Beautiful ice, and a lot of it, clear, big or small. Where the ships go, no high mountains. So, not dramatic enough. Humpback whales playing with the ship, Orcas jumping, some seals, innumerous small penguins coating the rocky coast pink. Big penguins (King and Emperor) are here only in winter. King may be sighted in South Georgia Island in summer. Too much food + wine. Menu never repeats. Lots of rest. 
Large cruise ships don't land, but more stable. Small expedition ships cost a lot. Our discounted 8-day trip with Antarctic Dream costs $4750 + tip in the cheapest cabin (2 bleak days crossing the Drake Passage, 1 day arrival, 1 day departure. So, just 4 days of activity). Overpriced, very much so, I would say. But if you are in the area, and has time and money, by all means. We certainly enjoyed the trip. Our expedition team leader doesn't seem to care what most tourist might enjoy. So, a standard stop, Fort Lockroy, which is on our itinerary, was skipped because our Rodrigo doesn't like research bases, as he has worked in one of those for 11 years. Jan 28th
7:00 pick up turned up at 7:45. 10:00 flight via DAP. Only 29 guests. Met one Chinese lady who traveling alone. Her travel companion was hospitalized in northern Chile due to high altitude sickness in Bolivia. 2 hours of smooth flight. Chocolate bonbons. Lunch on board: egg salad sandwich, peach salad, juice, cheese cracker. Had a glimpse of Cape Horn and many little islands in the southern water, through thick dirty airplane windows.
Landed on King George Island. There's a Chilean and Russian base Bellingshausen (named after the first person who sighted Antarctic) right next to the gravel air strip. Waited by the direction post for quite a while for the ~70 return tourists of a week ago. Walked to the bay, a lone Chinstrap Penguin welcomed us. Boarded 4 Zodiac rubber dinghies to get onto our home for the next 7 days — a 1958 Chile navy cargo ship named Piloto Pardo, after the Chilean captain Luis Pardo who rescued Shackleton's crew. The ship sails under a Honduras flag, even though everything is Chilean. Once onboard, it's possible to see the Chinese base "Great Wall".Lunch: green salad with cheese and chicken, meat ravioli (big thick dough), raspberry mouse with mint leave, crepe.
Brown Skua flew next to window. It's a huge bird. A whale far away. Occasional penguins leaping over water.
Passengers apart from dad and me (total 29, from 19 years old to 81):Chinese dentist Hou Xu (1958).
Muriel (1970) + Marten (1975), Dutch.
Nicole (1960) + Hans (1946), Dutch.
Charles (1943) + Margery (1947), British.
Clair (1962) + Hazel (1967), Ireland.
Pino (1938) + Laura (1987), Italy, father and daughter.
Hans (1930) + Ana (1946), Chile.
Esteban form Chile (1972) + Duilio + Patricio (1978), Chile.
Twin brother Nino and Bernard (1937) and wife Dorothy (1942) Canada.
Simon (1972) + Stacy (1972) about to be married in March, New Zealand.
Gabrielle (1992) Syndey, Collin (1986) USA.
Sheryl (1963) USA + Susan Malaysia (1960), from Singapore.
Richard (1943) + Leslie (1944), California Santa Cruz.
17:00
Emergency drill. Briefing on IAATO's regulation. Distribution of parka + rubber boots (thin, needs 2 pairs of thick socks).19:45
Welcome cocktail + speech by caption, hotel manager (excellent staff), doctor (gave me 2 doses of motion sickness pills), 9 expedition team members (5 Zodiac drivers, 1 ornithologist, 1 marine biologist, 1 biologist, 1 vet-turned historian - the nicest).Dinner: smoked salmon w/ quinoa, beef w/ rice, desert bar with fruits.
Jan 29th Sunny.
7:30-8:30 Breakfast: cheese, hams, scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, yogurt, pancake, toast. This appeared to be constant every morning.
Because of the good weather and warm water, we sailed through Antarctic Sound, and reached the northwest tip of Weddell Sea. 9:00 Zodiac ride to Devil's Island, a tiny rocky island out side of Vega Island. A large Adélie penguins colony. 
Adélie, after the wife of French explorer Jules Dumont, captain of Astrolabe, and Emperor are the only 2 truly Antarctic penguins. Rodrigo lead the hike up a very slippery (sandy with little loose stones) hill to the right, steep at times, dangerous, especially so many senior citizens among us. Good view. After descending, hiked up a smaller hill on the left and down to the beach, where the black+white adults and grey+fluffy chicks have deposited grey guano and pink regurgitated food. Very noisy, full of action.A hot and really salty soup was served as soon as we were back aboard.
In the afternoon, mini cruise close to Vega Island to see waterfalls, rock formation, and birds (Antactic Tern and Kelp Gull). Our Zodiac was driven by Rodrigo, which died 3 times. Had to wait/call another Zodiac over 3 times to restart the motor (each time with a single go). 
Waiting in cold is not fun, at least sunshine, no wind. One other Zodiac encountered a Mink whale.
13:45 lunch: seafood gratin, rib w/ potato, dessert buffet + fruits.15:00 lecture by Cristina on the 1902 Swedish expedition lead by Nordenskjold. 5 scientists and a doctor planned to winter at Snow Hill Island in Antarctic. They built a cabin and documented what they saw during their stay. However, when the scheduled pickup time came (Dec. 1902), Captain Larsen's ship wasn't able to cross the frozen Antarctic Sound. 3 men were dropped of at Hope Bay in order to walk over to Snow Hill Island, but was turned back by open water. The rest continued to look for a water way. Unfortunately, Larson's ship sank near Paulet Island. 20 men + dogs + supply (one boat). Another winter passed. In Oct 2003, 3 men at Hope Bay walked towards Snow Hill Island before summer. As luck has it, they met the search party sent by Nordenskjjold in Well Meet bay. In Nov. 2003, Argentina ship Uruguay rescued all members. An amazing survival story which I've never heard.
17:00 disembark for Snow Hill Island. No snow, no ice. Other than visiting the wood cabin of the 6 research team, we also took a peek at the well-stocked Argentinian refugio.Hot chocolate back on ship.
19:45 dinner: cracker and ham, baked hake, desert buffet.
On the way to and from Snow Hill Island (in Antarctic Sound), the floating ice blocks were truly amazing. As the sun set over the ice, the wake of the ship slide through the shining water, one of the two most memorable moments of this trip.
1/30 cloudy - sunny
5:00 disembark for Gourdin Island. Fur seal (young males kicked out of breeding grounds in South Georgia Island), Snowy Sheathbill (scavenger, nicknamed shit-bill), 3 types of penguin: Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo. 
Saw one Gentoo hatching an egg, alas, probably too late.8:00 breakfast.
11:00 Rodrigo gave a lecture on 6 penguins, but we were only be able to see 3.
12:30 lunch: salad, stuff chicken breast w/ risotto, desert buffet.
14:15
Astrolabe Island. A private sail boat (not part of IAATO, so unknown) was moored in the bay. Very scenic. 
Dragon Teeth black hills, many seals on beach, some on ice. Hiked up a hill w/ loose flat rock, slippery (but not steep) hill, then icy snow. Dad was wise not to go: dangerous. Very fine view up there. Took a photo of throwing snow balls, one hit the 2nd Rodrigo's lens. I slid down: faster and safer. 19:45
dinner: shrimp over grain, beef w/ mashed potato, desert.
At dinner time, someone spotted some Orcas ahead. 10 minutes later, we encountered a group of Humpback feeding. Our ship stopped. Location: next to Tower Island (NE), east of Orlean Strait. The whales swam around and under ship, maybe 20+. The excitement lasted for almost an hour. This is my other most memorable moment of the trip.1/31 overcast, warm.
9:00 Zodiac cruise in Paradise Bay, the most beautiful spot during this trip. Stunning scenery all the way into the bay. Glacier closeup, crystal clean, tall. Cormorant colony, yellow moss, orange lichen. 
After some persistent request of Susan, we landed at Argentinian Brown Station. We were told that they were busy, but later found out by fellow passengers (who didn't go for a hike) after chatting with the workers there, they had little to do, but with money to spend. Most of us hiked up a snowy slope for a better view, dad included. Hans had some heart problem up top. The team had to haul a wooden plank to carry him down. Warm ~6.5 °Warm soup back on board.
Lunch: salad, chicken breast w/ ratatouille, desert buffet.
16:00.
Zodiac cruise to Enterprise Island. A Norwegian whaler caught fire in 1916 in the vicinity. The captain ran the ship to ground in order to save its cargo: whale oil. Right now, the rusted wreck is home to some Antarctic Terns. A Turkish yacht was attached to it by rope. Getting chilly. Snowed a bit.19:30.
dinner: potato salad + scallop, salmon + mashed potato, ice cream in a sculpted ice bowl!After dinner, Susan challenged everyone to play hula hoop. Cristina and Esteban are good at it.
2/1 overcast - cloudy w/ sunshine
5:00
Whalers Bay on Deception Island, close to the entrance of the crater. Everyone hiked up to the lowest rim, some (I included) dipped in the water. Hot and steamy at the sandy (black) shore, cold just a couple of meters from the edge.7:30 Breakfast.
9:00
Telephone Bay (named after a ship) at the north end of Deception Island. Hiked up Telephone Ridge. Sun came out, warm. Rodrigo showed us a krill back on the beach.12:30 Lunch: emplanada of beef+onin+olive + salsa, fried cod w/ rice.
Leaving Antarctic ocean, sailing by Livingstone Island, Greenwich Island, then endless open water.
I slept through most of the afternoon lecture about Antarctic.
Dinner: ? almost threw up. Sometime in the afternoon, the housekeeper closed all windows.
2/2
Drake passage. Feeling sick. Slept all day, listening to iPOD. Couldn't stomach much food.
Lying on the couch for the two lectures: Antarctic sea birds, Antarctic marine mammals.
2/3
Beginning to see land in early afternoon.
18:30 slide show and selling of DVDs: $50
20:00 cocktail + dinner. Certificate of landing on Antarctic.
Bid for ship flag and navigation map. Starting at $100. Sold at $100 and $150.
2/4. Rainy - sunny - rainy.
Woke up in rain. Now in Ushuaia, Argentina. A nice town sit between mountains and ocean (Beagle Channel).7:00 breakfast. Getting our passports back. Dr. Hou's Argentina visa had expired. Since she doesn't speak English nor Spanish, I had to stay on the ship as a translator. The immigration officers finally arranged multiple pages to be signed by the officer, her, and the ship captain. Her onward reservation was copied and collected in a dossier, passport withheld. She was escorted to her hotel, and would be picked up for her flight Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, and again picked up at AEP to be transferred to EZE international airport, where she would fly to Peru.
After dumping our bags in our B&B, we walked to downtown along the pleasant waterfront. I managed to lose dad for ~20 minutes — got me seriously worried. Eventually I found him outside of the post office, which was closed. 
We met up with Dr. Hou at her hotel, and went on to Tierra de Fuego national park at the end of the world. The scenery is far from dramatic as Wikipedia claims. But even with the mist and rain, it's still pleasant, especially around the smaller lakes between the stop of Lapatia beach and Lake Roca. Very wet here. Lost of mistletoe and lichen growing on tree branches and rocks, with shiny yellow or orange color. It was sunny when we left Ushuaia, only about 20km later, the clouds came in, and by the time we finished the Lapatia Mirador trail, it started raining. Dad was cold, and we decided to catch the first bus home. On the way back, stopped at End of the World Train, used by convicts in the old days.This evening was devoted to postcard writing. Dad had already sent himself many. I sat in the dining area of the B&B chatting with a 68 year old Berliner downing a 1 litre bottle of beer, who had been traveling for 80+ days all by himself. Somehow, he seemed to be fed up, eager to go home.
