South America & Antarctica, 2025

Back in January, Melissa and I visited South America and Antarctica. It was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip centered around a fourteen-day cruise on the Norwegian Star. This post includes a lot of photos . . . including more penguins than you probably ever wanted to see.

There was a pretty big “snafu” right at the start of the trip. We were booked on Delta Airlines from Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia to Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza) International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a connection at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia. We made it to Atlanta just fine, then Delta canceled the flight to Argentina.

Delta scheduled an impossible flight—the plane was scheduled by the airline to depart Las Vegas for Atlanta about an hour before it was scheduled to leave Atlanta for Buenos Aires. That was never going to happen. There were no alternatives available to get us to Buenos Aires before the ship departed . . . so we missed it.

The first three days of the cruise were at-sea days and the next port was Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern end of South America. So the “catch-up” plan had us spend the night in Atlanta, fly to Buenos Aires for a night, then take a domestic Aerolíneas Argentinas flight from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires to Ushuaia-Malvinas Argentinas International Airport in Ushuaia to meet the ship a couple days later.

In the end, it all worked out. We got to spend more time in both Buenos Aires and Ushuaia than originally planned and only missed a few at-sea days. Once we were on the ship we traveled as-planned to Antarctic waters; the Falkland Islands; Puerto Madryn, Argentina; and Montevideo, Uruguay; then back to Buenos Aires for the flight home, this time connecting through Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico.

Between our travel insurance and Norwegian’s guarantees (since we booked airfare through them), we didn’t lose any money in the end either. We might even have saved a little bit once you combine the initial costs, the unexpected costs, and the later reimbursements.

Buenos Aires

For our unexpected night in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we stayed in the Puerto Madero Waterfront area. That was the city’s original seaport, but it fell into disrepair after the “new port” was built. In the last twenty-five years (or so) it underwent a major urban renewal project and is now home to high-rises, museums, art installations, shops, and more. We also passed through the city again (briefly) on our way home.

Ushuaia

Ushuaia, Argentina, is the southernmost city in the world . . . according to Argentina. Puerto Williams, Chile, is farther south, but with only 2,000 residents to Ushuaia’s 82,000 it can only claim to be the southernmost town.

If you ask Chile, they will tell you that their city of Punto Arenas is the southernmost city in the world. That’s true . . . if you define a city as a “municipality with over 100,000 residents.” That definition excludes the Argentine cities of Ushuaia and Río Grande, which are both farther south than Punto Arenas.

Anyway, since we had a lot more time there than originally planned we got to see a good portion of the city and take an excursion to Isla Martillo (Hammer Island), a rookery for gentoo and Magellanic penguins. And no matter how you define a city, the Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Our Lady of Mercy) Catholic Church in Ushuaia is the southernmost church in the world.

Antarctica

After boarding the ship in Ushuaia, we traveled across the infamous Drake Passage to the waters of Antarctica. We transited through the South Shetland Islands and cruised Paradise Bay, where we saw Adélie penguins, humpback whales, and lots of icebergs. We were originally supposed to cruise by Elephant Island and Cape Lookout too, but that part was canceled due to poor weather.

Falkland Islands

Our next stop was Port Stanley in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.

Don’t tell the Argentinians I said that. They prefer to pretend these islands are the Islas Malvinas and that they have some historical claim to owning them. They’re wrong. The Brits have history, precedent, and democracy on their side here. I’m not just saying that because I’m ethnically British (mostly) . . . after all, my ancestors fought a war against Britain to gain their independence. I’m only saying the Brits are right about this because . . . they are.

Anyway, we took an excursion to the Bluff Cove Lagoon to see more penguins. So many penguins. This rookery had colonies of gentoos, kings, and Magellanics.

Puerto Madryn

The next stop was Puerto Madryn, Argentina, a city located on the Golfo Nuevo (New Gulf). We took an excursion from there to the Punta Tombo, the world’s largest penguin colony. I hope you like penguins—especially Magellanic penguins—because I have even more pictures of them to show you.

We also saw some flamingos, rheas (a flightless bird distantly related to ostriches and emus), guanacos (a close relative of the llama), and a big ol’ European hare (endemic in Argentina since the 1800s).

Montevideo

The last stop before returning to Buenos Aires was the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. We did not do an organized excursion here, we just visited the Plaza de la Fuente historic market and walked around for a while.