Saturday December 22, 2007

Today is my last day in Ushuaia before I fly back to the USA. Although I am bummed that my season was cut short, I did have a great time and made the most of it. Today, I decided to visit the glacier for a hike. It was challenging, but the views were worth it! For the first part of the hike, I actually took a chair lift, which was fun, but a little scary in the wind. After that, I walked next to the glacier and sometimes on it to get most of the way to the top of the mountains that surround Ushuaia. I've attached a photo of myself at the highest point that I got to. Behind me you can see the city of Ushuaia, the harbor and the Beagle Channel. I was lucky that it was a sunny, clear day today. On the photo, you will also notice that I have added a red arrow - it is pointing to the Clipper Adventurer.

Tonight I am going to go out to dinner with my friends from the ship and then tomorrow I'll say goodbye until next year.....

Thursday December 20, 2007

I am back in Ushuaia safe and sound. We arrived yesterday and I spent the morning saying goodbye to passengers and moving my things back to the Clipper Adventurer. Today I will be visiting some of the other ships that are in port and seeing if I can get onto another cruise. My second trip has also been cancelled, but it looks like the Adventurer will be back in service for the January 5th cruise.

Since I am back in Ushuaia, I can send the photos that I was having trouble with previously. So, please take some time to look back at the last few days’ entries as I have now added photos.

I’ll continue to update the blog in Ushuaia with my plans and any adventures that I have here, so keep checking back!

Tuesday December 18, 2007

Today was our second day of the Drake Passage. It was calm so we made great time on the crossing. In fact, we were making such great time that we were able to slow the ship down and spend time looking for wildlife. We did see some whales far in the distance and even had some Hourglass dolphins come to the ship to play. They spent about 10 minutes bow-riding.

I’m not sure if many of you have seen this before, so I will try and describe it. You can also check out some photos below. Basically, the dolphins come up to the front of the ship and surf below and above the wave we are making by moving forward. From my perspective, it looks like a lot of fun.

In the afternoon, as we approached the Beagle Channel, the Giant Petrels and Black-browed Albatross' were using the wind that the ship was generating to glide behind the ship. It is kind of the same idea as bow riding, but instead riding the air currents and updrafts. I was able to stand on the stern deck and the birds would glide right past at eye level.

It was pretty incredible. Here are a few photos that I took.

Hourglass Dophins ride the bow of the ship

Hourglass Dolphin

Black-browed Albatross

Giant Petrel

Monday December 17, 2007

Last night we left the Antarctic Peninsula and headed back into the Drake Passage. Today, the weather has been kind to us as the seas are very calm. For many people, today has been a day of rest, since we have been going pretty much non-stop for the last five days. There were a bunch of lectures today from the naturalists, ranging in topics from The Antarctic Treaty to Krill to Seabirds to Wilson, an Antarctic artist and naturalist. It has been a very interesting day. We will be in the Drake Passage for one more day and then will arrive in Ushuaia on Wednesday morning. From there, I will post some more photos and answer any more questions that I get from the students.

Sunday December 16, 2007

Today was our last day on the Peninsula. We spent the morning at a Polish research station on King George Island called Arctowski. It was very interesting to meet the researchers, many of who were working on penguin projects. They were monitoring the penguins and looking at what they eat, how long they dive, and the success rate of their young.

In the afternoon, we anchored around the corner and went to an island just off of King George called Penguin Island. The wind was blowing hard and the seas were rough on the cobble beach, so the landing was difficult. However, we did manage to land all of the passengers there. At first, I went on a hike all the way up the hill to the rim of an old volcano. It was an amazing hike, with incredible views. It was hard trudging up through the snow, and sometimes, when I took a wrong step, I found myself buried up to my thighs. When I came down from the hike, I was lucky enough to still have time to walk around the corner to see a colony of nesting Chinstrap penguins. In addition, there were Gentoo and Adelie penguins there, as well as a group of Elephant seals and a few Weddel seals. Amazing! To see so many different species of animals in one location sure was a treat. I will add photos later, as I am unable to send photos from the ship right now, but check back in a few days and I will send them as soon as I can.

An Adelie penguin comes out of the sea at Penguin Island



A Weddel seal sleeps on the snow

Saturday, December 15, 2007

This morning we got to test out the icebreaker capabilities of the Polar Star. After a morning hiking and looking at the old whaling station at Whalers Bay on Deception Island, we pulled the ship up to some fast ice and did a little icebreaking. Fast ice is frozen sea ice that is attached to the shore. As it is summer, most of the fast ice has broken away, however, there are still places where it has not yet melted. The ice we were breaking through was not very thick, but it was still very fun to see the process. I’ve attached two photos – one of the ship as we are going into the ice and the other taken leaning over the bow of the ship as I watched it crush through the ice. We had no problem sailing right through the ice, which was probably about 6-10 inches thick in most places. It was very fun and my first time doing something like that.


Entering the fast ice at Pendulum Cove, Deception Island


The bow of the Polar Star crashes through the ice

In the afternoon, we went to one of my favorite places in the Antarctic, Aitcho Island. I’ve always had amazing experiences here, and this time was no exception. While on the island, despite the cold, wind and snow, I saw four types of penguins as well as about 30 elephant seals. The biggest surprise of the day was finding a King penguin amongst the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins. King penguins do not live in this area, so it is very rare to see one here. They are just beautiful and very large – about three feet tall! I’ve attached a photo so you can see the amazing coloring on their head.

King Penguin

In addition to the King penguin, I saw many Gentoos, lots of Chinstraps and one lone Adelie penguin. The Adelie penguin almost crashed right into me, as it tobogganed down a hill at top speed, only stopping and standing up about 20 feet from where I was standing. It was very funny to watch. Since I have not yet attached a photo of Chinstrap penguins, I’ve put one in for you to see. They get their name from the black “chinstrap” feather marking that they have.

Chinstrap Penguin

At the end of the day I hiked over to a group of elephant seals hauled out on the beach molting. This is when they shed their old fur and get new fur. The way the elephant seals do this is through what is called a catastrophic molt. This means that they lose all their fur at one time, usually taking a few weeks. During this time, they do not feed or go into the water. Instead, they all lay together, with fur peeling, often scratching. It does look like it itches. While they do this, they grunt and snort a lot. It is very amusing to watch them. I’ve attached a photo of one of the young males so you can see what I mean about the peeling fur.

Young elephant seal molts at Aitcho Island

Friday, December 14, 2007

Today, we woke up and did our first landing at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island and Jougla Point on Wienke Island. Port Lockroy is the site of the world’s most southerly post office and the first British base in Antarctica. The station was established in 1943 during Operation Tabarin and closed in 1962. It is now run by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust as a museum. There is also a shop there where you can get souvenirs. I only got to spend about a half an hour at Port Lockroy which was just enough time to mail myself a postcard which might take up to six weeks to get back to my house in the USA. I spent the majority of my time at Jougla Point with a colony of Gentoo penguins and a lone young elephant seal. The wind was blowing very hard and it was also snowing. In order to see, I had to wear my ski goggles. I took a photo of one of the Gentoo penguins on their nest. Can you tell which way the wind was blowing?



Gentoo penguin sits on its nest in the snow and wind

Every now and then, the penguin would lift its head and shake off the snow, only to be covered in snow again minutes later.

In the afternoon, we went to Orne Harbor, a beautiful bay surrounded by high peaks and glaciers. Some brave people went ashore (another continental landing for them) and attempted to climb Spigot peak. Seventeen people made it to the top which was quite impressive because it was very steep and they had to navigate through snow, rock and ice. While they hiked, I took people on a zodiac cruise. We saw tons of beautiful icebergs and even some Crabeater seals on the ice.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Today was an incredible day and I saw something that few people in the world ever see. But we will get to that later….

In the morning, we landed at Danco Island. There was so much snow that we couldn’t see any of the rocky shore at Danco. So we had to pull the zodiac up to the side of the island and just off load people right onto the snow bank. I was on shore answering questions about the Gentoo penguins that were there. In order to get to the place where we view the penguins, I had to walk about 100 yards through the snow. In places the snow came up to my thighs. Some of you may be wondering how close I can get to the penguins. The official rules are that I must stay at least 15 feet away from the penguins at all times and can not interrupt their normal behavior. This means that sometimes I even stay farther away than 15 feet. It is very important that I observe the animals and do not scare them or change what they are doing. Right now the penguins are tending to their nests and young and, if disturbed, this could affect their success. However, with all of this said, the penguins can go wherever they want! So, sometimes, when I am sitting down, far away from them, they come up to me! It is very fun to have a penguin walk right by. Today, I even had one walk right up to me, and look me up and down before continuing on its way. I’ve attached a photo of me sitting in front of the penguin colony at Danco Island. Notice all of the icebergs in the sea as well as all the many penguins.


At Danco Island with the Gentoo Penguins

In the afternoon, we went to Cuverville Island. There, we saw more Gentoo penguins, but also a few Chinstrap and one Adelie penguin. For the first part of the afternoon, I was stationed on land as a “penguin crossing guard”. The penguins make paths through the snow that we call “penguin highways”. It is important that we do not trample these highways and that we give the penguins the right of way at all times. The penguins use these highways to go back and forth from their nests to the water. Since the snow is so deep, sometimes when a penguin is walking on a highway, you can only see their heads! It is very funny. I’ve attached a photo of two penguins heading back up to their nests on one of the many highways.

One of the many penguin highways in the Antarctic

For the second part of the afternoon, I went out in a zodiac. First I was alone and got to cruise around and check out the cool iceberg formations. Then, I picked up some other people and we went cruising around together. On our cruise, we saw the most amazing sight – a Leopard seal mom and her pup. At first, they were just swimming through the water, but then they both got out onto a small iceberg. So as to not disturb them, we stopped our motor and drifted past. What we saw was incredible – the pup was nursing from the mom! This is something that only a few people in the world will ever see. I felt so lucky. I’ve attached one of my photos so you can see it too. Seal milk has about 45% fat content, which is very high, so pups grow fast and only nurse for a short period of time.

A young leopard seal pup nurses from its mom

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Well, I missed our “first” iceberg because I was sleeping. It was seen at 2am. However, when I woke up they surrounded us in an area called Enterprise Island. This morning, we took a zodiac cruise around the ice and islands. It was just amazing. The zodiacs are the way that we take people ashore and to see the area. Each zodiac holds between 8 and 10 people. We saw a shipwreck, some Weddel seals and Crabeater Seals. We also saw many amazing iceberg formations. I’ve attached a photo of one of the more interesting icebergs I saw this morning. There is a zodiac next to the iceberg so you can see what they look like as well.



One of the icebergs we saw while zodiac cruising around Enterprise Island

After lunch, we saw about three Humpback whales and a few Minke whales. They hung around the ship for a little while and I watched them swim around the many icebergs surrounding the ship.

This afternoon, we landed at a place called Neko Harbor (Latitude: 64 61616 50’ south Longitude: 62 61616 33’ west). It is actually on the continent of Antarctica. It is very difficult to find a place to land on the continent because the majority of it is covered in ice and snow. I was asked what Antarctica looked like. Here is a photo that I took from the ship, showing the bow of the ship with Antarctica in the background. Here, on the Antarctic Peninsula there is more exposed rock than anywhere else on the continent, some of which you can see in this photo. However, the majority of the continent is covered in snow and glaciers. Some even say that Antarctica is like one huge glacier!

The view of Antarctica from the bow of the Polar Star

Neko Harbor was fantastic. There was more snow there than I have ever seen before. I think that is because I am usually here at the end of the season (late summer) and this is early summer, so much of the snow has not yet melted. In fact, it snowed off and on today. At Neko, there a bunch of Gentoo penguins, many of who were sitting on their nests made of pebbles. It was fun to watch them walk back and forth to the sea going to feed. It was also fun to watch some of the penguins maintain their rock nests, gathering pebbles from around the area and depositing them along the edge of their nest. I was lucky enough to get a photo of one of the Gentoo penguins as it shifted positions on its nest. Look closely and you can see the egg it is incubating. Gentoo penguins lay two eggs each season. The eggs should be hatching soon. In some places, they may have already hatched. I’ll be sure to send a photo of a baby penguin if I see one.

A Gentoo penguin incubates their egg

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

I am back! After one week of sorting things out, I have managed to get on board the Polar Star. She is a beautiful ship - an icebreaker actually, so I feel very safe. An icebreaker means that we have a 2-inch hull. That is very thick. This ship is designed to break through the sea ice. I’m not sure if we are going to be far enough south to need that capability, but it is nice to know we have it.

We are in our second day of the Drake Passage and making very good time. The seas were a little rough on the first day and I found myself seasick, so I spent most of the day trying not to move around much. This ship rolls a lot more than the Clipper Adventurer. Today, however, I woke up feeling refreshed. We have had many birds following the ship, including a lot of Black-browed Albatross and Cape Petrels. We’ve even seen a few Wandering Albatross, which have a wingspan of up to 142 inches. Get a string and measure that out and you will see just how huge these beautiful creatures are. It is amazing! Our position as of 7:30 am this morning was 60 33.91’ S 64 21.03’ W. If you have a chart or map, I’ll continue to send coordinates and you can track my course. You can also track my ship in "real time" at the following website:

http://map.gmn-usa.com/cgi-bin/frameup.pl?user=polarstar&fleet=iaato&password=ushuaia

(There is a permanent link to this site on the top left of the blog, so you can check it whenever you'd like).

The Polar Star is the same size as the Clipper Adventurer (100 meters), but carries less people. Including expedition staff, we are just around 100 people. They have a smaller crew of about 35 and things are less formal. The food has been great so far and the passengers are very interesting and from all over the world. The expedition staff on this ship is also from all over the world. I am the only expedition staff member from the USA.

Today it has been snowing on and off, but when it is not snowing, it has been sunny. The seas have calmed down from yesterday so we are making good time. We should start to see icebergs soon! I’ll try and get a photo of my first iceberg sighting and post it here for you.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I regret to tell you all that the expedition has been cancelled. Last night we were informed that we were having trouble with one of our engines (we have two). The Captain along with the Argentinean Coast Guard and the company I work for decided that it would be best if we did not sail for Antarctica right now. I, of course, am devastated and do not know what this will mean for the rest of my season down here, as I am scheduled to be here until January 5th. I will keep you all updated as information becomes available but for now, we are still at the dock in Ushuaia and we are arranging for the passengers to head back home.

So, what did we do today?? Well, after hearing the sad news, we were told that our Expedition Leader had arranged for us to go on another boat to do a trip down the Beagle Channel to an area called Harberton. On the way there we saw many South American Sea Lions, Gentoo Penguins, Magellenic Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags (a type of cormorant). I’ve attached some photos I took today of the scenery and of the wildlife. Enjoy!

One of the most interesting parts of my day today was on the way home from our day trip. Like I mentioned, we took a boat for the first part of our journey. However, we took a bus home. The road we traveled on is Route 3, and our guide informed us that this road goes all the way to Alaska. So I have a challenge for all of you – see if you can track down road maps and trace Route 3 from Alaska all the way to the “end of the world”.

The Beagle Channel

South American Sea Lions – check out the big male in the center!


Magellenic Penguins getting into the water for a swim

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Today we flew to Ushuaia and boarded the ship. It took three and one-half hours to fly from Santiago to Ushuaia, which is located at the bottom tip of Argentina. Ushuaia has a population of around 65,000 people, and their city slogan is “The end of the world, but the beginning of everything”. I think that is very fitting as many of the people visiting here are on their way to the Antarctic.

I’ve had some questions about the ship – The ship is 100 meters long and we have 97 passengers on the ship with us from not only the USA, but also England and Canada. We also have 72 crew on board, most of who are from the Philippines. I’ve attached a photo of the ship alongside the dock. I am working with eight other expedition staff and we are from all over the world – South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, England, USA and Canada. We all have different areas of expertise. We have a few bird experts on board, a historian, geologist, and a few marine biologists.

Even though everyone has their own specialty, we each study everything so that we can answer as many questions as possible – and its fun and interesting to learn about all of the cool animals and features of Antarctica!

I’ve also had some questions about where I will be sleeping and what I will be eating. I’ve attached two photos of the cabins on the ship…can you guess which one is my staff cabin? If you guessed the plain one with the white bunk beds, you are correct. The passenger cabins are much nicer. And you can see some red jackets on their beds. These are special insulated parkas that we give people to wear in the Antarctic so that they stay warm. As for the food, tonight for dinner I had steak and mashed potatoes – yum!

The Clipper Adventurer at the dock



One of the passenger cabins



My staff cabin – I’m lucky to be in it alone for this trip!

Monday, December 3, 2007

I have arrived in Santiago, Chile after two long flights. My first flight was from Baltimore, MD to Miami, FL and took around 3 hours. I then boarded a plane for Santiago, Chile, which flew overnight for around 9 hours. Imagine going to bed and then waking up in a totally different country! That is pretty much what I did since my plane left at 11:30pm and I arrived at 10am Santiago time. Santiago time is two hours ahead of the time at my house, and three hours ahead of the time in Texas.

I still have one more plane trip left before arriving in Ushuaia, Argentina where I will meet the ship. Because of timings, that plane is not until tomorrow, so I had the afternoon to explore the city. I walked to the fish and food market to check out things and have lunch. I’ve attached some photos of the amazing market. The smells and colors were incredible and the size of some of the fish and squid were amazing! For lunch I ended up ordering a ceviche appetizer and then a fish soup. It was all delicious.

Friday November 30, 2007

This is a special expedition in conjunction with the elementary students at F.W. Gross Montessori Magnet School in Victoria, TX. As part of their Cultural Studies curriculum students study the seven continents as well as the four hemispheres. In January, the students will begin their unit on Antarctica. As a kick off to that unit, the students will be following along with my adventures to the Falkland Islands and Antarctica. Each day, I will tell about my journey and answer questions that the students email me.

Our official expedition kick off was today with a conference call to what seemed like the entire fourth grade. I was able to introduce myself to the class and tell them a little bit about how I was preparing for my trip. We went over the photo that I have posted below of some of my gear laid out on my bed. I wear or take everything you see in this photo with me each day when I go outside. To help you identify everything, I have put numbers on the photo. The key is as follows:

1. Base layer or thermal layer
2. Polartec fleece thermal pants
3. Mid layer of Polartec fleece
4. Wool Socks
5. Muck insulated waterproof boots
6. Fleece neck gaiter
7. Wool hat
8. Glove liners and waterproof gloves
9. Global Positioning System (GPS)
10. Ski Goggles (or sunglasses)
11. Windproof and waterproof jacket
12. VHF Radio
13. Windproof and waterproof bibs (like overalls)

After going over each piece of gear, the students were able to ask some questions. Many were curious as to what Antarctica looks like and how I would get there? They wanted to know what I will eat when I am there? And where I will sleep? They also asked about the different animals I will see. All in all, the students posed some great questions, all of which I hope to answer in more depth during the next few weeks. So, stay tuned….I leave on Sunday.