(Thursday Afternoon)
The afternoon landing was at Vernadsky Station, a “year round” base built by the Brits but later given to the Ukranians, who are doing a lot of measurements of the ozone layer. The tour was disappointing because we were in a large group and rarely heard what our guide was saying. But it was nice of them to give us tours at all, considering that in the Ukraine, they celebrate Christmas on January 6th... For them, it was Christmas day.
Some impressions... First, living conditions are very spartan in Antarctica, even on a “year round” base. Second, when living in close quarters with others, personal hygiene is very important (one man walked by me in the hall and I have to say I wouldn't want to spend an Antarctic winter anywhere near him). Thirdly, wintering in Antarctica leaves one with time on his hands. The Ukraines filled some of this time by building a still and we were treated to shots of their homemade vodka in their “lounge” at the end of our tour.
After the base tour, we were taken back to the ship the long way around in order to see a gigantic leopard seal up close and personal. He was basking on his personal iceberg, but our launch driver found a way to get his attention. He would pull up close and then rev the engine in reverse, and the seal would raise his head to look at us.
There were also four very brave penguins on the seal's berg, who found a spot above him and seemed to be keeping an eye on him ... a penguin version of an early warning system? One crept down a little too close and started sliding down the berg toward the seal. His panicky scramble to get back up on his perch was the comic moment of the day. Our tour guide Elizabeth caught this sequence... I'll post it here later.
One last point. Vernadsky's latitude is 65 degrees, 15 minutes South. This is our southernmost point but still almost 100 miles short of the Antarctic Circle... temptingly close, but the pack ice at Vernadsky just opened up in the past week. The Fram does have a cruise that goes farther but it is a two week cruise. Anyway, we have already experienced 21 hour days, and really no night... it's OK to head north now :-) Rob
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Petermann Island – Ready, Willing, but not Able
(Thursday Morning)
It doubt that the weather gets much better than this in Antarctica. Our first landing was on Petermann Island. Lengthy walking to get to more penguins, so we climbed the first ridge and just enjoyed looking out at one of the many “iceberg alleys.” We were a little preoccupied anyway as we had worn our bathing suits, ready for our initiation into the Antarctic Swim Club ... Anya, the expedition director said the current was too strong ... as we say on our boat, “Safety first.”
Yes, I said “we.” Melanie shocked me when we got up this morning. She had borrowed a bathing suit, and was ready to swim with me. She has always had one up on me in that she has gone bungee jumping (in New Zealand), and I haven't ... And having visited the bridge that she jumped off, I can safely say I wouldn't have done it ... oh wait, I mean I would surely have done it if I had had the opportunity.
So dressed in extra layers (for a supply of dry clothes to sear after our dip), we trekked up a hillside in the 41 degree “heat.” I wasn't able to stand it for long, and at the top of the hill, started peeling layers off. Since layer I wanted to keep on was not the bottom one, I can now at least say I've been topless in Antarctica :-) Rob
It doubt that the weather gets much better than this in Antarctica. Our first landing was on Petermann Island. Lengthy walking to get to more penguins, so we climbed the first ridge and just enjoyed looking out at one of the many “iceberg alleys.” We were a little preoccupied anyway as we had worn our bathing suits, ready for our initiation into the Antarctic Swim Club ... Anya, the expedition director said the current was too strong ... as we say on our boat, “Safety first.”
Yes, I said “we.” Melanie shocked me when we got up this morning. She had borrowed a bathing suit, and was ready to swim with me. She has always had one up on me in that she has gone bungee jumping (in New Zealand), and I haven't ... And having visited the bridge that she jumped off, I can safely say I wouldn't have done it ... oh wait, I mean I would surely have done it if I had had the opportunity.
So dressed in extra layers (for a supply of dry clothes to sear after our dip), we trekked up a hillside in the 41 degree “heat.” I wasn't able to stand it for long, and at the top of the hill, started peeling layers off. Since layer I wanted to keep on was not the bottom one, I can now at least say I've been topless in Antarctica :-) Rob
The Lemaire Channel
(Thursday “Early” Morning)
This morning, the ship's loudspeakers woke us at 7 AM to let us know we were entering the Lemaire Channel, one of the scenic highlights of the trip. Melanie and I found a couple of lounge chairs in the front of the bow observation deck. It was beautiful as we glided through the channel in the morning light ... I was going to say early morning light, but as mentioned, the sun rose at 2:45 AM this morning.
Here are two shots of the channel:
Although we were snugly inside, I was reminded of the “I'm the king of the world!” scene in the movie Titanic. We are so blessed to be here.
This morning, the ship's loudspeakers woke us at 7 AM to let us know we were entering the Lemaire Channel, one of the scenic highlights of the trip. Melanie and I found a couple of lounge chairs in the front of the bow observation deck. It was beautiful as we glided through the channel in the morning light ... I was going to say early morning light, but as mentioned, the sun rose at 2:45 AM this morning.
Here are two shots of the channel:
Although we were snugly inside, I was reminded of the “I'm the king of the world!” scene in the movie Titanic. We are so blessed to be here.
Port Lockroy Photo Spectacular
(Wednesday Night)
Most of today has been cloudy, so we were very unaware of the towering mountains around us until, during dinner, the fog gradually began to lift and sunlit peaks began to appear on all sides of the ship. Here is what Port Lockroy (it's the island) looked like by about 9:30 PM:
And some other peaks around the ship:
Port Lockroy at almost 11 PM:
As I write this, midnight has just passed. When I checked a few minutes ago, the highest peaks around us still reflected some faint sunlight. Now it is finally gone, but there is still plenty of light. It's a bright dusk because there is so much white snow reflecting the dusky light. You can easily still make out colors, and the penguins are swimming around in the bay, going every which way. I wonder if the fishing is better at “night,” which is a relative term here, as it will probably not get too much darker... it's only 2 ½ hours to sunrise :-) Rob
Most of today has been cloudy, so we were very unaware of the towering mountains around us until, during dinner, the fog gradually began to lift and sunlit peaks began to appear on all sides of the ship. Here is what Port Lockroy (it's the island) looked like by about 9:30 PM:
And some other peaks around the ship:
Port Lockroy at almost 11 PM:
As I write this, midnight has just passed. When I checked a few minutes ago, the highest peaks around us still reflected some faint sunlight. Now it is finally gone, but there is still plenty of light. It's a bright dusk because there is so much white snow reflecting the dusky light. You can easily still make out colors, and the penguins are swimming around in the bay, going every which way. I wonder if the fishing is better at “night,” which is a relative term here, as it will probably not get too much darker... it's only 2 ½ hours to sunrise :-) Rob
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Port Lockroy - Almost Civilization
(Wednesday Afternoon)
By Antarctic standards, Port Lockroy is a thriving metropolis, boasting a museum with a gift shop that accepts credit cards... Melanie perked up when she heard this, making sure I brought my wallet... You can even mail postcards from Port Lockroy if you don't mind them taking six weeks or more to get home. It was nice, though strange, to be in a building here.
Port Lockroy is a former British station, but now there are just four workers (currently all women) who spend four months running the museum and gift shop for the benefit of the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Although I remembered the credit cards, I forgot both my camera and iPhone here... I'm sure others snapped pictures of the buildings, but there was one point where I really wished I had the iPhone. Several gentoos began playing king of the mountain on a bergy bit floating near the nesting area, repeatedly jumping onto the berg's little “swim platform,” hanging on as others jumped up, and then diving back in, only to repeat the process over and over. It would have made a great iPhone movie.
Tonight at dinner, we saw the girls from the station on board. We are staying here until 4 AM, so they were invited aboard for dinner, and seemed ecstatic about it.
By Antarctic standards, Port Lockroy is a thriving metropolis, boasting a museum with a gift shop that accepts credit cards... Melanie perked up when she heard this, making sure I brought my wallet... You can even mail postcards from Port Lockroy if you don't mind them taking six weeks or more to get home. It was nice, though strange, to be in a building here.
Port Lockroy is a former British station, but now there are just four workers (currently all women) who spend four months running the museum and gift shop for the benefit of the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Although I remembered the credit cards, I forgot both my camera and iPhone here... I'm sure others snapped pictures of the buildings, but there was one point where I really wished I had the iPhone. Several gentoos began playing king of the mountain on a bergy bit floating near the nesting area, repeatedly jumping onto the berg's little “swim platform,” hanging on as others jumped up, and then diving back in, only to repeat the process over and over. It would have made a great iPhone movie.
Tonight at dinner, we saw the girls from the station on board. We are staying here until 4 AM, so they were invited aboard for dinner, and seemed ecstatic about it.
Cuverville Island's Gentoo Penguins
(Wednesday Morning)
Our first excursion today was at Cuverville Island, and it was all about the penguins who summer here. We had an hour on the island and spent a large part of watching one particular nesting area and in fact, one penguin in particular. He kept walking over to very near where we were standing, very carefully picking up rocks and twigs, rejecting many, and bringing his prize selections over to his mate, nested maybe twenty feet away. His mate could not have appeared less interested.
But our little hero aimed to please, and he repeatedly trekked back and forth, dropping his prizes at her side as, most of the time, she looked the other way. Finally, she stood up and moved some stones into the nest, which we took to be a gesture of acceptance of approval, and gave our little drama a happy ending. I have a little iPhone movie of this whole adventure, which obviously I can't upload from here, but here's a picture of the little guy having just returned back to his foraging spot. (Sorry he's sideways... I haven't figured out how to fix it yet)
Our Hero (Foreground) Between Foraging Trips
Cuverville was also interesting in the sheer number of icebergs and “bergy bits” that are around. Here's an iPhone pic looking across the bay we were anchored in. Our ship is just out of the picture toward the right.
Finally, Cuverville had more snow than Half Moon Island. By their sheer activity, the penguins have carved out trails going back and forth between the water and their nests. Here is a penguin waddling down one of these trails:
After the penguin show, we reboarded the Fram to head through the Neumeyer Channel to our afternoon destination. En route, we had to stop to avoid a group of orcas pursuing a penguin in search of a light lunch. The staff made sure everyone new about this because many of them had never seen this behavior on any previous cruises.
Our first excursion today was at Cuverville Island, and it was all about the penguins who summer here. We had an hour on the island and spent a large part of watching one particular nesting area and in fact, one penguin in particular. He kept walking over to very near where we were standing, very carefully picking up rocks and twigs, rejecting many, and bringing his prize selections over to his mate, nested maybe twenty feet away. His mate could not have appeared less interested.
But our little hero aimed to please, and he repeatedly trekked back and forth, dropping his prizes at her side as, most of the time, she looked the other way. Finally, she stood up and moved some stones into the nest, which we took to be a gesture of acceptance of approval, and gave our little drama a happy ending. I have a little iPhone movie of this whole adventure, which obviously I can't upload from here, but here's a picture of the little guy having just returned back to his foraging spot. (Sorry he's sideways... I haven't figured out how to fix it yet)
Cuverville was also interesting in the sheer number of icebergs and “bergy bits” that are around. Here's an iPhone pic looking across the bay we were anchored in. Our ship is just out of the picture toward the right.
Finally, Cuverville had more snow than Half Moon Island. By their sheer activity, the penguins have carved out trails going back and forth between the water and their nests. Here is a penguin waddling down one of these trails:
After the penguin show, we reboarded the Fram to head through the Neumeyer Channel to our afternoon destination. En route, we had to stop to avoid a group of orcas pursuing a penguin in search of a light lunch. The staff made sure everyone new about this because many of them had never seen this behavior on any previous cruises.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Better Pictures? Help is On the Way!
I keep forgetting to mention that our ship, the MV Fram, maintains a very nice blog, updated daily, chronicling our travels, complete with some EXCELLENT pictures taken daily by the ship's photographer.
Also, I have just found a connector so I can now upload some of the pictures we've been taking. And Elizabeth, our tour guide, has shared her pictures with us. Elizabeth is a professional photographer, so I expect the photo content on this blog will also greatly improve.
But the ship's blog is also fun and informative, accessible at http://mvfram.blogspot.com - Rob
Also, I have just found a connector so I can now upload some of the pictures we've been taking. And Elizabeth, our tour guide, has shared her pictures with us. Elizabeth is a professional photographer, so I expect the photo content on this blog will also greatly improve.
But the ship's blog is also fun and informative, accessible at http://mvfram.blogspot.com - Rob
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