Antarctica by Emma

On entering the terminal I was surprised to see not only a Welsh greeting but a dinosaur. I had arrived in Peninsula Valdes, the starting point of my recent trip to Patagonia and Antarctica.

Peninsula Valdes is remote and arid yet rich in wildlife. Elephant seals bask on the shores - the mothers had just left their pups for the first time - and whilst at the estancia I saw Rheas (Ostrich-like), Maras (small rodents), European Hares, and Guanaco. I embarked upon a full day trip of the Peninsula heading north where you can see Orcas at times, although I did not have the opportunity on this occasion. At San Lorenzo, a private estancia, it is possible to see a large colony of around 2000 Magellanic Penguins which breed in what appeared to be a well planned and organised community. The Magellanic penguins arrive around late September and I was lucky to witness lots of females incubating their eggs, a few even nursed small grey fluffy chicks.

At Puerto Pyramides I headed out on a zodiac looking for Southern Right Whales. En route we were greeted by a pod of dusky dolphin who seemed intrigued by us. Shortly afterwards we saw a Southern Right and her calf - their immense size dwarfing our zodiac - and not long after a whole pod who were spy hopping and showing their tail fins. Seeing so much in just one day was exhilarating.

Leaving the Peninsula I flew down to Ushuaia where I was confronted by blazing sun and driving snow before boarding Antarctic Dream, my expeditionary boat for my Antarctic cruise. Plain sailing it was not and on encountering the choppy waters of the Drake Passage I opted for Dramamine to try and mitigate against the nausea of the movement of the boat.

Brown-bowed Albatros, Storm Petrels and many other seabirds accompanied us as we crossed the passage towards the South Shetland Islands. I spent the time watching movies (from the comfort of my cabin) and listening to Rodrigo's briefings on Antarctic wildlife.

After two days of blizzards I awoke to glorious sunshine and the South Shetlands. Our first outing by zodiac was an incredible experience, a wet landing on Aitcho Island. Here I was met by a colony of Gentoo penguins, in amongst them were a few chinstraps and brown skuas waiting for the opportune moment to steal a Penguin egg. I took over 140 photos on that landing - it really does pay to ensure that you have plenty of memory cards!

Suddenly the guides urged us back to the zodiac and boat. Within minutes sunshine was replaced by snow and minutes later a blizzard. The weather changes so dramatically and on one hand you feel vulnerable yet on the other you feel safe in the hands and expertise of the crew and guides.

Crossing from the South Shetlands to the Antarctic Peninsula was also fairly choppy. I awoke in the early hours of the morning when I nearly rolled out of bed to find that we were travelling incredibly fast. An announcement came over the public address system a few hours later asking us all to go to the dining room for an important meeting. Here we were told about the Explorer's distress signal and how we were diverting course to her rescue. Fortunately two boats were closer and were able to assist and ensure all of the passengers were safe.

Our itinerary changed due to weather and our next zodiac outing was a zodiac cruise at night around Paradise Bay. Of course night in Antarctica is a midnight blue that only lasts for a few hours from around 11pm to 2am.

The next landing was at Port Lockroy, the Antarctic Treaty Historic site, a British base. At Neko Bay I set foot on the Antarctic Continent which was a truly amazing feeling.

Cuverville Island was my favourite as we had perfect weather, absolutely amazing scenery and a huge colony of Gentoo Penguins. The terrain was rather steep with knee deep snow and I rather wish that I had cut down a little on the fantastic food on board the Antarctic Dream - maybe one too many empanadas! The Glacier was active with a large crashing sound every now and again and the echo of small avalanches.

Here we began our return voyage back to Ushuaia preparing ourselves for the Drake Passage and more bad weather. En route we passed Deception Island, although there was far too much pack ice to land on the island or swim in the thermal springs - Antarctica had just endured its harshest winter in years. The weather on the return journey was rough and most of us simply retired to our cabins to try and sleep through it.

The Captain's final dinner was an impressive finale to the amazing adventure. Whilst the trip had been blighted by weather I had been blessed - and thankful for - the quality of boat and crew.