L'Austral

Antarctica - the southernmost continent in the world. The Ponant Antarctic expedition started in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where members met and flew to Ushuaia to board L'Austral. Leaving Ushuaia via the Beagle Channel, the ship headed across the Drake Passage, where according to Wikipedia over 20,000 sailors have died and 800 shipwrecks lie under the water. After Zodiac landings on both sides of the Antarctic peninsula, the ship headed to South Georgia Island with a stop at the South Orkney Islands. After several stops at South Georgia, the ship cruised to the Falkland Islands before returning to Ushuaia for the trip home. This was the reverse of the planned route because the Falklands had an on-ship quarantine period before allowing visitors.