Day 03
Saturday, February 14
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posted by Geoff Green, Expedition Leader
Good morning! We are boarding our flight to Ushuaia! It was an early 3:00am wake up today, a quick breakfast, and we're now ready for the final leg of our journey to the southernmost city of the world. We had a great afternoon yesterday in Buenos Aires. After checking in to the hotel, a shower, 
and a change of clothes, we headed out for a walking tour of the city. Shorts and t-shirts were the fashion. Just next to our hotel was the Obelisk and the 22 lane wide Avenue 9 de Julio (the widest street in the world) Always an adventure to cross!! Buenos Aires is an amazing city, full of life, hustle, bustle, traffic, music, lights, great architecture and so much more. The population of Buenos Aires province is about 18 million, or half the population of Argentina. It has been an incredibly dry summer here. Crops are dying, and cows are suffering and even dying. A sign of global warming? Quite possibly, but this is where things get confusing for people. Some of the Argentines we spoke to said they were told global warming was supposed to bring them more precipitation. So now they are skeptical. I think we all need to accept that this is not a black and white situation. It is complex, just like our global ecosystem. We need to accept the fundamental understanding that global warming is happening, and that we as a species have not acted as responsible stewards of Planet Earth. Over the next few days, we will be traveling to a part of the planet that is on the front lines of climate change and global warming, and this will be a theme of our journey, study, and research. Thus the motto of our expedition and of Students on Ice is "Protect the Poles, Protect the Planet".
Upon our arrival to Ushuaia in about 4 hours, we will head to our hotel, the Hotel Del Glaciar, named after the hanging glacier just behind it which is rapidly disappearing.
Goodbye Buenos Aires. We continue South.
Geoff Green
Expedition Leader
Afternoon Update
Ushuaia, Argentina
Posted by Geoff Green, Expedition Leader
We have just touched down in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego!! Yeehoo! It's a typical windy day here and the temperature is 8 degrees Celsius. Mountains surround us. Some of the students still wearing their shorts are in for a surprise! We spend the next two days preparing for our journey to Antarctica and exploring the region.
Journal Entry by Jodie King, Student Participant
It is currently 6:00am; I have been awake since 3:30am. We had to leave super early for the airport this morning since our flight is at 6:40am to Ushuaia. We made it through check-in and security with more ease than at the past few airports, but now that we are at the gate, it seems as though our flight might be delayed a little. I wore shorts to the airport since it’s super hot here, but then this morning Geoff said it could be snowing when we get to Ushuaia, so that will be a little chilly if it is! Apparently this city has some of the most dynamic weather in the world because of the location at the point where three oceans meet. I want to take a picture by the sign that the people on the amazing race went to. It says something to the effect of “welcome to the bottom of the world” and then has directions to all the major cities in the world from there with the mileage.
Arriving in Ushuaia was an experience unlike any other that I have ever had. I knew there would be mountains, since this is the very end of the Andes chain, but until the last moment that we dropped through the clouds, they were invisible. I have never seen mountains like this in my life! We could see our hotel nestled up in the mountains from the airport, and I couldn’t wait to get up there. Why? There are REAL GLACIERS RIGHT THERE BEHIND IT!! You need to see a picture to truly understand what it is like. The first thoughts that crossed my mind upon seeing these amazing natural features were: how many more did there used to be? How long will it be before they are gone entirely? What will happen to Ushuaia when 80% of their water resources are gone?
During free time in Ushuaia, we did some typical tourist shopping. However, I wasn’t overly interested in it, and found myself down by the major ship port, just staring out at the Beagle Channel. I’m thinking about how far we have come already, and the amazing things I have seen; but more importantly, the most amazing part still left to explore; Antarctica! It’s a truly humbling experience to look out at the landscape that surrounds me here, and think of what I’m going to be learning over the next two weeks. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. Just thinking about the days ahead gets me so anxious to get on the ship and get going. The thought of seasickness hasn’t even crossed my mind because I’m focusing on the greater good, and the incredible friendships that will be made and lessons that will be learned. Every moment on this expedition so far has been a learning experience. Continuous learning is one of the most important goals in life, and I plan on learning non-stop from all of the amazing people I will share this trip with.
Jodie King
Journal Entry by Daniel Hammond,
Western University, London, Ont.
From Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
On Thursday, Feb 12th, I left Toronto with the group of 50 Canadians all heading toward the end of the world! We flew from Toronto to NYC to Santiago de Chile and eventually Buenos Aires, Argentina – exchanging stories and interests along the way. Flying over South America, we were privileged enough to see the Andes Mountains and a beautiful sunrise. After a long overnight flight we eventually arrived in Buenos Aires (yesterday afternoon).
Stepping out of the airport into a tropical climate was a great little precursor to what we have in store. We checked into our hotel, Park Central Unique Plaza, on a little pedestrian side street, in walking distance of the downtown core. After a few hours to unwind and ground ourselves, we split into two groups, enjoyed a walking tour of the city and met for dinner at local restaurant to review the travel plans for our early rising.
The wake up call was at 3:30am and after a six hour flight South, we arrived in Ushuaia – the harbor community on the Beagle Channel, our gateway to Antarctica. This airport exit was a much better indicator of our final destination; lifted off my feet by the air exchanged between the surrounding mountains and the Beagle channel, I felt alive.
So we made our way up to Hotel Glacial – at the base of the glacier and overlooking the town of Ushuaia. After a quick check-in and a bite to eat, the mountains were calling my name. Six of us headed for the hills and gained altitude fairly quickly. We navigated the shear sliding rocks and had a fantastic workout. We found our way back to the hotel and joined the group for some Ice Breaking activities (no pun intended).
With the majority of the group finally in the same room, we all shared our stories and our reasons for being here. The amazing stories and great intent from every person in the circle really displayed the diversity of the group. We ate dinner and were privileged enough to hear our guest speaker David Fletcher, an explorer from England, as he told the most enthusiastic and detailed version of Shackleton’s journeys to the poles. He filled the room with passion and inspired me to make the most out of this opportunity. The evening really set the tone for the days to come; environmental enthusiasts and adventurers focusing on flexibility and good karma in one of the most breathtaking places I have ever been.
Journal Entry by Florian Hofmann and Lukas Sundermann
Atlanta, Lima
Unser Ersatzflug ging erst nachmittags los, daher war Ausschlafen angesagt. Die ekligen Automaten-Sandwiches ließen uns zum Flughafen flüchten, wo wir unsere meal voucher zur Gänze ausnutzten. Die Security war beim Verlassen des Landes viel freundlicher – wir fragen uns, warum? Diesmal verlief wenigstens alles gut und nach einem Nachmittag Warten bei Starbucks hoben wir Richtung Lima ab. In Lima erwartet uns erst einmal ein kräftiger Kulturschock, wir werden durch die Security mehr oder weniger durchgewunken, unsere Tickets sehen aus wie Supermarkt-Kassenzettel und es wird noch nicht einmal ein Ausweis verlangt.
Students Susan Nulukie, Kerry MacKay, Hannah Koslowsky, Jodie King and Cassandra Budd
pose with flowers in the hills of Ushuaia
Students pose with an Emperor Penguin statue in front of one of the many souvenir shops in Ushuaia
Students and Staff enjoy some icebreaker activities
More icebreaker activities
Student Cheryl Grabski writes in her journal overlooking the mountains of Ushuaia
An evening view of Ushuaia Harbour
Traditional Dancers in Ushuaia
A decorative horse in one of the many shops in Ushuaia
Students Kevin Turner, Emilie-Jeanne Bercier, Thari Bin Gazi, Mirelle Deschamps and
Sandra Borton pose in front of the Ushuaia Harbour
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