Antarctica

Today marks the day that we set sail for Antarctica. It is technically a continent as it has land mass, however, it has no inhabitants. We’re on bus number 3, so we were the last ones to board. We grabbed a welcome Bellini and checked out our room. 702 is a junior suite with a nice lounge, cozy bedroom with a spacious deck, plus a nice sized closet. We did our emergency training and then had our expedition overview. Rather than schedules, they create plans that can change at a moments notice due to weather. We learned that quickly when we did not leave at 4pm but at 8pm to wait out some high seas. We passed our time by checking out each others cabins, drinking in the lounge, and then to a delicious dinner … Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Salmon for me. Then the boat started to motor, and we were off through the Beagle Channel  to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago., with Argentina on one side and Chile on the other. It was surreal and very festive celebration for all.

The ship rocked forward and back and side to side all through the night with 20+ foot high waves. We woke up just after 8am to some big swaying. I took my medicine around 10am and soon afterwards was feeling sea sick. I calmed myself and went down to the We do Science Lecture and thought I was better …. until I stood up. I passed on breakfast and rushed back to the room. I got sick and it was actually my probiotic which did not mix with my anti nausea patch. Lessons learned on the open sea! Soon after, I started to feel better but decided to rest in our room to pass the time. I watched the Zodiac Boat Safety and Training Video from our room. About half of our travel group did not do well. I started feeling so much better, but the sight of the rocking waves made me feel uneasy. I spent the afternoon in our room with the hope that I could make it to dinner. I rallied and enjoyed a drink with everyone pre-dinner. I ate my salad … but ended up passing on my pasta. I decided to get back to the room to sway away through the night. The Drake Passage is no joke!

It was another bumpy night but I rested from 9:30pm to 7:40am during the final passing of the Drake. We were all thrilled when they announced we were officially in the Antarctic Seas and that breakfast would be served at 8am. Hoping for a full day full of activities! First up was the Penguin Lecture, which was fascinating. They are adapted to cold water regions and have distributed from Southern region of the world. Emperor is the largest and Magellanic is the smallest. They don’t fly, but they are good swimmers. Their wings are more like paddles. We learned about the Continental Drift theory. There are approximately 17 species of Penguins. Incubation is 5-8 weeks in Nov/Dec. Other species are Rockhopper, Chinstrap, Adelie, Macaroni and Gentoo. They porpoise to breathe during food hunts at sea. Look for Magellanic in Punta Arenas. Next up was the Marine Animals Lecture. There are Baleen Whales with two blow holes and Toothed Whales that have one hole. An Orca is actually a dolphin and is not a Killer Whale, but was known as a whale killer. We hope to see the Long-Finned Pilot Whale, Sperm Whale, Minke Whale,  Orca, Humpback Whale, and Blue Whale. Whales eat phytoplankton and krill. Whales sleep by logging at the surface and they only shut down half of their body so they can watch out for predators. Sperm whales sleep 30 feet below the surface in vertical formations for 15 minutes at a time. They see in black and white in a wide range called monocular. The Sperm Whale communicates with clicks/codas, the Humpback thru songs/calls, Orca thru calls/whistles.

Today is the day we started exploring Antarctica! We are at Graham Passage & Hunt Island, a new area for our ship to discover, so that is super cool. After breakfast, we geared up, and boarded our zodiacs. It was AMAZING! We saw birds, massive icebergs, vegetation, and had so much fun! Conrad was our guide and we laughed the entire time. I loved every second and I surprisingly stayed warm, which made me so happy. After our excursion, we grabbed lunch and saw some Humpback Whales. Antarctica is amazing!

In the afternoon, we adventured back out again to find some Chinstrap Penguins. While en route, I spotted one on an iceberg and then spotted their trail, which I learned about from a documentary on the flight down. We then went to that spot and there were hundreds of Chinstrap Penguins. Leo was our guide and we pushed into the wind to take a tour around the island, but it got too windy … and I begged him to turn us around. I am still acclimating to my on-freezing-water life! I even used our safe word “Pineapple” which made everyone laugh. Then we toured the other side and he finally deemed it too windy, so that was a gift. On our way back, he went full throttle, and my face showed my fear, which was hilarious for all of us. It was an adventurous day indeed!

This morning headed to Wordie Hut and the Argentine Islands for a landing. We started with breakfast and lots of coffee. We boarded our zodiac and had Conrad as our guide again. As we crossed over to the Argentine Island, we saw lots of playful Gentoo Penguins swimming, many Weddell Seals, and lots of birds. Then we headed over to the Wordie Hut for our first official Antarctica landing ✅ We toured the hut and admired the three seals resting in the area. On our way back, we passed the Ukraine Station. Sending tons of love to the Ukraine! Upon our rocky arrival, we were all calm and patient while we disembarked. We’re really getting in the expedition grove now.

“Wordie House stands on a very small, flat peninsula on Winter Island (part of the Argentine Islands and composed entirely of igneous rocks). The hut is surrounded by water to the immediate south. A narrow channel called Stella Creek separates Winter Island from Galindez Island on which Vernadsky Station is situated. The surrounding islands protect the site from the open sea and in summer the area is relatively clear of snow. A large permanent snow bank is found to the west of the base.”

For the afternoon, we were off to do a landing on Petermann Island. When we arrived, from the ship, Kelly noticed all of the penguin highways and then we could spot tons of penguins. We gleefully boarded the zodiacs and Scotty drove us to a secluded cove where we were greeted by many Gentoo Penguins. Then we hiked the hill to discover a bustling habitat of Gentoo Penguins plus a Rookery of Adelie Penguins, which are one of the two species that are native to only Antarctica. We hiked down to the hut and cross and it was the most magical experience of my life to walk amongst the penguins.

“Charcot’s second French Antarctic expedition wintered aboard the Porquois-Pais at this location and a number of associated artefacts remain visible, including a cairn (Historic Site and Monument No. 27), chains, a tide mark and the letters ‘PP’ engraved in stone. On the site there is an Argentine refuge hut. The death of three members of the British Antarctic Survey in 1982 is marked by a commemorative cross.”

I woke up this morning with snow on our railing. We are headed towards King George Island in small daily increments now. Today, the Plan A is to go to the Penguin Post Office at Port Lockroy and Jougla Point and we always enjoyed awaiting the morning announcement, as plans can easily change in Antarctica. Our group started on Jougla in the very wet summer snow. We hiked to the top of the hill and saw lots of Gentoo Penguins. Then it was over to the Post Office where only 30 people could enjoy exploring at once for only 1/2 hour at a time. Kelly and I bought Penguin adoption kits and toured the museum. After lunch, we watched Leo’s presentation in Leopard Seals and Emperor Penguins.

“Jougla Point is a rocky peninsula indented with small coves. At the beginning of the season fast ice is likely to surround the point. Snow cornices, glaciers and extensive, steep, and highly crevassed snowfields surround the harbour.”

In the afternoon, our outing was planned to be to the Melchior Islands, but the seas were too high, so we headed North to hopefully find another spot for a zodiac cruise. Buls Bay was selected with a 5pm start. And it was clear quick why Ashley brought us here as we saw a ton of Humpback Whales … and one breeched twice right in front of the kayakers! We followed a pod and watched the Humpbacks feed and move rhythmically through the water. Then we glided over some high seas to the glaciers and an ice field. It was a Monumental day!

The photos do not do the experience justice and I happily put my phone down and absorbed the moment.

“Buls Bay (64°23′S 62°19′WCoordinates: 64°23′S 62°19′W) is a bay 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide, which indents the east side of Brabant Island just north of D'Ursel Point, in the Palmer Archipelago. It was discovered by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Gerlache, 1897–99, and named by him for Charles Buls, a supporter of the expedition.”

Our outings today are scheduled for Recess Cove in the AM and Hydrutga Rocks in the PM. After breakfast, we boarded the zodiacs to officially touch the Antarctic Continent. Apparently our other landings were on islands, and this is our first continental landing. To clarify, these masses of land are connected by ice, so as Christian says, as long as there is ice in Antarctica, this was an official visit. We hiked around a rocky area and I found a Limpet Shell, which I forgot to take a picture of it cause it was such a unique item to see balanced by the fact we’re not able to take anything from the natural environment. Then we were back on the zodiacs to cruise and we discovered two Humpback Whales. We watched them move through the water with grace, and they looked like dragons swimming.

In the afternoon, e had our encounter with the Sylvia Earle and we danced in a conga line. It was a celebration! Then we had a mandatory meeting to learn we need to leave early due to weather. We were informed that it was scheduled to be our last official night on the boat and we were to fly the following night. So we took all of the group pictures and headed out for what we, at that moment in time, thought was our last expedition in Antarctica. Afterwards, we enjoyed Vicki’s Whale Lecture, which was very interesting about the intelligence of these magnificent mammals.

To celebrate what we thought was our last night, we threw a party on our deck while basking in the sunshine. But it was not our last day …

Today was our day to pack it up and take flight. We had a morning adventure to Elephant Island and we saw tons of massive Elephant Seals in the middle of their molting season when they shed their skins. The island really represented the Circle of Life and there were many bones about … and I found more Limpet Shells. Then we packed, did our disembarking briefing, and just as it concluded … we were informed our flights were cancelled. I drank lots of sauvignon blanc, took a nap, and then we took a boat tour of Deception Island.

“Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated 245 kilometres (152 miles) north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 1,253 kilometres (779 miles) west-southwest of South Georgia, 935 kilometres (581 miles) south of the Falkland Islands, and 885 kilometres (550 miles) southeast of Cape Horn. It is within the Antarctic claims of Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom.”

“Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally troubled by the underlying active volcano.[1] This island is the caldera of an active volcano, which seriously damaged local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island previously held a whaling station. It is now a tourist destination with over 15,000 visitors per year. Two research stations are operated by Argentina and Spain during the summer season.[2] While various countries have asserted sovereignty, it is still administered under the Antarctic Treaty System.”

And then we were back on board the ship saying goodbye to all of our favorite things.

Then our map was noted with “No Flight” and we celebrated Kelly’s birthday early and enjoyed our tour of Deception Island.

We packed again and waited again for flights, attended a watercolor workshop with Ade … and then our flights were cancelled again in the late afternoon. We opted to play cards on the boat rather than take the very long excursion to Penguin Island to hike the crater. Quintin went and got some beautiful photographs for us to enjoy. Katey waited for an hour for a zodiac and decided to join us for cards too. This is the only excursion that Kelly and I missed the entire trip. We did Liz’s cruise quiz up on the 8th floor deck to pass the time. Ryder got accepted at his 15th of 15 colleges and I am making the best of it all.

Our flights were cancelled again for today. We now need to wait 72 hours to see if we can fly by tomorrow afternoon, which is not looking promising. We most likely are taking the Drake Passage back starting tomorrow evening. We will likely disembark in Puerto Williams, as it is in Chile, on Saturday evening which is aligned with our sailing contract. We tried to have an outing, but the winds kicked up to 37 knots, so that was cancelled quick. We played games all afternoon to pass the time. And the most exciting event of the day was that we got to tour the Bridge and sit in the Captain’s chair … Priceless! And there is a slight chance we can make a landing at Cape Horn, which would be so cool!

I discovered Tamara is from Salem, Oregon too! And she grew up going to Detroit Lake and knows Kit. Small world indeed and meeting new best friends in Antarctica! The photo is in black and white cause the bar lights are too bright in color.

Rosie took down the flight assignments early this morning, so as a bit of foreshadowing … it appears we will be taking the Drake home. I hope it works out to land at Cape Horn and that the route remains green. We explored at Yankee Harbour and saw our first Leopard Seal, tons of Gentoo Penguins and Fur Seals. Before lunch we were officially informed that we will take the Drake back. So thank goodness we have extra patches.

A big bonus is that we saw baby penguins! This is Kelly’s photo.

In the afternoon we went to Half Moon Bay and saw tons of Chinstrap Penguins and playful Fur Seals. A great bonus day for our awesome adventure! Then we put on our patches and headed out towards the Drake. Wish us luck!

And we turned around and started our way back … the last of our Antarctica Adventures! I loved the Chinstrap Penguins bidding us Adieu!

We survived our second passing of the Drake! As we sailed back over, the beginning was a bit tough and I felt great as long as I didn’t look out at the water. We were hopeful for a visit to Cape Horn, but the winds proved to be too swift, so we had to pass. But the bonus was we made our way through the Beagle Channel with the aid of many adorable dolphins. Our contract stated that we disembark in Chile, so we headed towards Puerto Williams, Chile. We celebrated new friendships, Kelly’s official birthday on her official day, we took a tour of the galley, we played cards all afternoon and then enjoyed a final night of celebratory BBQ on the upper deck. and to our surprise, we awarded the Best Card Player Group! Plus I was honored with “Brienne of Tarth in Antarctica” Award as multiple people on the ship thought I was the acresss Gwendoline Christie traveling under a pseudonym … too funny as she is actually 6’ 3’. An epic adventure indeed full of so many awesome memories!

Our disembarking day finally arrived! We packed our bags for the third time, took zodiacs ashore, and waited for our plane to land. Punta Arenas was next.  Then to beautiful Santiago and I am hit with guilt that I was not able to explore this city on this trip. Gotta save something for next time! Kelly and I both want to come back to see the Atacama desert, so I’ll schedule Santiago on that swing. Then an overnight to Houston after saying goodbye to many of our new friends. We arrived to the harbor safely! Goodbye Antarctica and Hello Chile! Thanks you Aurora Expeditions for the Trip of a Lifetime!