I truly have no words to explain how magical this place is. And my pictures certainly don't do it justice.
WHALES
My biggest desire was to see whales on this trip. Any kind of whales would do. I grew up going on whale watching trips in Massachusetts, and I have such respect for these beautiful creatures. So I was desperately hoping I would see some.
And see them we did!
My photos can't catch how incredible it is to see them poke their gigantic heads up out of the water, to see their spouts against the framework of the icebergs, and to see their mighty tails flip up as they take a deep dive.
We had three whales that stayed directly with our boat for almost an hour. I named them Dilly Bar, Fish Stick, and Souffle.
Emily researched it and believes they were humpback whales.
Imagine how incredible it is to see a whale surface and have an entire boat cheer along.
Humpback whales collect in groups by land and draw attention to themselves with their behavior. They are slow swimmers and allow boats to get close.
Perfectly describes our boys.
Here are some of my pictures from Google that show what we saw through our binoculars and a few pictures of what I took on my camera that do NOT do a good job of showing these maginificent beats.
PENGUINS
We knew we wouldn't see any up close and personal from the ship, but we got pretty darn close. There was an iceberg floating by that held a colony of penguins who were all hanging out and having a glorious time watching us go by. Some were waddling around, some were lying down. I only wish our binoculars could take pictures!
I believe they were Gentoo penguins. These are the third largest penguin, have distinctive orange-red bills and feet. They usually mate with the same partner every year and have two chicks on nests made of pebbles and feathers.
And then something even more magical happened. Emily and I were hanging on our balcony and I spotted a disruption in the water that didn't look like wave action from the boat. We grabbed our binoculars and screammed when we realized it was a huddle of penguins flying through the water in unison. They looked like a swarm of flying fish and were leaping in and out of the water like dolphins.
This photo is exactly like what we saw through our binoculars:
ICEBERGS
Emily and I saw our first ice early Friday morning floating by as we were enjoying a spa breakfast in the solarium. We had much rejoicing.
Small ice chunks are called "Bergy Bits" (size of a microwave) and bigger ones are "Growlers" (size of a truck).
When we walked out on deck, we were amazed at what we saw. Enormous icebergs on either side of the ship. Icebergs or actual land with ice...it's hard to tell. But the ice is beyond explanation. Perfectly chiseled by the wind -- some are striped and layered. Others have a webbed surfact. Some have streaks of the most brilliant blue.
We always kept our eyes out for dirty areas because that is where penguins are hanging out, and we did find some of those penguin rookeries.
WEATHER
The weather down here is beyond explanation. In a period of a few hours, we transitioned from dense fog to severe wind to snow to sunshine to sleet to calm to rain. Sometimes it was snowing very hard and extremely foggy. As our Naturalist says, "Antarctica is grey" and we don't expect otherwise.
Emily and I were decked out. Now I am more appreciative of how I packed. We were dressed in long underwear, wool socks, boots, outer pants, two layers of fleece, our winter coats, hats, gloves, neck warmers and polarized sunglasses -- and we could have used more layers! We were out on deck for hours, but were soaking wet from the rain and snow and finally called Uncle to go back inside. Back on our balcony, we realized it was a tad bit warmer there because of the wind breaks, but not much. SO COLD! We finally ran back into the room, buried ourselves in blankets and listened to the naturalist talk over the intercom.
I didn't warm up enough to feel totally ready to go back outside but we braved through it and suddenly the wind stopped and it warmed up enough that we could start stripping layers. Ahhhhhh......
PARADISE BAY
Apparently we got lucky yesterday. With the dense fog, we were almost unable to get into Paradise Bay, a special inlet with fantastic ice formations. As the cruise director said, "Fog...icebergs...have you seen that movie? We can't take a chance if there is fog to go that close to land. But suddenly the skies opened up enough and our Captain was able to get us in there".
It was simply the most amazing place This is where we got to hang out with Dilly Bar, Fish Stick and Souffle. We are on the port side of the ship and everyone's balcony was filled with folks like us soaking in the views.
After about an hour, the captain literally spun the ship in a circle so we could see the other side of this inlet and we spent a while looking there.
Hours pass as you look at these views. Utterly amazing.
ECOLOGY AND ANTARCTIC TOURISM
This has been fascinating to me. Obviously a ship like ours creates havoc to the environment and there are rumors circulating around the ship that this is the last year a ship of this size is going to be allowed to come down here.
Even though there is no government who "owns" Antarctica, there are strick maritime rules that must be followed. There are speed limits down here (20 knots), we must be "allowed" by officials to enter certain parts of Antartica, and we need to be extremely conscious of littering (the cold water prevents decomposition) and noise (the ship is restricted from using the ship-wide intercom system on open decks. So all the oldies gathered in the dining rooms, lounges and bars to peek out the windows and listen to the naturalist.)
USHUAIA: THE END OF THE WORLD
A few days back, we docked in Ushuaia, nicknamed The End of the World. This is the southernmost city in the world and originally started out as a penal colony. In our tourguide's words, "It was a perfect location. When people did escape, there was nowhere for them to go and usually returned on their own to the prison after a few days."
The government started giving perks to moving down there like no income tax and a population started to gather. Currently it is a 10-month a year tourist mecca. In their summers, they see tourists like us - heading for Antarctica or campers traveling all the way up Route 3 from Ushuaia to Alaska or Canada. In the winter is a thriving ski culture.
Apparently Usuaia did great during Covid. They kicked out all the tourists and locked down the city. Everyone was healthy and got unlimited skiing without the tourist crowds.
Beavers are one of the biggest issues there. They were introduced years ago from Canada with the intention of growing the fur industry. But winters in Ushuaia were less cold than the winers in Canada and the beavers did not grow thick coats as expected. And because there are NO natural predators, (no bears, wolves,etc.), their populations surged. The issues they caused were with their dams creating flooding of the wooded areas and causing significant tree destruction. They have not figured out yet how to successfully deal with this.
Geographically, this part of the country is called "Patagonia" and is split in half by Argentina and Chile. If you want to leave Ushuaia and get to the rest of Argentina, you need to go through customs in Chile and then again in Argentina. This makes it difficult with things like the beaver situation because unless both countries agree on the same strategies, they won't be able to get traction.
Anyways, enough lessons. Let me try to describe our experience in Ushuaia:
We jumped on a bus that took us to a Siberian Husky ranch. I was not expecting what we saw -- 75 dog houses perched on a hill with 75 huskies enjoying their lunch but once seeing us they went out of their minds.
For good reason, because they know that the 12 "most behaved" ones will be picked to go on a hike with us and they were raring to go.
One by one, huskies joined our group racing at top speeds, tackling each other, and taking mud baths in all the nearby water holes. They would zoom through our group, giving us just enough time to get a quick pat on the back and they raced by. After about a mile of a walk, they slowed down enough to let us get up close and personal with them. Their eyes were piercing blue and their fur was thick and soft...and absolutely covered with burrs from the surrounding shrubbery. So were we and I'm still picking the burrs out of my boots.
Hiking in the valley of the Andes was a surreal experience. Walking on mossy bogs that felt like you were walking on pillows, beautiful mountain flowers, and hiking by beaver-created lakes was an experience I am so glad we did.
I would have been totally satisfied with that experience alone.
But this excursion didn't stop there. We had narration the entire time and learned a ton. We stopped at a scenic overlook to see Argentina on the left and Chile on the right. We had coffee and apple cake at the husky lodge. And we have an amazing meal at a local BBQ restaurant. When you walk in, it is a bit odd to see the smokehouse where the lambs are beng prepared. But it shows the true authenticity of their food. They sat us at long tables in a smoky room centered with a wood burning stove lined with coffee cups to keep warm.
We were treated to the most tender, flavorful bbq lamb and potatoes, salads, and ice cream. And we were offered the house special coffee drink -- some kind of mixure of coffee (very little), whiskey, cinnamon, and random other things.
The folks sitting at our table did a group toast and thoroughly enjoyed each others company.
PENGUINS AT THE FALKLAND ISLANDS
The Falkland Islands smell like jasmine and kelp and I love it here. We took a trip to a farm where a penguin colony takes over in the summer months. How lucky we were--the babies recently hatched and we got to see tons of them. Tons of teenagers too.
And as I was walking by the ocean dipping my feet in, suddenly a penguin popped out of the waves almost bumping into me, and came running to shore.
We saw king Penguins and Gentoo Penguins. Lots of "Oreo" cows too - black with a white stripe down the middle. And gigantic geese. And a seal and mussels. What an amazing day!!
SURFING THE DRAKE PASSAGE
Emily is amazing and always up for fun. Coming back from dinner, we walked by the indoor swimming pool. Let's just say the going back through the Drake Passage had been much, much rougher and the pool had turned into a literal wave pool. We took one look at each other, ran back to our room to put on swim suits, and hurried back in case they decided to close the pool. Good news--they didn't and we spent the next hour body surfing the huge waves. One guy, Anton, saw how much fun we were having and jumped in too. What an unexpected adventure! (this morning, the pool has been closed. Glad we grabbed the chance when we could).
CAPE HORN CHILE
This is such an interesting experience having so much free time at sea and for the fact that this is not what I would consider to be a typical cruise.
For example, what other cruise would passengers be ok with the captain making in-room announcements at 6am to let everyone know we arrived at Cape Horn and to get out of bed to take a look at the beautiful surroundings?
And that people would obey and not complain!
Cape Horn is the last post before heading into Antarctic waters. It is manned by a solitary soldier and his family (and cat). He is stationed there for 18 months and he had to come meet with the captain before allowing us permission to continue across the Drake Passage.
The island holds their home, a loading dock for supplies, and a beautiful monument constructed to honor all who have lost their lives in these seas. When you look directly at it, the two pieces fit together and create a shape of an albatross in the center of the sculpture.
CRUISE LIFE
Emily and I jumped in the outdoor hot tub twice so far - one during a tremendous rain and wind storm on our way to Ushuaia and once while we were in Antarctic waters.
We attended all the shows -- some spectacular and some fine. They had a modern-take on Mozart with dancers, singers and aeralists that was amazing. There was a broadway hits night that gave me total goosebumps with their rendition of "Bring Him Home" from Les Miz. There was a cellist who was very fond of himself, but did amazing things with layering songs on top of each other -- Pachabel layered with Aha's Take on Me and Adele's Someone Like You. We saw a tango show, a group of middle-aged men singing MIchael Buble songs, a violinist, and a pianist/flute player.
But the best were the lectures. There is one primary naturalist on board, and he is an amazing performer. He had a show on NPR and his voice and humor suck you in. We have attended lectures on Polar Wildlife, Geographic formations with Rock and Ice, Stars and Universes, and Life on Mars. I also heard an amazing lecture by a guest archaeologist who discussed the Shackleton exploration, and a mediocre lecture on a topic that I truly can't remember what it was about!!!
We have been to the dining room exactly once. Our dress code on this trip has been sweatpants and flip flops so the casual buffet works just fine for us.
We often get our lattes in the morning and spend time working, writing, and thinking.
We have played a ton of our two current favorite games: Unstable Unicorns and Phase 10. We have done coloring, lots of reading, and taking naps. We have a ton more to do, but for some reason, our days pass by without needing to find things to fill our time.
Fun facts about Antarctica:
Fast Facts
Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth
Antarctica covers 14.2 million square kilometres (5.5 million square miles)
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest ice store on earth
Its landmass covers 14 million kilometres (5.4 million square miles)
Its mass is 30 million cubic metres (7.2 million cubic miles)
Its average depth is 2,160 metres (7,000 feet), with a maximum depth of 4,776 metres (15,669 feet
Ice covers roughly 98% of Antarctica, which equates to 90% of the Earth’s ice and 70% of our fresh water
1. Antarctica holds most of the world's fresh water
An incredible 60-90% of the world’s fresh water is locked in Antarctica’s vast ice sheet. The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on Earth, covering an incredible 14 million km² (5.4 million square miles) of Antarctic mountain ranges, valleys and plateaus. This leaves only 1% of Antarctica permanently ice-free. Some areas are ice-free in the summer, including many of the areas we visit on the Antarctic Peninsula.
At its deepest, Antarctica’s ice is 4.5 kilometres (2.7 miles) thick – that’s half the height of Mt Everest! If it all melted, global sea levels would rise about 60 metres (200 feet).
2. Antarctica is a desert
With all of that fresh water held in the ice sheet, how could Antarctica be a desert?
When most of us think of deserts we think of sand dunes and sizzling temperatures, but technically a desert doesn’t have to be hot or sandy, it’s more about how much precipitation the area receives as rain, snow, mist or fog. A desert is any region that receives very little annual precipitation.
The average annual rainfall at the South Pole over the past 30 years was just over 10 mm (0.4 in). Although there is more precipitation towards the coast, the average across the continent is low enough to classify Antarctica as a polar desert.
So while Antarctica may be covered in ice, it has taken an incredible 45 million years to grow to its current thickness, because so little rain falls there.
As well as being one of the driest continents on Earth, Antarctica is also the coldest, windiest and highest.
3. Antarctica used to be as warm as Melbourne
Given that the coldest ever land temperature was recorded in Antarctica of -89.2°C (-128.6°F), it can be hard to imagine Antarctica as a warm, temperate paradise. But Antarctica hasn’t always been an icy land locked in the grip of a massive ice sheet. In fact, Antarctica was once almost as warm as Melbourne is today.
Researchers have estimated that 40-50 million years ago, temperatures across Antarctica reached up to 17°C (62.6°F). Scientists have also found fossils showing that Antarctica was once covered with verdant green forests and inhabited by dinosaurs!
4. The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming areas on Earth
The Antarctic Peninsula is warming more quickly than many other areas on Earth. In fact, it is one of the most rapidly warming areas on the planet. Over the past 50 years, average temperatures across the Antarctic Peninsula have increased by 3°C (37.4°F), five times the average increase on Earth.
This has led to some changes, for example where and when penguins form colonies and sea ice forms. It also means that the lush mosses of the Antarctic Peninsula have a slightly longer growing season.
5. There is no Antarctic time zone
The question of time in Antarctica is a tricky one. At the South Pole the lines of longitude, which give us different time zones around the globe, all meet at a single point. Most of Antarctica experiences 6 months of constant daylight in summer and 6 months of darkness in winter. Time starts to feel a little different without the normal markers for day and night.
Scientists working in Antarctica generally stay in the time zone of the country they departed from, but this can cause some issues. For example, on the Antarctic Peninsula you can find stations from Chile, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and many other countries. You can imagine that if all of these neighbouring stations, keep to their home time zones it could get a little confusing trying to share data and resources without accidentally waking one another up in the middle of the night!
6. Every way is north!
If you stand at the South Pole, you are at the southernmost point on Earth. It doesn’t matter which way you look, every direction is north. So why do we talk about the Antarctic Peninsula as being in West Antarctica, and the section directly south of Australia as East Antarctica?
It’s based on the prime meridian, an imaginary line which passes through Greenwich in the United Kingdom at 0 degrees of longitude. If you stand at the South Pole and face towards Greenwich, everything to your left is west Antarctica and everything to your right is east Antarctica.
7. Antarctica has active volcanoes
Antarctica is home to several volcanoes and two of them are active. Mount Erebus, the second-highest volcano in Antarctica, is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. Located on Ross Island, this icebound volcano has some unique features such as ice fumaroles and twisted ice statues that form around gases that seep from vents near the volcanic crater.
The first ascent of Mt Erebus was made in 1908, when a team led by Australian scientist Edgeworth David, and including Douglas Mawson, completed an arduous and very chilly five day climb to the steaming crater.
The second active volcano is on Deception Island, a volcanic caldera in the South Shetland Islands. Once home to a thriving whaling station and later a scientific station, it was abandoned after the most recent eruption in 1969, and today it is a fascinating place that we visit on some of our Antarctic Peninsula voyages.
8. There’s a subglacial lake that flows blood red
In 1911 on a remote glacier in East Antarctica, a strange phenomenon was observed. The lily white ice of the Taylor Glacier was being stained a deep red by water flowing from deep within the glacier.
For many years the source of the red colour remained a mystery, but in 2017 scientists announced that they had discovered the cause. The water flowing from within the glacier was from a subglacial lake high in salt and oxidised iron, and when it came into contact with oxygen the iron rusted, giving the water its striking red shade, and its name: Blood Falls.
9. Antarctica has its own Treaty
When humans caught their first glimpse of Antarctica in 1820, it was the only continent without an indigenous population. Several nations quickly made claims to the continent, which led to significant tension. While some countries argued that Antarctica was rightfully theirs, others heartily disagreed.
As tension mounted, everyone agreed on the need for a peaceful resolution. In December 1959, 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty, an unprecedented international agreement to govern the continent together as a reserve for peace and science. Since then, 41 other countries have signed the Treaty and participate in annual meetings, where decisions are made about how human activity in Antarctica is managed. All decisions made within the Antarctic Treaty System are made by consensus, with collaboration and agreement as the central pillars.
Today, the Antarctic Treaty System has expanded to include strict guidelines for commercial fishing, sealing, and a complete ban on mining and mineral exploration.
10. Diamond dust floats in the air
Although there are low levels of precipitation in Antarctica, meteorological wonders abound and diamond dust is one of them!
Diamond dust is made of tiny ice crystals that precipitate out of humid air near the Earth’s surface. It’s a little like an icy fog. As ice crystals hang suspended in the air, sunlight causes them to sparkle, creating a glittering effect that looks like a million tiny floating diamonds. Diamond dust is also responsible for beautiful optical phenomena like sun dogs, halos and light pillars.
FAUKLAND ISLANDS
Tomorrow, we get to The Falkland Islands. Here is some info about this unique place:
The Falklands are a compact group of 740 islands with a total land area approximately the size of Connecticut. They are as close to the South Pole as London is to the North Pole.
Their economy depends on fishing license fees, tourism and agriculture (over 160 sheep per person).
The population of 2,932; 2502 of which live in Stanley. 54% were born on the Islands. Many North American high schools have more people.
They are an independent overseas territory of the United Kingdom, financially independent of everything except defence services (provided by Britain). They even have their own currency.
There is a British military force of 1300 troops on the islands, equipped with a variety of aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and other weaponry.
In a Referendum in 2013, 99.8% of voters decided they wanted to remain a British overseas territory.
Many places are only accessible by air or 4WD (usually landrover).
The local term for everything outside Stanley is "camp" derived from "campo", the Spanish word meaning countryside.
The wind is a fact of life. Be prepared for 4 seasons in a day, and layering of clothing.
The Falklands are home to more than 220 species of identified birds. As well there are whales, dolphins, elephant seals, sea lions, delicate flora and rugged geographical formations.
There are 5 species of penguin. The King, The Gentoo (the world's largest population at 30% of the total), The Rockhopper, The Macaroni and The Magellanic penguin.
Volunteer Point is home to the largest King penguin colony in the Falkland Islands and is the most accessible in the world
In total:
There are over 500,000 breeding pairs of penguins.
It is said that most of the pictures of penguins you will see were photographed in the Falklands.
Approximately 65% of the world's black-browed albatrosses live in the Falklands.
They are the only place to see the Falklands steamer duck and Cobbs wren.
Many people have a "day job" and a government job (e.g. customs at the airport on Saturday).
The weekly newspaper is called "The Penguin News"
ELEPHANT SEALS
Elephant seals in Antarctica are a fantastic sight to behold on any trip to Antarctica and one of the region’s most unique and recognisable species. An Antarctic cruise is an icy safari, with many different species of animals to observe, but this adorable creature is one of our favourites to see.
1. Males Are Heavier Than Females
An adult male elephant seal can weigh up to five tonnes and measure up to six and a half metres! Females are smaller and weigh around 7 – 800 kg.
2) Babies Are Born After 12 Months
The gestation period for a female Elephant seal is 9 months. However, they have delayed implantation, which is why babies are born after 12 months even though the pregnancy itself does last for 9.
Delayed implantation also occurs in some other mammals, including some marsupials, shrews, and rodents.
3) Newborn Elephant Seals Weigh Around 50 Kilograms
Elephant seal babies, when born weigh, around 50 kilograms. Within 3 months they will weigh 150kg! Pups are generally born from September to October when their mothers come ashore at their berthing beaches around the continent.
4) Elephant Seals Love Socializing
Like female whales in Antarctica, elephant seals are highly social animals and they love to get together in large groups. This is especially true during the breeding season, when they often form large gatherings that are known as harems. The harems will tend to have large numbers of females and a small number of males.
5) They Are Willing to Dive Deep for Their Food
Elephants seals are among the largest carnivores in the world and they tend to eat squid and fish as the main sources of food in their diet.
However, they’re willing to go to great lengths to get the perfect meal! One of the most fascinating facts about elephant seals is that they have been measured diving up to up to 2000m deep and can hold breath for up to two hours!
6) Elephant Seals Are One of the Strongest Living Examples of Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a physical difference between the male and female of a species. Males may be up to ten times the weight of reproductive females, one of the largest contrasts recorded in nature. It’s also been observed that only 2 – 3 % of male elephant seals actually breed, so there’s very fierce competition when mating season rolls around.
7) Elephant Seals Can Be Found in Various Regions
Elephant seals can be found across the Antarctic region, but are most prevalent around the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. They were hunted for their blubber during the sealing days. London alone used 20,000 tonnes of elephant seal oil to light the city a year.
However, the environments these incredible creatures live in is now protected
8) The Northern Elephant Seal Was Thought to Be Extinct in the 1800’s
Due to hunting, it was thought for a time that the Northern elephant seal had become extinct. Luckily, this wasn’t the case! However, from a small group of animals left, there are now an estimated population of 150,000 which live mainly around the Baja Gulf in Mexico and on the shores of Southern California, USA. These animals have grown from a small group of animals, and do lack genetic diversity, so there are still concerns over the future of these animals.
9) The Elephant Seal Aren’t Without Predators
Although elephant seals might seem large and intimidating, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have any predators in the wild. Their main predator is the orca, and in the northern most part of their range, large sharks. Leopard seals have also been known to attack and kill stray elephant seal young.
10) There Is An Obvious Reason for Their Name
They are called elephant seals due to a number of reasons, partly because of their size and also partly because of the male snout or trunk that inflates to impress and intimidate rivals when competing with other males for his harem.
The trunk is inflated with air which is inhaled and thus a loud bellowing sound is produced. The depth and volume of the sound is a demonstration to others how powerful he is, and thus so avoids fights with competing males.
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