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Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 13
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March 14th 2009
Today we get aup at 3am to catch a 5 hour flight to Ushuaia ... there is not a lot of news today! Otherthan for those of you who are nervous of flying should give this a miss as the landing in Ushuaia was pretty horrendus as it was very cloudy, you get the odd glimpse of snowy mountain tops in amongst the cloud and then the plane drops and bucks and then there is the sea - full of white caps! It seems to take an age to get down to ground and then suddenly it all clears and we see the sea and pray that the runway is on the coast !! We land safetly in a howling gale and its freezing - we are at the bottom of the world. Now Antarctica is ... read more
March 12th 2009
Sorry had to go sort our next leg out with the travel agent. We leave for Arequippa, Lake Titicaca, Cuzo and Macchu Picchu tomorrow morning. So where was I...? I forgot to say that when we arrived on the boat we discovered that one of the expedition staff was a friend from NZ who I hadn't seen in 5 years, Anjali. I helped her with some research diving 10 yrs ago when she was doing her PhD. See I can go to the bottom of the world and still find someone I know!!! Five degrees of separation is alive and well :) Neko harbour was also the site of the antarctic swim for those hardy souls who could manage it. Only one girl was brave enough and Marty took it one step further by skinny dipping. ... read more
March 12th 2009
We have all started arriviing in Buenos Aires, the excitement is building!! It is a long old flight but I am now fidgeting around in my seat on the plane wondering how this expedition is going to turn out, will the 12 Akzonobel people all get on, will I have any luggage .... the normal worries ! But then the thought that I am going to Antarctica .. I can't believe it is here now. For anyone who knows me you wold not believe that I have been busily writing in my journal on the plane. I am also reading a book titled "To the Desert and Back" by Philip Mirvas. This is where the Leadership bit comes in to this whole expedition - it really gets you thinking or reflecting. I have been writing lots ... read more
March 12th 2009
I get my first texts in Argentina and the Benelux contingent have made it and are at the hotel. So I make my own way from the airport, its only 30 mins and Carlos has done a great job in preparations telling us which taxi company to use and booking a nice hotel - lucky to have a team member who lives in Buenos Aires. At the hotel we all meet up in the lobby and head for a walking tour of the city that Carlos's secretary recommended - see the pictures! There is so much energy in the group and we are all comparing stories and getting to know each other, it feels like I have met everyone loads of times but we had all just met for 3 days in Amsterdam. Its a good ... read more
March 11th 2009
Oh mi god! Was an awesome place. Am sitting in the hostal in Lima so thought I better make an entry and load some photos. Had an incredible trip to Antarctica - had brilliant weather, calm seas (relatively speaking), some fab landings and a few dives in 0 degree water!!!! Although rolled off the boat after 11 days of 2 course lunches and dinners and full cooked breakfasts! We departed Ushuaia on fri 27 feb in the evening and went out through the Beagle Channel (very calm). We entered the notorious Drake Passage round Cape Horn in the early hours of the morning - noticeable with the increasing waves and rolling side to side in the bunk bed! However our forecast was good and despite a number of people being sick, Marty and I managed admirably ... read more
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February 26th 2009
I have been looking forward to this trip for so long now and it was quite a relief once I jumped on board the Ushuaia on the 26th Of February. I arrived in Ushuaia 2 days before and kept everything pretty low key as I was constantly glancing towards the harbour and the waters that lay further south. Just from gathering comments from a few people who obviosuly didn´t like it there they painted a dull boring town at the end of the earth. Well I found it to be quite charming like a little toy box town and the view when you flew in was breathtaking to say the least. I did a beautiful trek through the Parque Nacional in Tierra Del Fuego with a Swiss guy and it was a good prelude to what ... read more
Antarctica part 3: Leopard seals, icebergs and back to Ushuaia
Published: June 14th 2009Antarctica » Antarctica
February 25th 2009
In the end we had 4 days of landings on the Antarctic Peninsular and islands - our very first landing at Neko Harbour had been amazing simply because, wow - we're standing on Antarctica! But for me the highlight of the trip was the time we spent cruising icebergs in the zodiacs and our very last landing at Dorian Bay. The iceberg cruise was the second tour we'd done in the zodiacs. I'd found the first, to see glaciers, disappointing because I'd ended up with the group that pretty quickly decided they'd had enough and wanted to go back to the ship for a cup of tea. So whilst the others were out seeing a whale and watching a leopard seal kill a penguin, I was back on deck, slightly seething. This time though it was ... read more
Antarctica: Neumayer Channel
Published: July 31st 2009Antarctica » Antarctica » South Shetland Islands
February 22nd 2009
We spent most of Sunday in the Neumayer Channel and the Gerlache Strait. The Gerlache Strait is a channel/strait separating the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula. Neumayer Channel is 16 miles long and about 1.5 miles wide, separating Anvers Island from Wiencke Island. There were countless icebergs of all shapes and sizes. It wasn't a very clear day, but the landscape was no less impressive. The overcast skies brought out the deep blues in the glacier ice. I spent most of of the day outside on the open decks. I had on about six layers of clothes. Neumayer Channel is known for its majestic cliffs. It is said to be like a maze with no visible exits because of its inverted S-shape. Its entrance and exits both have sharp bends. I would love to return ... read more
Antarctica: Hope & Admiralty bays
Published: July 31st 2009Antarctica » Antarctica » South Shetland Islands
February 21st 2009
Saturday morning as we were approaching Hope Bay there was a thick fog and you couldn't see much of anything. But when we got there at 7:30 A.M. the fog lifted and there was beautiful sunshine. This is the tip of the actual continent of Antarctica. Up until now we had been visiting islands. Hope Bay in the Antarctic Sound. The large research base is Esperanza Station. Built in 1975, the base houses 55 inhabitants in winter, including 10 families and 2 school teachers. There are 43 buildings in all. 4800 gallons of fuel are used annually by the 4 generators to produce electricity. Esperanza Base has some measure of fame because it is the birthplace of the first person to be born in Antarctica. Hope Bay on Trinity Peninsula, is 3 miles long and 2 ... read more
Antarctica Part 2 - Walking, sliding and falling on the white continent
Published: June 13th 2009Antarctica » Antarctica
February 20th 2009
The plan was to write just one blog on Antarctica, at least it was until I started looking at my photos. OK so there's probably only so many ice and penguin photo's you want to see, but looking at them again months after the trip has reminded me that it's still the most amazing thing I've ever done. So here goes blog 2 out of 3! I woke up early on our second day at the peninsular - the breakfast call was yet to come and I took the opportunity to head up on deck. With everyone else still in their cabins there was barely a noise to be heard apart from the lapping of water against the boat. The sun had yet to rise over the surrounding snowy peaks and everything had this stunning blue ... read more
