Last Day on Antarctica

Yesterday was our last day in the Antarctic, today we are crossing the
Drake Passage.

Yesterday morning we did a zodiac cruise of Danco Island where we saw
more icebergs, seals, and birds. In the afternoon I hiked to the top of
Useful Island with stunning views of the Antarctic peninsula and nearby
islands. Steph did another zodiac cruise which found an Adelie penguin
(first we'd seen) and an Elephant Seal.

As we headed out of the Antarctic waters toward the Drake Passage we
passed some Orca and Humpback whales. The picture with the two fins are
the Orca whales and the two pictures of the tails are the Humpback whales.

It has been a great trip, meeting or exceeding expectations. The weather
was very good, only a couple of times were we out in uncomfortably windy
snowy conditions. A couple of days it was so sunny and warm that we were
peeling layers. We're tired from five days of strenuous physical
activity and since the best way to tolerate the rocking and rolling
during our transit back is lying flat we're spending a lot of time in
bed relaxing. Tomorrow we get everything packed up which will be a
challenge then Tuesday morning we're off the ship and start our long
voyage home.

Steph says: I felt like a wimp opting out of the hike since there were
only three of us who opted for the Zodiac cruise but after spotting the
Elephant Seal which everyone else got to see, I felt redeemed. Also, it
was incredibly beautiful on the water. The views of the glaciers and the
surrounding terrain were beautiful in the late afternoon sun. I also
learned from our guide that Colin, one of the other guides is an expert
on Orcas. He was one of the principal people responsible for the rescue
of Keilo aka "Free Willie". He and a woman were involved for over two
years in the rescue and unsuccessful release of the whale. They tried to
reunite him with his Pod in Norway but he ultimately died. There is a
movie "The Untold Story of Keiko" which features his story. I am hoping
we can get it on Netflix when we get home.

The chef prepared a chocolate dessert extravaganza for us to enjoy after
dinner. It was quite an extraordinary array of desserts which were fun
to sample before we hit the Drake Passage. It is nearly noon on Sunday
and although we aren't seasick, this makes me wonder if we shouldn't
have taken the flight option home. We heard that the airport down here
was closed though and that people who were on that journey on another
ship were out of luck and the whole trip was cancelled.

I am looking forward to being on land again and having a hot shower in a
warm steady bathroom. Although this suite is nice, being at the front of
the ship has its disadvantages including a constant cold draft when
we're a underway and the worst of the rock of the ship. I am going to
see about getting some dramamine. We had dinner with the ship's doctor
and her husband who is also a doctor They told us that the prescription
for Zofarn I was given is useless for seasickness. Unfortunately, I
unknowingly only bought a few dramamine tablets a the airport.

7th Continent

This morning we landed at Neko Harbor, the first landing on the
Antarctic continent (previous stops were on islands) thus making this my
7th continent (Steph has not been to Australia). We saw more penguins
and icebergs.

This afternoon we visited Port Lockroy which is a UK station devoted to
maintaining the old UK historic stations including the one at Port
Lockroy. There is a restored hut showing how people lived in the station
in the 1950's.

Steph says: There is a gift shop and museum at Port Lockroy where four
people live from November until March. They very little outside
communication apart from visiting cruise ships. The gift shop supports
the Antarctic Heritage Foundation and you can buy postcards and mail
which first go to the Fauklands and then to Britain before being sent to
their final destination. That can take anywhere from 16 days to 6 weeks
to arrive. The shop has things like T-shirts, hats, and small earrings.
After we left the gift shop we boarded a zodiac and cruised around
icebergs for 45 minutes. I have yet to see a Leopard Seal or Orca Whale
but the terrain is stunning. Tomorrow is our last day here and we have
two more excursions. I am ready for this to be over. It is a lot of work
to put on 4 layers of clothes 2 times a day and navigate slippery snowy
terrain. I think I know enough about Gentoo penguins. This is truly the
end of the earth. It is a bleak and harsh landscape. Our zodiac driver
told us that he has climbed two of the taller peaks here. Having seen an
avalanche his morning I can't imagine attempting that. He said he came
here on a private yacht and it took 7 days to cross the Drake passage.

Largest Gentoo Colony

Yesterday afternoon we visited the largest Gentoo penguin colony which
is on Cuverville Island. It was a beautify sunny afternoon with light
winds so we all started peeling layers. The penguins are nesting during
the 30-35 day incubation period before the chicklings hatch.

I was finally able to get some good pictures of the eggs. Each penguin
has two eggs and the two parents switch back and forth keeping the eggs
warm. Every so often they rotate the eggs to keep them uniformly warm,
and that is the best time to get a picture. The one in front is more
white and the one in back is dirtier, presumably because it gets more
covered in penguin poo.

After sitting on the eggs for awhile in the mud and penguin poo they
switch off and the dirty one heads to the ocean to clean off and feed.

Yesterday evening we drank champagne and celebrated the 9th anniversary
of our first date. Of course neither of us could imagined when we met
for dinner that evening 9 years ago that we would be sailing the
Antarctic waters together now.

Cruising Enterprise Island

This morning we cruised around a bay in Enterprise Island. This bay was
used for whaling and there is a wrecked whale ship in the harbor. It
caught fire almost exactly 100 years ago (January 2015) and was scuttled
and abandoned. The glacial ice on the island is beautiful with the
blueish color caused by the compressed air bubbles and ice crystals. The
icebergs that have broken off and floating in the harbor have melted
into interesting shapes - one looks like the Sphinx. There were penguins
and seals as usual, unfortunately no whale

Speaking of whales, last night while we were cruising to our next stop
we passed a couple of humpback whales spouting, surfacing, and flipping
their tails. I got one shot of a tail and otherwise just their backs.

Steph says: My GoPro is amazing! I inadvertently filmed the entire two
hour Zodiac expedition. Dwight though that
he had put it on the time lapse setting to capture images every five
seconds but instead it was on video. The quality
of the picture (1080p) is wonderful. Someone else on the cruise who owns
a GoPro told me that most of the reality shows these days are filmed
using GoPros. While it was cold and wet when we began after it stopped
snowing it was stunningly beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing
Antarctica's largest Gentoo penguin colony this afternoon when we go ashore.

Ice and Whales

This afternoon on our second day in Antarctica, we went cruising in the
zodiac to see the ice and were lucky enough to see a whale. We were out
about 90 minutes cruising among the icebergs and sea ice. Icebergs are
from the glaciers on land made of fresh water, and sea ice is frozen sea
water. The sea ice tends to be flatter and the icebergs are blueish and
of sometimes fantastic shapes. It was snowing a bit, with some wind, but
we didn't get too cold.

They were hunting for Minke whales all day with various zodiacs
reporting sightings, then suddenly one of them surfaced right next to
our zodiac and proceeded to swim around and under our zodiac for several
minutes. It was hard to get good pictures because it moved so fast,
never above water for more than a second or two. The guide said it was
the best encounter with a Minke she had ever had.

Steph says: Speak for yourself, it was really, really wet and cold. It
was snowing (wet snow) and we were perched on
the edge of a Zodiac with the wind blowing. We are learning a lot about
Penguins. Today we say some Gentoos
swimming. They jump up in the air and look like flying fish. We were
told that they generally mate for years at a time
and when their offspring are ready to mate, they return to the location
where they were born. Unfortunately, we probably
won't see any Emperor Penguins which are the ones that are featured in
March of the Penguins. It's too late in the season
for them. One of the guides reported tonight that he saw a Penguin
having sex with a dead female. Unfortunately, we had
left the landing for the boat so we missed it. Dwight did get a photo of
two live Penguins mating however.

Mikkelsen Harbour on Trinity Island

This morning on our second day in Antarctica we woke to find snow on our
front deck. We disembarked to visit Mikkelsen Harbour. There we saw a
seal and more penguins. One of the guides showed us a penguin egg shell
that had probably been stolen by one of the birds in the area. We are a
couple of weeks from the baby penguin hatching.

It was snowing while we toured this area which is unusual for this time
of year. It is causing problems for the nesting penguins. While they
incubate the eggs, the penguins need to keep them dry and warm. The
falling snow is filling their nests and as the snow melts it will cause
water to pool in the nest and cause the eggs to get too cold. The guide
thought that many of the nesting penguins in this area would lose their
young this season.

Steph says: We did see a bird who was looking for a vulnerable egg. At
one point, he got too close to a group
of Penguins who shrieked and scared him away. The Penguins were all
standing around aimlessly which indicated
to the guide that they were finished with breeding and soon would head
back to the ocean. It was also a sign
that probably a number of eggs hadn't survived.

It was surprisingly warm. I didn't expect to be so comfortable but then
I am wearing tights, leggings, a fleece layer
and waterproof pants. The jackets are very warm. I only wear two layers
- a thermal shirt and a fleece top underneath.

I am gradually gaining more confidence about getting in and out of the
Zodiac and navigating the steep snow
and ice. Our heavy rubber knee high boots are big and ungainly. We are
always instructed to turn and face the water when we get out in case a
wave hits the boat.

This afternoon, we are taking a two hour Zodiac trip to look at ice. I
am hoping we will also see a whale or more seals.
The Weddell Seals don't live in colonies so we have only see one or two
on shore. I am excited about seeing a Leopard Seal, a major Penguin
predator.

There are a lot of people using Go Pro Cameras so I bought one to mount
on my head. I love the idea of not having
to take off my gloves to take a photo and being able to capture things
as they happen. Hopefully, I will have some good footage to share!

Whaler Bay on Deception Island

Yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, our first day in Antarctica, we visited
Whaler Bay on Deception Island. This where they killed and rendered
thousands of whales during the early part of the 20th century. The use
of this place ended in 1931 when it no longer became economically viable
when there was a glut of whale oil on the market during the depression.
At the end they were able to render an entire whale in 45 minutes.

There wasn't much wildlife in Whaler Bay as the bay waters are not good
for feeding. There were a few penguins and one Weddell seal.

Antarctic Landfall

This morning we arrived at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland
Islands. We were taken ashore in zodiac boats at about 9am to spend
several hours walking among the penguins and a couple of seals. Most of
the penguins were Chinstrap penguins, recognizable for the thin black
line around their chin. There were some Gentoo penguins recognizable for
the orange beak.

The penguins have laid their eggs and are tending them until they hatch.
The parents take turns sitting on the eggs, occasionally turning them.
The free parent goes down to the water to clean off and feed. The
penguins heading down to the water are muddy and the ones coming back
are nice and clean white.

Steph says:
Learning to walk in deep snow with heavy rubber boots and thick parkas
(they have fleece vests inside) takes time.
You have walk carefully because there are deep imprints from others and
the surface is often slick. It would be
easy to twist an ankle.

It was 38 degrees outside with light winds but even so, I wore snow
goggles which Caitlin recommended. They are
a life saver especially on the Zodiac trip over from the ship. There is
a special procedure for boarding the Zodiac.
You first step on the side and then onto a step inside of the boat. You
hold onto two helpers wrist to wrist to make
certain that you don't slip. When you get in, you have to sit on the
side. There is a thin rope to hold onto but
I always lean forward. About eighteen months ago, a Zodiac tipped over
near shore when a rogue wave hit. One woman
was hit by the engine and died. I find that every moment of this trip, I
have to pay attention.

Thankfully, the violent rocking of the ship has stopped since we are out
of the Drake Passage. Since our room is at the front of the boat, we
took more of a beating. Fortunately neither one of us got sick. We took
Dramamine and Zofran before we felt sick and they worked but it was a
very scary trip mainly because it is so easy to fall which I have done
several times, and get tossed around.

We have been surprised by the great number of people in their twenties
and thirties that are on the trip - not your usual cruise crowd. There
is one elderly woman who walks with a cane. I am in awe of the fact that
she can
navigate the steep slippery slopes and stairs. We are always climbing
something. In Iguazu Falls, we climbed at least
50-60 vertical feet after the boat trip and on Cape Horn there was a wet
slippery wooden stairway that
we had to climb up (and down) from the shore. It was quite a work out!

We are stopping again this afternoon at Deception Bay for an hour which
will mean suiting up but it's worth it: truly
a lifetime experience.