The last leg of the trip

As we started our return it was a bit bumpy, however it turned out to be a relaxing and smooth crossing. Passengers did other activities and attended lectures.

Since we could not accomplish our last landing due to bad weather conditions and we had some extra time on ours hands and the captain directed the vessel toward the famous landmark - Cape Horn. We had a very nice view of the Cape itself, the monument of the Albatross, and lighthouse, where a young couple lives year round. As we passed by the Horn there was a large mixed flock of many hundreds Sooty Shearwaters, Black-Browed Albatrosses, some Magellanic Penguins, and cormorants all seemed to fly and dive in unison following the same prey in the sea..

As the evening ended we had our traditional auction for charity and the Captains farewell dinner. Tomorrow we will wake up early in the morning in Ushuaia..

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The alarm goes off at 5am.  Taxi to the airport - 6am.  Wait 10 minutes for self checkin machine.  Machine rejects my passport. Wait thirty minutes in line for assisted checkin.  Wait twenty minutes in another line to go through security.  Take my shoes off?  Frisked thoroughly by security guy.  Walk fifteen minutes to gate.  Starbucks infusion enroute.  Wait thirty minutes in lounge.  Board aircraft.  No food on the airplane.  Should have bought a sandwich in the airport. Fly for a long while. Damn. My personal television monitor isn't working. Land in a new airport.  Thoroughly lost in the airport.  Grab a snack.  Find gate.  Wait 4 hours for the next flight.  Try to sleep but the seats in the waiting room are designed to prevent sleep. Board another aircraft.  Great!  Got my aisle seat.  Crying baby keeps me awake most of the night.  Finally manage to fall asleep.  Beverage cart crashes into my leg jolting me awake.   Finally. The baby is asleep.  My bruised, throbbing leg keeps me awake.  Fly for 14 hours.  Land in Buenos Aires.  My bag is the very last one off the plane.  Thrilling taxi ride to hotel. Line up to check into hotel.  Sleep at last.  Wakeup call at 5am. Wide awake during thrilling ride to the airport.  Lineup to check in. Lineup for security. Pulled aside for security check.  Thiry minutes later, repack luggage. Board another airplane. Three hour flight to Rio Grande.  Rio ___?  Where am I? Deplane.  Another waiting room.  Replane.  Fly one hour to Ushuaia.  Finally at 5pm we board our ship.  The Fram.  She is impressive. A beautiful ship. At last. Our home for the next 8 days.  No more lugging overweight bags around.   No more taxis or buses or trains or airplanes. No more airports. No more moving or packing. Just kick back and relax.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
YOU MADE IT!!!  Now we will do everything for you.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Once the Panama Canal opened in 1914 there wasn't much of a need for sailing vessels to "round the Horn". Still, rounding the Horn is a major nautical achievement and a piece of mariner's history. It is a "must see" piece of real estate if the chance presents itself. Given our fair weather we were able to alter our course and head directly for Cape Horn. Not only did we have excellent views of the famous rock but we cruised from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean and then back into the Atlantic again. We truly rounded the Horn.
Our day was filled with lectures and the routines of preparing to disembark Fram: packing, retrieving our passports and reviewing our ongoing travel arrangements.
Our photographer Camille Seaman showed a delightful photographic recap of our adventures in Antarctica.
We have been moved by the Icey Continent. At times our contact with nature has been nearly overwhelming. None of us will forget our adventures. We have made new friends. We will be sad to leave Fram. But if we are sad upon departing Fram and Antarctica, doesn't that mean we had a perfect holiday?

Got'cha Penguin!!

Ok, we were bragging yesterday, so we will be very low key about the events of today: It was even better!! In the morning we were all getting ready for a hideously early landing at Brown Bluff. The weather was beautiful and there was hardly any wind. Perfect landing conditions, but, alas, the ice was blocking the landing site. Oh my, we could have stayed in bed, everybody thought; but not so, because instead of landing we went for a cruise with Fram along the ice in search of wildlife. And, lo and behold, after a while we came across what we all had secretly been hoping for when we came to this northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula. There on an ice flow an Emperor Penguin was basking in the sun. This unique inhabitant of Antarctica seemed to enjoy all the attention he was getting, because he patiently remained in place until everybody had their picture of him. Only then did he take to the water. For us it was time to leave the Antarctic Sound for the South Shetland Islands and as we were getting into open water we struck it lucky yet again. A sizable pod of Orcas were travelling alongside us at high speed for a short while. They were actually the only species we had not seen on this voyage. After this nothing, we thought, could really excite us any more.

We were taught differently in the evening when we went for the last landing of this cruise at Halfmoon Island. It was already rather late when we got here, so the light was getting dim, but again the wildlife presented new firsts for us. We had seen penguins and seals all right, but so far no Chinstraps and no Fur Seals (not up close at any rate). Here they were on the beach in abundance, and we saw them in perfect weather conditions with wonderful evening light in front of the breathtaking panorama of the islands. Again we cannot but be grateful for another unforgettable day.

Words do not describe it!

We really shouldn't brag, but we did have another perfect day in Antarctica. After a relatively quiet night on the Bransfield Strait we woke up very early in front of Deception Island. It was a gloomy morning and it was snowing lightly, but the scene was perfect for the passage into the famous caldera. Dark loomed the active volcano as we were cruising its forbidding waters. Later in the day we continued back to the Antarctic continent and - what do you know - as we were getting into the Antarctic Sound the weather was clearing up again and perfect sunshine greeted us. We viewed the famous tabular icebergs in front of a breathtaking panorama under perfect conditions. We even had fresh waffles to complete the unforgettable moment.

Later on we encountered sea-ice from last winter (which is extremely rare at this time of the year) and there was a lot of wildlife on the ice and in the water. As the light was getting mellow and charming in the evening we put the Polar Cirkle boats into the water and went for a small cruise. It was simply indescribable. There were Leopard, Weddell and Crabeater seals on the ice flows as well as Adelie and Gentoo Penguins (no Emperors though); and to make the whole experience even more unbelievable some Humpback Whales decided to stop by and say hello. Some of us even had the privilege to get to see these majestic animals up close. Well, what a day; we all hope you out there are sufficiently jealous now. We cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us on this amazing voyage.

Leaping Minke Whales

Petermann Island is a brilliant landing site. On a day like today when you have blue sky and seemingly unlimited visibility it is hard to beat. The scenery is inspiring. Impressive mountains loom over the landing site. Glaciers flow down to the sea. The white snow was covered in huge swaths of bright green and pink. The greens and pinks are from an algae that grows on snow. There is a diminishing Adelie colony and a growing Gentoo colony. There is a colony of Blue-eyed Shags. A short walk brings you to a stunning view over Panola Strait and Iceberg Alley.
It was downright balmy throughout much of the day. We started at +7ºC and it got warmer from there.
In the afternoon we paid a visit to the fine fellows at the Ukranian base Vernadsky. Sasha (one of the scientists at the base) told us that there were high winds all day yesterday and today until about an hour before our arrival. Wind? What wind? Luck has obviously been on our side.
Before entering the base we removed our boots. The tour of the base was quite interesting. A steady flow of people visited the gift shop and an equally steady flow of people sampled the vodka at the bar.
At 18:00 we entered the Lemaire Channel where we encountered a crazy number of Minke whales. We saw at least 20 of them! It was unbelievable as a entire pod of Minkes raced alongside the ship. They often porpoising out of the water. One of the more acrobatic whales leapt out of the water while turning simultaneously upside down. To see so many minke whales in one place and then have a group of approximately eight whales race and seem to play with the ship is a very rare occurrence.
Another incredible indelible memory.

The Wind Goes Round and Round

Think about it: the Southern Ocean is the only place on earth where the wind can whip around 360º of the planet totally unimpeded. Well perhaps not totally unhindered. Our gallant ship Fram is out here bouncing merrily along heading south. Surely the wind notices. And as the wind cyclones around and around, it pushes water, building waves and lifting albatrosses.
The wind blew harder and the waves grew higher steadily through the morning.
I think one could come up with a formula using the number of empty seats in the dining room to accurately determine sea states and Beaufort scale. Today was between force 7 and 8 for much of the day. A comfy ride for those used to it. A long time riding the bunk for those who haven't yet found their sea legs.
While some of us may not be completely comfortable out here on the Drake, the many soaring albatrosses that attended the ship were in their element.
At 10:00 we joined the expedition team on the stern deck 7 to admire true masters of the southern wind, Wandering and Royal Albatrosses. We also saw many other seabirds including Slender-billed Prions, Wilson's Storm Petrels, White-chinned Petrels and Giant Petrels.
There were lectures throughout the day. In the evening many of us enjoyed an epsiode of the fabulous Blue Planet nature documentary series.
We are all excited contemplating the possibility of our first landing tomorrow at Half Moon Island!