Drake Passage

As we make our way northwards across Drake Passage we have time to pause and reflect upon the incredible journey in which we have partaken.  We have truly been lucky with the elements but not for nothing is this the peak season for visitors to Antarctica.  The most important thing weather wise was that we have had very little wind which has made every landing successful.  We had to dodge around ice here and there, but that is to be expected from time to time.

 We have seen many fantastic things.  For many people it was a dream, perhaps a dream of a lifetime to visit Antarctica and now that dream has been realized.  We have made new friends.  We have had many new experiences.  It is difficult to summarize such a trip in just a few words.  It will be a challenge for you to describe your experiences to your friends.  One thing is certain, your enthusiasm will shine through. Flip back through your photographs and revisit this blog and your memories will come alive.

We have learned a lot.  We have learned about Antarctic history, wildlife and geology and as we  continue across the Drake we keep on learning - starting with a quiz this evening that promises to be fun!

The journey is not yet over.  The Drake is a famous passage of water that has been the wreck of many a poor vessel.  But Sir Francis' namesake is treating us kindly.  We have light winds with calm seas once again. Cape Petrels and a host of other sea birds have been following us throughout the day including Antarctic Prions, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Grey-headed Albatross and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross.

A Kiss Without A Squeeze

Antarctica without sunshine is like apple pie without cheese or a kiss without a squeeze.  It's just so much better on a sunny day.  The sea becomes a giant reflective surface mirroring snow-peaked mountains, glaciers and icebergs.  The colours of the landscape become more saturated. You can see the tops of mountains and it seems that you can see forever.  A little sun warm's the body and soul and lifts everyone's spirits.  Such was the day we had today.

Brown Bluff is a magnificent precipitous cliff that rises almost from the water's edge.  Both Gentoo and Adelie Penguins nest along a narrow strip at the bottom of the Bluff.  Large glaciers border both ends of the cliff.

Many people chose to hike up the edge of the moraine on the west side of the landing site.  While it was a struggle to go up the steep slope, the view was well worth the effort.  From the top we could see even more adventurous souls braving the freezing temperature of the Southern Ocean and going for a swim!

In the afternoon we enjoyed cruising through the Weddell Sea.  Gigantic tabular icebergs were abundant.

In the midst of this awe-inspiring marine-scape came another pod of Killer Whales!  It was a group of eight animals and were Type B Killer Whales once again.   It was fascinating to watch them spy-hopping various ice floes.  It is well documented that Type B Killer Whales seek out seals resting on ice floes.  The leopard seal pictured below was taking a siesta on an ice floe large enough to provide a safe haven from hunting Orca.

Whalecome to Whalehelmina Bay

Our day started a little earlier this morning.  We began our landing at the Argentina base of Almirante Brown in Paradise Bay at 07:00.  No one minded getting up a little bit earlier than usual.  It was a beautiful day, almost a carbon copy of yesterday's weather.  Much to our surprise there was a light on at the base and an open door.  Someone was home!  We soon found out that there were seven men there to do some renovations and some maintenance work.  They invited us to visit with open arms.  We landed bearing gifts  of fresh fruit and vegetables.  

 For many people it was there seventh continent and a very special reason to celebrate this landing.  Most of us  made the 90 metre climb to the top of the hill just behind the base.  There was a lot of fresh snow which made it safe and fun to slide back down the hill! 

Near the end of the landing at 11:30, five killer whales came cruising right by the landing site!  It was fantastic.  In Antarctica there are three different groups of Killer Whales recognized.  They are very imaginatively called Type A, Type B and, you guessed it, Type C (aka Ross Sea Killer Whales).  These were Type B's.  They look very different from all other Killer Whales with the exception of Type C.  In the austral summer Type C are found in the Ross Sea area, they are also much smaller, so we new these must be Killer B's.  

How is their appearance different from other Killer Whales?  The green arrow in the photograph shows a dark dorsal cape and if you look carefully, you can also see a line that delineates the cape.  Only type B and Type C have this dark cape.  The yellow arrow shows the huge white eye patch common to Type B's and the red arrow shows the grey body colour which is unique to Type B and Type C.

In the afternoon we headed for Wilhelmina Bay in the hopes of doing some whale watching from the ship. There were so many whales in the bay that we thought we might change the name to Whalehelmina Bay.  We saw at least eight Humpback Whales and two Minke Whales.  It seemed like just about everyone was out on deck enjoying the incredible scenery, the sunshine and the whales.  

Now we are on our way to the Weddell Sea and hopefully a landing at Brown Bluff.

The Lemaire Channel

Phew! It has been a long day but a very fulfilling day.  We were up and out on deck before 7:00 as we were just entering the north end of the famous Lemaire Channel.  there were scattered high clouds with beautiful light beaming down the Channel.  Perfect for a thousand pictures.  In fact the Lemaire Channel at one time had the nick name of Kodak Crack.  But that was back in the days of film.  Remember film?

We arrived at Petermann Island at 08:30 and began our Polar Cirkle boat operations at 09:00.  The beautiful weather continued to hold.  You really needed to slather on the sunscreen today.  

Our eagle-eyed ornithologist Manuel spotted a Chinstrap on the nest with a chick!  This may be the first recorded Chinstrap at this colony!  That made all three of the brush tail penguins nesting in a rather small area.  The Adelies have been declining on this island for the past  fifteen years or so and the Gentoos have augmented their numbers.  Now the arrival of the first nesting pair of chinstraps.  What does it mean?  Hard to say.    Climate change?  Changing food supply?  No one knows for sure but the it sure is interesting to observe.

We were able to get a nice long walk on Petermann.  The views to the south end of the island were really spectacular both at Iceberg Alley and beyond..

In the afternoon we stopped in at the Ukrainian base Vernadsky.  It was Christmas Eve in the Ukraine so everyone at the base was in very good spirits.  There has been a long standing tradition at the base which started when it was the British Base called Faraday.  Any woman that left her bra at the bar was entitled to a free drink of Vodka.  At least two bras were donated.  The tour of the base was terrific.  We learned that the hole in the ozone layer was first discovered here.  After several vodkas we loaded back into the polar Cirkle boats for a short cruise.  We encountered several Crabeater Seals and one Leopard Seal before returning to the ship.

Forty lucky passengers went on a Polar Cirkle boat cruise in the Lemaire channel at 20:00.  We offered this special outing as an optional extra excursion.  But whether you enjoyed the Lemaire (this time north bound) from the ship or from a Polar Cirkle boat - it was a magical cruise and a beautiful evening.

By 22:00 we were all back on board Fram on and our way to our next destination:  Almirante Brown.

Cuverville Island and Port Lockroy

Today it was pure luck again-even though it was overcast most of the day, we were extremely lucky not to have any wind. We do not mind rain, snow or low temperatures- but when it is very windy, there is no chance to go ashore. But not so today! The clouds made a dramatic background, the Gentoo penguins at Cuverville Island were still sitting on their eggs. We did not see any chicks here this time, which seems a bit late for the season.

After Cuverville we went back into the Gerlache Strait towards the Neumeyer Channel for Port Lockroy. At least that was the plan! But suddenly the biologists went crazy! And once the announcement came, everyone on board was just racing to the decks: ORCAS! I mean- not one or two or three- but it seemed that the entire Gerlache Strait was filled with them! Our Safety officer Andreas Johansen did a fantastic job in bringing us into the right position. There was quite a drama happening in front of our eyes as the orcas were chasing penguins… You saw the little birds trying to escape - but against the tactics of the orcas they were nearly all sooner or later disappearing… It was an extraordinary sight, that is for sure…

The late afternoon we spent at Port Lockroy. Since its restoration in 1996 by the Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT), the former base became a museum. Much is like it was in the 1950s- and especially the post office and the museum shop were quite populated during our visit. We anchored overnight and enjoyed a great visit from the base staff that joined us for dinner. In finally- for the first time really during this trip- the clouds lifted and the mountain tops appeared in the evening light.

And You Thought You Were Here To Relax. HA!!!

Here was our day in a couple of sentences:  Our 07:30 breakfast was followed by bridge tours starting at 09:00 for groups 1, 2, and 3 where we met the Captain and learned about some of the technical aspects of navigating Fram after which we all felt we were ready to pilot the ship ourselves but first we had to vacuum our clothes as a preventative measure to introducing alien species to Antarctica but our very busy  morning was not over as we were compelled to attend IAATO briefings on how to comport ourselves in Antarctica which was followed by lunch.  Phew...

In the afternoon we attended a photography workshop and then finally, after having been fully prepared for Antarctica by attending yesterday's lectures on wildlife, history and geology and today's briefings and workshop we landed at 15:00 at Half Moon Island where the scenery was scintillating, the Weddell Seals were wonderful and the penguins were predominantly pygoscelids as we saw all three species of brush tails; Chinstraps, Gentoos and Adelies and one magnificent Macaroni but even though it was hard to tear ourselves away from Half Moon Island we were back on board Fram by 18:35 which was just in time for a bountiful buffet replete with sumptuous sushi which we ate while marvelling at the lovely landscapes slipping by the dining room windows as we plied our way to Deception Island and once we got to Deception we navigated right inside the caldera which is geothermally active and the only thing hotter than the caldera was the evening's entertainment put on by the ship's crew in the Observation Lounge at 22:00. 

Whoa!  And you thought you were on a beautiful ship to relax.  HA!

One More Sleep

It was a beautiful morning.  High level cirrus and cirrostratus clouds allowed warm rays of sunshine to filter through.  These cloud types are typically found at elevations greater than 20,000 feet and are mostly composed of tiny ice crystals. But as what often happens when warm air and or warm sunshine meets cool surface ocean waters, large pockets of sea fog began to coalesce.  Throughout the afternoon we cruised in and out of fog.  In some respects it reminded me of many New Year's days.

There was hardly a breeze with the result being very calm seas.  A further consequence of low wind was a distinct paucity of sea birds.  Of the few birds we saw, the larger sea birds seemed to struggle to stay aloft. The albatross and petrels are built for soaring not for flapping.  Windless days are flap-full days and if you are an albatross that means lots of extra energy spent whilst foraging.  A bit unusual today were the large numbers of Blue Petrels in the morning.  

The lecture halls were full pretty much all day long.  It means that we have a ship of keeners!  Everyone was eager to absorb as much as they could about the geology, history and wildlife of Antarctica before our scheduled arrival tomorrow afternoon.  For us lecturers on board, it warms our hearts to see so many people eager to learn!

And so we ply our way slowly but surely to the south.  Our adventure in Antarctica lies deep below the horizon.  Tonight we will sleep with visions of penguins, whales, seals and ice dancing in our heads.  One more sleep.

Around and Around We Go...

Ushuaia lies in a beautiful setting.  It is hemmed in by the Martial Mountain Range in the north and the Beagle Channel in the south.  On a bright, warm sunny day like today, Ushuaia really sparkles.  It is a beautiful city.
Ushuaia lays claim to being the southern-most city in the world.  Puerto Williams, just a few kilometres to the east but on the Chilean side of the Beagle, also makes the same boast however Puerto williams has only 2000 people and Ushuaia has approximately 64,000 people.  Furthermore, the Chilean government defines a city as an urban population with more than 5,000 people.

It is always a busy time on Fram when we are in port. New supplies come in. We take on fuel. Garbage and recyclables go off. New crew arrive. Some crew leave. In the morning we say good-bye to our new friends and luggage goes off. In the afternoon we welcome friends that are soon to be and new luggage comes on.

Once on board one can see that the crew is very efficient. Soon our photos are taken and we are issued photo I.D. cards and a room key. We are then escorted to our cabins where our luggage is already waiting for us. Magic. 

Before long it is dinner time. The dining room is full of excited chatter as the ship prepares to leave port.

Looking out the large picture windows, there is a momentary illusion that it is the dock slipping away from us and not us moving from the dock.  Fram casts off with barely a vibration and our journey begins!

At 20:30 we mustered outside on deck five for a mandatory safety drill. At 21:00 we rendezvoused in the beautiful Observation Lounge on deck seven for the Captain's welcome. We were introduced to some of the key personnel on the ship including the Expedition Leader and her team.

What a very long and tiring journey we had all experienced to get to the true beginning of our adventure in Antarctica!

Romantic reflections

On this, our last day of this trip, it is not uncommon to wax lyrical about the wonderful experiences we have been lucky to enjoy in remote lands, surrounded by tempestuous seas, where albatross glide regally. And we thought it would be fitting to finish this journey with a quotation from a "true" Romantic, British author Mary Shelley, who à propos Coleridge's "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner", inluded the following text in her famous 1818 book "Frankenstein":

It is impossible to communicate to you a conception of the trembling sensation, half pleasurable and half fearful, with which I am preparing to depart. I am going to unexplored regions, to "the land of the mist and snow", but I shall kill no albatross; therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the "Ancient Mariner". You will smile at my allusion, but I will disclose a secret... There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand... a love for the marvelous, a belief in the marvelous... which hurries me out of the common pathways... to the wild sea and unvisited regions I am about to explore... Shall I meet you again, after having traversed immense seas, and returned?

 Well, we have come and gone to wild seas, and the land of mist and snow; and dare we say, following the trip, there is something at work in our souls...

New Year's Eve Day

Once again we are at sea.  The sky was completely overcast throughout the day.  Grey skies. Grey seas. But most importantly, calm seas.  It made for a very relaxing day as we steadily plied our way north bound.  After such an exciting energy-charged time in the Falkland Islands,  South Georgia and Antarctica, these sea days are a welcome respite.
But it is not as if there isn't anything to do.  The lecture room has been occupied most of the morning and the afternoon. As usual when crossing the Drake, the bird watching has been very good.  Southern Giant Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, Cape Petrels and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross followed the ship for much of the day.
Tonight we will have a full program for New Year's Eve starting with a special dinner featuring the exact same menu as in the famous black and white short film entitled, Dinner For One.  We of course showed this delightful, light-hearted comedy in both lecture halls before and after dinner.
Our two musicians Manuela and Catherine organized and judged a song writing competition.  Tonight we would see the results of their song writing talents!  The only criteria was that the songs had to be about Antarctica.
We were also looking forward to the Parade of Hats.  Many passengers have been busy making hats to wear at tonight's new Year's eve celebration.
The expedition team has also been busy. They have been preparing to deliver a live performance of Dinner for One.


As you can see there is very much a full slate planned for New Year's Eve.  We will report to you tomorrow on how the evening progressed.

Farewell Antarctica!

On this, our last day of Antarctic adventures before starting our long way back home, several of our passengers donned their explorer hats and exercised their adventurous hearts: starting at 6 in the morning, we climbed the steep hills surrounding Whaler's Bay, the famous derelict settlement inside the caldera of Deception Island. It was not an impromptu jogging session for the early birds - we hiked to Bailey Head! When we reached the top of the ridge, at an elevation of about 250 metres above sea level, we were completely engulfed by a thick fog bank; we had only some 30 metre visibility, but we slowly wound our way towards the chinstrap rookery. And when we got there after an hour a half's walk, the fog burned away and we were able to take in the splendid sight. This fabulous spot is where one of Sir David Attenboroughs famous TV shows was shot - and an impressive setting it is!

Upon return to our landing site, several of our hikers cooled off after the strenuous hike in the best - and most extreme- way possible: they went for a short swim in the gelid waters of Whaler's Bay.

After a nice, warm lunch, some coffee perhaps, and a couple of hours' rest on board Fram, we landed in Half Moon Island. This island is located in a beautiful spot, close to majestic Livingston Island, with a view across the water to Greenwich Island. And there was plenty of life on it to make for a nice landing: on the avian front, we had chinstrap penguins, dominican seagulls, Wilson's storm petrels, and Antarctic sterns; on the marine mammal front we saw several Weddell seals, a couple of leopard seals patrolling the beach, and some humpback whales in the distance.

And to finish our Antarctic journey in style, midways through our charity auction, a pod of orcas swam beside our vessel: yes, these majestic creatures crowned an already fabulous day, and made their fleeting apparition a symbol of the fragile beauty we have been lucky to behold the last few days.

The Best Laid Plans

One makes plans in Antarctica in order to have something from which to deviate. This morning our plan was to land on the actual continent of Antarctica at Brown Bluff at 07:30.    But by approximately 07:00 it became very apparent that a landing at Brown Bluff would not be possible.  There was just too much ice!   Alright.  Okay. Deviate to PLAN B.  We would head for Paulet Island and see if the weather, sea and ice conditions would allow us to go cruising in our sturdy Polar Cirkle boats.

Upon arrival at Paulet it seemed like a very good plan indeed.  There was barely a breath of wind. It was cloudy with sunny breaks.  Flat calm conditions with plenty of ice and penguins everywhere!  Perfect. We dropped the Polar Cirkle boats again and off, into the ice, went the first 40 people. But Antarctica had other plans. Within 45 minutes the wind was howling.  The situation quickly became untenable.  Everyone in the Polar Cirkle boats got completely soaked.  They all looked like they had had a shower with all of their expedition clothing on!  It was also very challenging for our AB's (Able Bodied Seamen) to maneuver the boats at the tender pit.  The decision was made to cancel the cruising and switch to  PLAN C...  

Plan C was to head to Active Sound; a beautiful narrow channel that usually has lots of ice.  We had also heard reports of Emperor Penguins and Killer whales in the area.  At approximately 14:00 we arrived in Active Sound and at approximately 14:00:30 it was determined that the shelter from the wind that we had been hoping for, just wasn't happening.  The winds were gusting in excess of 35 knots.  Yeesh.  Back to PLAN A.

Or is it? We had barely begun changing course back to Brown Bluff (aka PLAN A), when we spotted a big colony of penguins cascading down the slope in front of us! The place looked wonderful, sheltered and within easy reach of our Polar Cirkle boats – which, as you might have guessed, immediately placed this unnamed rookery in the category of PLAN D. And what a fantastic plan it turned out to be: we all enjoyed looking at the breeding birds (Gentoo and Adélie); we were reminded of the red nature of tooth and claw when a pair of hungry skuas killed, skinned and ate a penguin chick in front of our eyes; and several of our passengers hiked up a small hill, enjoyed the panoramic view from atop it and then slid down the snow. After such an adventurous day, we all very much enjoyed the creature comforts awaiting us onboard Fram…

From the Great Wall of China to Yankee Harbor

If you want to see the Chinese Research base The Great Wall of China, we recommend having a passenger on board whose father was an important researcher at the base many years ago - this is exactly how we, after several years of trying to arrange a visit, finally managed to do so! The base commander gave us all a very warm welcome and had an exchange of ideas with our Captain. While this important meeting took place, we were shown around the relatively new base buildings - and we were all mightily impressed by the fabulous installations the Chinese base offers its residents: wonderful labs to carry out biological research, very well equipped sports facilities, and nicely welcoming housing facilities. We must say, if one could choose what Antarctic station to spend the winter in, this would be it!

And for all of you sports fans that have been anxiously awaiting the results of the First MV Fram Chinese Day Invitational International Table Tennis Tournament - rounds two and three were played this afternoon.  After yesterday there were 9 Chinese players and four players representing the International Union.  Now we are down to the final four: two players from China, one player from Holland and one player from Canada.  The matches today were very competitive and a lot of fun.  The finals will be played at the first opportunity!

After our interesting visit, we sailed past several of the national research stations located on King George Island, and towards Greenwich Island, where we made a landing on the scenic Yankee Harbor. There, we enjoyed a splendid afternoon, watching the gentoo penguins go to and from the sea to their nests; and also a small window into the red tooth and claw of nature, as several penguin chicks were included in skua's dinners this evening.

11 Nations United to Play Table Tennis!!!

One of the really terrific things about life on board Fram is that we have a great opportunity to mix with people from many different countries and from very diverse backgrounds.  Today was certainly all about that.  We have a large group of passengers on board from China (57 people)!  Several events were organized to help celebrate Chinese culture, including an exciting table tennis tournament and a Chinese Chess tournament.  All told we had 26 players for table tennis.  13 players representing China and 13 players from 10 different nations representing "The International Union"! The atmosphere in the gym was like a loud party.  Everyone was cheering for their favourite players.   It took two hours to finish round one of the tournament.  Round 2 will commence tomorrow afternoon at 14:00.  Standby sports fans for further results!  It was a great opportunity to get to know one another.

Pretty much all day long, we sailed through dense fog banks. Therefore, the visibility was not great, but we still managed to spot the occasional whale blowing. And dare we say, a foggy day with some snow thrown in provided the perfect atmosphere for our arrival to Elephant Island.

Had we seen Point Wilde under sunny weather, we would probably have had a good view of the monument honouring Captain Pardo, the Chilean pilot that rescued Shackleton's men after their heroic stay on this rocky outcrop... But seeing it partially veiled by heavy fog and snowfall made it far more impressive: to think that we are visiting this unforgiving place in December (the beginning of the Austral summer), and that those famous shipwrecks survived 4 months in far less hospitable months of the year is quite astonishing - and humbling, too.

Towards the end of the day, we were treated to a double set of gastronomic delights - both of them traditional and delicious! In the afternoon, we had freshly-prepared Norwegian waffles. For dinner, thanks to the efforts of some of our Chinese passengers, we tasted delectable dumplings - what a delightful way to conclude our onboard celebrations of Chinese Day!