There is no question in our minds that Antarctica is one of the great places on Earth. It's expensive to go there, because it is not easy to get there. But, if it is something you are considering, and can swing it, both Carol and I would highly, highly recommend it.
I'm not sure if we will go again. They say "Go for the penguins, go back for the ice." And it is a mystical land. Steaming past hundreds of ice floes, and then seeing a few seals hanging out on one. Having something in the water catch your eye and realizing it is four or five porpoising penguins out to go from somewhere cold to somewhere else cold is vastly entertaining.
Walking amongst the rookeries of Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins as the occasional penguin, concentrating hard on the task at hand. Watching skuas probe the rookeries for undefended eggs or chicks and be driven off by defense systems of watchful penguins.
Wondering at the majesty of the soaring tabular icebergs, or the ones sculpted into arches or scalloped shells. Seeing the snow capped mountains right down along the coastline, and being blown away by the blue ice. Or the rarely spotted green ice.
The sunset at 11:30pm that explodes in reds and yellows and pinks and oranges. The 3am glow of sunrise.
The whales in a bubble net feeding frenzy, fluking as they dive down to turn around and do it all over again.
Everything we did was cool (or very cold, in the case of the polar plunge). There was nothing we did on the trip that was a let down. Instead, everything we did exceeded expectations, which is the most you can ask for in a trip. I know -- if you read about past trips on the blog, you are thinking, "Glen, you rave about every trip you have ever taken." It's true. . .we are a family of travelers -- if you don't believe me, read Julia's blog and Maddy's blog (and here's hoping Torie does one when she studies abroad!).
Was paying the Drake Tax worth it? Yes -- one half day (in my case) or one full day (in Carol's case) was an annoying investment that later paid off in untold fortunes the next six days.
But, let me say this. Even if we don't think we'll be going back to Antarctica, we now want to go two more places. . .the Arctic and South Georgia Island. They are similar to Antarctica (both also polar), but also totally different -- different flora, different fauna.
The crossing back across the Drake Passage was easy. We put the patches on prior to whale watching, so we didn't make the mistake of waiting too long. We also had our sea legs, which helps immensely. And finally, while the ship rocked, it wasn't quite as bad as the first day of the initial crossing.
We got into port in Ushusaia before dinner our last night on the boat, so after dinner Carol and I disembarked and walked around the town for a bit. No stores were open, and we didn't feel much like going into a bar.
We then Facetimed with Torie and then Maddy, but couldn't reach Julia. Pretty amazing to think of it -- I first started blogging in 2007, happy to get wireless occasionally to upload posts and photos. Now, I had email down in Antarctica, could blog (although photo uploading was more miss than hit), and could Facetime from the self-proclaimed city at the bottom of the world.
The next day, we went to the maritime and prison museum in Ushuaia before walking around the town. The most amazing part of Ushuaia are not the surrounding mountains, nor the Beagle Channel. Nope, it's that most of the streets don't have stoplights or stop signs, so as two cars race toward the intersection a crash is clearly imminent. Except we saw no crashes. It appears the car that is headed uphill or downhill has the right of way over those driving on the flat road. That system seems to work, but I wouldn't want to see it in operation in the States or anywhere else I've driven (can you imagine driving in European cities with fewer road rules? Me neither.)
Spending a day and a half flying is a long way to go (there were long layovers, especially in Santiago), but we had never imagined going to Antarctica. The trip was much more than checking a box. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Now we have to start planning our next big trip for 2017. Hmmm. . .the Arctic? Croatia? The Galapagos and Machu Picchu? Vietnam and Cambodia? It's a big world out there, and we're just getting started.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Ice, Ice Baby (Part Deux)
There are so many photos that describe the wildlife and the grandeur of Antarctica. I had plans to post a lot more, but I worry it would clog up the blog. So here's some photos of ice and mountains from the last day -- Neko Harbour and Dallmann Bay.
My photos don't do the landscape justice -- but that just means you need to go yourselves!
Where glacier meets the water, it's only a
matter of time till this piece calves off.
And there is a lot more to follow.
Seabird outlines against an iceberg.
Mountains around Dallman Bay
Sydney Opera House iceberg
A whale of a view.
Sealed With A Kiss
Crabeater Seals don't eat Crabs. . .
But they sleep a lot.
Leopard seals don't eat leopards. . .
But they do eat penguins.
This Crabeater was the inspiration. . .
for Scar in the Lion King.
Leaving one ice floe. . .
for another.
This large ice floe had many, many seals on it.
A Weddell (left) & Crabeater. . .
going with the floe.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles! (Or, “Krillin’ & Chillin’”)
After our last landing at Neko Harbour, it seemed as though the trip was over. Oh, there was one more stop to “look for whales” in Dallmann Bay, but I figured we would see one or two off in the distance, and call it a trip.
There was an ice cream and champagne party on the bow, which was good fun. (I skipped the champagne, not wanting to need a late afternoon nap. But I had an extra scoop of ice cream, so it was a real party after all.) As I expected, we saw a few whales off in the distance, and it was good and all, but. . .you know, not what I had hoped for.
I was the last person on the bow. It was quite cold, and yet I held out hope for more whales. Have you realized I’m just a bit crazy? And then the captain hit whale nirvana.
Suddenly, just as I was about to give up, there were multiple pods of two, three, four whales in feeding frenzy. It was a krill and chill afternoon for the whales.
The whales gave us two huge clues when they were about to surface. First, there were swirling pools of green bubbles – the technique is known as bubble net feeding, and then the seabirds, such as the famed Southern Fulmar, the Cape Petrel (very cool wing markings), and the Kelp Gull, would watch for the bubble feeding and join the party, scooping up some of the krill the whales forced to the surface.
It’s like the birds have crashed a tailgate party they weren’t invited to. Instead of “Beer? You got beer? I love beer!” it’s more “Krill? You got krill? I love krill!” And the whales say, “oh, what the heck, we got plenty.”
The whales kept bubble net feeding, and did so very close to the boat. And it wasn’t just the three or four who were closest to the ship –look into the distance and there were multiple bubble net feedings going on, with multiple whales in each whale gang. Instead of West Side Story, it was West Antarctica Story. Instead of the Sharks versus the Jets, it was the Whales and the. . .Whales. (Okay, Glen, analogy breaking down rapidly. . .move on.)
With my camera on the “sports” setting, I was firing off 10-12 photos with the push of the shutter button. And taking the photos that way provided an amazing sequence of the fluking. . .the raising of the tail to the dive down.
We probably watched this go on for a good (no, great) two hours. I took over 1400 whale photos (deleted some, although most shots were good).
Once we got the hang of it, everyone joined the naturalists/pro photogs in yelling, “Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles” to orient everyone. We almost all missed the one full breach (there was action on the port side as the breach happened on the bow), but there were plenty of times we saw the head of the whale, the clearing snort of expelled gunk, the middle, and then the full fluke (the tail going up and back in). Once I saw a triple fluke, and I also got a great photo of a double fluke.
It’s hard to say how many times they bubble net fed, but I guessing it was over 50 (including other groups of whales a bit further off).
There were a number of times the whales fed right next to the boat! Right there. Sometimes I had the zoom lenses dialed too high to get a good shot, because the whales were so close. One time, even from the bow deck, the whales were so close to the boat that I could see them rising from the (relative) deep, clearly visible in the murky water before breaking the surface.
The way we ran from port to bow to starboard side of the ship, it’s a wonder it didn’t tip over! (Note to those thinking of doing a Nat Geo trip, the boat was never in danger of tipping -- it's a writing technique thingie.) The sound of whales clearing and shutters clicking were nearly all that we heard. With the exception, of course, of “Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!”
(Life advice – if you are ever on a ship in Antarctica, and you hear, “Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles” run toward that sound and prepare to be amazed.)
What power. What grace. What a show of nature.
And this was all happening in a bay surrounded by snow sculpted mountains, with an iceberg at one end that looked like the iconic (there’s that word again!) shells of the Sydney Opera House, and, in the distance, an Argentinian resupply freighter strangely hanging around.
Everyone was jubilant – the naturalists, the photogs, and the captain all said they had never seen a whale frenzy like this in Antarctica before. It was an unforgettable experience. In New Zealand in September we got to see one sperm whale hang at the surface for ten minutes to recharge before diving down 1,000 meters. These were many, many short lived dives by multiple humpbacks. Wow.
Do you remember what Jack Buck said after an injured Kirk Gibson hit the stunning, game-winning home run off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series? Of course you do – Buck said, “I don’t believe what I just saw.” That’s what I thought of when this feeding frenzy came to an end and we steamed off toward the Drake Passage return.
I don’t believe what I just saw.
There was an ice cream and champagne party on the bow, which was good fun. (I skipped the champagne, not wanting to need a late afternoon nap. But I had an extra scoop of ice cream, so it was a real party after all.) As I expected, we saw a few whales off in the distance, and it was good and all, but. . .you know, not what I had hoped for.
I was the last person on the bow. It was quite cold, and yet I held out hope for more whales. Have you realized I’m just a bit crazy? And then the captain hit whale nirvana.
Suddenly, just as I was about to give up, there were multiple pods of two, three, four whales in feeding frenzy. It was a krill and chill afternoon for the whales.
The whales gave us two huge clues when they were about to surface. First, there were swirling pools of green bubbles – the technique is known as bubble net feeding, and then the seabirds, such as the famed Southern Fulmar, the Cape Petrel (very cool wing markings), and the Kelp Gull, would watch for the bubble feeding and join the party, scooping up some of the krill the whales forced to the surface.
It’s like the birds have crashed a tailgate party they weren’t invited to. Instead of “Beer? You got beer? I love beer!” it’s more “Krill? You got krill? I love krill!” And the whales say, “oh, what the heck, we got plenty.”
The whales kept bubble net feeding, and did so very close to the boat. And it wasn’t just the three or four who were closest to the ship –look into the distance and there were multiple bubble net feedings going on, with multiple whales in each whale gang. Instead of West Side Story, it was West Antarctica Story. Instead of the Sharks versus the Jets, it was the Whales and the. . .Whales. (Okay, Glen, analogy breaking down rapidly. . .move on.)
With my camera on the “sports” setting, I was firing off 10-12 photos with the push of the shutter button. And taking the photos that way provided an amazing sequence of the fluking. . .the raising of the tail to the dive down.
We probably watched this go on for a good (no, great) two hours. I took over 1400 whale photos (deleted some, although most shots were good).
Once we got the hang of it, everyone joined the naturalists/pro photogs in yelling, “Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles” to orient everyone. We almost all missed the one full breach (there was action on the port side as the breach happened on the bow), but there were plenty of times we saw the head of the whale, the clearing snort of expelled gunk, the middle, and then the full fluke (the tail going up and back in). Once I saw a triple fluke, and I also got a great photo of a double fluke.
It’s hard to say how many times they bubble net fed, but I guessing it was over 50 (including other groups of whales a bit further off).
There were a number of times the whales fed right next to the boat! Right there. Sometimes I had the zoom lenses dialed too high to get a good shot, because the whales were so close. One time, even from the bow deck, the whales were so close to the boat that I could see them rising from the (relative) deep, clearly visible in the murky water before breaking the surface.
The way we ran from port to bow to starboard side of the ship, it’s a wonder it didn’t tip over! (Note to those thinking of doing a Nat Geo trip, the boat was never in danger of tipping -- it's a writing technique thingie.) The sound of whales clearing and shutters clicking were nearly all that we heard. With the exception, of course, of “Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!”
(Life advice – if you are ever on a ship in Antarctica, and you hear, “Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles” run toward that sound and prepare to be amazed.)
What power. What grace. What a show of nature.
And this was all happening in a bay surrounded by snow sculpted mountains, with an iceberg at one end that looked like the iconic (there’s that word again!) shells of the Sydney Opera House, and, in the distance, an Argentinian resupply freighter strangely hanging around.
Everyone was jubilant – the naturalists, the photogs, and the captain all said they had never seen a whale frenzy like this in Antarctica before. It was an unforgettable experience. In New Zealand in September we got to see one sperm whale hang at the surface for ten minutes to recharge before diving down 1,000 meters. These were many, many short lived dives by multiple humpbacks. Wow.
Do you remember what Jack Buck said after an injured Kirk Gibson hit the stunning, game-winning home run off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series? Of course you do – Buck said, “I don’t believe what I just saw.” That’s what I thought of when this feeding frenzy came to an end and we steamed off toward the Drake Passage return.
I don’t believe what I just saw.
Don't Tell Carol I Posted These Polar Plunge Photos
Okay, so you are not pale in January?
And a one
And a two
And a. . .wow it's cold. . .three!
Empty Nest, But No Grass Growing Under Our Feet
Fast ice
Seals on our left, ship on our right.
The ship actually moved. And by
"actually" I mean, "not a chance."
When we're older, we'll still hopefully be
able to remember the name of the ship.
The light of my life.
We aimed the kayak right at the iceberg.
Unlike the Titanic, we didn't sink.
(We cheated -- avoided hitting it!)
Basking in our stupidity post-polar plunge!
These whale ribs look like tombstones.
In a way, I suppose they are.
This Gentoo had to get to.
The penguin got tired of posing.
We flew the penguin flag proudly.
Carol toasting with whiskey on the zodiac.
Photos Of The Ship
Grounded into the fast ice.
Through the snow and ice.
The ship looks "sealed" in the ice.
The ship's penguin flag never fails to strike
fear in the hearts of all other ships at sea.
The ship, a small iceberg, and kayakers.
The kayaking station
A packed bridge as the captain takes us
through the tight squeeze that is the
sublimely beautiful Lemaire Channel.
A sailboat outlined against blue ice braves
the Lemaire Channel. Q: How did it cross
the Drake Passage? A: Roughly!
A zodiac.
The ship emerges from a Tootsie Roll iceberg.
The Orion, outlined against the
mountains and a blue-grey sky.
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