An absolutely stunning day today! Due to departing Antarctica a half day early, the Expedition Leader requested permission for an additional landing in the Falklands. The landing was at Steeple Jason Island and the highlight was the largest Black Browed Ablatross nesting site in the world. Thousands of the enormous birds covered the beach and upland slopes – a literal sea of wings and squawking. Intermingled with these charismatic birds [...]
Yesterday’s attempt at the Shetland Islands was a bust, again due to weather. Winds were blowing hard, and word was that all the ships in the area that had planned similar visits canceled their trips as well. This meant that we immediately turned toward the Falkland Islands and have now been at sea for over 36 hours. Expected land arrival is tomorrow afternoon, which will mean my longest time ever [...]
November 29 This is it. Our last chance to make it to the Emperor Penguin Rookery at Snow Hill. At 5:30 AM, Shane’s voice wakes us with the announcement that visibility is only 100 meters and the helicopters need 300. We wait and see. At 7:45, he comes on again. Penguin Plunge will be at 8:30 sharp! What’s a Penguin Plunge? Its a jump and a swim in the ice [...]
November 26 Woke to poor visibility and the 5:30am announcement that helicopter flights to Snow Hill were delayed. An hour went by and another announcement came regarding further weather delay. Then, another announcement later in the morning that we had missed our daylight window. No worries, however, as we backed out of the ice and headed over to Paulette Island for our first landing via zodiac. Thousands of Adeli penguins [...]
This morning I woke to ice on three sides of the ship. Being trapped with ice all around made for a wonderfully peaceful night of sleep and I felt energized all day. Weather around the ship was beautiful – sun poking through the sky and relatively warm. Unfortunately, 20 miles away, surrounding Snow Hill, was a wall of clouds that made helicopter visits to the emperor penguin rookery impossible. No [...]
What a day! Today we entered Antarctic Sound, also known as Iceberg Alley. And what a place it is! Gigantic table icebergs float everywhere, and on smaller ‘bergs Adelie penguins perch in the dozens. I’ve seen one seal as well and this morning a whale rose near the ship. The ice is getting thicker as we enter the Weddell Sea and the ship now shakes occasionally with the impact. Less [...]
The ship has been rocking back and forth since around 2 am this morning. Swells look to be about 12 feet high, and the crew calls this the Drake Lake. This is versus the Drake Shake which is what I’m hoping for on the return trip. A few of my fellow travelers hope for the same, but we’re definitely in the minority. Most passengers are walking around with the little [...]
Four hours to go to board the ship! Passengers are gathering in the hotel bar and conversation is lively as we wait the final hours for our Antarctica cruise to begin. By this evening, we’ll be cruising down the beagle channel and out to the Drake Passage crossing. Weather report is calling for a mild crossing – which bums me a bit, as I am hoping for at least a [...]
As of 7PM Ushuaia time, the Kapitan Khlibnikov remains trapped in the ice near Snow Hill – making it 6 days, I believe, of being stuck. In the mean time, I continue to explore Ushuaia. Today and yesterday, I hiked up snowy slopes behind my hotel. The views were fantastic, seeing far out into the Beagle Channel and the surrounding mountains. Tomorrow, it’s off to Gable island with our local [...]
Twenty-two hours of flying finally brought me to the city of Buenos Aires. I chose to stop over here for a couple days, just to break up the trip… and enjoy a tango show and some of BA’s fantastic history and architecture. Before the show, I took a tango lesson, and after stepping on my instructor’s toes twice, she told me I was a natural. A day of intense heat [...]
