King George Island and the South Shetland

Already in the early morning hours, we were arriving at the South Shetland where we were received with the traditional hospitality of the Polish staff members of Arctowsky Station. Their native pets, the chinstrap and Adelie penguins and skuas were all at place and greeted us friendly and with some noise.

 This was our closest encounter so far with Antarctica, as we had the possibility for the first time to experience the real touch with this environment, since until yesterday we have had a process of gradual approach, just as it was near Gibbs Islands, were we almost touched land but had to restrain of going ashore as a result of weather and time constrains. Nevertheless, we were partly familiar with what was coming towards us and we were more than happy and excited when we stepped on land. Finally, we have arrived and reached the first station of our truly Antarctic adventure.

While talking with the Polish scientists and sharing their experiences during the long winter months, we got a taste of what must have been to stay a whole year round in this place, at Admiralty bay. No wonder that they recently made the effort to cross all the Bransfield strait in a zodiac to listen to a concert of the heavy metal group “Metallica” in the Argentine Base Jubany. There are not that many opportunities in Antarctica to attend a concert or a theater show.

Against all odds and the low air temperature, we had tough guests on board who challenged the cold water and were blessed with an Antarctic baptism in these pristine waters. From now on, the swimming season has being inaugurated and the rest of the passengers are invited to join in every next landing, if they wish to do so.

Our youngest guest Marcus posed for us in the gift and souvenir shop of the Polish base, very proud of standing next to the base commander.  

Elephant and Gibbs Islands

Now; I freely admit this is a bit cheesy and silly - but I could not get it out of my head, as we visited both Elephant and Gibbs Islands today: Do you remember the Gibbs Brothers (aka the Bee Gees) famous song "Staying alive"?

 Well, that's exactly what the 22 men of Shackleton's Endurance did for 135 days on Point Wilde, on the north shore of Elephant Island!

Once the silly thoughts are out, we can be a bit more serious and tell you that it always is rather surprising, and humbling, to visit Elephant Island and see the relatively small outcrop where these Antarctic castaways managed to survive under 2 upturned boats, until they were rescued by the Chilean ship Yelcho, commanded by Piloto Pardo, who definitely deserves to be remembered with the bust now standing where once the boats laid.

The short southwestward journey to Gibbs Island was beautiful, as we not only enjoyed the landscape - glacier-covered islands, occasional icebergs, thick cloud turning this world into a huge panorama screen - but were accompanied by several fin whales.

And Gibbs Island (of course, not related to the Bee Gees in any way) was beautiful, as we were able to cruise close to shore with our boats, and were able to watch macaroni, Adélie and chinstrap penguins going back and forth from the sea to their colony - what a wonderful day in Antarctica!

Southbound

After a rather exciting two days in South Georgia, today we had a full sea day, during which we sailed in a southwesterly direction, with the goal of reaching Elephant Island within two days - you will have noticed that we are retracing in reverse, the almost incredible journey of Shackleton and his men on the James Caird.

We had originally planned to visit the South Orkney islands en route to Antarctica, but were forced to change plans today, as the seas around these remote islands are completely covered with pack ice. So, we changed course and made relatively good progress - we're still sailing against the prevailing wind, and this means slower speed; and unfortunately, constantly fighting the waves. For this reason, several of our passengers have felt a bit queasy if not downright seasick - for which they need not feel ashamed, as the constant rocking even made some of the expedition team and crew of the Fram feel a bit queasy as well.

Life on board Fram continued, and the passengers that were up and about attended lectures on different topics, from the interesting and rather surprising properties of ice to a first-hand account on overwintering in an Antarctic research station; and the early evening was quietly spent watching penguin-related movies. The day ended with a question and answer round with the Captain and some of his officers, who gave us an interesting insight into the workings of a very interesting machine: MS Fram.

Grytviken or the Bay of trypots

South Georgia is a marvelous place to stay, especially in days like these. We arrived in the early morning hours to a calm and peacefully Cumberland Bay, where we entered the northeast arm directly to Grytviken. 

We were welcomed by the official authorities of the island and then by their original and native inhabitants, the seals and the penguins.

While walking towards the cemetery to pay the honors to the “Boss” and his companion Wilde, we were escorted by a huge delegation of friendly southern elephant seals and less friendly fur seals. They showed us the way to the remnants of the former whaling station and we could sense the ghost of many ancient sailors and whalers between the buildings and the tanks. It was like going back in time, into the days of black and white pictures. 

We could hear the bells ringing from the church and the museum invited us to experience vividly how it was in those old days through the display of many artifacts and objects of that time.

 Yesterday, while following the footsteps of Shackleton from Fortuna Bay to Stromness we made this group picture with all the hikers at Crean lake, and you can see how lucky we have been with the weather.

Today, we had the chance to admire the small size of the replica of the James Caird boat in which the “Boss” and companions made the crossing from the Antarctic Peninsula at Elephant Island to King Haakon Bay, in South Georgia.

South Georgia is a wonderful green oasis in the Southern Ocean, which offers us the possibility to enjoy it in many different ways: on land as hikers, on ice or snow, or on the sea, by kayaking or by cruising in the more comfortable Fram...    

(South) Georgia on my mind...

Georgia, Oh, Georgia!!!

I know the song refers to a more tropical place than this, but after such a wonderful day as the one we were lucky enough to enjoy today in this subantarctic island, South Georgia will undoubtedly be in everyone's mind!

 For starters, when we awoke this morning to a gloriously sunny day: we could clearly see the island's peaks and glaciers from the distance; and entered Fortuna bay with an equally beautiful weather. Moreover, there was no swell, so we were all able to disembark quickly and - after sorting the aggressive bravados of fur seals on the beach - arrived where we had all wanted to be: the king penguin colony close to the glacier's moraine at the end of the valley. It is wonderful to see one of these incredibly elegant and handsome birds - it's magnificent to see several thousand together, glistening in the sun...

The visit to the king penguin colony would have been enough to make a memorable day; but we had more exciting things in store. In particular, we must mention that several of our guests hiked the last section of the famous Shackleton Trail, from Fortuna to Strømness. The beautiful weather lasted into the afternoon, so our hikers enjoyed the sight that meant so much to Shackleton and his men: the vast panorama of Strømness bay, with the whaling station on the shore below the mountain pass. During the walk along the valley towards the station, our hikers also had the opportunity to get in contact with a further penguin species, the gentoos, that nest on the tussock grass. And they were greeted rather enthusiastically by the numerous fur seals and the occasional elephant seal at the beach, which is a rather exciting way to end the day.

All in all, I dare say that after such an exciting day out, we will all "keep South Georgia on my mind..."

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!