Memories of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctic

Friday, December 16th This morning, the alarm sounds off at 2:45am. We have thirty minutes before our ride comes. We hustle with the excitement of a trip to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands. At the airport, we are greeted by long lines, but it turns out they will not impact us as we have somehow managed to bring only carry on bags for our three-week dream trip. The key is wearing our Muck boots on the plane and stuffing our coat pockets to the gill with hats, gloves, and our neck wraps. At least airlines don't charge extra for bulky coats; not yet anyways! We get through security and have about an hour before boarding our flight to Miami, which eventually connects to Ushuaia, Argentina. Other travelers give us second glances as they figure out we are headed for Miami too. They must wonder why we could possibly need insulated 16-inch boots in 70-degree Miami? Oh, if only they knew! Wednesday, December 21st We enjoy a few days in Ushuaia prior to the departure of our cruise. We trek through Tierra del Fuego National Park, hike up the local glacier, and cruise the Beagle Channel. What a beautiful city! On the day our cruise ship L'Austral departs, we discover that another couple headed for the same cruise is staying at our hotel. We leave for the dock with them in the afternoon. At the ship, well-dressed French men and women greet us. When we board, a crewmember immediately takes custody of our passports, so that it can be stamped at each island or continent. In exchange, she hands us ID cards that will be swiped each time we disembark for an excursion and again when we return. Another crewmember leads us to our room, and what a fancy place it is, too! A king-size bed, built-in dresser, and large flat screen provide the cozy space with a luxury feel. But, the large walk-out balcony helps to keep the focus on the outside and the sites that await. We take a tour of the boat and receive a welcome drink in the lounge. A few hours later, the captain welcomes everyone on board and introduces his associates. As La Compagnie du Ponant is a French company, the speech is in both French and English. The Master of Ceremony briefly dismisses us but has us return with our life jackets to perform the mandatory life-boat drill. We make a reservation at Le Rodriques, the buffet on deck six, and we are amazed by our first meal! The buffet has an impressive spread of cod, chicken, salad bar, fresh fruits, cheese, breads and soups. Friendly wait staff serves wine and cappuccinos. And a detailed dessert bar ensures that weight gain is a real risk. That evening we watch March of the Penguins in the large theater with our new friends. We make sure to enjoy our first sunset, which happens at 10:15pm. So late!

Today we are at sea, so we spend most of the day enjoying lectures and reviewing our photographs from South Georgia. There is a lecture called ''Ice is Nice'' and another lecture introducing us to Antarctica. We have dinner with naturalists and ask many questions about the animals and their habits. Our biggest question is if the Drake Passage will be like the low pressure system we dealt with several nights back. The naturalist assures us that it is likely to be similar or perhaps a bit more intense. I try to stay optimistic.

We are lucky to be awake while entering the portal to Deception Island, as the weather ends up turning for the worst a few hours later when we exit. Deception Island is a sunken volcano and creates a horseshoe shaped island with an opening 230 meters wide. It is one of the safest natural harbors in the world, but it still gets windy. We arrive at Telefon Bay and a blizzard is hitting the island. Fortunately the conditions for the zodiac aren't too bad, so the crew allows us to land. Once on land, we realize we will only want a short amount of time here, as strong blowing wind makes it unpleasant. This landing is more consistent with what we expected from Antarctica. It is windy and the snow is whipping at our faces, finding every bit of exposed skin we have. We both wear our sunglasses to block out the sun and to protect our eyes from the blowing snow. We make it to the top of the lookout and are surprised the snow isn't sticking to the volcanic ash. It just keeps blowing around. There is no wildlife here, but seeing the effects of the volcanic activity is interesting. After lunch, we try out the on-ship pool which has just opened. Some people say the pool's water is 30 degrees Celsius (or 90 degrees Fahrenheit), but I quickly confirm that is not the case. We stay in the pool for about three minutes. Oh well, the experience is more memorable cold! Our next stop is Aitcho Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands. Barrientos Island is covered with extensive beds of moss and lichens. It is home to gentoos, chinstraps, and elephant seals. This is our first opportunity to see a chinstrap rookery, and we are pleased to see chinstrap chicks. We also see many skuas nesting. We are on the island for about two hours, and our fingers are getting cold, so we decide to leave. However, right as we are leaving, we see a skua take off with a gentoo chick. It is stressful to watch the little guy struggle to get free. Many other gentoos try to rescue the chick. However, in the end the chick is sacrificed. We return to the ship and have hot chocolate in the lounge to warm our hands before dinner on level six. Thankfully, we learn that the Drake Passage is predicted to be quite mild.