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Antarctica - pure awe for 19 days...

Orne Island view
Orne Island view
Awe -- "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like." Yep, that sums up my ~3 weeks in and around Antarctica. Always at the top of my must-do list, I decided to stop talking about it and start living it! The following journal recounts my incredible journey. I hope it inspires you to take that leap!

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A curious Brown Skua
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Setting off towards the Falkland Islands on Ortelius
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Sunset our first night at sea
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Setting off towards the Falkland Islands on Ortelius
Departing Ushuaia, Argentina
After several days of travel adventures from the US, including a major plane delay mishap, I finally arrived in Ushuaia and prepared to board my home for the next 18 days, the Ortelius. The stress of simply making sure I didn't miss that boarding time was tremendous. You'll hear stories of internal Argentina flights canceled for no reason, luggage …
Sunset our first night at sea
At sea -- getting into the swing/roll of things
Day 2 was spent at sea, getting adjusted to the rolling boat and enjoying the excitement of each new bird species flying overhead. The zoom lenses were everywhere, with panicky blurry shots in the distance. Ultimately patience won the war and the birds would eventually come quite close to the boat, pause, smile, position appropriately to the sun, …
Commerson Dolphins
At sea -- learning about flexibility
So..... our first landing at Carcass Island was planned, excitement was in the air, as was the wind, unfortunately. The crew sent out a test zodiac and they determined, correctly, that landing was just not going to be an option. Honestly dread was in the air. You're thinking about all the money and time invested, the dream, all coming down to …
One of many navigational map photos I took along the way
Land Ho, Stanley! Camera recommendations...
The winds calmed and we had our first zodiac boarding experience. I felt surefooted throughout, but was more concerned about sea spray on the camera equipment. That over-paranoia eased as the days went on, but protecting equipment was critical and with proper planning, certainly doable. I had two camera bodies in a sling bag which fit down in a …
Cormorant
At sea -- seabirds abound
We departed the Falklands and headed for legendary South Georgia. Our birders emerged from the crowd fairly quickly, we had 3, who spent endless hours trying to identify if there was a dot on that bird's chest or if that bill had a slight curve to it, etc. I respect birders, I enjoy looking at birds, but I'm not as particular as these …
Giant Petrel
At sea -- learning and planning
Today our fabulous tour leader, Rolf Stange, taught us about the rules and regulations on and around South Georgia. The rodent eradication project was particularly fascinating (additional detail -- http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/(e)Eradication_Of_Rodents). We all had to clean our bags and clothes with a vacuum and pass inspection in order to …
King Penguin and chick
Right Whale Bay -- wildlife up close and personal
Finally, a landing on South Georgia! It was a rainy day, but a mystical dreamy kind of rain... we felt like explorers trying to find land through the fog all morning. Finally there were shadows, and more importantly tons of noise - skwawk, ooot oot oot, we knew something new and fabulous was out there. We donned our rain gear and camera protection …
Albatross
Salisbury Plain and more -- UNBELIEVABLE
We must have done something right in our lives up until this moment, as all the collective karma on the boat merged and the skies parted in just the right way as we did a sunrise 6:00am landing at Salisbury Plain. I was on the first zodiac, and literally as soon as my feet hit the land, huge rays of light emerged in the sky, surrounding an …
Magellanic Penguin
Whistle Cove, Grytviken -- challenges and celebration
On this morning the weather had turned again and was quite rainy. We still went ashore at Whistle Cove where evidence of reindeer lingered and a wide variety of wildlife fought the weather. Some elephant seals expressed their dislike but somehow they're still just charming. I had a personal setback on this beach. Cameras were challenging in …
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