Nei Maldaner left Porto Alegre on November 11st, 2006 for an incredible adventure. To cross the Antarctic continent, on board of the ship ice-break Kapitan Khlebnikov. Check the report of one of the trips more special and waited for Nei!

It began the most waited trip of my life, in fact it was a dream accomplishing, days before I had passed badly with pressure high, a lot of expectation and I was very busy. The trip promised! After all, one month to pass on board a Russian ship, the ice-break in Antarctica, it was very wanted. Besides having more than hundred people to know, to learn and to change ideas.

In the next day I would go to the other hotel, the hotel of the expedition. I woke up, had breakfast, that cannot be compared with our breakfast. I caught a cab and I went to the other hotel that was far, out of the city, in the south area.

In the hotel Los Nidres as I arrived early, there wasn't free room, but soon one was available and I stayed. To go to the downtown, for being far, there was a van every hour. So, I took one and stayed in the center all the day.

I went back to the hotel and my room partner, a Dutch, very smiling gentleman arrived. We liked each other. I thought that would be a good room partner. I went for the center again, had dinner and I bought more some things, took pictures of the city now with tripod. But when I returned had already gone the last van, even so I went by the cab. We landed in the hotel Los Nidres, a very cool hotel, in the south part and west of Ushuaia.

Me as always bothering, already in the morning woke up at 6 o'clock, it was very cold and the window was open all night all, because Peter, the Dutchman that was in the same room, he liked to leave the open window, the result was the cold. It almost detonated me a flew, fortunately not.

Good, I was in the bed until 7h30min o'clock, when they called us, I was about how I would send the lens and also my suitcases, because I had two labels for the three or four suitcases, more the big lens of 800mm, the backpack and the notebook!

I left the suitcases out of the room, so that the staff took for the ship, when I noticed that I needed to leave separated the personal material. I found a way, I didn't want to open everything, I had brushed my tooth, so the rest was a Turkish bathing.

Good, we went to have breakfast, my room colleague, Peter, a partner, gave me some ideas about how to take the lens, perhaps until leaving in the other hotel in the center where were some people, the Hotel Albratroz.

While we waited everybody sat down in the reception, I already met a couple from Spain and an English man, he began to show me the lenses that he had and I played showing that I had the same as him. There, I noticed that a lot of people would have good equipments. I met a boy of New York, which worked with TI.

The bus that would take us for the park arrived and later we would have lunch and we proceed for the ship. Then we would not go back anymore to the Hotel. In the end I maintained the lens, the backpack and the notebook inside of the bus during the walk. We were direct for the National Park of Ushuaia; the walk was show, fast, but cool, a lot of life!

In the best part, when we were in the lake, started pouring rain! Good, I don't need to say that in Ushuaia have four stations in the same day. We continued like this with the guide's clues, stopping the bus every hour, I had never gone in a tour of this type, of senior people, because there was only senior in the bus. At least it seemed that the face of NY was new the older whole rest. In the stops that the bus did in the park just a gentleman didn't go down. He was 74 years old and said that was well, but didn't want go down.

I asked clues to the people of the park on camping, there has a lot of places for camp and has free area or paid. It's possible to camp the whole year, even in the winter.

Thus, we finished the walk, after seeing many animals and mainly birds. We left the park and we were direct for the lunch. We ate a lamb and we took pictures of albatross that were there out, a very pretty place.

After a long lunch, we went back slowly to the center, we were not friends yet, when we arrived in the city we sighted our ship!

We had 40 minutes before embarking, I took advantage of to buy a bag for the video camera and later I sought internet, even so the ones that found didn't allow access direct of my personal computer, because I wanted to speak voip and send more photos. I went then until the hotel that had put up when I arrived in the city.

Arriving there I had less than 20 minutes to connect me and to speak, I wanted to say good-bye to the personnel by voice and msn. I spoke to Kelly, also with Ayumi through msn and after I could call for Ayumi through voip while sending part of the photos of the park.

When I saw it was time to go! I left quickly trying to find a cab, had passed 10 minutes of the schedule, besides, I worried about the personnel that was there in the bus, waiting. I arrived running, we went to the ship, we passed to the customs that only verified the safety of the materials.

One of the largest adventures of my life was beginning!

Translation: Débora A. da Silva