Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina

After two glorious days in Buenos Aires - highlighted by a fantastic Tango performance at a local 'Tangeria' and the BEST steak ever smothered in Chimichurri Sauce at a traditional Argentine Parrilla - I arrived in Ushuaia this afternoon and boarded the Marco Polo. A few hours later we set sail southward towards Antarctica!

It is currently 10:15pm (2 hours ahead of West Palm time) and outside it is only as dark as dusk - like when it first gets to the point whn you think you should turn on your headlights. One of the cruise staff told me that this is as dark as it gets. As we get further south, it will not even get this dark - and it will only be this way for a few hours in the middle of the night!

We have a good 30 hours of sailing ahead of us before we reach Antarctica. The 'rough stuff' will begin mid-afternoon tomorrow as we cross the Drake Passage. Something about where the cold and warm waters crash into one another, east and west winds slam into one another... all part of the adventure!

Got fitted for my red expedition parka tonight. Hillarious. I will never live the photos down... but at least EVERYONE on board will look as funny as I do!

Tomorrow there are going to be several expedition lectures throughout the day to prep us for exploring in the zodiacs and educate us about the wildlife we will be seeing.

Our first landing will be at Deception Island on Tuesday morning.

That's about it for now! Time to get settled in and unpack.

More tomorrow about the treacherous Drake Passage............