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.