17th – 18th – Feeding whales and plenty of chicks

We woke to a stunning day with high clouds and clear weather. It seems like the initial misty heavy overcast is starting to be a thing of the past. We were heading towards Portal Point which was the location of a hut (now in Stanley in the Falklands) that was one of the only access points to the polar plateau on the peninsula. The point was overlooking Charlotte Bay and the morning’s plan was to do a landing and have a look around combined with a cruise. That plan went straight in the bin, though, when we realized that there were multiple humpback whales in the waters, feeding. So we were all loaded into the zodiacs and the following couple of hours we were just drifting about in the water, experiencing the whales up close, and because they were feeding they weren’t going anywhere so we didn’t have to worry about having to keep up with them. You could be in one location, and there would be a few minutes silence while seeing zodiacs somewhere else getting them up close, and starting to feel cheated you’d suddenly have 2-8 whales come up to the surface around you, swim around a bit and then dive back down. We were even able to see them blow bubble-nets as they appeared as rings in the surface. It was fascinating getting to see all this up close. 

It was assumed that this individual long time ago got stuck in some netting and was wounded getting free.

You got very close to the whales if you turned off the engine.

In the afternoon we took the zodiacs through Graham Passage. It is a relatively wide passage and it gave us some magnificent views of the surrounding land and ice. I am amazed by with the clear sky with the sun shining down, and still weather, it’s all a palette of hues of white and blue. It is all so beautiful.

Graham Passage.

Getting up the following morning we had anchored at Brown Bluff where we landed in the zodiacs and were surrounded by numerous adélie penguins and their fluffy chicks. It was quite a sight, and an entertaining one, too! We were a few who managed to get a spot in the citizen science zodiac (citizen science is, put short, gathering of science and scientific data by the public and sending it to scientists using the data) and we were supposed to follow the coastline and perform tests of the water, among other things. Unfortunately, due to the current, it was impossible to get anything to work as it should so we quickly scrapped that and just cruised for a bit before also coming on land with the rest.

Adélies getting into the water in a not so orderly fashion.

This adult gentoo was chased around by two hungry chicks.

March of the penguins.

In the afternoon we arrived at Paulet Island that is host for a huge colony of adélies. They seemed to be all over the place, and several bergs in the water had also been occupied by the penguins. We spent a bit more than an hour on land, and leaving we took the zodiacs and circled multiple bergs so we really got every chance to see the penguins in all their glory.

Arriving at Paulet Island.

15th – 16th – Camping in Paradise

Waking up we found ourselves anchored in Paradise Bay where the Argentinian base Base Brown is located. The weather was overcast and with low visibility but the air was still, so the conditions were good to go exploring in the zodiacs, enabling us getting close to both gentoo penguins and crabeater seals. The pale light really made the blue come out in the ice bergs surrounding us in the water, before we went to land and had a walk around the base. Here there was a large number of gentoos having nests around in the area and at this time of year it was also possible to get to see some small chicks mostly hiding under the adults. 

Base Brown seen from above.

Gentoo with chick.

And people say penguins don't fly.

Sheathbill.

During lunch back on the ship we relocated a bit north to Danco Island where we managed to do a bit of exploring in the zodiacs before going on land and having the opportunity to go for a short walk up onto a small hill on the island. The view was stunning and it helped that the air had cleared since the morning. We got to see quite the selection of seals, penguins and other birds, so for a first land day on the tour we were setting the bar high.

Yawning leopard seal.

During dinner we were informed that due to good conditions the people that had signed up for camping would be camping tonight in Paradise Bay. So the ship returned to our previous location and after dinner we gathered our things, sleeping bags and tents and zodiac’ed back on land. Here we were shown where to put up camp and with varying success everybody got their tents set up before wandering around enjoying the view of the landscape and the few penguins and seals sharing the area with us.

Waking up in the early morning all campers got out and packed all our stuff before getting the zodiacs back to the ship. When we were all back the ship pulled the anchor and headed towards the Lemaire Channel. The weather was beautiful and coming down through the narrow channel with tall rocks towering on both sides and the water littered with small bergs was an amazing experience. Reaching the southern point of the channel we turned around and returned, heading this time towards Port Charcot. From the top of the hill we had a stunning view in almost all directions. Clear weather and a blue sea littered with ice bergs. What an afternoon!

The Lemaire channel can be seen to the right.

The view from Port Charcot.

Returning to the ship we were informed that it was time for the polar plunge for those who were dumb enough to want to. Having done it in the Arctic I felt I had to do it in the Antarctic – especially when doing it from the ship it’s much easier. Quickly down and up again and it’s all over. And having the experience from before I knew what I was up against – and this time I held my nose to great success. 

Experience told me it would be a very good idea to hold my nose. No cold water rushing in is a good thing.

Photo taken by Paul Glendell.

Proof that I don't always make good life choices.

The day ended with a beautiful orange sunset.

12th – 14th – Arriving in Antarctica

As we wouldn’t be boarding until 1530 I had most of the day to kill. Being in Ushuaia there wasn’t much to do so I checked out at the latest possible time and handed my bag over to the ship’s crew who would be taking it on board. The rest of the time was spent relaxing when not going out for lunch. 

The view of Ushuaia from the small local airstrip.

At 1530 I showed up at the pickup point and bumped into one of the guides that I had met on one of my previous tours and who would also be on this one. It was fantastic to meet him again and it was clear I was not the only passenger who recognized him. We all boarded the busses that would take us to the ship, and while it distance-wise would have been much faster walking, due to the two other cruise ships also getting ready to depart there was a huge line outside the security checkpoint to the harbor and using the busses was therefore in the end faster.

The original plan of the tour was to leave Ushuaia and head east to the Falkland Islands and further to South Georgia before turning south and going to Antarctica before returning north to Ushuaia. Unfortunately the Falklands were at the time being hammered by strong winds which would mean that when we’d arrive there would be a high risk that we’d be stuck for days. The current forecast for the Falklands were 8m waves and 60-70 knot winds (we later heard that it ended up being 10m and 90 knot winds which had resulted in a ship had arrived in port with damages which would have been the same result for us if we had stuck with the original plan). Instead the decision was made among the guides and ship’s captain to reverse the direction of the tour and instead start off by heading south and visiting South Georgia and the Falklands last, hoping that the weather would have calmed enough to make a visit manageable. 

A peale's dolphin spotted in the Beagle channel, just a few hours out of Ushuaia.

The crossing of the Drake was very calm though the visibility was almost non-existent. It was so calm that the crew invited us for ice cream on the stern deck at one point. All this meant that the passing could be done at a good speed and we arrived in Antarctica in less than two days. Arriving we first reached Dallmann Bay and almost as on cue the weather cleared and we had a wonderful view of the continent.

And what a welcome we received. Before this trip I had been hoping to see orcas and breaching whales. I have never seen the former in the wild and the latter only once very far away on and beyond the horizon. We hadn’t been near land for long before we found ourselves near the Melchior Islands and in the middle of several pods of orcas, totaling somewhere between 40 and 50 individuals of almost all sizes. The captain turned off the engines and so we just floated along with them for an hour before the engines were started again and we left them alone. I could barely imagine a better start to the trip than this! 

Orcas!

The first of many stunning sights.

Return to the deep south

Coming back from my most recent trip to the Arctic I was already looking forward to returning to the ship. As the number of tours and destinations are limited when going on the ship I am finding it more and more difficult to justify going on more trips with it as I have by now almost been at all its destinations.

Almost. Almost.

There are a select few tours that bring you past the Falkland Islands and South Georgia so I can't write off the expedition tours yet. Obviously! And timing your departure right during the year you'll get to see the penguins with all the new chicks.

So I didn't really have a choice.

10th - 11th of January, 2020

Arriving in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I stay one night before flying south to Ushuaia. Needless to say, steak is on the menu.

12th - 15th of January

Board the ship and leave Ushuaia, going east towards the Falklands. We'll be spending a few days at the Falklands, (hopefully) seeing an abundance of penguins and black-browed albatrosses.

16th - 21st of January

Continuing east we again spend a few days on the sea before arriving at South Georgia where we will, depending on weather, spend four days exploring. The highlight of the trip will be the large colony of king penguins, but also historical sites will be visited (whaling stations, Shackleton's grave etc.).

22nd - 23rd of January

We point the ship south, leave South Georgia and head towards Antarctica.

24th - 28th of January

At the Antarctica peninsula we will be spending as much time as possible off the ship and the in zodiacs or on land, exploring, enjoying the beautiful views and the large numbers of penguins that will be running/waddling around minding their own business and largely ignoring us.

29th - 31st of January

Heading back north, leaving Antarctica behind and returning to Ushuaia where I will be flying out on disembarkation day to Buenos Aires. I haven't sorted out tickets to and from Argentina yet but I am not expecting to spend more than maybe an extra night there before leaving. Have to get another steak, but have to get back to work, too, unfortunately.

Compared to the previous tours I've done on the ship we will be spending quite a lot of time just crossing water, but that is unavoidable when you want to visit remote islands so I expect it to be worth it. If nothing else I am crossing my fingers that the extra time spent out in the open means more chances of seeing whales and other ocean mammals which I haven't had much chance of yet. (Orcas.I am talking about orcas).

21st – Last day before returning

The last day before going back across the Drake returning to Ushuaia started as usual with a wakeup at 0700 and breakfast half an hour later. An hour later people started getting ready for zodiac cruises or landings on Livingstone Island at Elephant Point where the main attraction is elephant seals. This is also one of the few places in Antarctica where you can actually find green. There were some larger males around, the alpha was estimated to app. 2 tons the others a bit smaller. A few females too, but most of all there were pups either just lying around to being very curious as to what kind of strange red creatures had arrived to the island.

Male and female elephant seals.

Female elephant seal.

Elephant seal pups.

It can even be green in Antarctica.

Nature being beautiful doesn't necessarily have to be beautiful to look at. 

Snow petrel munching on the leftovers of a female elephant seal.

Back at the ship we had lunch and relocated one last time and arrived after 4 hours at 1600 at Robert Point on Robert Island.

The conditions in the afternoon had gotten a bit livelier than previous on the trip which meant that when going from the gangway to the zodiac you had to be careful, but as soon you were in the boat and on your way to the beach it was relative smooth sailing. Being the last landing on the trip the atmosphere felt a bit more mellow – people using the last chance they have to soak in the impressions of the Antarctic environment. And it was a nice place; nice views and plenty of gentoos, chinstraps, elephant seals and a couple of fur seals.

Fur seal.

Returning from our last landing on the trip the ship's musician Blaise Guld was waiting in the mudroom and welcoming us back.

Going back to the ship the conditions hadn’t changed much but around 1815 we lifted anchor and started making our way north to Ushuaia. The day’s briefing was held at 1845 but only a couple of minutes later we were informed of breaches and flukes in the water in front of us. We must have broken some kind of record in how short time we managed to empty the lounge. We were presented with two beautiful flukes multiple times right in front of the ship by two humpback whales. A great sendoff, I don’t believe I have seen such a show before and can almost forgive nature for not giving us more emperors on the trip.

Almost.

After dinner we had a costume party and it was clear that the guides running the show are enjoying it just as much as the ones dressed up enjoy dressing up and having fun.

The sea has gotten a bit rougher and it will likely get worse during the night. I still feel fine, but once again I don’t know if it’s the sea sick patch, that I still can see the horizon without problems or if I just don’t really struggle with rough seas. Either way I’m glad it’s like that and not pure panic as soon as a wave appears. It also helps I’m in a cabin which is pretty much located in the middle of the ship.

There will be no wakeup call tomorrow but breakfast is at 0800-0900 and presentations will be held during the day. It will be some interesting days we are looking forward to.

20th – Ave, Imperator!

As planned the alarm went off at 0330 and there was quite a few of us out and about to see the sunrise and tabular icebergs now slowly appearing when entering the Antarctic Sound. After an hour or so my interest in sleep overruled my fear of missing out of something interesting and I returned to my cabin.

At 0700 we had our usual wakeup call; time, date, weather and forecast, location and destination. And as a minor afterthought it was mentioned that an emperor penguin had been spotted. They usually only appear much further south and are a rarity this far north. Our expedition leader has been here 15-ish times and with this he had seen a total of 2. I was out of bed, dressed and with camera in hand faster than I ever thought possible but when coming up on deck it seemed to have dived and disappeared. It annoys me more than it should that it got away before I got a shot of it – or even just saw it! – but to be honest hearing a rumor that somebody had managed to get a shot of it before it disappeared bugged me even more. Jealousy is not a nice thing.

After standing around for a bit I went back down to have a shower and breakfast. Due to the amounts of ice present we were not able to get further south so instead we grabbed the zodiacs and started cruising around among the ice. We got to see some adélie penguins for the first time and in groups of 2-3 zodiacs we anchored on a large piece of sea ice where we got the opportunity have a walk around. To be honest during the entire time I was sneaking an ear to the radios hoping the word “emperor” would come over it, but that unfortunately never happened. We had a bit more cruising done before the ship asked us to return. When getting into the zodiacs the conditions weren’t quite as calm as what we were used to and the swell had now increased quite a bit and the wind had picked up, too. It was announced that the winds had gone up to 35-40 knots with gusts above 50 knots and we were asked not to go out on the top deck because of this.

Antarctic tern.

Adélie penguin.

After everyone had returned to the ship we continued towards Gourdin Island. The views of icebergs on the way were amazing, some of the 1-2 km long, dwarfing the ship even at a distance. It was quite humbling to experience. We arrived at mid-afternoon and anchored as usual. The weather had calmed a bit but the zodiacs we still bobbing a meter up and down at the gangway and there was quite a bit of spray going on when getting us to land. The island had a lot of adélie colonies which we now got the chance to see up close. They don’t seem to not be quite as shy or territorial as the gentoos and chinstraps but they were obviously still wild animals you should keep your distance to. From a view point you could see out over the surrounding sea and several tabular icebergs.

It can be hard to see the size without any references but this photo was taken from the ship, not a zodiac.

Only photo I have with 3 different kinds of penguins; gentoos in the front, adélies to the right and chinstraps in the back.

Back at the ship dinner was had and afterwards we were shown the documentary “Chasing Ice” about the receding glaciers around the world. Very shocking, highly recommended.