Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 2

The beginning of this post is from Mikkelson Island, not McMurdo Station. This site demands a region and Mikkelson was not available as a choice, so we just selected another M. The second part is Culverson Island. Between the two we sailed from late afternoon until early this morning. Shore on the port side (our side) was mountainous throughout the transit. Monsters and Doozer there is skiing in Antarctica; we saw many prime locations save for all ending in the ocean. Suspect that would put a dampener on things. But our cruise during daylight was magical consisting of mountains, snow, ocean, and a rarity here, sunshine. P.S. As we compose the post whales are feeding outside the cabin as snow falls. It snows every day, sometimes several times.... read more

Arrived at our second continent after a very rough two-day Drake Channel Passage. We are on the highest deck and forward. The entire ship had the rolls but for folks up high that was exaggerated. Items fell off dressers and tables. We hid the computer and camera to save them from harm. Even walking about the ship proved difficult, especially for Bird. Nonetheless we arrived in the South Shetland Islands on 28 January at 6 am. We will remain about this continent for eight days. First landing occurred this afternoon amid snow, sleet and rain. Being a couple of wimps we elected to wait for more favorable conditions. We elected to send this very short post as we know a number of you have been unable to sleep due to anticipating the reveal of our location. ... read more

Another cheery wake up all, another cabin full of whinging. Since camping last night was cancelled, we had a revised program today and had navigated towards Deception Island overnight, passing through the ‘Bellows’ just after breakfast. We entered the flooded caldera in blistering winds through a narrow opening surrounded by the towering sides of the volcano. We pulled in to Whaler’s Bay for our final operation of the trip - a planned short hike to Neptune’s Window where we could see the sea beyond the protected confines of the caldera. We started along the beach, accompanied by a pair of Chinstrap Penguins who seemed intent on joining our red-clad tribe, but not entirely sure why or what they had signed up for. Nevertheless, they waddled along with us, occasionally stopping to ponder our presence and consult ... read more

Today’s list of requests included seals (any type, bonus points for leopard), wildlife on ice, and a ‘typical’ Antarctic view of icebergs and brash ice. And a stop to the rain! In keeping with tradition of the past few days, Mother Nature delivered. The wake up call was greeted with the usual cherry cacophony of whinging and moaning so we left them to go to breakfast. We were headed to Mikklesen Harbour where we would attempt a ‘double operation’ - half of us on a zodiac cruise and half on a landing. We were first in the zodiacs so we approached the encroaching glaciers to see what there was to find. No wildlife to be seen but some spectacular views of glaciers pressing their way down the steep cliffs and some fascinating formations around the point ... read more

How’s the song go? What a difference a day makes! We awoke to an Antarctic blizzard - limited visibility, howling winds and snow. The wind seemed at least to be keeping the sea relatively flat with its strength. Huge objections from the teenager at the early wake up call, particularly when it became obvious that we would not be going ashore unless we were after a trip on zodiac airlines. So we relaxed and read, played games in the lounge and watched as we slid past icebergs large and small and spectacular glaciated islands. Several attempted landing sites were rejected until we finally arrived at Paradise Harbour and the wind had died down (and the rain was only coming in fits and starts). We were the first zodiac ashore at Brown Base (official stop on the ... read more