Shag rocks are in the way

Another day at sea, surrounded by the immense Southern Ocean, being moved like sitting in a nutshell in the middle of an endless expanse of liquid universe. The weather was mysterious, bright one minute and the next moment it was snowing as if announcing the Christmas time and life continued in a pleasant and relaxed pace on board Fram. We were eager to know more about South Georgia, and of course about of Antarctica and therefore most of us attended the interesting lectures which were presented by our colleagues and expedition staff. The sea has been benign to us, much calmer than yesterday and we used this truce of nature to better prepare for the upcoming landings; that meant, cleaning the boots, listening to the mandatory briefings regarding behavior on land and towards wildlife, respecting plant protection measures, etc.

 

Now, it is migration time and while we are heading south, so are the whales. These fantastic creatures of these far away oceans are also heading in that direction, so it is no wonder that we enjoyed many sightings all day, all the groups moving to the same destination: Antarctica. That’s the “El Dorado” for the krill, the lure and reward for most of the animals which populate these cold seas. Tomorrow we expect to see what man has done in former days in these far away islands to survive and bring some revenues home by taking what nature could offer in those early days of sealing and whaling. Both animal populations have recovered now and signs of this process were visible from the ship since we constantly encountered groups of both species.     

The Fram drift

...or going with the stream in the Southern Ocean.

Today we started our day the same way we left it last night, like being on a dancing ground. This was the first glance of what we expected it to be in the Southern Ocean. Exactly as we have heard and dreamed in all the adventure stories we were told as child’s, those of the hard discovery voyages of the old glorious early days of Antarctic exploration which captivated our imagination in a fascinating way, such that has brought us today to experience the same thrill.

We continued in east direction, leaving the Falkland/Malvinas Islands behind and turning slightly to the south, in the way to South Georgia.  

As you can see, the day was bright and perfect to enjoy the company of our faithful feathery companions, the cape petrels, the southern giant petrels, also some prions and light mantled sooty albatrosses.

 

 The day was full of preparation for the arrival to South Georgia, that meant to clean and vacuuming all the old gear and clothes, avoiding the risk of entering any alien species of plants or diseases into the islands.

Also some bridge visits were organized and some of our guests were able to become more familiar with our floating home. While writing this lines, the whole ships rolls half smoothly but permanently in the commanded direction, all thanks to the highly technological equipment we have on board, as you can see on the picture, not to forget the most important of them, being the “coffee machine”.

We finished the day with our traditional “fashion show”, modeling for the benefit of all the participants and wishing a healthy and recovery night to our guests.  

Windy, cold Port Stanley

 True to the weather forecast, today evolved from calm and sunny to cold, and windy over the course of a few hours. Nonetheless, our intrepid passengers braved the elements and ventured out of the ship to take part in different tours.

Some walked around the peninsula across the pier looking for wildlife; and enduring an almost horizontal hailstorm constantly trying to block their passage. The brave explorers were rewarded with the sight of a group of dolphins frolicking in the wild waves.

A further group went to a cove to observe a colony of gentoo penguins and the king penguins that occasionally spend some time in the beautiful beach. The sturdy souls that -literally- endured a bit of a sandblasting treatment, witnessed beautiful scenes of penguins going back and from the sea; amid a very photogenic haze of sand.

Even a leisurely walk on the main street, overlooking the harbour, also required some stamina, as those taking the historic tour were not spared the cold rain and the occasional wind gusts. They, however, recovered from such harsh treatment by enjoying a very British tea and scones with whipped cream.

In in all, we all enjoyed to see Port Stanley in its harsh but beautiful character - and had the opportunity to see some of its unique fauna:

Falkland/Malvinas Islands – Bird Paradise!

To the unprepared mind, the Falkland/Malvinas Islands are just a speck of land somewhere down the globe, in front of South America. To people with some more information, they are an interesting geological curiosity: a piece of Africa that sailed across the Atlantic and now sits comfortably on the South American continental shelf.

To the lucky visitor, amongst which we can count ourselves, the islands are a beautiful land of gently rolling hills and precipitous cliffs – teeming with magnificent birds! Today, we were treated to see 2 aspects of this bird paradise.

In New Island, after a nice hike across pastures, we arrived to a natural amphitheatre carved into a cliff, where black-browed albatross, rockhopper penguins and blue-eyed cormorants nest together in relatively peaceful vicinity. Albatrosses were busy courting, and remodelling their impressive, multi-layered nests made of mud and grass; penguins were methodically patrolling the neighbourhood to steal as many pebbles as possible from the neighbour’s nests; cormorants were stretching their necks to show off their elegant profiles and tufts, as if to say: look how beautiful I am! Meanwhile, skuas, cara-caras and vultures patiently flew overhead, waiting for the opportunity to snatch breakfast from the unsuspecting/distracted parents…

 

In West Point Island, we also hiked across to the cliffside, to be met by a powerfully agitated sea crashing against the imposing rock walls. The golden afternoon light was superb, the air teemed with juvenile albatross learning the art of flight, all manner of geese paraded the beach with their chicks following in train, we had dolphins accompanying the boats on our return to the ship – what a wonderful day!

Going to Antarctica, heading northeast (¿??!!!)

No: it’s not that our Captain has lost his bearings! We are in fact going to Antarctica but first are calling in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, so we sailed out of the Beagle channel and instead of heading south, we took the northeasterly course past Staten Island.

 This morning we awoke to incredibly calm seas and a gloriously sunny day with just a light breeze. This was very nice for our passengers, who were slowly getting acquainted with the ship, and attended the lectures or enjoyed the sun in the outside decks without any worries about unpleasant movements.

Some of the lectures dealt with seabirds and whales, so it was very nice to have the opportunity to take a look at both of them in the wild: this afternoon, we were treated to the sighting of several whales, and all day long were accompanied by albatross, giant petrels and pintado or cape petrels following MS Fram. Passengers also heard about the geology of the Falklands/Malvinas – and this was a very enjoyable evening to spend thinking about their incredible journey across the seas, from South Africa to their current position, as the ship moved gently up and down all day long. The perfect spot for thinking about these serious matters was of course the bar on deck 7, where passengers could have a nice view over the arena of the islands' ocaenic travels, and enjoy the creature conforts Fram has on offer! 

Port day - and off to sea again

This morning MS Fram gently approached the dock at Ushuaia, where our guests would continue their journeys. Of course, as always, we were a bit saddened to see them go - but that's life and it's not like we're sending them to horrible places! Many of them are continuing their travels in other exciting destinations in South America, which is something to look forward to. Many are going back home, ladden with fabulous memories and stories to sahre with their loved ones - not a bad prospect either.

And naturally, we are also always looking forward to our new guests, and to beginning a new journey with them. And a fabulous journey it is, the one we're starting this evening: we are sailing towards the Malvinas/Falklands Islands, then on to South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula - so an intinerary that should excite everyone! Even someone that has done the trip several times, like we expedition team members, that just cannot get enough of those wonderful, distant, wind-buffeted places...

Our new guests arrived in the afternoon; and it was an eventful time, as they had to check-in, get their bearings on the ship, unpack and start taking in the landscape of the Beagle channel and the idea of sailing to very remote places. So, excited and a bit tired, we ended the day enjoying the sights as Fram gracefully made its way to open seas.

2 trips done!

The last two days we spent at sea, most of the time in the Drake Passage. We had a little bit of stronger wind and many of our Chinese guests could not really handle this. They preferred to stay in the cabins and we got the feeling that we had suddenly lost quiet a number of passengers in Antarctica. But on the Captains Farewell they showed up all again. Some still a little bit pale in the face but happy to be in the calmer waters of the entrance of the Beagle Channel.

We thought, that this is the right time to let our wonderful trainee, Niri, from Norway let write again about his experiences until now.

Hallo blogger!

It’s me again, Niri the trainee.

I have now been with the FRAM for 2 trips. The first tour has been a trip with passengers from nearly all over the world to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the Antarctic peninsula. My second trip has been a full Chinese charter to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Tomorrow my third and last trip will start; again with passengers from many different nations and again to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the Antarctic peninsula. I am looking forward to it as I want to see how different the landscape looks like later in the season and what my new friends, the penguins and all the other birds are doing now, in December.  

I took some time to understand how far from home I really am, but seeing the flora and fauna in Antarctica I understood that I’m on the other side of the planet!

The animals that live in and around the south icy sea are really interesting creatures! It’s very nice to work with a team that consists of people with different specialties! If I have a question about history, biology, geology, organizing or anything else, someone in the team can answer.

Everything runs on tracks in the team. It’s clear to me that they have a lot of experience doing this kind of thing.

The daily life of the ship can be calm, like on a sea day. But if we have kayaking, camping, cruising and ordinary landings all in the same day, things can get busy! But I like it, you get time to relax but you don’t get too lazy. But of course I have not to lecture so that I have a little bit more time, especially on sea days, than my lecturer colleagues.

Here you can see my team and me in "action".

Photo John Chardine

Photo John Chardine

Photo Ina Schau Johansen

Photo Marsel van Oosten

I know I’m going to enjoy the next trip, hiking, polar circle boat rides, maybe camping, more seals and a lot of fun!  

Anyone for shopping?

You might ask, why are we talking about shopping in Antarctica? Well today we visited a restored British base on a small island called Goudier Island, in Port Lockroy. There, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust manage a shop, British sub-post office and museum. It is for sure a unique experience to shop in Antarctica! The museum preserves a record of  how the hut was used in former times for scientific purposes. Port Lockroy is one of the most popular destinations for cruise ships in Antarctica and regular readers of our Fram blog will be familiar with the place.

The scenery around the base is outstandingly beautiful and the icing on the cake are the Gentoo Penguins breeding around the buildings. An ongoing study is looking at the effect of tourism on the breeding success of the penguins and has shown that there is no negative impact. That makes us feel very good!

After Port Lockroy we tried to sail through the amazing Lemaire Channel between Booth Island and the mainland. However, the ice prevented us from entering so we only had a look from a distance. 

This also had the knock-on effect of preventing a landing on Petermann Island on the other side of the channel. Instead we chose an icy location in the Neumayer Channel for Polarcirkel boat cruising. It is a very special experience to be in a small boat in Antarctica, literally at eye level with the sea ice, and with the icy mountains towering above you. In the pack ice close to the ship we were able to observe a Crabeater Seal resting on the ice. We could see many wounds around the neck of the animal but it is apparently a mystery how they are made.

Our cruising made for a great end to our Antarctica experience and as we sailed north and into the Drake Passage, our memories will force us to look backwards towards this incredible place.

Can there be something nicer than ice?

Let’s say it just at the beginning, our last day has been incredible, incredible wonderful. The day started early at 8:00h with a landing in Cuverville, in a huge Gentoo Penguin colony and it ended after an amazing cruise through the Neumayer Channel in the evening light. 

It would be nearly not possible to explain with words what we experienced this day. Please, look at the pictures, perhaps they say more than words can do.

And now perhaps you will understand our answer to the question: “can there be something nicer than ice?”. Yes, yes and a third time yes. Penguins on the ice, camping on the ice, kayaking between the ice and a PolarCircelBoat cruise in front of this impressive glacier landscape, which is all so much better than ice!