the ice and seeing gentoo penguins porpoise in and out of the water and *jump* onto land using a jet stream from their butts (farts?). My waterproof camera was acting faulty so I didn’t know if I got any good pics but I blindly pointed in the direction of penguins doing things and got some good shots! I do wish I had had the opportunity to kayak more because these moments were when I felt the closest to the magnificent nature around me, and everything is better when you work for it a bit, but such is life.
Antarctica!!!
Here are some photos from the snowy first morning after two days crossing the rough Drake Passage when we visited Port Lockroy to see gentoo penguins and mail postcards from the most southerly post office in the world. The mail may or may not arrive in a year or so after traveling from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Falkland Islands then the UK then wherever they are supposed to go. Port Lockroy was a British research station until 1962.
A few more photos of Ushuaia, Argentina before we board the ship to Antarctica this afternoon! These past few days I ran into a childhood friend who is also going to Antarctica but on a different ship! I hiked up a mountain with all my things to the hotel my trip is leaving from and the sunset was amazing. I’ve met a bunch of people that will be on my trip. And today I hiked a few more miles up the mountain to Glaciar Martial. It’s been a sweet few days.
Ushuaia, Argentina: The End of the World before the even more end of the world
I walked out of the airport in Ushuaia and spent the next 4 hours running around, singing in happiness at the views and the magnificence of the sunset. I hadn’t eaten much and I needed to find dinner (it was almost 9pm), but I wouldn’t stop unless I found a place with a view. I found a restaurant with a glass patio and extremely strong cocktails. This led to more walking down the street, singing and taking pictures of every changing color and light. Did I look a bit fanatical? Maybe, but I don’t care.
I can remember a few moments in my life where the views have had me completely overwhelmed and Ushuaia is up there with Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, Fjords in Norway and Fiords in New Zealand. What do all these places have in common? They are painted with mountains draping into the sea at the edge of the world.
In two days I leave for Antarctica.
A little stroll through Buenos Aires on my way down to Antarctica. This morning I realized that Argentina is the 50th country I have been to. Wandering around a city I’ve never been to and stumbling across beautiful things is one of the most comfortable feelings.
This month passed the one year anniversary of our band. I like to appreciate the poetry of life so here is a video from a recent performance at my favorite bar in DC, Bossa. This particular video feels full circle because the lyrics were inspired by a person I took to Bossa a few times, including our first night. It was one of those first dates where you start at a fancy Indian restaurant, sing karaoke in a karaoke room just the two of you for an hour, go dancing to samba (at Bossa) and then finish it off with live jazz at 2 am. The following months were just as exciting. He’s gone now.
But I have my music and my band. In a year we have written 10+ songs (many of which have helped me process my experiences with men 😂) and are currently recording two with a producer. I get to live my alter ego of this emoji 💃🏻 on stage and I love it.
After staring at the Volcanoes Fuego and Acatenango from a hot tub in Antigua, Guatemala for a few days, we went up to climb dormant Acatenango for some views of actively erupting Fuego. The hike to base camp was a 6 hour, steep steep climb into the clouds, mist and rain. When we arrived at camp it was storming so we piled into a little cabin, tried to dry off and layer up to stay warm, and stayed in our little cocoons huddled together while the guides brought us food until we finally slept (or tried to).
At 4am we were supposed to wake up to summit Acatenango to watch the sunrise over Fuego but the weather was unsafe and the view would be unclear so we had to skip it, but at least we got a little more sleep in. At 6am the sky cleared a bit and we waited with wet, cold hands holding coffee for the perfect combination of cleared clouds and volcano-eruption-ash-plume. The best I got was 50/50. The hike down was beautiful and painful on the knees. Luckily we were able to see incredible scenery- as far as Lake Atitlan where were stayed last week, until we were back into a canopy of clouds. Overall, we climbed 4,000 feet to 12,355 feet. Quite the aventura.
Today was my version of a perfect travel day, and such a nostalgic experience, even though everything here is new to me and I hardly speak Spanish.
This morning I walked out the door with a few points of interest in mind, and I just let it flow.
I strolled down some side paths, made it to the dock and hopped on a boat to another town on Lake Atitlan- San Pedro. When I got to San Pedro, I just walked up, up, up through the town and crossed over the hill to see amazing views and end up in the neighboring town of San Juan.
San Juan is an artsy town with lots of gorgeous and colorful textiles. After looking around at shops (and seeing many versions of a dress I already have that I got when I randomly was in a Guatemalan fashion show in Maryland 3 years ago), I wandered back into town.
A tuk tuk driver stopped me and told me I had to see the “mirador.” I’m pretty sure I was headed that way anyways, but I’m glad he reminded me. Once again I went up, up, up and saw incredible views of the lake. When I landed at the bottom of the hill again, the same tuk tuk driver was there so I hopped in and he insisted he should take me to San Pedro so I could catch the boat back. On the way he showed me some views and tried to convince me to spend more time with him… anyways I told him I had to get back for dinner and he let me off in town. I had an hour to kill before the next boat back so I chatted with a Swiss backpacking couple by the water.
On the boat ride across the lake I couldn’t stop smiling.
Once I was back on the docks of Santiago where I started, I wandered home, collecting all sorts of street food along the way.
It was amazing to reconnect with the part of myself that wandered for 5/6 years after spending the past 3 years in “normal life” having the things I craved while I was alone on the road: community, a job with purpose, and income. Now I can have both? I am so grateful and will unironically say I’m hashtag blessed to live all the versions of the life I always dreamed of for myself.
Wandering around Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala
Check out my band Pine Apple!
We are a bossa fusion band in Washington DC. This particular song was very cathartic to write.
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