A day amongst the fruit orchards

Our first stop in Norway was in Ulvik yesterday morning. Fram arrived in the Ulvikafjorden at 8 AM and we soon started our tender operation with our polar circle boats to bring guests ashore. At the same time, the first rays of sun also made their way over the high mountains next to the fjord, down to this beautiful little village that has just over 1000 inhabitants.

We then began our excursions that started at the hotel where we shuttled the guests to. First to depart was the Farm visit. This tour allowed our guests to learn about (Norwegian) agricultural traditions in the 21st century. After a quick slide-show presentation about (amongst others) the history of farming and a tour around the property our hostess offered us Home-made apple cake with whip-cream and apple juice! Along with the sunny weather, this made for a perfect excursion.

 
Then, a small group of 11 joined us on a walk around Ulvik and a visit to the museum to learn about the life and poetry of Olav H. Hauge, one of the most important Norwegian poets. To give an idea of his influence, his works have been translated into 25 languages! During the walk we also visited the church of Ulvik and a few other places of interest like the Skeiemylna mill situated near the old stone bridge from 1896. Our guide was very kind and knowledgeable and spoke many languages. We had a very interesting tour and learned a lot about Ulvik and its history.  

At noon it was time for us to head to a different location to explore and enjoy the amazing weather even more. Our Agatunet excursion on the western side of the Sørfjorden allowed guests to get a first glimpse of Norwegian spring in all its glory. The soil around the fjords in this area are extremely fertile and therefore perfect for fruit trees. Many orchards can be found here and it turns out we are here at the perfect time as all the apple, cherry and prune trees are blossoming now. Many types of bees are flying around here and the aromas of the awakening nature really add to the experience. Our walk along the fruit trail in Ullensvang was a perfect way to witness the Norwegian Spring as well. We were all overdressed and ended up carrying our jackets and fleeces around our waists. 
In the early evening we set sail for Eidfjord where we arrived earlier than expected. Guests were able to go ashore and a few of them did. Most enjoyed an evening in the Observation Lounge while listening to music from our musician Bjørn as we will be able to spend the next day in Eidfjord as well. The weather forecast for the trip looks rather good and we hope we get to enjoy more sun on our spring adventure here in the Norwegian fjords. 

The Magic Word - Bergen

“When will we get the new equipment?” “When we get to Bergen.”

“Where will the copy machine get fixed?” “In Bergen.”

“Are we getting more batteries any time soon?” “Sure, as soon as we reach Bergen.”

“I hear there will be a brand new coffee-maker?” “Yep, that’s right. That’ll be in Bergen”

“…”

On a morning bathed in grey and silver we round the famous lighthouse of Markestein and then zigzag our way through the narrows that finally lead to the second largest city of Norway.

It feels strange to get to a changeover place after only two days of sailing, feels very short. Fortunately the weather was perfect - otherwise it could have felt just the opposite.

But now we pass under the bridge of Bergen, Askøyebrua, and then go to pier. Immediately hell breaks loose:

All possible doors, hatches, gangways, and gates open up, the engines of several forklifts are being started, and every crew and staff member is ready with the sleeves rolled up.

Right after the custom officers are done with their spiel everyone gets to work feverishly.

Definitely the person with the biggest workload on this typical Bergen day is our hotel manager Else Kristine, who has to verify, count and control all the deliveries for months to come. 71 pallets are being brought by the shipping company, transferred into FRAM’s belly and then attacked right away. A sea of wrapping material, wood fragments, and tools wherever you look.

Truly, it seems that everything, really everything, goes through Bergen.

But there is system to the chaos, things are actually not blocking each other, containers are being emptied in rapid succession - clearly we are getting somewhere. 
Even the Expedition Team finds time to stock up on coffee capsules, a necessary item for the mornings…
Definitely the biggest and most spectacular items that are loaded today are the two new Polar Cirkel Boats - bigger, faster, better. We will mainly use them for our long-range excursions all over the world. Everyone is really excited, especially captain Rune.

In all this action we should not forget that Bergen is a wonderful, colorful, cultural city, lively with restaurants, bars, theaters, and the numerous market stands that gather around the scenic harbour.
However, the only ones being able to benefit from that are the passengers leaving us today after two days of whisky tasting, and those who join us in the afternoon.
By that time, magically, most of the things are done, stored away, cleaned, repaired, replaced. So all that work gets done invisibly, and the new arrivals might wonder a little why crew and staff seem a little exhausted…
A cheerful crowd from many different countries joins us today, gracefully mustering the patience to stand in line to be checked in, to receive the expedition jacket, and to wait for the luggage to be brought to the cabin.
A long travel day lies behind them, so they also are a little tired when Captain Rune gives his introductory speech.
Long day over.

Base A and our southernmost point

During operation Tabarin in 1941, the British set up a base here to keep an eye on enemy shipping and destroy old fuel dumps. Base A on Goudier Island (maybe more known as Port Lockroy) has become on off the most visited place in Antarctica, and today it was our turn.

Calm weather and sunny skies welcomed us to this historical place, which took us back to the 40´s and 50´s.

Here´s also a museum, kept much as it was in the 50´s, as well as a post office and a souvenir shop, so there was history, shopping and mailing postcards on todays “to do list”. In addition to all this, we had Gentoo penguins, Snowy Sheathbills and cormorants to greet us as well. After a couple of very interesting hours, it was time to leave and we said goodbye to the helpful and cheerful staff that stays here during the Antarctic summer.

We continued towards the strikingly beautiful Lemaire Channel, which was first sighted by German whaler Eduard Dallman in 1873. This eleven kilometre-long and 1.6 kilometre-wide channel was full of ice floes and burgy bits, so the traverse through went in a slow and easy pace. Many of us went out on deck to photograph and enjoy the stunning scenery of the steep cliffs and glaciers around us.

                                     

The second landing for today would be our last and most southerly point of our expedition, Petermann Island at 65°10´5 S / 064°07´6 W. It is perhaps more famous for its 1909 resident Jean-Baptist Charcot, who wintered here in a tiny cove which he named Port Circumcision.

Here we had Adélie penguins, imperial cormorants (blue-eyed shags) and the world’s southernmost Gentoo penguin colony and it was all there for us to enjoy. When afternoon became evening, it was time to leave and the captain pointed his ship towards Ushuaia, Argentina.

Later in the evening we all joined in the Panorama Lounge for the famous M/S Fram Crewshow, which was absolutely fabulous. 

A busy day at Cuverville and Almirante Brown

Monday was a very successful day. Cuverville offered us the perfect conditions for a beautiful landing and activities around the island. The Expedition Team went ashore in the morning to prepare the routes that led passengers to several viewing points with stunning views over (amongst others) “Iceberg Alley”. On the way, people were able to see several Gentoo penguin rookeries. They were particularly active, building nests to incubate and walking back and forth to the water to take a bath. It's very entertaining to watch and one could do this for hours. One of the paths led to the top of a big hill where people were able to go down a snow slide. Our Chinese passengers were by far the best at doing this!

The conditions were also perfect for kayaking. Our Expedition team members Tessa and TJ took our passengers on a beautiful trip around the area and were therefore able to see remote parts of the island and icebergs from a unique perspective. An other activity passengers could join were the polar circle boat cruises that took them on a jaw dropping 2 hour tour of the area with our team member and bird-expert John. This very eventful morning was definitely one of the best experiences we had on the cruise and everybody went back on board with a smile from ear to ear.

In the afternoon, we were able to visit the Argentinian Almirante Brown Station on the Antarctic continent in Paradise Harbour. Gentoo penguins were once again present and activities like boat cruising were available. Those joining the cruises were able to see Cormorants nesting on the cliffs. Right next to the base is a very steep peak that passengers were able to climb to get amazing views over the bay and the surrounding glaciers and snow-covered mountain tops. Since the snow sliding was such a success in the morning, Expedition Team trainee Tom was in charge of making a slide for everyone to come down once they made it to the top of the hill. Many brave passengers and crew members dared to tackle the wild descent and several went for a second or third time! Once everybody was back on board, we continued sailing towards Damoy Point where 18 lucky passengers camped outside on the snow near the penguins. They all carried their own equipment and belongings to a flat area where they set up their camp and got their tents ready. After a nice hike around the island with the beautiful midnight sun, it was time to go to bed. A unique experience, according to those who got to spend the night in the pristine nature of Antarctica! Except for the campers, we had three very lucky passengers. A couple from Germany and one other passenger were enjoying the views outside when suddenly they spotted an Emperor Penguin swimming amongst the ice! Even though we guaranty penguins on this cruise, a swimming Emperor Penguin in the Antarctic Peninsula remains a rare sight. These are the largest of all penguins and mainly have their colonies in places rarely visited by cruises/expeditions.  One of the three passengers managed to take a picture of the penguin that you can see down below. All credit for the picture goes to Kristina Klug and we thank her for letting us put it on the blog!

Picture by Kristina klug

Up and down the slopes

The weather was a bit grey, cloudy and it snowed, it looked almost “mystical”, when MS Fram passed through the narrow opening called Neptune’s Bellows at Deception Island. 

We made our landing at Whalers Bay, once the southernmost Whaling station in the world. The hikers were set on land, and set off towards the other side of the caldera. The slope was steep, but the slide down on the other side towards Baily Head was worth the exhaustion. 

A natural amphitheater packed with ten-thousands of Chinstrap Penguins was awaiting us, what an amazing view. After a break and a stroll between the colonies, we headed back up again. 

It was hard to find our path back in the snowdrift, but we reached the other side all well, and some of us might got a little bit of a taste of an Antarctic explorer’s life. The rest of us wasn’t bored neither, there was lots to see at Whalers’s Bay: the remains of the Norwegian whaling operations, the stunning view through Neptune’s Window and even the Hangar, where the first Antarctic flight took place! And last but not least: the brave Antarctic swimmers! Some fearless passengers jumped into the icy waters from Deception Island and went for a polar plunge.

In the afternoon we had a little rest before we arrived at Mikkelsen Harbor, a small rocky islet located in the Palmer Archipelago. And what a small but fine place: the views on all directions were – once more – stunning. 

We were surrounded by huge glacier fronts and the evening sun made beautiful horizons over the Gentoo rookeries. It was a coming and going on the penguin highways up and down the slope. On the landing side the Weddell seals had a rest on the snow and it was a very peaceful ending of the day. 

The many dimensions of Antarctica

This three-part expedition cruise we are on has reached the final “episode”- Antarctica. It took three days of sailing to get us here from South Georgia, although we did stop by Elephant Island  yesterday afternoon. That broke up the crossing nicely (see yesterday’s blog).

Overnight we sailed southwest to the South Shetland Islands and made our first landing in Antarctica at Arctowski Station on King George Island. In this small microcosm, we could see the many facets or dimensions of Antarctica from the plants and animals to the human element- the research that is going on here every day of the year.

The area around Arktowski is an Antarctic oasis. It is unusually green and lush.

Both species of Antarctic higher plants can be seen there as well as snow algae, terrestrial algae, mosses and lichens of various species. Whale bones encrusted with lichens lay around the beach.

About 5000 pairs of Adélie Penguins breed up on the hill behind the cove, in what is an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). Scientists at the station are monitoring the colony annually. Nearby Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins breed if you are lucky, like we were, you can see all three species in one place.

Many varied artefacts, both animate and inanimate, were strewn over the beach.

Inside the station scientists from several countries welcomed us with hot tea and biscuits and discussed the work they are doing.

Over lunch and most of the afternoon, we cruised down to Half Moon Island, our second destination for the day. Regular Fram blog readers will be quite familiar with this small island nestled between Livingston and Greenwich Islands. A sizable Chinstrap Penguin colony calls Half Moon its home, as does a variety of other seabird species including Wilson’s Storm-Petrel and Antarctic Tern. The Chinstraps were fully into incubation and chicks should not be too far behind!

Antarctica Terns were very active all though our stay, displaying, mobbing skuas and sheathbills, and fighting amongst themselves. As the landing went into the evening, we were treated with several Wilson's Storm-Petrels coming out of their crevices for the night.

In the middle of one of the Chinstrap colonies, stands “Mac” our lonely Macaroni Penguin, who we have been seeing in the same place for several years. We don’t know if Mac is a boy or girl but we do know (s)he is in breeding condition because we have seen a brood patch on a previous trip (note the small slit at the base of Mac's belly). On this trip we also saw Mac making the "ecstatic" display, advertising its nest. We are all hopeful that a mate is eventually found!