Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 3

We have had the most amazing day!! First of all, things got much much calmer and we only needed to administer one pill to the most vulnerable/dramatic member of our party. And we finally got that sleep we’d apparently been craving all day yesterday via multiple naps. The crew kept saying how smooth we’d had it, specially compared to what was predicted, and today we really got to appreciate it. The sun was out, the waves were virtually non-existent and we got to enjoy some time on deck seeing black brown albatrosses and multiple whale blows in the distance. Enjoyed some lectures on penguins and whales and Beeb attached herself to the ornithologist Lyn. After lunch, we began to see islands in the distance, and an iceberg, indicating we were close to our first potential landing ... read more

Our last stop in Antarctica was at Telefon Bay. This is actually a caldera as the surrounding land is called Deception Island.which is an active volcano. Fortunately while we were anchored there there was no eruption. It was a very windy day and again we were told there was doubt anyone could get ashore. But the weather improved somewhat and the sun was shining. The island was spectacular, with the black of the granite showing through the snow. There were tanks and sheds ashore which were remnants of a former whaling station. To enter the caldera we sailed through the narrow entrance known as Neptune's Bellows because it is very windy. We successfully anchored in the bay and the expedition team went ashore. An hour or so later we were told that groups could go ashore ... read more

2022. The year we turned 50. Also the year we joined the “Seven Continent Club” Our trip to Antarctica was aboard Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen . We loved the boat, our cabin, the crew and the food. As ours did, many expedition cruises to Antarctica leave from Ushuaia, Argentina, the world's southernmost city. This is a beautiful starting point where you are surrounded by picturesque mountains and a cute quiet little tourist town. We boarded Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen in the late afternoon and headed out into the Beagle Channel on our way to our crossing of The Drake Passage. The Beagle channel was beautiful. Snow capped mountains on either side. Lovely. Crossing “The Drake” takes about 2 days. The seas had 5m to 9m swells over the course of our 2 days. Yes….we were treated ... read more

Thursday. We were awakened at 08:20 with an announcement that our group would be boarding the zodiacs at 9:40. This was the first we’d heard of it so we scrambled to get ready and made it to the unloading deck on time. The sky was gray. It was an in zodiac only excursion of the area around the ship with a lecture about the formation of glaciers, climate change and other related topics. Our guide gathered samples of three types of ice from the surrounding water with his bare hands. We passed them around. The higher the density, the clearer the ice, so the clearest had come from lower down in a glacier. One of the nearby glaciers was huge. As we sailed to Cuverville Island, the sky cleared and it turned into a glorious day, ... read more

Tuesday. We were rousted from our sleep a little after 5:00 a.m. at the campsite where we had slept onshore. When I pulled my boots on (they had been outside the tent overnight) and stood up, my back went out. It was so painful I could barely walk but I managed to help break the tent down and repack it. Back on board I immediately took a couple of ibuprofen. A special breakfast had been prepared for us campers which included a mixed fish plate and Prosecco. Nathan kindly got a cold pack from a crew member and I iced my back before going to bed. We were awakened around 10:00 a.m. by an announcement that there were orcas nearby, but by the time we’d dressed and gone up to the deck, they were long gone. ... read more