We were up early to get our passports from the ship’s reception desk. They held on to everyone’s passport while we were on the ship.
We each received a certificate at the end of our voyage!
After breakfast we were given our boarding passes by a Quark’s Ushuaia representatives.
Coming into Ushuaia in the morning.
On our way to get our belongings out of our cabin, we noticed this message from our kayak guides. We were so glad that we were part of this special group!
Buses took us from the ship dock to the airport.
Ushuaia’s airport.
We had three hours until our flight. Many of the people on our ship were also on our flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. So we chatted and did some reading in the airport. Our flight was 3 1/2 hours to the airport in Buenos Aires. We again had several hours before our overnight flight to Atlanta, Georgia. The sky was really clear when we took off from Buenos Aires.
Just one view of part of Buenos Aires.
We went through customs in Atlanta and then had time to get from the international concourse to the concourse for our flight to Columbus! Twenty four hours of being in airports and planes was long enough for us. We were thankful our flights were on time and went smoothly!
This trip was an incredible adventure and we highly recommend experiencing the 7th continent. Our words and pictures don’t adequately portray the splendor and beauty of the wildlife and landscape of Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands
!
We look forward to more traveling adventures and sharing them with you!
Cuverville Island, Melchior Islands, Farewell Celebration
We arrived at Cuverville Island which contains the largest gentoo penguin colony in the region. Cuverville is located in the Errera Channel. We were able to kayak, the winds and the weather cooperated! We circumnavigated the island in our kayaks. We experienced the island from the water level!
Cuverville Island and Gentoo Penguins!You could really smell the penguin guano from water level.Just some of the penguins from the water.More penguins!Penguins and a fur seal from one side of the island.
As we paddled the backside of the island we saw humpback whales! They didn’t come close enough for a picture. We don’t have many pictures from paddling because our water camera had quit working and our point and shoot is long gone so the only photos we took are from our phone and we didn’t want to lose them! After our morning paddling experience was finished, we did have time to take a zodiac to the island and explore on our own!
“You can’t catch me!”Coming back from feeding.Look at all that guano and of course the gentoo penguins! 🙂Love the backdrop for the gentoos!A smaller penguin highway. The snow is almost gone from this part of the island!“We’re starting to get our adult feathers!”A nosy penguin!A pair of penguins coming close to the camera.“I’ll just lay here ’til this molting phase is over!”Gentoo chick wandering close by.“What are you looking at?”
After all of us were back on the ship, the anchor was raised and we headed to the Melchior Islands. Such beauty surrounds us as we cruise to our next stop!
This was the board near the dining room that we checked daily for kayaking announcements!
We had lunch and this was going to be our last time to paddle!
our kayak gear!These papers were hanging on our announcement board for us to mark if we were going to paddle when it was offered. On this particular kayak destination we didn’t get to paddle because of the wind! 🙁Our kayak assignment board.
At the Melchior Islands we were able to paddle around the Dallmann Bay while the rest of the passengers were on a zodiac tour. We were glad that we got to paddle here. The base pictures that you see below are of the Argentinian Base Melchior. It is a summer base that is rarely occupied but today the Argentinian flag is flying and the base is occupied!
Melchior Base which is owned by Argentina.
Below is the area where we paddled.
Below are some of the photos we took with our phones. It was a beautiful afternoon for our last paddle.
These icebergs were very blue!
What a backdrop for the Ocean Adventurer!“I need longer arms”! Our attempt at a selfie! 😉
How lucky we were to paddle with such a great group of people. A big thank you to our kayak guides: Todd, on the far left, and Tara, on the far right!
After returning from kayaking and the last of the zodiacs returned, we had a farewell toast to Antarctica on deck 5 aft.
The kayaks are placed on zodiacs.
Then they are hooked to a motorized lift that brings them to the ship.
Whoops, one kayak fell off the zodiac!
Champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served and Ali gave a toast.
Ali, our expedition leader!
Cheers to our Antarctic adventures. We made it!
After the farewell to Antarctica toast, our ship entered the Drake Passage! The ship began swaying. Many passengers did not feel well again. Those of us at dinner enjoyed a Valentine’s Day themed meal and the dining room was decorated too.
The dining room is decorated for Valentine’s Day!
Tonight’s activity was the Expedition Team hosting a charity auction!
This morning we did a zodiac cruise through the pack ice and icebergs on our way to the Minnows. The Fish Islands are individual islands that are named after different fish species: Flounder, Plaice, Trout, Salmon and the islets known as The Minnows!
We began our zodiac cruise south of these islands. Following the edge we headed north. We took our time and attempted to traverse the narrow passages between the icebergs, brash & forming sea ice. The sky was overcast, and at times a brisk wind carried snowflakes onto our faces. At one point we were worried that we wouldn’t make it to see our 7th species of penguin, the Adelie!
At least we saw 2 Adelie penguins on an sea ice and a seal resting!
Our first glimpse of the Adelie penguin.This pair was moving all around the ice!He just looked at us because we were disturbing his rest!
We saw some incredible looking icebergs. You know how you see shapes in clouds, we were doing the same with the icebergs. It was impressive the color and shape variances. Some of the icebergs appeared to be illuminated and some are so blue. They are spectacular!
We finally made it and had a short time to observe the Adelie penguins at The Minnows, which are low-lying, rocky outcrops. They are occupied by Adélie penguins, with an estimated 1600 breeding pairs between 12 colonies. Blue-eyed shags also breed on the islands and a few were seen flying back to check on their chicks!
The Adelie penguins are the smallest of the Antarctic penguins. They are about 2 feet tall and weigh 8-9 pounds! If you’ve ever read the children’s book Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Captain Cook is an Adelie penguin.
It was very cold on the zodiac due to the wind and waves that got us very wet. The temperature was about 37 degrees F.
After lunch we were going to try to kayak but it was canceled due to the windy conditions. We went on zodiacs over to Prospect Point.
Prospect Point was our second continental landing.
Here we saw the remains of a British Surveying and Geological Base J. This base was occupied from 1957-1959. There are remains of seals (they are mummified from many winters) that were used to feed the dogs.
British Base JThe remains of J.A few of the mummified seals.A close up of a seal.
There was a hike up the snow to a beautiful view of the area.
Port Lockroy on Goudier Island, and Jougla Point, Lemaire Channel
We anchored near Port Lockroy on Goudier Island and Jugla Point. We dressed for our kayak excursion and went to the lounge to listen to the presentation by the representative of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. She explained what they are and that she is one of 4 spending the summer on Port Lockroy. As soon as she finished her talk, we headed to meet our kayak guides, Tara and Todd to go paddling!
We went kayaking all around Port Lockroy and Goudier Island. The winds were light and we only had a small wind chop. From the kayaks we spotted gentoo penguins, Antarctic fur seal, snowy sheathbill, blue-eyed shag, south polar skua, brown skua, Weddell seal, and the Wilson’s storm petrel. Goudier Island, also known as Port Lockroy, was the site for the original Base A. It has been refurbished with a museum and gift shop. We explored the geological features on the backside of Goudier Island. We continued around the island and crossed over to Jougla Point where we observed some nesting shags and soon to be fledgling Gentoo penguins.
Paddling at Port Lockroy.Port Lockroy is in the background. It was the site of the original Base A.
When we finished our paddling, we headed to shore to explore the museum and mail our postcards.
When we visited the museum at Port Lockroy it was very interesting. The former base was renovated and opened as a monument and museum in 1996. Below are some pictures from the museum.
It also has the Penguin Post Office that the summer team manages and hand stamps. As far as we know it is the southernmost post office.
This is where you mail your letters and postcards.
Port Lockroy museum and post office is operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. There are 4 women that run the museum and post office during the summer season, from November to March. They have no running water. They get to take a shower when a ship makes an excursion to the island! There is also no central heating, no phone signal, and no means of communication with the world other that VHF radio and satellite phones for emergencies. And no darkness either, it is pretty much 24 hours a day of daylight. You also don’t have electricity that comes from a power station and no flushing toilet, it is a camping type toilet. They also have a gentoo colony that lives all around them so they need to clean the penguin poo off the pathways while following the strict Antarctic Treaty to ensure strict guidelines on the care of the environment are adhered to!
It was slippery climbing these rocks up to the museum.We tried to keep our distance from the penguins but they would join us on the paths!Part of the colony that was off limits to us! Penguins only!The building behind the penguins, is the living quarters for the 4 women who ran the museum and post office.
The remains of a ship.“Mom and Dad where are you?”“I’m too tired to worry about these visitors!Watching the people!Waddling around the island!
After lunch we cruised through the Lemaire Channel. The sun wasn’t shining but the views were stunning! The Lemaire Channel is 7 miles long by 1 mile wide!
Looking ahead at the channel, it doesn’t look like our ship will fit!This seal doesn’t care as he rests on some ice!
The ship dropped anchor at Pleneau Bay which is located at the southern end of the Lemaire Channel. This area is filled with stunning icebergs. These large icebergs get blown in here, they run aground and slowly break up. The pictures below show just a few of the icebergs and the surrounding area! We were awestruck by the beauty! We had difficulty choosing just a “few” of the various icebergs and surroundings pictures that we took!
We spent our time at Pleneau Bay paddling through brash ice and being surrounded by swimming penguins that were feeding on krill.
We also saw a leopard seal resting on some ice. We didn’t disturb him.
The resting leopard seal.We loaded into our kayak from the zodiac!We’re all getting ready to head into the brash ice!Tara, one of our kayak guides, leading us into the ice!
Our expedition leader, Ali, and our ship doctor, Christy, brought us Bailey’s and hot chocolate! Yummy!
At one point while we were all surrounded by the brash ice, Todd had us all put down our paddles and listen to the ice. We heard “snap, crackle, and pop”! It was quite a sensory overload!
While paddling in the bay, our point and shoot camera, came loose and fell into the water! We were sad about its loss but it was an older camera and had served us well. We also had downloaded everything on the card before going kayaking this afternoon. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff! Even though we lost the camera, this was one of our favorite paddles! It started to snow as we were out there which just added to the magic of this surreal environment. It was incredibly beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, and pristine environment. We can’t think of enough adjectives to describe our surroundings!
Our dinner today was a BBQ on the aft deck. It was snowing and the views were stunning! A minke whale was playing around the ship and even breached! It was quite entertaining.
After dinner, Mike, our glaciologist, did a presentation about his time in Antarctica working at one of the Australian research stations. We decided after his talk that spending a winter in Antarctica takes a special type of person! We don’t qualify!
We were awakened by Ali, our expedition team leader, at 5:30 AM because we were surrounded by at least 25 humpback whales! It was incredible!
Every direction around our ship, we saw humpback whales!We could hear them because it was very quiet on the decks.Beautiful humpback whales.The whales are huge!One of the pods of whales that we observed.Humpback whales and this spectacular backdrop!They were feeding on krill.
We saw many tales!
Watch these videos and have your volume on and you can hear the humpback whales!
The weather cooperated and we were able to kayak this morning around Portal Point which was our first Antarctic continental landing!
A beautiful morning for kayaking!Gorgeous landscape!Todd, one of our kayak guides, is giving us information about this crabeater seal.A crabeater seal relaxing on the iceberg.We kayaked through the brash ice!
When we were finished kayaking this morning, we boarded a zodiac and walked around the continent of Antarctica.
Our first continental landing on Antarctica.We saw our first Weddell seals.“I’m too tired to worry about you!”This beautiful lake on Antarctica.
The pictures below are unedited and no filters. In fact, every picture in our blog have had no editing at all. Antarctica’s landscape is just amazing!
After lunch we arrived at Hydrurga Rocks and we did a second kayak trip. We paddled all around the rocks and we also got to zodiac to the rocks and explore the chinstrap penguins! Our underwater camera did a decent job giving you our view from the water.
Kayaking around Hydrurga Rocks
Tara, our other kayak guide, is giving information about the Chinstrap penguins that we are seeing on the rocks.
The pictures below were taking when we were exploring on the rocks and watching the chinstrap penguin colony, shag colony, fur seals, and weddell seals!
Shag ColonyChinstrap ColonyNotice all the guano. And boy did it smell!
Chinstrap chicks covered with a lot of guano.This chick almost has all of his adult feathers.
Sleeping the day away!“Ready to strike up the band!”
There is nothing like O-H-I-O with two other passengers from Ohio!
British beer tasting on the back deck!
Fun for all!
Beautiful evening out on deck. (It’s about 10:00 PM when we took these pictures.)
We left South Georgia and are sailing toward Antarctica. The seas weren’t calm and the waves were crashing against the ship. We were “rocking and rolling”! On Tuesday, February 6th we attended educational presentations. Jimmy, a marine biologist, did a talk about the whales that can be found in the Southern ocean. He informed us that we would be seeing more whales as we visit the Antarctic peninsula area!
There were a few other people watching Jimmy’s presentation besides me! Many watched it from their tv in their cabin.
D.J., our geologist, gave his presentation on “Caps, Bergs, and Bits”.
By the time that D.J. gave his presentation, the room was pretty empty. Even more were watching from their cabins.
Later in the day, Nicky, our ship photographer, did an informative session on photography techniques. The last presentation of the day was by Burty, our historian, on “Missing Continent: The Discovery of Antarctica”. We really appreciated all the education the expedition team offered during our trip.
Before dinner we had our daily recap and briefing.
The room is always packed for our recap and briefing!
Over night and into tomorrow we’ll be experiencing strong winds and swells! So, hold on tight. The rule of thumb is to always have one hand on the ship. It’s definitely necessary from our experience earlier in the trip!
Wednesday, February 7th was our second day at sea. It’s very windy and the outside decks are closed due to the high swells! The wind was blowing 70 mph and gusts were up to 115 mph! (No wonder we had trouble staying in our bed!) By late afternoon, the wind had died down and the decks were opened again.
After breakfast, Miko, a marine biologist, presented “The Land of the True Seals- Seals of Antarctica”. He explained all about the various seals in Antarctica. Later in the morning, Mike, our Glaciologist, gave his presentation “Ice Sheets- The icing on the Cake”.
We had a second Bio-security procedure to prepare for our excursion activities in the Antarctic Peninsula. Our outer layers and backpacks needed to be checked to make sure they were clean. If not the expedition team would vacuum any debris so we don’t carry any foreign substance on land. They are very protective of keeping any invasive species of any sort getting added. We all need to be ambassadors to help protect Antarctica. Ali, our expedition leader, announced that we needed to put on our parkas and go out on the decks to see a large tubular iceberg that was over 2 miles long!
Tubular Iceberg- 2.3 miles long
A close up of this iceberg.
Sam, our ornithologist, did a presentation about the penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula, “The Brush-tails- Penguins of the Antarctic Peninsula”.
On Day 17, Thursday, February 8th, we got up at 2:50 AM to get dressed and go out on deck to see B15T.
B15T is in the distance! Can you see it? LOL!
This iceberg is 32 miles long and 8 miles wide! All we could see in the dark was its shadow in the distance!
This morning we had a ship cruise at Pt. Wild on Elephant Island. Earnest Shackleton and his crew landed on Elephant Island, 497 days after leaving South Georgia! Their ship, the Endurance, had sunk after being crushed by the ice. They used their lifeboats to try to sail and Elephant Island is where they ended up. Some of his men stayed when he sailed. He eventually rescued the 22 men that stayed at Pt. Wild. It’s amazing that none of the men died.
Pt. Wild, Elephant IslandMemorial to Earnest Shackleton and his crew!
We were still out on deck watching for whales. We saw fin whales! We were all excited!
Another passenger got this great photo of the fin whale.
Sam, our ornithologist, did a presentation on krill and the Antarctic ecosystems, predators, and climate change. It was interrupted by Orca sightings. We all went out on the decks. He finished his presentation later!
Orcas!They’re getting closer!Our best picture of one of the orcas!
We are seeing a lot of icebergs as we approach the Antarctic Peninsula!
This afternoon we spent some time on the bridge and we saw some fin whales again. Mike, the glaciologist, spoke about “Ice Shelves- The Plug in the Bathtub” and D.J. talked about “Weather Climate and the Antarctic Peninsula”. He gave a lot of suggestions for ways to become active in preventing the negative changes happening in Antarctica.
Every afternoon the ship’s food staff set out a table that was full of sweets and sandwiches for “Afternoon Tea”! It was quite elaborate. Having to eat gluten free, the staff always took care of me and had a separate plate that was covered in wrap and clearly marked gluten free.
Afternoon tea Gluten free snack
Afternoon tea Gluten free snack
Afternoon tea Gluten free snack
A Gluten free penguin chick dessert!
We are looking forward to tomorrow when we will be exploring off the ship!
Hercules Bay, Grytviken, St. Andrew’s Bay, Godthul
We were up by 4:45 AM to begin a busy day! We were able to zodiac cruise Hercules Bay which we couldn’t do yesterday because of the wind.
One view of Hercules Bay
This is where the colony of Macaroni penguins could be found! The Macaroni penguins were swimming all around the bay and many were up the mountainside. This was another penguin species to see in their natural habitat!
Hercules Bay is also home for some fur seals, elephant seals and a few King Penguins.
Our next stop was Grytviken. It is located in the King Edward Cove on the western shore of Cumberland East Bay. It was used as a whaling station for over 60 years.
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We did a historical tour of the area that explained how the whaling factory worked and then a tour explaining Shackleton’s connection to Grytviken. He died here and his grave is in the cemetery. We did an Irish whiskey toast to him at his gravesite and it was raining!
David, our historian, led the toast to Shakleton.
Of course there were also seals and penguins!
We saw our first icebergs on our way to Grytviken and again on our way to St. Andrew’s Bay. The glaciers and mountains were unbelievably beautiful.
As we approached St. Andrew’s Bay the winds were as strong as a hurricane so we couldn’t go ashore. We will try again tomorrow morning. So instead of going to St. Andrew’s Bay we went to Godthul. We were suppose to kayak here but it was too windy. The zodiacs took us to the beach at Godthul and it was filled with gentoo penguins, fur seals, some elephant seals and a few king penguins.
The gentoo colony was up the hill so we climbed through the tussock grass.
There was also a lake at the top of the hill!
We found that climbing down the hill was more difficult than going up because we had to contend with these wind bursts that were crazy strong! We were told at the recap for the day that we had wind gusts of 60 knots which is about 69 MPH! It was definitely a day to hold onto your hat!
At our 4:15 AM wake up call, Ali, our expedition leader, announced we wouldn’t be going to Prion Island. The wind was too strong and the zodiacs would be in danger. We were to kayak at our 2nd stop of the day and that wasn’t going to happen either. 🙁
On to plan B which was to move on to visit one of the former whaling stations at Stromness Harbour. Again the winds were gusting and we weren’t going to be able to land so the captain took the ship close to Leith Harbour and we were hoping the winds might die down over by Stromness.
Strong winds but beautiful scenery!
“Over at Leith Harbour, the Captain maneuvered the ship as close as possible to give us a view of the old whaling station. With the sun out and blue skies it was an eerie but beautiful scene. This was the largest whaling station in South Georgia, operating for over 60 years. Established by the Christian Salvesen Company, it was given the name Leith after the Scottish hometown harbor of Salvesen.” (from our Voyage Journal)
Whaling Station in Leith Harbour
Whaling Station in Leith Harbour
Whaling Station in Leith Harbour
Whaling Station in Leith Harbour
After a ship cruise at Leith, we headed back around the corner to Stromness.
We were hoping to be able to finally step foot on South Georgia. The wind was still gusting but had settled enough for the expedition team to send out a scout boat.
The expedition team quickly readied themselves. Conditions were suitable so off to shore we went! After three days being on the boat we were SO excited to have some time off of the boat on land, even if it was windy!
The sun stayed out but winds continued to blow. Katabatic gusts (wind caused by downward motion of cool air usually coming down the slopes of a mountain or glacier) would occasionally force everyone to stand their ground. All around us were young fur seal pups. We walked around them, still trying to give them as much space as possible or be growled at.
We enjoyed watching the seals rest and play. And we also enjoyed the King penguins that were around.
Stromness also had the remnants of a whaling station.
Stromness Harbour
Stromness former Whaling Station
Stromness former Whaling Station
Stromness former Whaling Station
Stromness former Whaling Station
After visiting Stromness, it was time for lunch. While at lunch, the ship headed to our next stop which was called Hercules Bay. At this bay we are to see Macaroni penguins. We pulled into the bay but the weather wasn’t on our side. The wind was too strong for the zodiacs. Needless to say we were disappointed. As we left the bay and out in open water, we saw quite a few macaroni penguins swimming in the water and passed a glacier.
Just after we had taken off all of our waterproof gear, an announcement was made that we were heading back to our first stop, Prion Island, that we couldn’t visit early this morning because of the wind!
Prion Island was beautiful. We climbed to see the Wandering albatross nests and birds.
A boardwalk was built to protect the erosion of the gully and the prion burrows.
Only 50 of us could be on the island at a time! The nests were at the end of the boardwalk.
Wandering Albatross on their nests!
The Wandering Albatross have the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet!
Their conservation status is vulnerable so we didn’t want to get close and disturb them.
We also saw many fur seals all around us. Quite a few were tucked into the tussock grass!
Fur seals can be found all through the tussuck grass!
The beach where we got off the zodiac was filled with King and Magellanic penguins as well as fur seals. It was something to experience.
After our time was up for visiting Prion Island, we boarded our zodiac and we had a zodiac cruise around the island.
Kelp! It felt like we were cruising in a science fiction film!
Close up of the kelp.
South Georgia Pipit. It is endemic to South Georgia.
When we finished our paddling, we headed to shore to explore the museum and mail our postcards.
A minke whale was playing around the ship and even breached! It was quite entertaining.
