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Ladies Trip to Antarctica

By : Julia Kocubinski
Trip Begins November 19, 2009
Trip Ends December 1, 2009

I had the opportunity to travel to Antarctica with two of my favorite ladies. What a trip! The most beautiful and breathtaking place I have ever seen. Kayaking amongst icebergs, penguins, sea lions and even whales. How will I ever top this trip?
See my photos : Ladies Trip to Antarctica

Want to go? MV Orlova: Classic Antarctica: Discovering the Peninsula

I went to: Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Drake Passage
November 19, 2009
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Buenos Aires and Ushuaia

We arrived this morning in Buenos Aires. Beth and I took a cab into the city to explore around a little while we waited for Renee's plane to arrive. Neither of us had much sleep the night before, but we took advantage of the morning and wandered the city. We walked through parks and plazas and all hustle and bustle of the city. Renee met us at our local office and the three of us, with two of our staff from the Buenos Aires office, went out to lunch. We had a huge, delicious, slab of meat as you should in Argentina!

After lunch, we went to the airport and flew to Ushuaia, where we were greeted by our friend Rebecca who is traveling around South America this winter. After two days of traveling, it was so great to see a friendly face greeting us with Argentine chocolate and mate! A late night dinner and a glass of wine was enough to make me exhausted and in need of sleep.

November 20, 2009
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Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia

We headed out this morning and were picked up by the boys at Canal Fun for a day of canoeing and hiking in Tierra del Fuego National Park. We canoed in the morning, all four of us in an inflatable canoe. It was such a fun morning! After a hearty lunch under a portable tent, we hiked for a few miles back to our vehicles. We were hiking mostly along the shoreline, where we saw birds and some amazing scenery. You could see mountains in Chile and all along Tierra del Fuego. I had done this day trip before, but it got me so much more excited to get on our way to Antarctica!

This evening, we had dinner with our company President, Brian, who also was in Ushuaia on his way to Antarctica. He was scheduled to go on the Kapitan Khlebnikov ice breaker ship, but unfortunately, the ship was stuck in the ice in Antarctica! He was supposed to get out in a few days, but in the meantime had plenty of time to kill in Ushuaia. Not a bad place to be stuck! After several glasses of wine, we wandered the city and ended up back in our room, exhausted after another long day.

November 21, 2009
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Embarkation!

Today was a nice leisurely day with Rebecca in Ushuaia. We wandered the streets, did a little shopping and in the afternoon headed to the pier. After saying goodbye to to Rebecca, we boarded the bus for our extremely short bus ride to the Orlova, our home for the next 10 nights.

Beth, Renee and I were in a triple room. We settled in a little and had our welcome cocktail hour to meet the staff. We had 5 expedition leaders. Cara was the head expedition leader, in charge of everything. She had her hands full but did amazing work! David was the expert birder, Shane was a historian, Anjili was the marine biologist, and Wolfgang was our geologist. There were also several other expedition staff and zodiak drivers on board who we would get to know in the coming week and a half.

Dinner tonight was delicious - choice of meat, fish or veggie. Appetizer, soup, salad and desert. We were going to eat well on this trip! We got to bed pretty late, a little drugged up from our motion-sickness patches. By morning, we would be in the infamous Drake Passage.

November 22, 2009
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Drake Passage

Ugh... the Drake Passage. Tried to eat some food, get some fresh air, and listen to several of the lectures that were offered today. Mostly did some sleeping, a little reading, and wandering the ship getting to know my fellow travelers. The boat was rocking pretty hard today, and never in the same direction. It was really quite comical, although I have a feeling by the end of this trip, I will have had enough of being on the ocean. The doctor on board suggested not staying in bed if you could handle it. Fresh air, food and moving around were some of the best ways to combat the motion sickness.

November 23, 2009
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Drake Passage Again

Another day of trying to make it to some lectures. Unfortunately, the hardest part of the boat for me happened to be the lecture room. It was towards the front of the boat and so seemed to rock much worse than our cabin.

This afternoon we spotted our first iceberg. Beautiful blue ice floating its way out of Antarctica. In the late evening, we spotted land! Our first little island on the outskirts of the Shetland Islands. With the spotting of land also came the calming of waters. Dinner tonight was much more lively, and I noticed people in the dining room that I hadn't seen yet on this trip! Tomorrow morning we would do our fist landing. Exciting!!

We had a meeting for kayakers this evening. I hadn't signed up yet but there was one space available. Three of us came to the meeting hoping to get that one space. I was the lucky one they drew out of a hat! I was in, and was so excited to be kayaking with Renee.

My Photo Album: Ladies Trip to Antarctica
We're all smiles in Tierra del Fuego National ParkCanoeing in Tierra del Fuego National ParkSay cheese!Beautiful day for a hike in Tierra del FuegoRebecca and our guide in Tierra del FuegoPolar Star and Ocean Nova getting ready for their next tripOur home for the next 10 nights. Cozy!Crossing the Drake PassageSuprisingly calm Drake Passage on the way to AntarcticaOur first landing!Seal in front of penguin colony Chinstrap penguins in AntarcticaCarrying a rock to build his mate's nestPenguin walking to shore for another rockPenguin colony on Aitcho IslandBeth taking pictures Chinstrap Penguins in Yankee HarborWedell Seal in AntarcticaNesting penguins. Notice the pairs!I had to try the self portrait!A little sun came out on day two!Beth enjoying the sunshine and views of AntarcticaIce chunks floating by on the way to Paradise HarborHuge icebergs resting near Paradise HarborGlaciers and icebergs collide!We weren't sure we would make it - might be too much ice!Getting ready for our landingAlex gets our kayaks ready for our first paddle!Our kayak guide Kevin and fellow kayakers John and NormanOur first kayaking in Antarctica!! Smile! Kayaking Neko Harbor in AntarcticaLooking back at the Orlova - we kayaked a long way!A group picture - with some cold foggy spots on the camera!Lots of ice in Neko HarborHuge iceberg floats into our shipLoading the kayaks onto the shipThe Orlova in Paradise HarborKayaking alongThe giant glaciers coming down to Paradise HarborParadise Harbor Looking down on Camp BrownPenguins in front of the Orlova and Ocean NovaColony of Adelie PenguinsIn front of Ocean Nova and the OrlovaMore penguins, and the weather was turning!Hanging out in the cabin between landingsIce floating along the shear cliffs of AntarcticaMountains coming straight out of the Antarctic watersAnd then the sun came out!Kayaking to the "iceberg graveyard"Icebergs in the harbor of Port LockroyPenguins at Port LockroyPort LockroyNesting penguins at Por LockroyCalm waters of AntarcticaA humpback came to say hello!Humpback whale in AntarcticaIt came pretty close to us!Humpback diving downTail fin of the diving humpback. So close to our kayaks!Saying hello one last timeVisitng a seal floating on an iceberg while kayakingOur trusty guide KevinFloating ice in Cuverville IslandCuverville IslandResting sealsKayaking close to the sealOur Antarctic BBQ!And a little entertainment by Julian!Beautiful sun over the Antarctic watersSunset in AntarcticaSinging in the lounge....and dancing!Entering Deception IslandDeception IslandDeception islandHiking to Neptune's WindowNeptune's WindowSteam rising from the beach at Deception IslandTaking the plunge!!Colder than I expected!But we were all smilesChasing two humpbacks on our last landingWe didn't want to get too closeAnd then the humpbacks were goneJim had to test out the drysuit!