Sea days are wonderful!

It is our second sea day today and we have to say, it is wonderful to start a longer expedition cruise with several days on board. We have been very tired when we arrived on board FRAM on Sunday as we had all a long flight behind us. Everybody on board welcomed us in a more than friendly way, but we have been too exhausted to enjoy it really. So it was no wonder that everybody enjoyed the first sea day yesterday. We slept longer and we used the day to getting to know the ship, the crew and the expedition team. But today we feel home already – and that is wonderful.

Atlantic Petrel, photo : John Chardine

Atlantic Petrel, photo: John Chardine

Waiting for a good shot, FriedaPhoto

 When there is an announcement like “meet the Ornithologists on deck 7” we knew directly where we have to go and whom we will meet, whom we could ask best in our language.  We know our lecture halls, we know the right person to ask if we have little problems. We know the dining room and the lounges, the y are our room now. And we met the first passengers travelling with us for a small talk or even first discussions. All together it means, we arrived now on board really, we feel home now, we took over now” OUR ship FRAM”.

Stowaway 1 (Cinnamon Warbling-Finch) FriedaPhoto

Stowaway 2 and 3 (Spot-winged-Pigeon) Photo: John Chardine

During the day the lecture staff offered lots of lectures to prepare us in the best way for our landings on the Falkland Islands. We were out for bird watching, and many of us shot already more pictures then they expected at the first days.  How wonderful that we have the digital photography and we have not to think about missing film at the end of our cruise.

The day passed by quickly. We had so much to do. Listening, looking and of course eating, enjoying the good food the Chef and his crew had prepared for us.

Expectations

The start of a cruise is a very special time as we muse about what awaits us. This cruise is extra-special because it is the first of Fram’s season in Antarctica. Yesterday we sailed out of the port of Buenos Aires and into the muddy “Rio” (de la Plata). The estuary of the river is so big many assumed we had sailed into a sea or even ocean, but we hadn’t. Our first day on-board was very busy with many preparatory activities such as boarding, settling into our cabins, a mandatory safety drill, Captain’s reception, and the fitting of our expedition jackets. 

It took us all night to put the river behind us and early this morning we found ourselves in the Atlantic Ocean, the rising sun lighting the clouds before the golden orb broke the horizon. As we did so, we were greeted by a variety of seabirds scouring the ocean for food. It was at that time that our dreams of seeing albatrosses for the first time were fulfilled for many of us. Black-browed and a few Yellow-nosed Albatrosses impressed us with their acrobatics as did several other petrel and shearwater species. As Robert Cushman Murphy, the famous American seabird biologist said “we have joined a higher cult of man, for we have seen the albatross!” 

During the day the expedition staff present several excellent and well attended lectures on a variety of topics in science and history. The seabird talk was interrupted in a good way when we past a fishing vessel that was being escorted by 100s of albatrosses and petrels. The vessel was obviously releasing fish waste, which the seabirds were gladly gobbling-up. This can be a risky business for the seabirds because of the risk of entanglement in fishing gear. 

As we are traveling to the Falkland Islands, and then on to South Georgia and Antarctica, our dreams naturally also turn to penguins. Again we were not disappointed today as we saw many Magellanic Penguins, both young and older, swimming and diving in the ocean around us. They were probably from the large colony at Punta Tombo on the mainland of Argentina to our west. Both the albatrosses and penguins we saw today, though exciting, were mere hors d’ouvres to our Antarctic dreams!

There is so much to look forward to!

Significant moments (II)

Who has not turned a globe in his hands, thinking about continents to see, places to visit, distances to travel?

One of the striking features of a globe are the oceans, separating the places we live in.

We crossed it now, went to the other end of the world, not in an aircraft, but all the way at a speed you could easily do with a bicycle as well. By fair means, as they say.

That is a difference, a huge one. Lets never forget that.

So, now we are berthed in Buenos Aires, sunshine all over the place, Land!

The last days went in a hurry, believe it or not, there was things to organize, to pack, to attend (like the Crew Show), until - after a ride over a mercury-like sea - we pulled into Buenos Aires, where there are trees, buildings, people, machines. A totally different world, in one word.

And now: the tables are empty, the dance floor's deserted. The crossing is over.

Thanks to everybody who made it worthwhile! Have a safe trip home and keep the memories as long as you can. The pictures may help...

Trick or treat...

It is not that we were lacking acitvity or that someone even got bored during these last two weeks. But as the night of blood, terror and bones is drawing near a certain excitement is to be felt everywhere. Big gathering in the Bistro area for preparation of the costumes. Chef Jimmy comes up with something really special: Not only we get a demonstration of the crew's remarkable skills carving pumpkins with one sharp knife only, we also get industrial amounts of marcipane to bring into all possible and impossible shapes. This is going to be this nights dessert.

In the evening there is a frantic search for missing make-up items. "Have you seen the blood spray...??" "Where's the glue? My scar is coming off!" And then we all assemble in front of the bar, the doors of which are firmly closed. Tension rises... Finally, the  door's ajar. Behind it is a dungeon of cobwebs, fog and creatures of the night, lovingly prepared by MV FRAM's welfare committee.

May the horrors begin! Later on, Count Andreassen hands out all the certificates for Equator crossing, Atlantic Games, Amazing Race, and of course the best costumes. Then it's dancing time for bats, skeletons and mummies, under the pale blue light of probably one of the most extraordinary Halloween locations there is - a ship on its way to Antarctica...

Reaching the shelf

Still bumpy, this morning, although there is no wind to speak of. It's an old, mature swell, coming from afar, that keeps us pitching a little. But nobody really minds, be it in the lecture hall, in the restaurant - or on the car deck, where we finished up with the boot disinfection. Thanks again to the brave brushing squad!! Now the boots can really go into the shelf, ready for Antarctica.

Speaking of which: During the day we spot numerous oil rigs, drilling ships, tender ships, and everything that makes an oil play an oil play. This is a clear sign that we have left the deep sea environment and climbed up onto the continental shelf of South America. This is where Brazil makes most of its money (nasty tongues also say, this is where the money comes from that bought Brazil the world soccer championship…).

Already we are really having the first feeling of getting close to our destination. The remaining works are done with swift determination, the ship has to be in prime shape. All seats in the lecture theaters get a wet cleaning, all cabins are brought to perfection, and in the board shop our Hotel Manager Else Kristine and Expedition Leader Karin are proving themselves as fine decorators for our new line of outdoor clothing. Shelf discipline...

Well, but towards the evening duty is done, and all are looking forward to the finals of the Atlantic Games and the famous AMAZING RACE, where 6 teams (the members held together with a long rope!) roam the ship with different tasks. Great fun!

And let's not forget: Tomorrow is Halloween! So the decoration (in Bong's case a coffin made of cardboard) has to be "field tested"...

Laundry day, slightly bumpy

The morning finds FRAM dancing across the sea; a little swell has formed over night, and finally we get a bit of the feeling to be on a very, very large ocean.

Fortunately, everybody has spent a considerable amount of time on board now and thus developed their "sea legs", hence no case of sea sickness. Yet.

Temperatures have dropped a little, air and sea, giving us a taste of what it is going to be like when we proceed further and further south.

We take this as a reminder to prepare for Antarctica. As we travel down from the northern hemisphere we absolutely want to (and have to) avoid to bring foreign species to the wrong places. That means cleaning, washing, and disinfecting of our gear, namely the muck boots and the emergency bags.

The timid call for possible volunteers among the guests finds an unexpected echo: No less than ten of them grab brushes and cloths and attack the boots with vigor, so that after not even two hours the bulk is done.

In the meantime the emergency suits and rations are checked, repacked, the bags equally treated or replaced by new ones. 

And the best part: This was FUN! Thank you all so much!

After so much excitement the rhythm eases out towards the evening. After nightfall there are a few lights on starboard: It's an offshore oilfield, some 50 miles away from Brazil. Normally no big event, but seeing a man-made installation after so many days all alone out there brings a strange feeling of company.

The rest is sheer coziness: While some do Norwegian needlework, there is movie night for the others.

Indeed, the pace at sea is a different one.

North of Rio

This is a typical sunscreen-and-umbrella day. The morning is splendid, the desire to spend the time outside is only limited by the sheer force of the sun, hammering down on us.

So to get cooler, we go inside. Maybe to get smarter, too, as our ship's doctor Milixa gives a First-Aid course for everybody in the morning. Honestly, when was the last time you had one..?!

After lunch the next round of baking outside, then it is time for Navigation Officer Clyde's second round of nautical schooling on the bridge.

Towards the coffee/tea hour in the afternoon (this time with live piano music again), the weather starts to change, clouds are rolling in, temperature is dropping and the winds are picking up. And then the rain is breaking loose. Suddenly it is quite chilly in only shorts and a t-shirt. So, now you go inside in order to warm up.

It's all a matter of relativity.

Oh, and here are a few images from yesterday's Bingo night, which was great fun!

Can we see Brazil??

This is a question often asked, and indeed, looking at the map really makes you believe that we are just around the corner, halfway between Salvador and Recife.

But alas, this is an illusion; we are riding a southbound current, which speeds us up to a little over 13 knots but keeps us about 150-180 miles off shore. So, no Copacabana, no beaches to be seen, we really stay out in the open until we will reach the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, which separates Uruguay from Argentina.

So, apart from a morning lecture in the observation lounge (no slides, just tea and talk), there is not much to do during the day.

So let's use this opportunity to punch in a few images that were sacrificed for the sake of narration. Have the beautiful rainbow for example, shot by Manuel on one of the rainy days. On the same day he captured a magnificent sunset behind thick walls of clouds.

Or take the games in the Observation Lounge, enthusiastically arranged by MV FRAM's welfare committee. With such a small crowd it is a great pleasure to build mixed teams of guests and crew. It was hi-la-ri-ous.

And tonight is BINGO-night, and we really are looking forward to it. Games, Games, Games - one could think we are on holiday...