Awesome Antarctica

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Seeing as we’re on a ship for the next 10 days, we thought we’d keep a log of our adventures. It’s not going to be on a par with Scott or Shackleton’s journals, but I’m sure none of you are expecting a masterpiece!

Friday 19 December

It’s time to finally board the ship! Ours is named MV Discovery and is the biggest one at Ushuaia port, but is still small by cruise ship standards. We’d seen one in port the other day and it was an absolute monster, but those ones don’t get to do any landings, which is surely what people go for.

Economies of scale explains our presence aboard. The smaller research vessels cost an absolute fortune and our South America trip would have been very short indeed if we’d plumped for one of those. Luckily we came across a great deal on the internet and here we are. The downside is our ship has 374 people on board, whereas the research ones have 100 max.

Still, to say we’re excited is an understatement. First impressions of the ship are good. It is about 9 decks high, and to us seems plush. It has a couple of pools (which won’t be used because it’s a bit cold), two outdoor Jacuzzis (which will be used), a small show bar, cinema room, lounges and three different places to eat! The ship is the sister vessel to the one used in the “Love Boat”, so it also has the comedy curving staircase near reception!

We’ve got the cheapest possible room, and end up with an inside cabin on the 5th deck (or Riviera deck as it’s known). It’s perfectly adequate though, and a lot better than some of the places we’ve been staying in. The best bit is they’ve placed a mirror where the window should be and at night close curtains across it, just to make it feel like night time. (As it turns out an inside cabin is a bit of a blessing. It’s light for about 20 hours in Antarctica and those who have a window complain that they can’t get to sleep!)

Tonight we’ll be heading out of the Beagle channel and then directly south across the Drake Passage, with Cape Horn on our right (or starboard as we are finding out) side. We spend the first few hours on deck, soaking up the spectacular view of the mountains behind Ushuaia as we slowly leave the port. Later we get our first experience of dinner, which turns out to be a really good 4 course meal. Most of the waiters are Filipino, but have chosen to take on Western names, so we have Roy, Jim Ryan (who I call Jim and Lynne calls Jim Ryan as we can’t work out if it’s hyphenated) and Dindo (admittedly not very Western).

Saturday 20 December

We didn’t sleep too badly. However, today is a day at sea, sailing the notoriously rocky Drake Passage.

The ship seems really well organised. They have a lecture programme running everyday to help people pass days at sea such as this. The programme is run by academics who have considerable Antarctic research experience, with many of them Kiwis and Aussie’s who’ve spent time at their countries’ research station.

Today we have an introductory lecture to the Antarctic ecosystem from a Dr who worked closely with Steve Irwin. It is all good stuff. Pitched at about the right level and not too academic. In the afternoon there is a further lecture specifically on penguins. It goes through all the different types we may see, their behaviour, diet and so on, so at least we have a basic knowledge of them before we get ashore in a couple of days.

Otherwise, we rapidly realise that eating is one of the main activities on the ship. Breakfast is served from 7-10 and then you can have lunch between 12 and 2. If you still feel a little peckish, they serve afternoon tea (in reality a massive choice of sandwiches, cakes and puddings) from 4-5, it’s then dinner at 8.30 followed by midnight snacks between 11 and 12 if you can fit more in!

Everyday we get a newsletter, telling us what will happen when. Tonight is the Captain’s welcome black tie cocktail party. We receive an invitation for what we assume to be the cocktail party but it actually turns out to be an invitation to dine at the Captain’s table. We’re not sure why we’ve been invited, but we think it’s because we got chatting to him when we first boarded the boat, although we had no idea he was El Capitano - he’s English and lives in Leamington Spa. This presents us with a dilemma though as naturally I didn’t pack my dinner jacket for our trip. Anyway, we try to ask at reception if it is ok to go in the smartest gear we have and flatly receive a no and are told that we will have to have room service if we don’t have a suit! So much for the customer is king. After a bit of a debate we ask someone more senior, who takes a bit more of a pragmatic attitude and says it won’t be a problem and later we receive a letter to confirm that we can attend so long as we wear or smartest gear. In reality, we don’t think the captain could give two hoots. He is a really down to earth bloke, although I do feel a bit of a prat in my jeans and jumper! Lynne however, looks very elegant. We have a lovely evening and meet some of our fellow passengers.

Sunday 21 December

Everyone is excited today as we get to go off the boat for the first time. It’s not a landing but a ride in one of the zodiacs (which are inflatable dinghies) around some icebergs.

In the morning we have a mandatory safety briefing on what to do and what not to do when we get in the boats and go ashore. By this time we have all been issued with our bright red parkas. They are a little dodgy, but keep you surprisingly warm against the Southern Ocean winds and have a nice badge on the arm proclaiming that we are in Antarctica. The briefing is an excuse for a lot of the more senior passengers to ask what to do if an event with a probability of 1 in a million should happen on shore. It goes on a long time, but I suppose we should all know what to do if simultaneously attacked by an orca and a leopard seal and which hand exactly we should hold our camera in.

All the passengers have been allocated a colour to say which landing group you are in. Lynne and I are in the white group and are due to be the second group out this afternoon. The excitement builds as our time draws near and then the worst happens. An announcement comes over the tannoy that the zodiac rides won’t take place due to rough weather and high winds. It’s a real bummer as already the ship is a little constraining, but everyone seems to take it in their stride.

Most evenings the ship puts on some kind of show, so after another lovely meal we go to that and get an early night. Tomorrow we are to be the first group for our first landing ashore at a Polish research station called Arctowski in Discovery Bay on the South Shetland Islands.

Monday 22 December

Another cancelled landing! We were up at 7am (which is early as we’ve been rolling out of bed at 9.30am) for the first landing due at 8am. It was only when we were having breakfast that the announcement was made. Although it doesn’t look to bad from the ship, the waves and wind must be dangerous. The ship is carrying provisions and Christmas presents for the Polish researchers and even they won’t come out to collect them from the ship. We all start to fear the worst. 10 days and lots of money spent only to see things from afar.

The ship as ever is responsive to the disappointment and puts on some extra lectures and other activities. Lynne attends most of them. I actually try to do some dissertation work, which is finally moving in the right direction.

The ship decides to cruise Elephant Island to see the spot where Shackleton’s men survived under an upturned rowing boat for nearly 5 months. This was the itinerary for tomorrow but it’s been moved forward so that we can try the landing at Arctowski again tomorrow.

Point Wild on Elephant Island is truly a bleak spot. It is a tiny isthmus of beach connected to a rocky outcrop. After Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, got caught up in ice and was eventually crushed, the crew lived on pack ice for 2 months but when this broke up they rowed for 5 days to Elephant Island. It was here that Shackleton made the decision to take 5 men and try to row to South Georgia, where they knew there was a whaling station. The rest of the crew survived living under an upturned rowing boat, eating penguins and the occasional seal. When they arrived it was nesting season, so there were plenty of penguins to go for, but it was only when the penguins started to leave they realised what was going on and had to kill as many as they could to stockpile. Now having been amongst a penguin rookery and experienced the overwhelming smell, I’m not too envious of their diet! The camp is now marked with a statue of the Chilean skipper who captained the rescue vessel.

We also head down to another spot where the crew initially made camp. It was deemed too exposed to big waves, so that is why they moved on to Point Wild. It really makes you appreciate the age of the explorer and puts our problem of not getting off the ship into perspective.

This is further reinforced that evening when the ship’s crew put on a reading of Scott’s diaries. It is pretty compulsive and makes you wonder why they put themselves through such physical hardship. Perhaps his journals will be on our reading list when we get back from this trip.

The highlight of the day though was seeing Humpback Whales near Elephant Island. Everyone stood mesmerised by two of them, as they blew water and then flipped their tails to dive down and feed on krill. It was difficult to get an idea of their size, as they were still a 100m or so from the ship, but seeing them definitely makes up for not getting off the ship.

Tuesday 23 December

The plan is to head back to Discovery Bay to try again with a landing. There is absolutely no chance. We go out on deck and the wind nearly knocks you off your feet. If we couldn’t do it yesterday, there is no hope for today!

You can tell most of the passengers are starting to get a bit cheesed off. To be fair the ship puts on extra lectures and a theatre show to keep people occupied, but the point of being in the Antarctic is not to be on the ship! We decide to be a bit more proactive and get involved in some crazy golf, interesting when you have no idea which way the ship lean next, and then team up with Kim and Cathy for the pre dinner quiz, which we flukily win! We are now the proud owners of MV Discovery pens.

Christmas Eve

Hooray! The Gods have decided to look upon us kindly today and we make our first landing on the Antarctic Peninsula, in a place called Hope Bay.

It is absolutely magnificent and the restlessness of the last few days is immediately forgotten. The setting of the bay is stunning. On most sides glaciers carve their way through the mountains directly to the sea, so the ends of the glaciers are 100ft ice cliffs. On one side is a gravel beach which houses a massive penguin rookery and that is where we’re headed.

We don all our kit and lifejackets and get on a Zodiac inflatable boat, which weaves us through a sea choked with small ice bergs (called bergy bits by the experts). The colour of the ice bergs is unbelievable, a really intense light blue. Penguins laze happily on top of many of them. We take a small detour to one ice berg where a leopard seal lies lifelessly on the ice. It almost appears to be dead, as Skuas (the nasty birds in Happy Feet) are pecking away at it, but then it decides to lift its head to look at us. Apart from Killer Whales, the Leopard Seal is the top predator, with a bite that can be 18 inches from top to bottom. The lecturers on the ship told us one attacked and drowned a researcher from one of the bases a few years ago.

Once on the beach, it is an amazing sight. There must be thousands of penguins nesting all up the hillside. Lines of penguins follow each other up and down the beach as they go from nesting sight to the sea. The penguins are mainly a type called Adelie, but there are also a few Chinstrap penguins (which have a black line under their chins) and Gentoos (which have a red beak). They aren’t at all bothered by our presence, and although we’ve been asked to keep 5m distant, many are inquisitive and come really close. We even manage to spot a couple of new born chicks. It is an amazing experience. Surrounded by penguins, looking back over the small ice bergs to the ship and the glaciers beyond!

Back on the boat, there is a noticeable change in the mood of the passengers. Everyone is buoyant. This afternoon we sail through Antarctic Sound, which is known as ice berg alley. It definitely lives up to its name. The ice bergs are huge. Some are the size of a few aircraft carriers joined together, with a completely flat surface and vertical walls. Lynne develops an ice berg obsession and single handedly tries to photographically catalogue every ice berg in the Antarctic Sound. It’s an impossible task as they just keep on coming, so we retire to the outdoor Jacuzzi to admire the view.

In the evening, the ships crew have made a real effort to make things Christmassy.
We have a show, a carol service with all the crew and a midnight service followed by mulled wine and mince pies. Before heading to bed we watch the sunset at 1.30am on Christmas morning.

Christmas Day!

Christmas day in the Antarctic. I don’t think we’ll get to say that very often. The day starts with a mix of emotions. We’re sorry to be missing all the festivities at home and the excitement of giving and receiving presents, but if we were to be away anywhere at Christmas, this would be the place. We’re anchored in a place aptly named Paradise Harbour. If anything, the setting it is even more stunning than Hope Bay. The sun has decided to shine for us and everything around us glistens. I think it is impossible to describe this place and do it justice. Again, glaciers carve through the mountains to form massive ice cliffs at they meet the sea. The air is perfectly clear and you can see the crisp white snow all the way up to the mountain peaks and the deep dark blue of the sea provides an amazing contrast.

We get to do another Zodiac landing to a Chilean research base, which is there more to establish a presence than do any serious research. It is only used in the summer and the Chilean navy that man the base only arrived about a week ago. The base is surrounded by a big Gentoo penguin rookery. As with Hope Bay, the penguins don’t see us as a threat and can get unbelievably close. We get the chance to observe one penguin collecting stones to build up its nest, carefully avoiding the bites of its neighbours who try to protect their territory. We also happen across what looks like an albino penguin, with no black colourings. Everyone is really enjoying being ashore and some have even worn santa hats for the occasion.

Back on the ship and it’s Christmas party time. It’s really warm today with little wind so the aft deck is transformed into an outdoor party area. All the cheesy Christmas tunes are played and balloons decorate the railings. An announcement is made and we are all told that Santa is going to pay us a visit and we should look to the port side. Santa then appears from behind an iceberg on his zodiac! It’s really nice that everyone is making such an effort. After a while we decide to watch the party from the comfort of the jacuzzi - not bad eh?! To top off what has been a great afternoon, it starts to snow. A snowball fight starts; passengers versus crew. Before all the snow is used up on snowballs, someone decides to make a snowman and a snow penguin or two.

We’ve received another invitation for dinner. This time it’s to dine with Andrea, the Cruise Director, and Lia, the Cruise Dance Captain and Social Hostess. Again, we have a lovely evening and it’s just the start as there is a party after dinner which goes on until the early hours.

Boxing day

Today will be the final landing of our trip, at another penguin rookery called Half Moon Island. The weather is kind to us again and a landing is no problem. The only small problem is that we are the first group for the landing and we have slept in, so our wake up call is “white group to the lounge for landing”! We have a bit of a rush to get our kit and no time for breakfast, but we are ok and don’t miss our zodiac.

Half Moon Island is another stunning location. There aren’t any icebergs at this spot but, as the name suggests, the island is a crescent shape and behind it are snowy mountains and more glaciers. This is the rockiest and steepest terrain that we have visited and the chinstrap penguins that inhabit it have quite a climb from the sea to their nests where they fiercely guard their chicks. We see quite a sad but, we suppose, natural sight during our visit when a skua steals away a chick and eats it in one. We also see a couple of fur seals basking on the shore in the distance.

After the landing everyone is satisfied but a little subdued as we all know that was our last landing and we won’t be stepping foot ashore again until we get to Chile. Still, we’ve had an amazing experience.

We set sail for the mainland and it noticeably gets rougher. Lots of people disappear; presumably they are not coping too well with the bigger waves. We fair ok but Lynne only eats breadsticks for dinner. During the night we have to put all of our things on the floor as they keep falling over. Our trip back across the Drake Passage doesn’t look like it’s going to be so smooth.

Saturday 27 December

Another day at sea and it is rocky. Half of the passengers don’t seem to surface. Most of the day’s activities are cancelled, including the evening cocktail party. The gym and the Jacuzzis are out of bounds. The art class goes ahead and so we go to that and the lectures. Otherwise, we take a look at our photographs and try to delete the ones that aren’t so good. It’s funny watching everyone stumble backwards and forwards and the appearance of sick bags on the railings of all the stairwells is not too re-assuring, but we seem to have found our sea legs! We head outside to check out the size of the waves. They look really big to us and some come over the front of the boat. Surprisingly, we build up a big appetite and enjoy another good meal in a very quiet dining room. Tonight everything is on the floor of our cabin already!

Sunday 28 December

It has calmed down today as we are back in the Beagle Channel. We pass Ushuaia and enter the Chilean Fjords. They are beautiful and again we see lots glaciers but this time they are surrounded by trees and greenery rather than by ice. Everyone seems back on top form and most people are out on deck to admire the view. Surprisingly, it seems colder here than it was in Antarctica and we even get some hail stones. We go into Garibaldi Fjord to try and get close to the glacier but the carved ice stops us from getting a view and we have to turn around.

Tonight we have the farewell cocktail party and we have dinner with Cathy and Kim in the yacht club enjoying the view.

Monday 29 December

When we wake up we are already docked in Punta Arenas, Chile. We get some breakfast, say goodbye to everyone (it’s amazing how you seem to get to know 374 people when you are stuck on a relatively small boat with them!) and then collect our bags to start our travels again. Everyone else is catching a flight to Santiago for New Year before heading home. We’re on our own again, well not quite as we’ve met Craig and Sal who are also “independents” so we all walk off together feeling a bit sad to be leaving the relative comfort and luxury of the ship and it’s 24 hour all you can eat mentality.

We have had a wonderful experience. To visit Antarctica is truly amazing. The scenery is stunning and can’t really be described. The photos don’t really do it justice either as they don’t give you any idea of the panorama and the vastness of it. We’ve been mesmerized by ice and charmed by penguins. We’ve been privileged to see majestic whales and graceful sea birds. And we’ve done it all in a little bit of luxury whilst experiencing a bit of the wildness and unpredictability of the Southern Ocean. It might not be everyone’s idea of a holiday destination and maybe if we weren’t on this trip we wouldn’t have ever gone there. But we are very, very glad that we have - it really is like nowhere else on earth.

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Photos

A gentoo on his way home
Paradise Harbour, Christmas Day

Stunning
Looking over to Livingstone Island

Brrrrr
Adelie penguins dancing on ice

Amongst the bergy bits (that's a real term!)
Christmas Eve at Hope Bay

The penguins taking a look at Discovery
Christmas Eve

Us, the bergy bits, the boat and the penguins
Christmas Eve

The zodiac operation
Hope Bay, Christmas Eve

A cute gentoo penguin
This one was actually living with the Adelies

Antarctic Sound
Otherwise known as Iceberg Alley - Christmas Eve

Just one of the amazing icebergs - it really was that blue!
Lynne got a bit carried away with the icebergs, so if you like the look of this one we have loads more we can show you.

A leopard seal
Paradise Harbour

Paradise Harbour
Christmas Day