Stepped foot in Antarctica today!

Day 11 — Feb 25

Even though it’s summer down here, we had a snowstorm last night! But when we got up this morning there was no evidence of it! Did I dream it? I don’t have a hangover, so I’m sure I didn’t ‘drink’ it! It was a raging blizzard when I went to bed! Oh well, chalk it up to a memory!

  Whale sightings galore this morning both on the ship and when we got on the zodiacs for our land excursion.  As we stepped into our zodiac, a Minky Whale swan right under us!  My first time ever seeing a Brown Whale!  Tried to get photos but it was too elusive.  Elee chose to kayak this morning and she had an amazing time also!  Overviews of Portal Point were spectacular!

Stepped foot on the continent this morning in Portal Point, the entrance to Charlotte Bay on the recluse peninsula on the West Coast of Agrahamland.  We are Officially in Antarctica! To date, we have only been on islands off the coast of the Continent!  Had our obligatory photos taken holding the ships flag while standing on the continent.  Then took a hike around the peninsula where elevations rose to a few hundred feet and overviews of the harbor and surroundings were stunning.   Climbed an Ice cliff, fell on my butt (only once) on the way down (not intentional) and encountered a Snowstorm on the way back to our ship!

Suddenly, we heard a huge ‘crack’ and ‘roar’ and I spun my camera around and luckily I was already pre-focused and an iceberg in the bay was exploding and ‘calving’, or splitting in half!  The ensuing ice formed a mini tidal wave that we looked down and watched wash ashore!  At a couple hundred feet in elevation, we were in no danger whatsoever and we stood there mesmerized and were entertained by nature in her purest form!

After, we took a zodiac ride with Humpbacks up close and personal.  The sound and sight of whales breaching is a thing of beauty.  Being right there with them is magical!  While riding with the whales, a snowstorm washed over us and visibility decreased to the point we could only hope our drivers knew where they were.  Our driver showed us his GPS Compass and we were reassured that we were in safe hands!

Back on the ship for lunch and it’s story time again among our fellow passengers and we learn what everyone saw and experienced this morning.  Warmed up again and fed, we relax for a couple hours as the ship moves to a place called Enterprise Island.

Here, we board the zodiacs again for another excursion and we quickly come across pods of whales and are treated to flukes and icebergs and more magical things!  And then we come across a shipwreck that is in a calm water bay and is quite the sight.  Here we come across the kayak group and my wife is able to relinquish her camera to me as it has become in her way for her part of the excursion.

Then it’s back on the ship for the evening and dinner and stories abound once more.  Then into the bar and lounge for libations and camaraderie amongst our fellow passengers and new friends.  Happy conversations ensue and before we know it, we are into the wee hours of the morning and tomorrow looms as a new day so we retire to our rooms.

I look out our window right before I climb into bed and there is a furious blizzard blowing by the window and everything is whiteout! Hey, I thought this was summer! But exhaustion takes over and I crawl into bed to see what awaits us in the morning!

Day 10 — Feb 24

So after having to travel back north yesterday to King George Island to accommodate a medical evacuation on the ship, we are now headed back south. We have arrived at Nicholson Island.  We have reached the 63rd parallel in hopes of getting to the 66 1/3 parallel (Antarctic Circle).

Beautiful scenery and whale sightings keep our eyes and camera lenses busy as we head to breakfast and walk around the ship.  This trip is becoming more beautiful every day!  Everywhere we turn there is another wonderful assault on our senses.

We board the zodiacs for a tour of Spert Island this morning.  Our Zodiac Driver, Dave, one of the Photographer Guides on the Expedition, turns out to be somewhat of a Speed Demon which I like quite well.  We took some Zodiac Rides at high speed through some caves that were exhilarating to say the least!

I have to laugh as we come across a floating iceberg in the shape of a penis that has been nicknamed, “Penis Point”.  Near Spert Island.  Oh my!!!  There are no landing points on Spert Island as it juts 525 feet vertically out of the water, but its many caves and rock formations make wonderful view finder fodder!

We come across Leopard and Fur Seals playing in the water and they don’t seem to mind us being here.  This one seal just kept swimming around and playing near us.  Because of the restrictions the IAATO has placed on all ships to the Antarctic for the last hundred or so years, humans are no longer a predator to these creatures and they no longer fear us.  So we are treated to playful displays by creatures near and far!

Back on board for lunch and story sharing as the ship moves to its next destination.  Uploading photos from here is nigh on impossible. So I’ve stopped trying.  Soon it is time for our afternoon excursion and I have chosen to kayak again!  The ship has set anchor at D’Halnaut Island in Mikkelsen Harbor. This is me in my dry suit!

We kayak in heavy winds and I think I’ve never been this cold.  As beautiful as this is, it is a welcome treat to go back onboard for hot cocoa, wine and dinner.

The ship has moved to Cierva Cove and we’re going back out for a photographers sunset excursion in the zodiacs.  This place was named for Juan de le Cierva, the inventor of the “Autogiro”, the precursor to the helicopter.  Gotta get off the computer and suit up. Thermals, shirt, sweater, fleece lined pants, waterproof ski pants, Antarctic lined jacket, ski hat, neck sleeve, and face protection. It takes quite some time to even ‘suit up’ for these excursions!

We get out on the water and sunset has begun.  I mentioned this before but I’ll remind you that Antarctic Sunsets (like Arctic Sunsets) last for hours which makes for a photographers delight!  We are surrounded by glaciated peaks and valleys up to 2000 meters in depth (7000 feet).  This place is known for its stunning icebergs and somewhere around here is a summer Argentinean research station.

We get up close and personal to some whales and marvel at the icebergs in the sunset.  Then, as sunset finally wanes, we go back on board for warm libations and stories at the bar!

Day 9 — Feb 23

After almost 24 hours sailing back north for the evacuation, we arrive at King George Island.  During the trip north we are treated to many sighting of whales and my camera is entertained with breaches and blows and fluke dives!  The evacuation occurs as planned and all is well, although we never see the evacuation as they wisely put us all in zodiacs and take us for a tour of the area while they load up the ill lady and get her to shore safely.

We cruise around the bay and see an iceberg the size of two city blocks.  Yes, I said TWO CITY BLOCKS…  This Iceberg was about 30 Meters tall out of the water (100 feet), which meant it was likely 60 Meters below water (200 feet).  We rode around it, cameras happily clicking away, Blue, Grey and White Ice grabbing our senses and lenses as we were amazed at the enormity of this floating Berg.

We go back to the ship and enjoy the remainder of the evening in the bar where crew members regale us with stories of their adventures!  Mind numbing concoctions are consumed and stories get more exciting.  We finally turn in for the evening with the assurance that the ship is traveling back south in hopes of making up time.

Day 8 — Feb 22

Today becomes magical very quickly! First up after breakfast, we suit up for our first kayak trip. Pulling on wool socks and long johns. Fleece lined pants and insulated top. Throw on a sweater on top of that.

And now to pull on the Dry Suit. A challenge that will improve as the trip progresses. But this first time, it’s kind of like, step into it and pull the footie parts up. Then pull the legs up your body. Follow that with finding the armholes. Sounds simple, right? Not so much. Once the armholes are found, you have to pull the neoprene stretch neck down over your head at the same time. Easy! I lie. How the heck does this work? Oh. Ok. Here it is. Got it. But there’s a huge gaping hole across the front from over my shoulder down across the front to my waist. And a zipper. Wait, the zipper starts over my shoulder behind me. I think I saw a pull strap, like a wetsuit of sorts. Got it. Give it a tug. Not moving, hmmm. Maybe pull it this way. Hey, it moved. Pull again. Here it goes. Yeah, I’ve got this! Pull it all the way around. I feel like a contortionist. Ok, give it that last tug and make sure it’s sealed. There.

Oh wait, not done yet? Oh yeah, the life jacket. Well, at least this is the easy part. It’s just a couple of tubes and straps. Hmmm, I think it goes this way. No wait, pull that strap around this way. Ummm, I think that looks right. What’s that? My booties, I forgot my booties. Where are they? Oh, over there. Here, sit down and put them on. Gloves too? Ok, got them. Can we go to the kayaks now? Don’t forget the camera. Got it, ok, let’s go.

So we head out of the room and around the corner and down the stairs to the lounge where we have been told to meet. Walking in the dry suit feels like a penguin waddle. But not to worry, when we get to the lounge, we find 20 more dry suit penguins waddling around, looking quite like us. We mingle and swap waddling jokes as we start to overheat inside the ship. So we all head outside on the back deck and the stewards check us out onto the list of kayakers for the morning. Soon, we are instructed to step into the sanitizing foot bath and we all head down and board the zodiacs for our first trip into Antarctic waters.

The zodiacs take us away from the ship with the kayaks in tow like a mother duck and her ducklings. We arrive near a set of ice flows and now to learn how to get from the zodiac into the kayaks. Sit on the rail like this? Oh, okay, I can do that! now put your feet into the kayak. No, don’t tip it! Remember the lesson on the deck of the ship? Oh yeah, that’s the way. Now slide down in. Easy peasey! Wait, I’m not done? Oh yeah, the skirt. Okay, put it on like this. Hey, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Where’s my paddle? Oh, thanks, here it is! Push off now and I’m on my own in the Antarctic!

We’re in the kayaks and the excitement builds as we start to paddle. After several minutes, we come to a stop near a small iceberg. We have been cautioned against paddling close to the icebergs as they may calve without warning. And then, here we are! Kayaking in the Antarctic!

Life is good. Hands are cold. Views are wonderful. Hey, let’s paddle over there. Take a picture. Paddle some more. What’s that over there? Hey, that’s kind of cool, a shipwreck! Let’s get closer! This is fun, but I wonder why the shipwreck is 20-30 feet above the water? We never get an answer to that question but we continue to kayak through the frigid waters and enjoy our first kayak excursion in the Southern Ocean.

After a couple of magical hours kayaking through glacial waters and around ice flows, we reluctantly re-board the zodiacs and head back to the Ocean Diamond.  Back on board, we go through the sanitizing process of stepping in disinfectant and then into the hallways and back to our room where we reverse the procedure of suiting up and figure out how to get our dry suits off.  The challenge this time is doing it with cold hands and feet!

Back in the hallways of the ship, we chat with other passengers and swap stories as we head for the restaurant for a buffet lunch.  The ship is underway to our next stop while we eat and share amazing stories with our fellow guests.

Then it’s back up on deck with our cameras to get shots of ice flows and frozen mountains as we near our afternoon stop.

Soon the ship drops anchor at Cuverville Island & Goudier Island (Port Lockroy), a British Port that has a working Post Office.  We go ashore and are immediately greeted by hundreds of Gentoo Penguins that call this place home. Colorful signs and buildings, some of them built on stilts on the rocky shore assault our vision and we hike up the short trail to the Post Office.  To save us time and give us more time to explore, a ships employee goes ashore with everybodies Passports and has them stamped for us!

Inside, we find not only the Post Office where our Post Cards are mailed home, but we find the building is pretty much a museum celebrating the early life of researchers that lived there studying the weather and wildlife.  Researchers still live and work in the Port, however they have newer buildings and facilities and we never saw any people.  I can only assume they avoid nosey tourists that would only disturb their way of life.  So for the couple hours that we are there, they stay pretty much out of sight even though we can see their buildings.  The paths to these buildings are roped off and signage tells us to stay away.

We get our fill of this wondrous place and board the zodiacs again.  We take a zodiac ride while the second half of our ship visits the Port.  For this day I have brought the big camera rig with the good glass and the long zoom lenses and start capturing Penguins and Seals from a distance, although we did get close at times.  But the ride comes to a close after a couple more hours and we head back to the ship for the evening.  Back on board, we disinfect and take our excursion gear off for the evening and head for the dinner hall.†

At dinner, we are informed that we have a Medical Emergency on board and have to turn around and head back to King George Island where there is an air transport available to evacuate an elderly passenger that has already contracted pneumonia.  So the ship heads back north tonight.  We had been speculating that we would step foot on the actual Antarctic Continent today but our hopes for that have been dashed. (So far, we have only stepped foot on islands, not the actual Continent!)  But everybody is in the right spirit as we all hope for the best for our shipmate and her safety and welfare.  One has to wonder about the age of someone in their 80’s wanting to visit Antarctica.  But I have to say that I would want to visit at any age, but we decided a few years ago that we didn’t want to be in our 80’s to go so that is why we are here now!  I can’t tell you how bad I would feel if we were the reason a ship like ours had to turn back!