We're back on land

Friends. Apologies for the long silence. We had no internet access at all on the ship. But we wrote daily and I will upload ot here now. If you want to read it chronologically, begin at the bottom.

Monday Dec 29
Set sail around 6PM from Ushuaia yesterday afternoon. Lovely light, smooth sailing, cheers all around. Palpable excitement all around. Crew, mostly young, from Australia, Canada, US and Great Britain. Captain, sailing crew and kitchen/hotel staff mostly US and Russian. It is a Russian vessel. Everyone is very knowledgeable. There is a marine biologist, a marine birder, photographer, zoologist, whale specialist and each doubles as Zodiac crew. Meals are family style encouraging lots of mingling. We are in the minority here as citizens of the US. Many Aussies, some from New Zealand and the rest mostly from Great Britain. Ages span from about 17 to late 70's although there is one 10 year old boy. Most have traveled extensively. Most are adventurous, outdoor types. There must be 350 pounds of polar fleece on board. There are 100 passengers. Nor sure how many crew.
At dinner last night the ship's doctor, a somewhat reserved fellow, gave a talk about sea sickness. He advised that even those who don't normally experience it, take medication because crossing the Drake is a 30 hour trip and often very rough. We took meds after dinner. About 1 AM the ship began some gentle rolling and it has been gentle rolling all day so far. Barometer is dropping and we will be crossing the Antarctic convergence soon, so that could change. What converges is the warm water coming down from the equator and the cold water coming up from the Antarctic and where the Pacific and Atlantic meet. This stew often makes for exciting weather and for us going south, a drop in temperature. Today, Monday, has been rather mild. One can stand out on deck in jeans, a long sleeve shirt and just a light layer over that and be just fine.
It is overcast for the most part. Today penguins, albatross, petrels and a whale spout have been sighted. This is a birder's paradise since this section of the voyage is marine bird territory. Imagine spending most your life in the air and on the ocean surface and just below and only coming on land once a year to breed. That explains the albatross' enormous wing span; up to 12 feet! Makes for great flying but they have to stall and crash land to stop. They rarely beat their wings, but rather travel in the wind's thermal peaks and troughs. They find food just below the surface. Keep in mind we are hundreds of miles from land!!
Our cabin, directly below the bridge, is embarrassingly luxurious. It was the only available accommodation left when we booked last March. We have 3 windows looking down over the bow and one more on the starboard side in our bedroom insuring a warm and dry spot for viewing as the weather changes. I sit writing this at a good sized oak desk in a room with comfortable chairs, lots of cabinets, a fridge, a couch that converts to a bed, a TV/DVD player. We also have a bedroom and a bathroom AKA the head with a sink, toilet and shower. Taking a shower on a rolling boat is challenging. When we walk around, there is always “one hand for the ship,” or, one hand touching something stable like a wall or table etc... This morning and afternoon there were presentations on marine birds, photographing white birds against white snow, seals and sea lions and one on whales. And we napped. One side effect of the medication is drowsiness. Far better than the alternative!
Tuesday 1:30 AM, or, 0130
I slept from 4 PM yesterday afternoon to 11:30 PM and now I am up wandering the ship. It never got completely dark. It is a deep blue/gray out, with cloud cover. I can see the horizon and am scanning for icebergs. There is a contest for who can call the time, lat and long of the first siting. I guessed 61by 61, 0445 Tuesday. Wrong. Seas very calm. Everything is stowed safely just in case, however. The water temperature has dropped 3 degrees to about 36 F.
After dinner Monday there was a group discussion of nautical superstitions. I slept through that so Dan will have to fill you in. One is no women on board. HA!
Tuesday AM. Gentle night. No icebergs yet. About 32 degrees out, still windy. Today we learn zodiac safety and the protocol for visiting Antarctica.
Antarctic protocol for visitors. IAATO, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators is required to train each passenger who makes shore excursions. In our case, that is everyone. Much of it is common sense, but as we know, not everyone has that! There is strict wast management. One has to empty one's pockets of all paper, food, tidbits that might fly out when reaching for the binoculars. One has to vac one's gear (backpacks) before leaving the ship to insure that no non-native species including micro-organisms, are introduced. No food goes ashore except emergency rations stowed in the Zodiacs in vacuum packed packages. We wash and disinfect boots on the way back into the ship. We touch nothing. Give animals right of way. Keep 15 feet from animals, though if you stand still they might come to you. It is truly the last great wilderness and if history can predict the future, we will contaminate, conquer, plunder and fight over it. There is oil and also there are minerals. Just our presence alone, if we are not careful, can upset the fragile eco-system. And most of the planet's fresh water is stored here. Compliance with the protocol is voluntary...
This afternoon it is talks on penguins and ice. A wandering albatross has been following us since Ushuaia. Many cape petrels also know as pintadas, and look like a piano keyboard from above. According to Brian, the program director and an expert in all things in the natural world, (and LOVES everything but crowded cities) they follow ships for the drafts we produce, for the entertainment and relief from boredom and because they are curious where we are going. Not for food. We don't provide any feeding opportunities except the occasional squid which gets caught in the propellers and spit out the back.
Human feeding opportunities are plentiful and caloric. More later.
Day changed radically. Over 50 whale sightings. There was a spectacular breach sighting, at least a half dozen. Magnificent. Imagine hauling tons and tons of corpus up through the surface into the air and slapping down on the water surface. It must sound like cannon going off to those underwater.
Many flocks of Cape Petrels circled around and around the ship. I made some great pictures of giant petrels flying overhead. They are huge. All the afternoon and evening talks were canceled and everyone stood out on deck for hours in wonder. It was difficult to tear myself away to go to dinner. The chill in the air and the wind sent us back to our cabins for more layers. Gloves and hats were essential. We just added layers and carried on. The guides remarked that they had never had a day with as many sightings. They were ecstatic. The Captain, a Russian gentleman, accommodated us by turning the ship to follow the whales. I would guess around 10,000 pictures were shot this afternoon alone. Experiencing that as a group seemed to accelerate barriers falling away, not that they were profound before.
The sun set at 10:45 and we had a glorious light as we sailed to the South Shetland Islands, mooring at Half Moon Island. Perfect golden light for photos. We passed huge glaciers, volcanic islands their tops covered in ice, giant basalt towers, remnants of volcanic plugs, but no icebergs yet. Words cannot convey the sights. Or I should say, I cannot find the words to convey the sights. Like nothing I have ever seen including the fjords of Scandinavia. Imagine sailing among 3000 to 5000' mountains of rock and ice. Some are huge area-wise. Some have a bit of rock or shale on them. Some are simply ice, with glaciers tumbling into the sea. From time to time we are startled by a big boom...an avalanche or ice calving into the ocean. Majestic. Powerful. Unique. Pristine. Untouched by humans. Staff is incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share. We are always learning something about the wildlife, water, ice, lore, geo-politics etc.
Dropped anchor at Half Moon Island around 10PM Tuesday night and forced ourselves to sleep. Sun comes blasting up around 3AM. And we are still heading south tomorrow!
Wednesday
Another day dawns sunny and bright and quite warm. Probably 40 degrees! First expedition. We go in zodiacs to Half Moon Island, home to several chin strap penguin rookeries. Breeding is over and there are still a few eggs to hatch and still some chicks being cared for by their parents. The parent finds food and brings it back to the chick, who uses its bill to tap the side of the parent's bill. This causes mama or papa to regurgitate into the chick's waiting mouth. We witnessed lots of penguin behavior. In addition to feeding and protecting the chicks, we saw pair bonding, fighting, keeping the sheathbill and skua birds away. These scavengers like to steal the penguin eggs for food. They also can steal a small chick. Seals are big predators. We saw a Weddell seal resting on the rocky shore. They are long-range swimmers and need to rest to reduce the lactic acid build-up. The head and face echoes a large cat with whiskers and a lion-like nose. The penguins and seals have no fear of humans. We keep our distance but the penguins and birds come close anyway. One sheathbill slowly hopped up to a woman and began to peck at her boots. They seem to like rubber. Maybe it has some dental hygiene benefit.
Saw a mama and baby whale today. Heard several avalanches.
Penguins are colonialists; safety in numbers. Those that are on the periphery of the colony are vulnerable. This is also the reason they slide or jump into the water en masse. It is harder for a seal to track a group than an individual.
This weather is too hot for the penguins and they cool themselves off by panting and also exposing veins on the bottom of their feet to cold water. It was warm for us as well. Most shed several layers. Global warming??
Wednesday afternoon we sailed to Deception Island. The island is donut shaped with a small opening through which we sailed. It is actually the caldera of an active but dormant volcano. Imagine a moon- scape of volcanic rock with a big inland sea in the middle. There used to be a whaling station there and then a British research station. There are huge rusting oil tanks, fallen buildings, the detritus of a base including a hangar which is falling in on itself. If they brought all this in, why didn't they take it away?? The volcano last erupted in the late 60's. The Brits came back after that but it erupted again and they abandoned the site. Whale bones litter the beach as well as decaying barrel staves as well as the remains of all the structures . There is steam rising off the water from the molten rock that lies beneath the ocean surface.
We hiked around this moonscape, made many photos and saw a leopard seal lazing on the beach. It is rare to see these particular seals and there it was, napping away. More chin strap penguins. They are so endearing, especially their waddle.
Remember I mentioned there would be the possibility of swimming but we didn't plan to take the plunge? This was the aforementioned spot. It was probably around 34 degrees with a 10 mile an hour wind. Water probably about 35 degrees. Dan the man, our hero, went for a swim!!!! He described it as transforming but he also described it as f***ing freezing. He was in for about 10 seconds, dove in, ran out. I have the pictures to prove it!!!
Had an interesting conversation with Annie, a seasoned crew member, zodiac driver, triathelete, grew up in the Outback, married to Woody, the Expedition Director, childless by design. We got onto an interesting discussion about gender and the special sisterhood among women. How wonderful to have this conversation nearly 10,000 miles from home, with someone who grew up around the world from me.
Tonight is New Year's Eve. Up in the bar/observation room, folks are telling wild travel stories. There will be a champagne toast at midnight. It is 11:15 and the sun just sank below the horizon. Family, we miss you and wish we could call tonight. Isaac and Jonah, rabbit, rabbit!!!!! When we wake tomorrow, we will be at the Antarctic Peninsula.
Jan 1, 2009 Thursday
Another glorious day in Antarctic paradise! Sunny, little breeze, completely calm seas, warm. Maybe 34 degrees. It is so interesting to learn about the other passengers on board. One couple from Michigan works for Ford and GM. One in Information technology and one in marketing. They are unsure what their job situation will be when they return. There is a group of physiotherapists from Australia on board for a medical conference and they do meet at least an hour a day. Reportedly the lectures are wonderful. Nice gig for the presenters, eh? Why didn't we think of that? I have offered myself as a live patient to work on for the good of science and although I didn't get taken up on that offer, I did barter digital photo advice to a rank digital amateur in exchange for PT suggestions for my specific back problem. There is an orthodontist from London traveling alone. She has traveled extensively. We had an interesting discussion about class. She seems much less uncomfortable talking about this than the average American. Of course, they don't try to deny there are class distinctions in England. More fellow-passenger profiles later.
This morning's excursion was a 2-hour Zodiac trip in iceberg alley. Only pictures will do justice to the experience. Some highlights: we hauled up a big chunk of black ice. Think 12” TV size. Black ice is old and has no air in it. Chunks break off and float on the water. We brought it back to the ship and tonight's happy hour drinks are being served with Antarctic ice. Apparently 3 Zodiacs were successful hunter gatherers.
The Zodiac drivers keep a safe distance from the bergs in case one calves. A chunk did fall off one and a good-sized swell came in our direction as Lauren deftly sped us in the opposite direction. She is from San Francisco, in her mid-20's with a great sense of humor. Rode through brash ice which is floating frozen slush. As the aluminum bottomed Zodiac went over the ice, it sounded like rocks tumbling in a clothes dryer but did no damage.
Brilliant sunlight reflecting off water and bergs creates a dazzling, sparkling dance. Mountain islands dot the shores, still around 3000' to 5000' tall with unimaginable tons of ice on them changing the underlying rock itself. The water we sail on will be frozen solid in a few months. The landscape and climate is powerful, vast, expansive, pristine and exquisite yet desolate. It is amazing how tenacious and well-adapted the lichen and algae are, as well as the krill, birds and mammals.
Thursday afternoon. Cate slept through the excursion so Dan will have to fill in the blanks.
Friday. Another beautiful day in paradise. The crew has remarked that they have never had this many gorgeous days in a row. Many days can be cold, horizontal snow, very windy. Further south on the continent, it rarely snows...not enough moisture. The snow freezes and compacts as ice. Some of the icebergs we see probably tumbled off glaciers into the sea thousands of years ago. Wait...humpbacks at 12:00 (straight ahead) so I am going to leave you and go up on deck with the camera. Later.
At least 3 maybe 5 humpback whales spouting and playing. No breaching, but some diving with good fluke displays.
This morning we cruised to Danco Island (not the clogs) and saw more of everything. Our Zodiac guide, Brian, is enthusiastic about everything and knows so much about the ice, the water, the marine birds and animals, glaciers, icebergs, whales you name it. He has a great sense of humor and his vitality and excitement is contagious. Everything delights him. It is contagious and inspirational. As the trip progressed, he showed his bawdy side...most entertaining.
In the afternoon, we landed at an abandoned Argentine base and hiked to the top of a huge hill for a gorgeous 360 degree view. It was so warm, in spite of shedding many layers, we were all dripping wet and headed quickly for the showers once back “home.”
Friday night we sailed through the Lamere Channel, a very narrow passage with steep cliffs of rock and ice on both sides. We were sailing into the sun, water sparkling, golden light on the ice and rock when one of the guides spotted an Orca. Killer whales are huge and the most predatory animal in the water. In spite of the wind chill, most stood on the forward decks in awe.
Some serious ice in the water and the captain navigated us carefully around it. In addition to the bergs and smaller ice debris, there are bands of ice hunks that stretch nearly across the whole channel. At some point, there was the possibility we would need to drop anchor and wait for the wind to shift to clear the ice.
Once again, difficult to go to sleep. Too much to see, write or photos from the day to download and edit.
Food: enough quantity and cholesterol to sustain us should be stranded for some time. Breakfast buffet, 3 selections at each lunch and dinner, plus salad and soup and dessert, not to mention tea cakes and tea for those who want at about 4:30 followed by happy hour with chips and nuts at 6:30. Dinner at 7:30. Last night after dinner, in honor of the successful passage through the Channel, they served port and cheese. Twice a day, we stuff ourselves like sausages into many layers of clothing, outer wet gear, boots and life jackets for the zodiac expeditions. Will be able to bend over to put on the boots by the last day?
One hub of social life is the bar/observation room. It has windows on 3 sides, faces the stern, has comfortable seating as well as a bar. There is a door to the aft deck which is open all day. I am sitting by the door, sun pouring over my shoulders, wearing short sleeves. Jimmy Hendrix is on the stereo. Very comfortable. Music is varied from soaring chorale to Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Dylan and some classical. Often the drinks include chipped pieces of the black ice we pick out of the water on our excursions. Soon, we will pee out water that has been frozen in ice for several thousand years!! There isn't a lot of down time. I napped instead of going on an excursion and this relatively quiet time is delicious.
Passengers by and large a sociable crowd. Many discussions about Bush and Obama. We are repeatedly asked how we feel about our recent election. Only a small handful of apologists for Bush policies...but there is always some common ground of course. We all are adventurous, appreciate and value the natural world and grok the profoundity of this experience.
We are at lat 65, longitude 64. Check it out on Google. It is 33 degrees, sunny, some low clouds.
This morning, Jan 3, we were scheduled to go to a Ukrainian research base but it was blocked by ice. We would have been able to mail postcards, buy some crafts they make over the winter to entertain themselves and buy some of their home made vodka. Oh and get our passports stamped Antarctica. Oh well. It is not unusual for plans to be changed due to weather or ice.
HISRORY AND EXPLORATION:The history of the continent follows the patterns of the early European explorers many of us had to memorize in 5th grade. These expeditions were both scientific to chart and discover lands further south,some never seen by humans, and to claim the land for the patron country. The expeditions identified what is now the Straights of Magellan, named for guess who, which separates Tierra Del Fuego, an island, from the rest of South America. That was during his global circumnavigation 1519 – 22. Exploration pushed further south, first siting and then landing on the antarctic peninsula, crossing the antarctic circle, and eventually the south pole, reached on foot in December 1911, by Roald Amundsen of Norway.
Meanwhile, these southern waters between South America and the Antarctic continent became the site of a very lucrative whaling and sealing industry. Motivated by profit and adventure, the late 1800's through early 1900's paralled the scientific explorations. Their detritus is evident yet as many whaling stations were simply abandoned, leaving buildings, wood, rusting metal and more.
Probably the most famous and certainly the largest research base today is McMurdo Station housing up to 2,000 people in the summer. It is on the on the southwestern coast, and is the site of the hut used by Shackleton, Scott and Wilson set out on the first serious attempt to reach the geographic south pole. You may know of Shackleton and the voyage of the Endurance. If not, Google it.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 was signed by 12 nations and banned military activity, guaranteed free access for scientific purposes and stated that it did not support or deny any claims and prohibited future claims.
Who owns Antarctica? No one at the moment, but several countries have bases here, a precursor to a claim once the current treaties expire. Right now, it is reserved for peace and science, and officially belongs to no nation. The primary current “claims” are made by Argentina, New Zealand, France, Norway, Australia, the UK. Other countries have active and inactive bases, including the US at McMurdo as mentioned. The guides have said these countries can say they have a claim based on the number of years they have had these bases, active or not, regardless of not being signatories to the treaty.
Yesterday I took photos of some copper veins in the rocks. How long will that stay there once the treaty barring oil and mineral extraction expires in 2041??
While in the ship's library researching some of these facts, I had a discussion with an Australian woman, one of the physiotherapists, about racism and the Aborigines there. I was shocked to learn that it was only in 1967 that Aborigines were “declared people” and not livestock. They were also permitted to own land. It echoes the worst of our policies toward Native Americans including taking the children away and forcing them to attend Christian schools, robbing them of their languages and cultures. This woman carried much shame and anger about toward the Euro-Australians; her culture.
Lunch today was barbie (barbeque) on the aft deck, complete with funny hats and Motown music. After a chilly and overcast morning, the sun broke through and the music and warmth combined to give a real party atmosphere.
Right now there is a storm ahead and we are not sure what path we will take. Could be an exciting evening!
Ciao for now. 6:30 PM Jan 3.
Had some weather but nothing dramatic. It is Sunday, I think.
Stopped writing and now it is Monday mid-day. During the night, the captain had to re-position the boat and turn on the thrusters to keep away the icebergs that wanted to “kiss” us, as he said. I was woken by the vibration and the noise and thought we were setting sail for some reason.
Yesterday were our final 2 excursions. In the AM we zodiaced to Peterman Island and saw penguins up closer than ever before. Several healthy colonies with big chicks close to the creshing stage. At that point, the chicks huddle together for warmth and it takes two parents fishing all the time to keep them fed. Once they are fattened up, the parents abandon them, and they stand still for 3 weeks, fasting, while they molt into their adult coats. After that, it is into the sea to fend for themselves. They will move north to over-winter and then the colony will return to this place and the cycle begins again. The chicks can mate successfully at two or three years old. Before that time, they watch the sex ed movies.
If a chick is orphaned, it will try to find a foster parent. However, no one else will take it on and it is pecked to death or starves to death. Difficult to think about while looking at the brown, fuzzy furballs they are now.
The last excursion was a zodiac cruise through an iceberg sculpture garden. There was a cold rain and brisk breeze. Only my hands got cold. I didn't take my camera, not wanting to chance dousing it. That was a good decision. We observed sea ice for the first time. That is frozen ocean and it forms when the water goes below 29 degrees F. This looked like a huge frozen lake. Most of the ice we have seen so far is fresh water glacial ice, formed by compacted snow that eventually ends up in the ocean as an iceberg. In the winter there are 20 million square kilometers of ice in Antarctica and in summer, 4 million. I didn't do the mathematical comparisons, but I know it is an enormous amount.
Last evening was the albatross auction, which raises money for the Albatross Foundation (Google it). Brian was the auctioneer and used all tactics including shaming and teasing to push up the bidding. What entertainment! What drama! The best and final item was the nautical chart used during the trip, signed by the entire crew and the trip marked out. It came down to a bidding war between 2 gentlemen and was finally sold for $1350! We dropped out at $400. In Australian dollars. Now we set sail back north as we head toward the Drake Passage. Seas rolling some, and we took our anti-seasick meds. Dinner was a bit sparse population-wise. We both went to bed early, not feeling sick, but preferring the rolling from a horizontal perspective. I couldn't write or read. Slept well.
Monday morning we got to sleep late. 7:30 AM!! Seas still gentle.
More people profiles. Fritz and Maria, Germans, retired to New Zealand. They are both nice, warm and have good senses of humor. Dan invited them to tea in our cabin at 6:45 AM while I was still in bed. No worries. I got up and hung out in my PJ's. We looked at our photos and talked about our children.
We have also spent time with Carl, Barbara, Ashley and Alison from Denver. Ashley and Alison are in their 20's and remind us in some ways of our kids. They are both well-traveled, smart, funny and easy to talk with. Watching these sisters together made me miss Justine and Vicki, my own sisters. The family also went swimming in the Antarctic Ocean! This means the Americans were well represented in that endeavor. They are an outdoorsy family and seem to enjoy those activities together.
Jill and Don, from Derby, have become friends as well. They are a lot of fun and we have had a lot of laughs.
We are on Drake's Passage and it is calm, only gentle rolling for the most part. The sun is shining. There are talks and some other activities but most are quietly reading, socializing, journal writing, more picture taking etc.
I am sad we will be in Ushuaia and disembarking tomorrow morning. In addition to the amazing sights, sounds, smells and textures, this has been fun. Lots of laughs every day. The social aspect, getting to meet a variety of people both passengers and staff, has been pleasurable and stimulating. It feels like the last night of camp, for those of you who have had that experience. Tonight was Captain's dinner. He and the Passenger Officer joined us. There were standing ovations for them, the chefs, the staff. Dessert was two huge “iceberg” cakes with sparklers on them.
Gorgeous light. Sunset through gray clouds, mist. Time to pack. Not ready for this to end.