Drake Passage

Having sailed all night, we woke up to calm conditions along the Drake Passage. We are now truly alone, somewhere between the Pacific Ocean and Scotia Sea.

Today is a full sea day, and we have set our course on Elephant Island which is still another few hundred kilometers away.

A sea day gives our guests time to familiarise themselves with the ship and learn about the rules regarding visiting Antarctica. More importantly it's a perfect time to unwind and disconnect from civilisation and technology. Even getting this blogpost uploaded is quite tricky for us !

 

During the day, we organised our guests into different groups, and gave out our famous blue jackets.

 

On our way down South !

Our first trip of the year has begun, and we are now heading towards the white continent !

At the Puerto Ushuaia we were docked alongside some other ships. One by one we set off, with MV Fram leading the way through the Beagle Channel.

Our nurse Cecilia and doctor Zaida going through the important medical forms.

Hopefully we will not need these...

Captain Arild and his crew welcoming our guests on board.

Goodbye Ushuaia !

Our last landings in Antarctica

On Thursday morning Fram arrived at Almirante Brown for the second continental landing of this trip. Passengers were brought ashore with the zodiac boats to have a look at the station and the Gentoo penguins. Two viewing points were set up to enjoy the view of the surrounding area. One went all the way up to a high hill allowing everyone to enjoy a breathtaking view before sliding down on the snow slide. Many went back up for a second or third slide down. As opposed to some of the previous slides we had on other landings, this slide had a few twists and turns making it even more exiting.

Our passengers were also able to join the cruising in the zodiacs, that took them far into the bay along the immense glaciers and icebergs. The kayak trip was once again a great success. It is the perfect way to experience Antarctica from a unique perspective.

On the way back to the ship, we brought everyone on a little cruise with the zodiacs around the corner to see nesting Cormorants (blue-eyed shags).

In the afternoon we visited Port Lockroy. This British base is the perfect place for visitors to get some souvenirs, send postcards and visit the museum. On top of this, we were able to see Gentoo penguins with chicks from upclose. There was one rock just in front of the main building, on which 3 penguin couples were nesting. One was sitting on the nest while 2 others kept stealing its stones for their own nests. It was a very entertaining scene to watch but we couldn't help but feeling a little bad for that Gentoo.

In the evening we enjoyed the view of hundred of picturesque icebergs in the company of humpback and minke whales. Our Musician Myles played piano and sang songs for the guests the entire evening in the Observation Lounge. 

Happy New Year

We started the last day of the year at the bottom of the planet. The morning greeted us with the beautiful Errara Channel which was filled with majestic ice bergs that had calved from the surrounding glaciers. We had Gentoo penguins modelling for us and welcoming us at the beach on Danco Island. On the top of the hill we had a stunning view over the Errera Channel.

After this great outing we enjoyed yet another sumptuous breakfast in the spacious restaurant.

Neko Harbour penetrates deep into the Antarctic Peninsula and its beautifully surrounded on all sides by the mountains and the alpine glaciers.

This was our first landing on the Antarctic mainland and for some of us it was the last continent to set foot on, what a fantastic feeling.

We hiked up to the penguin rookery and had an amazing view over Andvord Bay.

On the top we created a slide and most of us had a skid down the slope, yelling of excitement, or maybe it was from the snow stuck under our clothes.

In the evening we went back to Danco Island and sat the overnight campers ashore, which was a very special camping indeed. They were to celebrate New Years Eve camping in Antarctica…..wow, what a thing!

After the New Year Eve Buffet on M/S Fram, we all gathered in the Sky lounge to count in the New Year. We danced and cheered until we were all exhausted and when we were all done, it was 2105 already.

                                 

                   A Happy New Year to the world!

Halfmoon island and Deception island

From 30th December:

Bright and early we woke up to a new day of expedition and the first landing was Halmoon island. First of was the snowshoers heading for a beautiful mountain top. From there they had a stunning view while enjoying the Antarctic silence.

Next of the kayakers hit the water for a circumnavigation of the whole island. On the far side of the island they could enjoy the singing of a Weddel seal, pure magic. Rest of the group did a landing on the beach and got the pleasure of meeting a lonely Maccaroni penguin among all the Chinstraps and the Wedell seal.

There is little time for rest on an expedition so while eating a lovely lunch the ship steamed ahead with course for Deception Island. “Inside” the  active volcano we did a landing at the old whalers station Whalers bay. On the beach steam is rising from the heat of the volcano covering the black sand in mist. Some of the guests went out with the Polarcircle boats on a geology cruise with the expert Steffen as their guide. 46 brave hikers joined on the demanding hike to Baily Head and the enormous Chinstrap colony there. It’s rare to do this hike with good weather, but on this day we were very lucky. The view was stunning!
Back on the beach many tough guests took the chance to swim in Antarctic water. Another amazing day on what is close to being a perfect voyage.

Going wild at Point Wild

Today we had our 3^rd sea day and we were waiting to get onshore after two quite rough days in the Scotia Sea. In the morning there was time for Bridge visits and in the afternoon, Fram would try, to sail as close as possible to Elephant Island, Point Wild, where 22 marooned members of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s fabled Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition spent four and a half months while they awaited rescue. The sea was quite calm, the sun up and shining and we were all out on deck, watching the rough glaciers and the tiny place, where Shackleton’s men lived beneath two overturned lifeboats. 

From far we have seen our first tabular icebergs. And the conditions looked good, it was so tempting and so the Expedition Team went into the Polar Cirkel boats to try a landing at this tiny beach, with quite some swell coming in! But we managed! And everyone who dared the little bit “rougher” landing went ashore and set foot on Elephant Island! What a day! 

The Chinstrap penguins were quite surprised, as they probably don’t very often get visitors at this place! We managed to get everyone safe back into the Polar Cirkel boats and back on board it was a thrilled atmosphere, we landed at Elephant Island and seen the bust from Luis Pardo from close, the brave captain who finally came to pick up the 22 men of Shackleton after four and a half month. 

Our days at sea

After two days at sea, we are getting closer to the Antarctic Peninsula. On Friday we left the beautiful weather of South Georgia and headed into the wild ocean. On our way to Elephant Island we encountered high wind speeds and waves of up to 10 meter high. These were perfect conditions for some dramatic shots of the forces of nature:

Passengers were able to sign up for activities in Antarctica and attend several lectures on varying topics. We had for example an introduction presentation to Antarctica and one about the geology of the Antarctic.

During these two days the ship was surrounded by many sea birds like the Cape Petrel: