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Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 21
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June 4th 2008
Hydrurga is the Latin generic name for the leopard seal and there were certainly leopard seals in the water at Hydrurga Rocks. In fact, they seemed to be interested in the zodiacs and followed us into the bay and swam about off-shore for perhaps half an hour. They were no doubt there because there was a chinstrap penguin colony a few hundred metres from where we landed and the chinstraps were well aware of their presence. There were also several dozen fur seals, their external ears being evident, which mostly lay around doing nothing unless they felt that one had encroached on their territory. Then they reared up on their flippers and barked and one could see into the surprising pinkness of their mouths. We also saw the occasional Weddell seal in 2002 and particularly ... read more
June 3rd 2008
The wildlife on the land around the Antarctic Peninsular is dominated by penguins and, to a lesser extent, resting seals. However, one is certainly aware of skuas because they can be seen in all of the penguin rookeries where they attack and devour disabled and abandoned chicks. Cormorants are also quite common and we did see a rookery near the Almirante Brown Station in Paradise Bay. These birds are remarkable in that they can dive tens of metres below the surface of the sea to catch fish for food. But what really brought it home to us that the centre of life in Antarctica is the ocean was the discovery of a stranded giant jelly fish on a beach on Snow Hill Island. No doubt another predator on the billions of tons of krill that ... read more
June 2nd 2008
When we called at Cuverville Island in 2002 there were large areas of moss banks on the steep slopes above the penguin rookery. In the extreme conditions on the Antarctic Peninsular these plants can only grow a few millimetres a year but, even so, we did see some moss growing on a wind-swept ridge. The problems they face are extremely low temperatures, dehydration and low light levels. These problems are at a minimum on north-facing slopes where there is some run-off from melting snow. Even here at zero degrees, which is a relatively warm day for Antarctica, the efficiency of photosynthesis drops to 30% to 40% of its maximum but the effect on metabolism - that is the conversion of the sugars produced by photosynthesis into amino acids and other useful products - is even ... read more
June 1st 2008
We arrived off Cape Horn on the way back to Ushuaia in 2002 on a really good day. There was only about a three metre swell, the storm clouds must have been fully 30 metres above the waves and the sleet was at least 30° to the horizontal! In 2008 it was superb for Cape Horn and I was actually able to photograph it. Cape Horn is a place of great mystique due to the number of ships that have been lost there - at least 76 in the last 400 years - and the famous mariners who have 'doubled the Horn'. Sir Francis Drake came close to discovering it in 1578 when he was blown a long way south on the Pacific side after passing through the Straits of Magellan. In fact, he surmised ... read more
Renowned Penguin Expert Joins 2009 Voyage to the Great White Continent
Published: May 16th 2008Antarctica » Antarctica
May 16th 2008
Renowned Penguin Expert Joins 2009 Voyage to the Great White Continent (Santiago, Chile) --- Dyan deNapoli, a penguin expert from the New England Aquarium in Boston known as “The Penguin Lady,” will present a series of lectures aboard The Antarctic Dream’s January 8, 2009 voyage to Antarctica. The Antarctic Dream, a 78 person capacity expedition cruise ship celebrated for its longtime service in the Chilean Navy, offers ideal expeditions to Antarctica, taking in the most exciting sights of the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. For more information on this unique excursion to the Great White Continent featuring lectures from “The Penguin Lady”, visit www.antarctic.cl or call 1-877-AD TRIPS. Dyan deNapoli has worked closely with penguins at the New England Aquarium in Boston and in the wild for nine years. During that time, she was ... read more
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April 29th 2008
A pale light seeped into the cramped bedroom from under the door. There was just enough light for John to see Patricia's pale, drawn face, if he were to have looked. But John didn't look. John stood stiffly in the middle of the room, hands on the back of his desk chair, staring out the window into the blackness. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. After a moment, Patricia, nearly hidden beneath the comforter said, "I don't know. I don't want this to happen any more than you do." John turned around slowly and stood facing the bed. He peered towards the outline of Patricia's face. Trying with all his might to be calm for her, he said, "Baby, I know you tried. I know." Soft sobbing came from the bed and John ... read more
April 25th 2008
HELLO BOLD hahahahka * list 1 * list 2 * list 3 1 dfgfgghg 2 rttyuuuuu * qwert * asddff ... read more
NY Times Modern Love college Essay competition
Published: March 31st 2008Antarctica » Antarctica » Amundsen-Scott South Pole StationMarch 31st 2008
This is a Love Marriage, not an Arranged Marriage I spent my junior year abroad in the Indian city of Madurai, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Whereas in America my dirty blond hair and unspectacular looks often made me feel unseen, in India I stood out. Every time I walked down a crowded road children and adults alike would stop and stare. I was an outsider; no matter how much I tried to fit in, I was a “Vellicari,” a rich white man. In Madurai, I learned Tamil, took Indian cooking lessons, and prayed to Indian Gods at Indian temples, but I knew, as many immigrants must, that I wasn’t fully assimilating. For the first time I felt my race, my class, and my ethnicity. I also realized that as a Westerner, ... read more
Ice, ice, baby (7) Welcome breaks, there and back again
Published: April 12th 2008Antarctica » Antarctica » Ross Sea
March 23rd 2008
There is something reassuring in the effort still required, even today, to visit Antarctica. Yes, day-long scenic flights from New Zealand and Australia have been an option for the well-endowed of pocket for a while, and now equally well-heeled tourists will be able to fly in to Australia’s Casey Station. But this does not get you to the incredible sights, sounds and silences that we had been lucky enough to experience. Only days and days on board a well-provisioned and expertly-navigated ship could do that. But it’s a long schlep even to the Antarctic Circle, and we were delighted to be able to break our journey at some of the sub-Antarctic islands. Going south and with a good following wind, we reached New Zealand’s Auckland Islands less than 24 hours after leaving Bluff, and Campbell Island ... read more
