Saturday, March 3, 2012

Deception Island

Two stops at Deception Island today. I missed the first one because I was in my sick bed. A 24 hour bug or some seriously potent pisco sours or a combination made for a rough night! Besides - they went out at 5:30. Blech!

It is because this tour company explicitly included a stop at Deception Island (weather permitting of course!) that I chose to come on this cruise. The idea of visiting a volcanic crater where the waters were warmed by geothermal activity was really intriguing. So I made myself get up for the second outing.

We landed on the shore at Whaler's Bay and went for a short walk past seals and abandoned buildings. These buildings were once part of the whaling community from 1931-1969. At one time there were so many whale carcasses you could walk along the shore without actually setting foot on the sand, how sickening. It's sure a different view these days.

The wind was fierce as we walked up a hill to a magnificent lookout called Neptune's Window. The sun was finally out though and the landscape was more pretty with shadows.

Then we wandered down the beach to a spot where the waters at the shore were actually hot. About half of the group stripped down and went for the polar dip. I just wasn't feeling up to it; I was green under the gills. Part of me wanted to join them, part of me was glad to have an excuse not to go. I might regret not going but I'm okay with that right now. I could always come back to do it or try it in the Arctic!

As we left Deception Island, I noticed two entrances but I later discovered that we were only in a small harbour of the large, doughnut shaped island. There is only one entrance and as I found out in the afternoon lecture, it was named Deception Island because it looks easy to sail into but it's not. The waters are 500m across at the entrance but the navigable waters are only 90m wide. Right in the middle of this entry way is a rock hiding 2.5m below the surface. We had calm seas going in. I could imagine it could be quite tricky on a stormy day.

Our departure out of Deception Island meant we said goodbye to Antarctica. That was our last landing and now we're rocking and rolling our way through the Drake Channel. We should be in Ushuaia in three days' time. Hopefully by then I'll be caught up with my journaling, photo editing and general laziness on board!

Friday, March 2, 2012

FOMO fail

My point-and-click is still dead, damn. At least my dSLR came back to life! I needed it too for this morning's hike at Neko Bay...at 5:30AM. We hiked up to the top of a rock at the bay and the waters were so calm that the water looked like a mirror. It was pretty magical and likely even more so because of the early hour (hard as it was to get up).


After breakfast we headed back out to Port Lockroy to see the penguins, whale bones and the old British naval base. I couldn't believe all we'd done before 13h!

It's quite the event to make a landing. It feels like most of the time is spent putting on and taking off our gear plus lining up to get on the zodiacs, disinfecting our boots and scrubbing off penguin poop on our way back in!

Here's a shot of the group lining up to head out to the zodiacs:

A nap and a shower refreshed me and it felt good to be clean again. Unfortunately it meant that I accidentally missed the humpback whale show. I only caught the tail end of their show (ha ha...so punny!) and they were showing off right at the bow of the boat only a few meters away.

For hours afterwards everyone was just raving about it. I guess I did miss out. Wah! That's a tough blow for my FOMO. That's "Fear Of Missing Out" and it's a serious condition many suffer from! ;o)

I sat with Mitch and Sara, Rich, Julian, Bram and Ursula tonight and had a great time. Lots of laughs. What a great group on board.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Iceberg Alley

The morning forecast stated that we were now at 64 degrees 42 minutes south. Lower and lower we go!

We headed out to Dorian Bay on Weincke Island today for our first excursion of the day. We finally got to walk which, after being cooped up on the boat was fantastic. We went up to the top of a peninsula to look out at the view. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy so there wasn't much inspiration for photographs.

Instead, we played in the snow. It was the perfect snowball snow so many snowballs were thrown, snow angels made and everyone was having a great time goofing off!

As I looked around it really struck me - everyone was smiling and laughing. We were all very much in that moment - all far away from our real lives, enjoying this special place. That's how it should be!

Lunch was served not too long after we were back. I have to say that the meals on board have been gourmet! Artistic presentation, plenty of variety and some delicious vegetarian options.

After a failed attempt to get us out on to the zodiacs at 14h they moved further south in the Lemaire Channel where they hoped it would be more sheltered from the wind. We managed to get out at 15h and went cruising between the icebergs in Pleneau Bay. It was gorgeous, absolutely stunning!

Time flew by and we didn't even notice. We were called back because the winds had picked up. Part way back the zodiac broke down which meant we had to transfer from one boat to another while out on these waters. Fun! Maximiliano came to our rescue in what we called the 'Maxi-taxi'. ;o)

On the way back we had to brace ourselves for choppy water and lots of getting splashed. And boy did we! It was cold but most of us were laughing the whole way back. Some were not amused! It was cold and I understand but that is part of the experience. We're in ANTARCTICA for goodness sake!

My cameras didn't fare well on the voyage and I'm rather worried about them at the moment. I hope returning to room temperature will bring them back to life...

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Continent #7!

It's February 29th and the weather was cooperating better. By 9:15 we were onshore Cuvaville Island visiting a gentoo penguin rookery.

Given the weather's been so unpredictable and I've learned not to postpone things until later, I donned my penguin costume and posed with the family! In the end I didn't bother taking it off as it kept me warm and the winds were a bit fierce. It was a hit and I got lots of laughs. I wore it proudly! The guides said they'd never seen anything like it. I'm actually quite surprised by that.

I'd been warned and the penguins do indeed smell a bit...but that's where having a cold is actually an advantage! ;o). It was fascinating to watch them and quite useful to have watched the BBC documentaries to understand some of their behaviours. The chick taps on the mother's beak, for example, when it wants to be fed. That cues her regurgitation instinct (yum, yum).

Many were moulting now too which meant they're quite vulnerable since they can't swim. We had to be very careful not to walk any closer than 5m to them. If they came to us, however, it was a different story. Sure enough, whenever I'd stop to take some pictures, I would look down afterwards to find them wandering right by me, not paying me any attention. (Obviously they're not fooled by my costume!)

This afternoon we went on a zodiac tour of the glaciers in Paradise Bay. I had to re-strategize the sock situation! Six pairs felt much warmer! We went closer to the glaciers and saw some humpback whales, more penguins and a cormorant colony. The hour we were out seemed to go by really quickly.

At 18h we headed out yet again to a Chilean military base. As I set foot on land, it marked the 7th continent that I've been to! I've always wanted to visit all seven continents and I am proud of the fact that I achieved my goal at the age of 36. As I also just realized, I accomplished this on one passport. I wonder what my next goal will be?!

Today is also my roommate Jemma's 10th real birthday or her big 4-0. What a way to celebrate! She had a huge grin on her face all day and said that it was the best birthday ever. I joined her table for dinner and we all shared some of the birthday cake they made for her. The pisco sours came shortly afterwards and got the post-dinner celebrations off to a good start. It was a really fun night and the laughter picked up significantly when I brought out the "Che Boludo" book and we started to read from it. Too funny. What a fantastic day it turned out to be!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Mighty Mother Nature

The planned itinerary has changed in two ways and it's only 8AM. Because of the good weather we had crossing the Drake, we actually arrived here at about 18h last night instead of mid-morning today. Apparently this was a record time for the captain who has never had such fine weather.

That was yesterday. The winds have picked up significantly and the planned landings are doubtful. They told us that the waters are now what they call 'oveja' or sheep waters. It means there there are white swells out there that look like little sheep, and it's too dangerous to go out to Aitcho Island in the zodiacs. I'm just fine waiting on the warm boat until it's more appropriate to go outside but, sure enough, there are always those people expressing their disappointment. Sorry kids - Mother Nature is in charge down here!

They made a couple of attempts to get us out to the ice later in the afternoon and sent a zodiac to check on the safety of the landing site at Astrolabe Island. We could predict the answer from the boat as we watched them cross the waters to the island. There was just no way it was safe for us to go out.

There were some wildlife sightings from inside the boat though as we worked our way through Orleans Strait. I found it almost as interesting to watch the people's reaction to the animals as the animals.

I read and slept during the afternoon which suited me fine as I'm still not feeling great. I couldn't resist popping upstairs when they announced that we were circling a spectacular iceberg. It was snowing and tricky to get a shot but here's what I managed:

It's been interesting getting to know everyone on the boat. There are still some people I have yet to meet but for the most part I've met the majority. There are more young ones on the boat than I would have expected and of course there's the senior-contingent. There are some really lovely people that I'm enjoying getting to know. As with any big group, there are some that you have an affinity with and some you don't and some who are REAL characters! Oh my!

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Drake Passage Part 2

On the second morning they announced that our position was now 60 degrees and 41 minutes south. We were now officially in Antarctic waters. I went up to take have a look and was really struck by the fact that I've never been in the open ocean like this this before do far away from...everything!

They make good use of the time in the crossing to give us some lectures on where we're going, what we'll see and what we can and cannot do.

There's a mandatory talk on the code of conduct for tour operators and visitors to Antarctica. It's the IAATO, or International Agreement for Antarctic Tour Operators, and it's fairly thorough which I was glad to see. Some things really need to be said as common sense isn't as common as it should be. Predictably, no littering and don't approach the animals are on the list. Disinfecting boots before and after visits was a surprise though but it makes sense as they're trying to keep the area as pristine as possible and avoid the introduction of any foreign organisms.

All the talks were very interesting though I confess to being less interested in the talk about pelagic birds. When I heard mention of petrels, adelies and skuas I had to shudder. Those are names of some tools at work. After a brief thought or two about Corporate-Christy, I remembered it's Monday and I'm as far away from her as I can get! ;o)

In addition to the lectures by the guides, they're showing the BBC documentary 'The Frozen Plant' narrated by David Attenborough. It's fantastic and has certainly got everyone chomping at the bit to get out and see it all for themselves.

Land Ho! After a couple of lectures and a nap, I went upstairs to the dining room to peek out at the view. Land! Here's my first glimpse of Antarctica:

These are part of the Shetland Islands which we'll spend the next few days exploring. We've been kitted out with rubber boots, warm parkas and life-jackets for tomorrow morning's excursion. How exciting it will be to get out and set foot on land and explore!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

The Drake Passage Part 1

"February 26, 27 SUN & MON DRAKE PASSAGE - 2 DAYS
Wandering albatrosses, storm petrels and other seabirds will escort the vessel as you sail south across this famous passage named after Sir Francis Drake, the 16th-century English navigator. We will continue towards the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold Antarctic waters sink beneath the warmer waters of the more temperate zone. In 1819, the British explorer William Smith described the South Shetland Islands as "barren and covered with snow, with seals in abundance". Yet, mosses and lichens thrive during the short summer at the low-lying peninsulas of these rugged islands located directly adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula."

So says the brochure!

I didn't sleep well the first night as it took some getting used to the motion of the boat. I could definitely tell when we'd worked our way out of the quiet waters of The Beagle Channel and into the open ocean. I wasn't sure how extreme the rocking would get. The Drake Passage is notoriously choppy.

Normally I quite like the rocking motion of boats and have yet to get seasick...although that's not something I really care to experience either! I opted to take sea-sickness pills, just in case. I had a bad headcold already, I didn't need to add another illness to the mix. Besides, I was reminded that there are no bravery medals handed out if I don't take them. Ha!

We were lucky in our crossing of the Drake Passage. It's known to be a very tricky crossing as the wind and water current paths narrow when the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula get closer together. That combination effectively acts like a thumb over a water hose and livens things up for ships! All of the crew remarked in how calm it was. In one of the first lectures, they showed us pictures of a bad crossing where 15m high waves were splashing onto the decks.

Two days to cross the Drake Passage. Two days before we'd see land. Two days that I wouldn't be missing anything if I just went to my sick bed and slept as much as I could! For the first day that's pretty much all I did, save breakfast, dinner and some very interesting lectures on Antarctica, birds, and mammals. I will kick this cold...I will.