Drake Passage

Like a bookend, the Drake Passage always marks the end of a voyage to Antarctica- in this part of the world anyway. It is water dreaded by many, but is tamer than its reputation. Today- 15 December- is our first day on the Drake after a fabulous 5 days in Antarctica. The day started fairly calm and we completed our bridge visits. There, our captain explained how MS Fram, a state of the art vessel, is operated. Among other interesting facts, we learnt that it is normal procedure, to make depth soundings of uncharted waters – something that was done when we visited Paulet Island a few days ago. Now we have a lot more information to help us navigate the waters close to the colony.

Later in the day, the winds picked up and by evening we were in a full gale with high waves.

Our passengers were also able to see the whole crew in action, as we performed one of our regular safety drills. Today, we simulated a fire on the ship and proceeded as if it was out of control and we had to abandon ship: most of the crew actually donned safety equipment and boarded one of our rescue boats. Safety is something we take very seriously, and these exercises are an important part of our operations.

Towards the end of the evening, we tested the knowledge of our passengers about all things Antarctica, as we held our traditional quiz night – we all had a good time and a big laugh. Congratulations to boat group no. 7.

Half Moon Island and Yankee Harbour

Today we had wonderful weather to explore two of the South Shetland Islands: incredibly azure skies, warm temperatures and a light breezes. And that made our landing at Half Moon Island a special event: the view across to Livingston Island and its gigantic glaciers flowing down peaks was impressive; the orange lichen-covered cliffs contrasted starkly against the blue sky; and the light was beautiful to see the shiny feathers of recently-preened penguins in all their splendor.

On this crescent-shaped island most penguins in the rookery are chinstraps - but there was a lonely macaroni penguin amidst them, standing out from the crowd because of its stockier body and bright yellow feathers on top of the head - the very ones that gave it its name! Sadly though, we suspect that this bird is on her own and will obviously need a mate for her attendance at the colony to be worthwhile.

After a quick lunch break, we landed on the opposite side of the straits we were in, at Yankee Harbour, a long spit of cobbled stones and terminal moraine material jutting into the sea off  Greenwich Island. We continued to enjoy wonderful, sunny and warm weather, and were happy to find several gentoo penguin chicks still sporting their eggteeth. The weather continued to be idyllic and with the backdrop of Livingston Island (again), the place took on an almost dream-like quality.

Neko Harbour and Port Lockroy

This morning we had actually planned to land on Vernadsky Station (the old British station Faraday), south of the Lemaire Channel, but onboard MS Fram we have learnt that in the Antarctic, one plans something and the weather decides whether you can do it – today, we couldn’t. Densely-packed ice was flowing northwards during the night, so our Captain decided to sail away from the oncoming ice and this morning we were positioned in front of Neko Harbour, which by the way, is a fantastic place, so we all enjoyed a landing there. Some of our passengers climbed to the top of the hill overlooking the sea and the imposing glacier that hangs all the way from the crest of the mountains to the sea. On the way down, some slid down a snowy slope. Neko is on the mainland of west Antarctica.

We saw some avalanches and also a couple of ice chunks calving off the nearby glacier into the water. Of course, there were also penguins, and as our passengers had already seen them before, the unstoppable impulse to take bizillions of photos is beginning to wane, and they are actually starting to look at these funny birds.

On the route from Neko Harbour to Port Lockroy, we cruised the scenic Neumayer Channel, which today showed in all its splendor as we had blue skies and flat, mirror-like waters.

We landed in Port Lockroy in the afternoon, and our passengers were fascinated by in the small museum showing how life was in a British Antarctic research station in the 1940s; they also proved to be rather interested in the museum gift shop spending tonnes of their hard-earned cash on very nice remembrances of their trip! The proceeds from the shop are all ploughed back into the running of the base and the restoration of other British bases around the Antarctic. All this is administered by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.

'Round about midnight

'Round about midnight we entered the Antarctic Sound; and in a similar fashion to Miles Davis' eponymous melody, where changes in rhythm and tonality follow each other in sweet succession, during our traverse of this scenic strait at the northern tip of the peninsula, we were treated to a wonderful symphony of colours. We sailed past amazingly blue icebergs of all shapes cut against the pastel pink of an infinite sky set ablaze by the setting sun. Flat, tabular icebergs will have broken off the continental iceshelf, in this case probably from the Larsen Ice Shelf, on the eastern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula, from where they then drifted into theAntarctic Sound. 

Irregularly shaped icebergs are simply older tabular icebergs, that have been eroded to capricious forms by wind and water. Many animals rest on these ice giants, and you regulary spot penguins, seals or seabirds on them. Knowing that about 70 to 90% of the iceberg lies under water, cruising past them you better keep a respectful distance in case they topple.

Way past midnight, this morning we sailed through the Gerlache Strait. Named after Belgian expeditioner Adrien de Gerlache, who came through here in 1897-1899, this is a panoramic seaway flanked by imposing mountains. On our approach to this afternoon's landing site, Cuverville island, we were visited by some humpback whales. It was a fantastic sight to see them diving to herd krill into their gapes, waving their goodbyes with their unique tails as they disappeared into the deep. 

Around 15 o' clock we landed at Cuverville Island, where we visited a big colony of Gentoo penguins. The site is really amazing: the island is surrounded by dramatic mountains covered with glaciers, and many icebergs were floating in front of the beach - it was a perfect postcard. The site was mostly covered by snow, but the penguins criss-crossed the snow by means of an intricate network of "penguin highways".

'Round midnight (à la Thelonius Monk, of course), we cruised the spectacular Lemaire Channel on our southward Antarctic journey. What a trip from midnight to midnight!  

Under two volcanoes

Malcolm Lowry famously wrote about life under a volcano; today, we briefly lived under two: Paulet and Brown Bluff! But apart from the topographical similarity, there are major differences between his experience and ours: his character drank himself to unconsciousness under the blazing Mexican sun, we became intoxicated with the beauties to be found under the spell of these two majestic Antarctic mountains.

Paulet is an active volcano that formed an island in the Weddell Sea; and if this was not spectacular enough, it is covered with Adélie penguins. These natural born comedians were named in 1840 by French commander Dumont D’Urville to honour his wife – was he perhaps also an involuntary comedian?; or was his wife pleased about her namesakes? Obviously, a matter for historians to clarify… 

After this exciting first landing, we started travelling north in the Weddell Sea, and watched in the distance the many tabular icebergs floating in these waters. During this tranquil cruise, we also came across sea ice, which was split apart by MV Fram’s solid hull, much to the amazement of our passengers, who flocked out to deck to enjoy the occasion.

 In the afternoon, we landed in Brown Bluff, an imposing reddish cliff on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which was formed by the eruption of a volcano under thick icefields. Because the eruption took place under ice, the volcanic material cooled down very quickly and formed colorful and interesting rocks – so geologists will tell you. But even if you don’t care about rocks, what an imposing and beautiful place this is! And yes, there are Adélie penguins too, which are fun to watch as they walk the length of the beach in search for an appropriate spot from which to jump into the water. So, this is how life under two Antarctic volcanoes was for us today.

Double whammy!

We woke up this morning in the caldera of Deception Island, and since the weather was terrific (= calm and sunny), we gave a second try this season to hike to Bailey Head. Bailey Head is home to 10,000s of pairs of Chinstrap Penguins which spend the austral summer there, breeding. The "usual" beach landing at Bailey is on an unprotected beach on the outside of the caldera, and is very difficult. A fortnight ago, we had tried to get there, and were stopped and driven back by a blizzard. Not so this time around: we were able to reach the crest of the mountain, and get a spectacular view from there. In fact, we were able to look across the Bransfield Strait and make out the Antarctic peninsula - just like Davis and others did in 1820, the first documented sighting of the white continent.


From the top of the hill, some 200m above sea-level, we descended towards the colony at Bailey Head - and when we got there after a strenuous but very pleasant walk, we were treated to the wonderful spectacle of thousands of chinstrap penguins, sitting on their nests, crawling up the slopes on their way back from the sea, shouting to greet their partners; i.e., being chinstrap penguins. The place itself is beautiful, as the wall descending from the hills that are the head proper, are covered with very green stripes of moss.

On the way back from the hike, we explored the interesting ruins found at Whaler's Bay. And after so much activity, we were very happy to visit the restaurant onboard Fram!

The double whammy was that in the afternoon, we landed on Walker Bay, a beautiful spot on Livingston Island. The pleace was teeming with interesting life: massive elephant seals; hovering giant petrels; soaring light-mantled sooty albatrosses; gentoo and chinstrap penguins; and peeking from below their parents and still sporting their eggteeth, the first penguin chicks of the season! What a wonderful day...

Jekyll and Hyde

The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a novel written by George Louis Stevenson and published in 1866. It tells the story of a friend of the main protagonist who suffered from split personality. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Drake Passage had a split personality today. In the morning we enjoyed the gentle side of the Drake Passage with light breezes and smooth seas. The sun shone as well which added to the soft feeling of the crossing. Albatrosses and petrels of various sorts followed the ship and flew to one side or the other, gaining advantage in the lee of the wind.


Then, as the day progressed, the winds picked up and by the time mid-afternoon arrived we had 25m/s or 50 knot winds and high waves. Dr. Jekyll had transformed into Mr. Hyde! Later, as we approached the South Shetland Islands, the wind and waves calmed down but we were left in no doubt about the nasty side of the Drake.


This morning we crossed the Polar Front, that is, we are within the cold waters surrounding Antarctica and south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current – i.e., we ARE in Antarctica! And after attending the mandatory IAATO briefings, our passengers are able, and very eagerly looking forward, to landing in this fabulous continent.

Although we have not been buffeted by high winds, we have all day long been exposed to a light breeze, which is nice because it has brought birds with it. This day we were accompanied by 5 elegant and graceful light-mantled sooty albatrosses, which followed the vessel for a couple of hours – and allowed photographers to give it a try to capture that most difficult and elusive beast: the bird in flight. Here are some of the shots we managed to get.

Dreadful names; wonderful places!

Yes; it was an early start, BUT we managed to land on Cape Horn this morning at 6:00 am! To many of our passengers this might seem trivial; not so to the crew on board Fram, who flocked to the car deck, trying to get on the Polar Cirkel boats to go ashore. They are aware that some years, we have not been able to land here a single time during the whole Antarctic season! Seafarers as they are, they also know that being able to visit this almost mystical place is a must (and our Captain was no exception).

So, stepping onto this southernmost bit of South America, to look into the vast, sometimes violent expanse of the Drake Passage from under one of the most photographed lighthouses on the planet; or to wander to the albatross monument and think about the many ships that have sunk just a few miles away from it is a very intense experience. Many of our passengers also felt the special experience this is. After the visit, Fram rounded the Cape, traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; we thus officially can call ourselves Cap Horners, and could, if we wanted to, pierce our ears to, in pirate-fashion, tell the world we had successfully rounded this infamous nautical feature.

A further place whose mention inspires fear in many people is the Drake Passage. Onboard Fram, we know these waters stretching some 1000 km between South America and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula can be anything between two extremes: Drake Lake or Drake Shake. Today, the seas were rather closer to the gentle version, and we enjoyed a light westerly breeze and soft waves. Riding the waves were five different species of albatross, as well as several agile petrels, fulmars and other wonderful seabirds. 

So, despite its fearsome reputation, we were treated to the kind side of these temperamental waters.

Cruising the Beagle Channel

Today we returned to the Beagle Channel on our way to Puerto Williams, Cape Horn and eventually Antarctica. We started our transit with a detour down the Seno Garibaldi. This spectacular, high-sided fiord ended in a beautiful glacier, which we approached to a close distance. After turning "on a dime" using our bow and stern thrusters we sailed back down the fiord and out once again into the Beagle Channel. On our way out we spotted a small colony of Imperial Cormorants.

A little later we passed the "country glaciers" all named for different countries participating in a scientific expedition to observe the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. These glaciers run down U-shaped valleys from the 2300 sq. km ice field atop the Chilean Cordillera  Darwin, the highest point of which is over 2000m above sea level. These glaciers are like a living textbook of glaciology showing clearly all the main physical features of glacial action. One of the glaciers showed a dramatic torrent of water flowing down the ice-scoured rock below the ice. They must have looked quite different before before the relatively recent warming trend that is causing most of the world's glaciers to shrink.

After some stimulating lectures we arrived at Puerto Williams in the late afternoon. This naval community is the most southerly town in the world. Surrounding Puerto Williams is the beautiful southern beech forest characteristic of this area of extreme southern Tierra del Fuego. We took advantage of this by making a couple of hikes to see the vegetation, animals and general scenery of the area. From midway up the hills behind Puerto Williams, we had a spectacular view of the Beagle Channel; and the afternoon was so bright and clear, that we were able to spot Ushuaia, on the other, Argentine side of the channel. In the forests we were lucky to see Gavilea lutea in bloom; one of the three southernmost orchids in the world, all of which grow here. After our different walks around the hills and forests on Isla Navarino, we had all developed a rather healthy appetite, which we satiated back on Fram, where our cooks had organised a delicious and abundant Chilean food feast.

Southern Chile Fjords

This morning we attempted a landing on Magdalena Island, where a huge colony of Magellanic Penguins makes its home. The expedition team was ready at the landing site shortly before 6:00 am and was literally sandblasted off the island a while afterwards! The island is made of fine, poorly consolidated sandstone and blows away in the wind. The wind picked up even more, pushed MV Fram off its mooring site, and reached gale force. Obviously, the landing had to be cancelled. This was unfortunate but is the essence of expedition cruising- "you just never know" down in these parts. The time gained by not landing was used to good advantage later in the day when for the first time ever Fram entered the spectacular Seno Angostini.

Quite surprisingly, strong winds continued blowing in the channels and fjords we traversed this day. In fact, whilst we were cruising in the normally calm Gabriel Channel, we were treated to hurricane-force winds: gusts of up to 140 km/hr caused the vessel to heel to one side. The storm was nevertheless a spectacular thing to watch – particularly from the comfort of our cozy panorama lounge on deck 7!

The afternoon treated us to calmer seas, and we were able to enjoy the sight of the many glaciers cascading down the imposing mountains flanking the Seno Agostini. The day slowly became night, and all the while we continued sailing through the beautiful, complex and immense maze of islands, mountains, inlets and bays known as the Chilean Fjords.

Excursions from Punta Arenas

That sums up what we did today. We arrived in Punta Arenas late yesterday afternoon and cleared customs by 1900h. We enjoyed a nice evening in this city of 120,000. Some of us went off in a bus to the spectacular Torres del Paine National Park for an overnight and day there. Today folks went their various ways on excursions to Punta Arenas (city tour), the Magellanic forest, an estancia, and the Seno Otway Magellanic Penguin rookery.

At the Estancia Olga Teresa we were hosted by the wonderful family who owns the property. Yvonne gave us a guided tour of the sheep ranch, including a sheep shearing demonstration and a sheepdog roundup. Then we were then treated to a traditional cordero asado de Patagonia- lamb roasted over an open wood fire. The air was fresh and our appetites keen so we were ready for lunch!

Our bus ride to the Otway Magellanic Penguin rookery took us through dry steppe habitat where we saw the famous Lesser or Darwin's Rhea, AKA Ñandu. These birds are close relatives of the ostriches of Africa and Emus of Australia. The Magellanic Penguins at Otway were a delight- young ones mingled on the beach with older birds and several were ambling up to their burrows from the water.


The city tour went around the various parts of the town- from the half-collapsing houses made out of old containers to the posh neighbourhood of the rich family of the Nogeiras. The cemetery in the city is said to be the prettiest one in Chile, something we all can confirm. A visit to the local museum showed us the lifestyle of the early settlers of Punta Arenas, the explorers through time, and the life of the indian tribes - the yagans, tehuelche and all. The tour ended at the main square, with green trees and the Sunday parade of police/military, singing their national song and greeting the flag of Chile.

The hike excursion began with a scenic walk into the hilly backdrop of Punta Arenas, where vast Patagonian forests extend as far as the eye can see. The rains of last week had given the path a bit of a muddy surface in some spots, but that didn't keep the brave hikers from scrambling up and down the mountains in the fresh morning air, earning every bite of their lunch that they ate, a bit exhausted but with a big smile.

Those that traveled to Torres del Paine National Park, spent the night in Puerto Natales, some 250 km north of Punta Arenas. Early, a bus picked us up to travel a further couple of hours to the park. On the way there we were lucky to see several condors, flamingoes and an eagle; all of these on the bird side of things, of course. We also came across several groups of guanacos, the camelid animals, cousins to the llamas, vicuñas and alpacas. When we first arrived at the park, it was pouring down and the wind was howling - nothing we were very happy about. But luckily, the weather cleared shortly afterwards and we were able to see the Cuernos del Paine in their full splendor; it was an incredible sight, considering these formations are the poster children of the park, and quite rightly so!


On the way back from the park, we stopped at the famous and interesting Cueva del milodón, the cave where the gigantic, fossilised sloth was found at the end of the 19th century. It was a good finale for a very exciting day.

In Darwin's wake

All last night and all day today we have been following Charles Darwin’s wake: we have navigated the full length of the Beagle Channel, named after HMS Beagle, the vessel on which the famous British naturalist explored these waters in the early 1830s. Darwin was a towering intellect and would have been quite at home discussing evolutionary theory today, with all our modern advances in this most exciting science. In the 1800s he was unparalleled and is remembered as the greatest biologist to have ever lived.

And like Darwin described in his best-selling account of his adventures “The voyage of the Beagle”, we have navigated all day between high, steep mountains separated not by valleys but by seawater. Some of the mountains are covered by dense, almost impenetrable forests; others are completely naked, stripped bare of their vegetation by glaciers. Winding our way through snaking waterways, in the early afternoon we arrived at a much wider expanse of water: the Straits of Magellan.

This globally significant waterway connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and is used extensively by ships of all sizes. Indeed, even the gargantuan Nimitz US aircraft carrier has transited the Strait. Chile controls the waterway and requires pilots to be onboard from one end to the other. There are some tricky narrows with strong currents that have to be navigated at the Pacific end of the Strait. There is a cost to using the Strait which depends on ship size but this cost is usually offset by the savings in fuel and time compared to rounding the Horn- the only other alternative at these latitudes (farther north the Panama Canal serves this function, and even farther north, the Canada's Northwest Passage connects the two oceans). 

In the early evening, we arrived at the port of Punta Arenas, where most passengers stepped onto Chilean ground – some to travel to Torres del Paine National Park; others to take in the sights of the place, and why not, some of its gastronomic offerings.


And, finally, timing is everything as they say, and our Swedish friend and colleague Olle Melander left the Fram too early! As we approached Punta Arenas today, we passed the famous Swedish icebraker "Odin" lying off the harbour. The Odin was built in 1988 and was the first non-nuclear, surface vessel to reach the North Pole. She is currently conducting research in Antarctica.