Today I'm at the Ushuaia airport. We just got off the boat to Antarctica and we're heading home. This is part two of the podcast. I'm going to talk to our non-photographers on the trip to see what they learned, what they brought, what they should have brought, and what they brought too much of. First up we have: Hi, I'm Cindy Murray and I live in New York City. Hi, Amy Glenn, Red Bank, New Jersey. Hi, Christine Murray, New York City. So the first question I have for the three of you is: Did you have a good trip?
I had an amazing trip. We saw amazing landscapes and we got up close to the wildlife, much closer than I had anticipated, and we were lucky enough to have almost perfect weather. Yeah. I can't recommend this trip enough. I think it's something that everybody should do at some point in their life. It's absolutely fantastic. Did I enjoy this trip? Yes. Excellent. Nice short answers. It's the way I like it.
Next up, I want to talk about clothing. What did you bring to keep your feet warm? So I packed two pairs of cotton socks, two thin layer wool Smartwool socks, and two thicker Smartwool hiking socks. I definitely needed to pack more socks — more socks. Yeah, I think nine pairs: three cotton, three long Smartwool, and three shorter, thinner socks. And I probably only needed two short and two long of the hiking socks, the thermal Smartwool. And I wore two pairs every day and my feet were totally fine.
We had pretty good weather on this trip. It was quite sunny for half of the trip, so we didn't need significantly warm-weather clothing, but we did have a day with really cold weather where I felt like I was wearing everything I owned. I put on four layers that day. You could feel it was still cold, but I was warm enough.
I never used toe warmers. I used hand warmers that day. I would recommend also ski goggles because if it's raining or snowing, and even in the Zodiac — it wasn't raining but I was getting splashed — I was happy to have the goggles so that I could still see.
So speaking of splash, how did you guys deal with getting splashed on the Zodiac? I tested all of my clothing before I came to see if it actually was waterproof. I put my gloves under the sink. I put my ski pants in the shower. The key is just really making sure that your stuff is waterproof. Some people had stuff that was water resistant and that didn't hold up that well.
Ski pants seem to be the big clue here, but also making sure that your ski pants are absolutely waterproof. I thought mine were waterproof but found out that they were not. I was soaked all the way through my tights and to my underwear when we got splashed once in the Zodiac.
Speaking of eye cover, you guys brought ski goggles and you thought that was a good idea. Did you bring anything else for your eyeballs? I brought two pairs of sunglasses — polarized sunglasses with a strap so they don't fall off. So yeah, two pairs of sunglasses, definitely polarized, and a strap to keep them attached to your body.
Absolutely sunglasses. You don't realize how strong the sun is, number one, and it's reflecting off the ice and it's reflecting off the water. So on very sunny days, you absolutely need to have sunglasses if you want to be outside. Two pairs of sunglasses is really important because on one of our kayaking trips, two of our kayakers capsized and one of the guys lost his only pair of sunglasses. So bringing two pairs is really vital.
What about something to keep your head warm? What did you bring? I brought a headband — like a warm headband to keep your ears warm — which was good enough for some days. But other days I needed a full-on winter hat to cover my head and my ears. I would put my ski goggles over that, but you absolutely have to bring something for your head to keep your head warm.
I had two winter hats and I also had a neck gaiter, which was really helpful to pull up on the windy days and even when you were getting wet. And I would definitely recommend bringing two sets of hats and gloves because when you do get wet in the morning, you're going to need a fresh set for the afternoon. I would agree — two sets of everything. And every morning they came over the loudspeaker and said, “Make sure you're warm and waterproof.” They can't stress that enough. Water resistant and waterproof are two different things. Make sure your stuff is waterproof.
Aside from getting splashed in the Zodiac, was there another reason to have waterproof pants or a waterproof jacket? Yes. We were getting in and out of the Zodiacs and there were times where we were stepping into the water. So you had to make sure your pants are waterproof. And we got lucky with the weather, but it could very easily rain while you're there and you're still going out in Zodiacs in the rain.
The other reason why you need waterproof stuff is when you come back onto the boat, they literally spray you down with a pressure washer. Because my pants weren't waterproof below my knees, I was always wet. Also, this brings up the shoe situation: they provide you with waterproof muck boots for getting on and off the ship. They were really good, really comfortable. I put my orthotics in them — that made it much more comfortable as well.
They were very warm. I typically had on a thin pair of liner socks and just one pair of thick wool socks and my feet were totally fine. I think if we were allowed to go camping on this trip, it might have gotten a little bit colder in our feet because we would have been out on the ice nine, ten hours, but we did not get that opportunity. So the muck boots were just fine. We even did some hiking in them too, so they were comfortable and functional.
So what about your jackets and covering your torso? What did you guys use for that? I used a thin layer thermal and then a heavier layer thermal on top of that almost every day, and then a thin Smartwool sweatshirt. Then they give us puffer jackets, which are super warm. And then our outer layer is waterproof as well — that they also provided.
This trip was with Polar Latitudes, and as Chris just said, they offered us a puffer jacket, mid-layer, and then a waterproof shell on the outside. That waterproof shell was really key to keeping us dry. I don't think the puffer was enough on the coldest days. On that one really cold day, I had another puffer under that and two more layers of Under Armour under that, and I was just comfortable. If it was any colder, that wouldn't have worked for me.
Same on the coldest days — I added another jacket. So basically three jackets and then two thermal layers, which was enough. But if you're out camping or something, you might be cold with even that. I actually wore one thermal layer long sleeve, then a vest, then the puffer jacket, and then the outer waterproof jacket. That was generally fine. But I agree, if we'd been out for longer than two hours — which was generally what we were on the Zodiac or out on an excursion — you'd probably need another layer.
What was the most helpful piece of clothing that you brought? Waterproof ski pants and waterproof gloves for sure. Same. The gloves are really important as well. But I found that I usually was just wearing the thin liner gloves rather than the big bulky mittens that I brought. Waterproof gloves — I realized mine were not waterproof. When I was holding on to the rope in the Zodiac, which was wet, my hand got wet. Make sure your gloves are waterproof.
Also, if you plan on taking any pictures at all, you need to have some dexterity in your fingers, so you wouldn't want your gloves to be too thick or bulky. Or if you wear a mitt on the outside of your gloves — a waterproof mitt on the outside — you can take the mitt off and still use your camera or your phone to take pictures with. That's a good option as well.
One other thing is I had a carabiner clip. I would clip my bigger mittens to my jacket so if I needed them, I had them. And a lot of people on the ship said, “Oh, I think that's a great idea.” The Helly Hansen or Shackleton jacket shell that they gave us actually has a D-ring on the outside, on the front, where you can put a carabiner on for a variety of things like an extra hat or an extra pair of gloves — and that's a good idea.
Next question: what was the least useful item that you brought with you? I packed a light wool sweater to wear on the boat. It was way too warm on the boat to wear a wool sweater. So instead of bringing wool clothing to wear on the ship after excursions or for meals, I suggest bringing a couple of long-sleeve or even short-sleeve cotton layers to wear around the ship.
Yeah, that seemed to be the number one complaint. The ship was kept incredibly warm. Rooms were incredibly warm. Lounges were very, very warm as well. And this is a little problematic because you've got your T-shirt on and everything's great, but then a whale starts coming by outside and you run outside and it's 20 degrees Fahrenheit. So you're freezing. I said in the previous podcast: I learned to always bring my jacket with me to the lounge and my camera in case there was a whale sighting.
I was already bragging that I wore everything in my bag, so nothing wasn't useful. So Amy packed perfectly — and we like hearing that. So whatever she just said, that's a good one.
I was doing some research for this trip and I read that people wished they had packed more T-shirts. So I did pack T-shirts, but what I think they really meant was: not only cotton T-shirts, but pack something that's not warm but comfortable, like a cotton zip-up or sweatpants or joggers, because I had packed very warm clothing and didn't have something casual to wear around the boat.
Any last-minute thoughts? Yes, one more thing — because I took some notes. Zim had these — no one else did — knee pads, because you're going to do a lot of kneeling in the Zodiac to get good shots, whether you're a photographer or not. And everybody was complaining about their knees and wishing they had knee pads.
Yeah, I said that in the previous pod with the photographers. Even for non-photographers, you should probably bring a pair of knee pads because you'll be asked to be on your knees so that people on the other side of the Zodiac can take photographs over your head. It's not just for photographers — it's for non-photographers as well.
I would say one thing: my pants got wet one afternoon because I forgot to zip the pockets of my jacket, and the water got into the pockets, which got my pants wet. So zip up the pocket zippers on your jacket.
Just to recap: our trip had amazing weather for the vast majority of the trip, and then we had one day where it was exceedingly cold. The weather down there is always dicey — you just don't know what you're going to get. So you really do have to be prepared for sunny days, snowy days, windy days, and calm days as well. It makes packing really difficult, but if you have it, you won't be sorry. Be as prepared as possible.
I only packed one suitcase — a carry-on — which limited what I could pack. If I had to do it again, I would probably bring two carry-on suitcases and check one of them, and make sure that I had at least one set of warm waterproof stuff in the suitcase I bring with me onto the plane, just in case the second luggage doesn't make it to the final destination.
Chris's strategy is a solid one. Unfortunately, as a photographer, I had altogether too much stuff to fit into a carry-on. I definitely had checked luggage, but I think she's right: having one set of waterproof everything in your carry-on in case your luggage gets lost.
If you're afraid of getting your luggage lost or missing flights, I would suggest planning a day in Buenos Aires or planning a couple extra days in Ushuaia before you embark on the trip. Everyone should know that Aerolíneas was a bit of a nightmare. They continued to change their schedule for the six months leading up to the trip. Even here at the airport, the board is not reading the same departure time as yesterday, which is odd, but also: when you fly from AEP to Ushuaia, give yourself a lot of extra time. It was an absolute mess at the airport — 100 to 200 people waiting in line and not enough agents.
Anything else you guys want to add? Yes: the ship did not have a toiletry store. They had a gift shop, but the gift shop did not have a single toiletry item. Make sure you come prepared with whatever you need. And if you forgot it, make sure you pick it up in Ushuaia.
This brings up another issue. In the first podcast I did before the trip with Jen Keister, she said that candied ginger was available readily. It was not. I asked for it — they did not have any. If you need Dramamine or something like that, you had to go to the ship's doctor. If you need anti-seasickness stuff, bring it. I do get seasick. I took scopolamine patches. What did you guys do?
I also had the scopolamine patch. I put it on the first day on the ship and wore it every day because I didn't know what to expect, and I would rather not be seasick. We had a pretty calm crossing through the Drake both ways. On the way back it was a little rougher, but I never experienced seasickness — mostly drowsiness as a side effect. Some of us had dilated eyes, which made sunglasses even more important.
I used the patch also. I don't think I get seasick, but I didn't want to find out. I do get seasick, so I took meclizine, and the doctor also prescribed me ondansetron for when you actually do get sick. I took both when I started to feel nauseous. Go to your doctor and get the drugs.
I took scopolamine and I want to talk about the side effects. I had a low-level headache and didn't know why. I thought maybe I was getting seasick until someone said scopolamine dilates your eyes. From that point forward I wore sunglasses even inside — the light coming in from a window was enough to give me a headache.
The other side effect of scopolamine is thirst and dry mouth. I was slamming water to get through that, but those were the only two side effects. The second time I started the scopolamine was on the way back, and since I knew that was a problem, I was able to prevent the headache by always wearing sunglasses and carrying water. So do look at the side effects of all these drugs and be prepared for that.
The air is very dry. We all packed electrolytes like Gatorade or LMNT or Liquid I.V., and we’d put those in our water bottles, which helped.
There was a little discussion about the showers on the trip. What do we have to say about the showers? The showers worked fine. The pressure was good. The hot–cold fluctuated a little, even if you didn’t move the handle. Not enough to jump out of the shower, but noticeable. If you’re taking a break from a landing or a Zodiac ride and people are off the ship, that’s the best time to shower. If you shower when everyone else is showering, the temperature will fluctuate more.
One other important thing to pack and bring with you is sunscreen. You need to put that on your face every day. You need chapstick or lip balm with SPF. Make sure to put sunscreen on your hands, because sometimes the weather is nice enough that you won’t be wearing gloves. And bring a really good moisturizer because the air is so dry and your hands will get chapped. Absolutely bring sunscreen and a good moisturizer.
Anything else to add? No. It was a great trip — an amazing trip. The staff and the crew at Polar Latitudes were amazing.
Yeah, the staff and the crew at Polar Latitudes were definitely amazing. I'm looking toward doing an Arctic trip in 2027 if anybody wants to join me in June 2027 to shoot polar bears. But anyway, that’s it. Thanks for joining me. Until next time, keep on shooting.
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