Don’t cry for us, Argentina!

In the morning Ushuaia bade us a stunning welcome in bright sunlight. Patagonia is always beautiful, but today was special with warm temperatures and the sun reigning for most of the day. However, the southern end of the world would not be true to its fame, if it stayed sunny the whole day, so every now and then stunning cloud formations and strong winds created spectacular backdrops. We had to say goodbye to our passengers of the past week and even the youngest one was seen off with an emotional farewell.

The better part of the day was taken up by preparations for our new passengers. One of the highlights of the days in port is always the arrival of the luggage. Everything must be checked and delivered to the cabins quickly, because our new arrivals should find it in place when they come in. So by the end of the day we take our leave from Argentina and set the course for Antarctica again. We will miss all the wonderful flowers in the eternal ice of Antarctica, but don’t cry for us, Argentina, we will be back!

Drake Shake

We were gloating about an easy Drake Passage too early yesterday, because a big storm got us in the middle of the night. Our sleep was quite disturbed by the huge waves and high winds with which our ship was battling. The morning on board was not comfortable at all. Almost all the lectures had to be cancelled and some of the crew and passenger felt like they had never been this sick before.

Luckily the sea calmed down in the afternoon, so that our routine was going back to normal and we enjoyed fresh waffles and a lot of leisurely reading apart from the newly resumed lecture program. Late afternoon brought us into South American waters. Here in the shelter of the continent the water is very calm so that everybody can enjoy their last evening on board our MV Fram, it is going to be easy cruising towards Ushuaia; by now the shake which we received on the Drake seems nothing but a bad dream.

Drake Lake

Today the dreaded Drake was very calm and peaceful for us. Everybody on board enjoyed the smooth cruise we were getting. An elusive Antarctic Petrel was bidding us a last farewell from Antarctica. It was a very special sighting indeed, as these birds are rare and it is unusual to see them at this time of the year. On board the passengers enjoyed bridge visits. A rare opportunity to take a glimpse of the innermost secrets of the ship’s command, and our gallant captain was patiently answering all questions.

The rest of the day was filled with lectures on all various topics around Antarctica. We learnt a lot about the wildlife, the history, and the ecology of our planet’s last continent of wilderness. In the evening we began to realize that the time to say goodbye to MV Fram is getting near, because the captain’s dinner reminded us that the cruise is drawing to its close. Our eager and friendly service team from the restaurant and the housekeeping department were there to wish us a safe journey home just as well as the captain and his officers. During the past week we were living our dream and cruising back on a very pleasant “Drake Lake” made the entire experience so much more memorable.

A day in Paradise

Today we really call ourselves lucky. We started out in the morning with a cruise in the Neumeyer Channel and some of the surrounding bays hoping to find some whales: and how lucky we were! A good number of humpback whales made an appearance all around the ship and we were privileged that these awe inspiring animals allowed us to watch them closely. On board the excitement was running high and everybody was on their feet trying to get the best shot with state of the art cameras down to cellphones.

In the afternoon we came to our last landing site on this cruise in Paradise Bay, and the weather was clear enough for us to see the spectacular scenery. Everybody enjoyed our second contact with the Antarctic continent. The birdlife was abundant and some of the animals were really getting friendly with one another, even though it is already late in the season. Two sheathbills were courting and two penguins were definitely well past the first stages of courtship. Well and truly, it was a day in Paradise for everybody; many of us got infected with the “Antarctic virus”. And, oh yes, good bye Jean Louis, you will be sorely missed, and Happy Birthday Frieda!

A wonderful day in the wilderness

This morning started with yet another highlight of our Antarctic quest. We were welcomed at the Ukrainian station of Vernadsky. They are one of the most hospitable and relaxed groups of scientists on the entire continent. We all enjoyed the interesting information on their work down here and we were impressed by their very active social life with vodka and every possible trait of merriment. Even the patron saint of mariners, St Nicolas, gets to display Antarctica’s natives – the penguins – on an icon inside the station. Thank you very much, guys, for a nice morning.

In the afternoon we reached Petermann Island, an all time favorite landing site. It looked as if our Fram had stranded and was about to be entered by the resident adelie and gentoo penguins who were as endearing and funny to watch as ever. The cormorants on Petermann were busy rearing their chicks; the poor creatures can never supply enough food to feed the hungry beaks. We all lined up to watch the rookeries and everybody enjoyed this unique spectacle of Mother Nature. Just to make a wonderful day perfect, the skies started to clear for the first time this evening so that the spectacular Antarctic panorama was not hiding behind thick fog and clouds any longer.

Antarctica was showing us its real face today

We had a day of authentic Antarctic weather conditions. It was relatively warm this morning, but today the wind got us. In the morning everybody had to show themselves flexible. We could not do our scheduled landing, because it was too windy; hence we had to alter our plans, but it turned out to be a change for the better: We landed at Neco Harbor which meant we made it to the mainland of Antarctica much sooner than we would have dreamt. The gentoo penguins welcomed us with their fanfares. There was a lot of ice at the landing site, so even the penguins found it difficult to get in out of the water, but we managed fine and were rewarded with wonderful impressions of wildlife and spectacular views of some glaciers.

In the afternoon the wind picked up and it was snowing quite heavily as we were cruising towards our second landing site in Port Lockroy. Now a terrible wait started if the wind would die down enough for us to make it to shore, but in the end all was well and we had a memorable visit to the British museum station. Everybody enjoyed the hospitality of the station’s charming crew and of the numerous penguins that inhabit the island with them. Of course everybody came back with many an everlasting impression of the interesting museum and laden with lots of souvenirs from one of the world southernmost post offices and souvenir shops on the planet. It was a long day, so sleep tight and sweet dreams.

We made it – Antarctica

What a wonderful day we had today! We arrived in Antarctica and made our first landing on Half-moon Island. But first things first: The day started with a lot of preparation for our arrival; who would have thought that it takes so much careful thought to visit this pristine wilderness? Everybody got an interesting briefing on how to minimize human impact on Antarctica, later lifevests had to be distributed and fitted for everybody, because safety is, of course, paramount, and then everybody was asked to vacuum their bags and rucksacks which they intended to take ashore in order to make sure we do not introduce any foreign organisms. This actually proved to be quite fun. But then things really started to get interesting:

As we approached Antarctica the penguins were just as happy to see us as we were to see them, so they started jumping out of the water. During our landing the most amazing wonders of nature were greeting us: A juvenile elephant seal was astonished to see us; a seagull seemed to prefer cuddling up with itself rather than showing an interest in us; and finally many of us got the impression that the penguins were having a discussion about human behavior, quite rightly so, because some humans were displaying very unusual behavior by storming into the freezing sea. In a nutshell, it was a brilliant start to our Antarctic adventure.

The dreaded Drake Passage

Today we are at sea crossing the Drake Passage, this much feared and dreaded waterway between South America and Antarctica. We had been warned that the crossing would be rough because it was quite stormy over the last days, but we were lucky in the end. What started out as a rather bumpy ride turned out to ease considerably as day developed. Everybody on board was finding their feet during the day and getting into the routine of life on board. We did a lot of bird watching and admired the beautiful aerial creatures which had perfect flying conditions. Giant petrel and albatross were putting on a wonderful show for us. In the evening there were rumors of the sighting of a large whale but that was not confirmed.

At various stages during the day we heard a lot about the history of Antarctica in all various kinds of languages and many an interested listener was astonished to learn how much history is connected with this uninhabited continent. In the evening we gather around the fireplace and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on board, because by the end of the day there is nothing more stimulatingly soothing than two cups of coffee in friendly company. After all, it was a nice day in the not so dreaded Drake Passage.

A day in port

In the morning we found Fram moored at the pier in Ushuaia and so we knew a wonderful voyage had finally come to an end. For the staff and crew the day in port is always one of the busiest. We say goodbye to our guests in the morning and a little later some of us are leaving as well to start their well deserved holidays and new members of the crew arrive. Fram must be prepared for the new guests who arrive in the afternoon, because everyone deserves a clean and fresh ship for their arrival.

Once all of our new guests are on board in the afternoon we get really busy. Endless questions have to be answered, all guests must be equipped with their jackets for the cruise and of course the safety drill has to be held well before Fram leaves the pier again. Of course all of us hope that we may never have to use the knowledge which was conveyed in during that drill. A day in port is always a busy day, but today the weather in Ushuaia was nice and everything went smoothly so that in the evening we are happily sailing towards Antarctica again.

Last day on the Drake

Our last full day on the Drake Passage and happily for our peace of mind (and stomachs), we enjoyed much calmer weather than yesterday. It was a wonderful relief -- nothing capsized in the dining room and we didn´t stagger around the ship as if we were drunk. It was a quiet day, a day to reflect on what we have seen on our voyage to Antarctica. We did last minute shopping in the gift shop, began to pack our bags for the journey home, and thought about what we would tell our friends and families about our adventures in the land of snow and penguins. Birds flew around the ship, and a large pod of pilot whales put in an appearance as we approached land. The islands of the South American continent appeared on the horizon – from here we will meet our pilot who will guide the vessel through the Beagle Channel into the port of Ushuaia.

From the gallant captain, his loyal officers the hardworking crew and the expedition staff on board the MV Fram, we all wish you safe travels and happy memories! It has indeed been our pleasure sailing with you. May you always keep Antarctica in your minds and hearts.

PS. And so, the writer of this daily blog wishes you farewell!

Storm on the Drake!!

Crash! Bang! Smash! Hang on! Instead of the Drake Lake, we experienced the dreaded Drake Earthquake. Awoke to a Beaufort 9 storm – large waves battered the ship, causing us to stagger and sway down the hallways as we tried to maintain our balance. The order for the day was ONE HAND FOR THE SHIP! Seasick bags were placed strategically around the ship for our convenience. This was our farewell to the frozen continent, a thunderous goodbye of fluffy foam and watery spray as we make our way across the Drake Passage bound for the port of Ushuaia. Albatross and pintado petrels following the ship were not affected by the wind, but rather soared overhead in graceful defiance of the storm.

A smiling and confident Captain Hansen was standing on the bridge with lovely company ready to answer our questions concerning the steering, navigation and general workings of the MS Fram. As usual, he posed for photographs as well. We were very impressed how modern our trim little ship is. The view from the bridge, however, was like riding a rollercoaster up and down with no way to get off. More Crash! Bang! Smash! Hang on! Grab onto the rails! Big waves hurled their liquid summits against the bow of the Fram, throwing up curtains of spray.

The lecture program continued throughout the day, with a guest lecturer discussing the Nature of the Atmosphere. The storm increased in strength throughout the afternoon – it was a continued challenge to remain on our feet. A short nap was a welcome respite from our Drake Dance. The day ended with the Captain´s dinner and his speech where he reminded us to remember the University of Nature, and our unique and rewarding voyage of discovery to the bottom of the world.