Nov 20

Nov 20 Day 02 - Embark Silver Endeavour at King George Island

Our long day of travel begins with a motorcoach ride to the Santiago International Airport where we are to board our charter LATAM Airlines flight to Punta Arenas. Boarding passes for the flight are handed out to everyone on the coach before we arrive at the airport. We were a little surprised to see that we would not be sitting together on this flight.

After we arrive at the Santiago airport, our luggage is taken straight to the plane and we will not see it again until we board the ship. I made the mistake of taking my roll aboard luggage with me on the flight, hoping I could check it in Punta Arenas. I did that because I travel with a lot of expensive camera gear in my roll aboard and I am not too keen on having hundreds of pounds of other luggage piled on top of my roll aboard.

When we arrived at the gate for our charter flight (which was different than the gate number shown on our boarding pass) we tried to get our seats changed so we could sit together. However, there was a real language barrier with the gate attendants who barely spoke any English.

We boarded the chartered Airbus A321 LATAM Airlines flight on time. Fortunately, the plane was not full so we were able to change seats and actually ended up with great exit row seats. Soon after take off, we were served a light salad lunch (below). I don’t particularly like smoked salmon, so I ate around it and the rest of the salad was quite good. Soft drinks and wine were also offered on the flight and the flight crew was very nice.

Before long we were flying over the snow-capped Andes on our way to Punta Arenas.

After landing in Punta Arenas, I was hoping there would be somewhere that I could check my roll aboard, but that opportunity never presented itself. I was not alone, however, as many others also had their rolling luggage with them.

Our next charter flight was on Antarctic Airways aboard a BAE overwing aircraft. The plane has 2-3 seating configuration and we lucked out and got on the 3 side with an empty seat between us.

Boarding Antarctic Airways Flight in Punta Arenas

When we board the BAE aircraft, we are surprised at how roomy the seats are. This is not traditional “business class”, but the seats are very spacious with lots of legroom. All of our gear is waiting for us in our seats. A Silversea backpack, parka, boots and waterproof pants.

The flight to King George Island is about two hours and because of the extra legroom and comfortable seating, it is actually a pleasant flight.

Soon after takeoff, we are served a light Chilean snack.

Light Chilean Lunch on Antarctic Airlines

After lunch, we are all instructed to try on our gear. This was no easy task to put on large waterproof boots, parkas and pants on an airplane. But, we all managed. There were some last minute gear changes for some who received items that did not fit well.

If you are on this flight to King George Island, be prepared for a really rough landing as the “airport” in King George Island does not have a paved runway. There is no terminal building and once you step off the plane you are greeted with the cold and snow you would expect in the coldest part of the world. Buses are waiting to take us to the “beach” where we will board Zodiacs for the short ride to Silver Endeavour.

I don’t have any photos or video of the Zodiac ride to Silver Endeavour because all of my camera gear was packed in my roll aboard, which had to be left on the beach to be delivered later by the expedition team.

Once we arrived on board Silver Endeavour, we were greeted in the mud room where we removed our boots and gloves. We packed our shoes in our back packs, which did come with us on the Zodiac, so we changed into them in the mud room.

We were then guided to reception to complete the onboard check-in, have security photos taken, and receive our stateroom key cards.

It has been a very long day of travel and all we want to do is unpack and enjoy a relaxing dinner, which we did at The Restaurant on Deck 4. We had a table for two with a beautiful view.