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.

8th – 11th of January – Leaving home and returning south

The plan was to fly to Buenos Aires where I’d spend 2 nights before getting on another plane to Ushuaia. And having decided to splurge so I had gotten first class tickets on my flights to BA. Having a layover in Frankfurt I left the main terminal building and walked over to the first class terminal where I checked in. Very few people come over here, likely because it’s a bit inconvenient to get to. So for the amount of people here it’s quite a large building with a fully stocked bar, a la carte and buffet restaurant, snacks of various kinds, beds and showers. All included in your first class ticket of course. Starting off with a few hours’ sleep and a shower I followed up with a delicious dinner and multiple snacks before getting picked up with 4 other people and driven straight to the gate. Here we got the elevator up to the long boarding queue, got pushed past and straight on board where we were personally welcomed by the cabin crew. Lufthansa has quite a few high-end Porsches and Mercedes to shuttle their passengers around like this. 

The view of the plane on arrival at the gate.

Reaching my seat I was presented with champagne and nuts, amenity kit, pajamas and slippers, and after takeoff I was presented with more champagne and a snack while waiting for my food. The table was made with a cloth, salt- and pepper shakers, cutlery, bread rolls and drinks – just like in any other normal restaurant. I went with a selection of starters and their classical caviar which was served with a generous glass of vodka (one might as well go all in). it was an amazing start. It was followed up by tournedos and apple crumble (which, was all something I had selected from their menu). After a glass of port I went out to change into the pajamas and returning they had made my seat into a bed. After a few movies I managed to get 6 good hours of sleep before waking up and having breakfast. Rarely has a 13hour flight been this comfortable.

On arrival in BA immigration took close to an hour of waiting, but when arriving in the baggage retrieval area the first class luggage had already been collected and a crew member was just waiting for it to be picked up. Quite a different experience than travelling among the rest of the plebs…

To be honest I don’t find BA particularly interesting, but having 2 days in the city did mean I’d have the chance of two steak dinners so in the end the extended layover wasn’t too bad. On arrival I ended up walking around in a small national park near the hotel. It was along the side of a small island (it actually takes up half the island if not more) and the vegetation meant that you lost the sound of traffic when walking around there. Being along the water you could get a mild breeze at times, very helpful against the blistering heat. 

The following day, still full from yesterday’s dinner, I had a slow morning before heading out on a 5-hour walk and ending up in the Grand Mausoleum Park. It was quite interesting walking around and seeing the huge variety in design and level of maintenance of the various mausoleums. I returned to the hotel and had – of course – my second steak dinner.

To get to Ushuaia we had a flight at 0745 on the following morning so at 0530 we checked out from our hotel and left for the airport. Fortunately, we’d be departing from the smaller domestic airport so transport between the airport and hotel was significantly shorter than from the international airport. The flight was 3½ hours with no hiccups on the way and on arrival in Ushuaia we were fortunate enough to be able to check in right away at our hotel there.

After checking in I decided to go for a walk. Having been here before I don’t really feel there is much to do having seen the prison museum so my aim was just to kill time. Going outside I realized that the weather was fairly nice with comfortable temperatures so I ended up changing my mind and went for a run instead. Following the roads in a southbound direction you reached a viewpoint with views of the channel and Ushuaia. Coming back I circled around a small local airstrip before returning to the hotel. I was nice getting a bit out of the town as there were two large cruise ships that had unloaded all their passengers so it was getting quite crowded. 

Going to the windy city

The thing with the Abbott World Marathon Majors (Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York and Tokyo) is that there are no way to just sign up for a spot, but instead you have to gain access by other methods. Among other methods there are donations to charities, meeting a qualifying time, a ballot draw or getting a spot through a partnered travel agent.

The donations required to be taken into consideration are usually in the equivalent 100s or more often 1000s of USD. The qualifying times are strict enough that if you just run casually you won’t really have a chance to reach the cut-off time. In the ballot draw you have, depending on race, between a 4% and 50% chance to get picked (Boston differs as they don’t have a ballot). So in the end, for a runner like me, most of the time the only realistic chance I have is going with a travel agency and as I am not the only one in that situation many of these departures are often sold out several years in advance.

But at times you are allowed to be lucky. Chicago has the highest chance in the ballot (50-ish percent) and it fortunately went my way this year. So added to the marathon in Calgary and the SuperHalfs Chicago is now on the list for 2020’s runs.

7^th – 9^th of October

Flying out to Chicago (yes, it’s two days after coming back from Cardiff) and spending some time in the city. I have never been there before so it’s going to be new for me. For ease I booked a hotel close to the start and finish line of the marathon which puts me in downtown (in The Loop, for those who knows Chicago) which means getting back will be a breeze – relatively, at least. No up and down stairs to subways as in New York, at least.

10^th of October

The International Chicago 5K run is in the morning which brings us on a short 5km course round downtown, ending up near the marathon’s finish line. The afternoon will be spent on relaxing and (mentally) preparing for the marathon tomorrow.

11^th of October

Race day. The first wave with wheelchairs gets started at 0720 and from 0730 and the following hour the three runner waves will be sent off. The race starts in Millennium Park and after circling downtown we go north to Uptown before returning to downtown and heading west. This will be a few kilometres before we return back and circle south through the University Village, Little Italy and Pilsen before heading south through Chinatown to Bronzeville, returning up north finishing in Grant Park, bordering Millennium Park to the south. The course is relatively flat (seems like there is a variance of app. 10 meters) so for a marathon it doesn’t seem like a technically hard course. The rest of the day will obviously be spent on relaxing and recovering.

12^th – 13^th of October

Flying out the 12^th in the evening means I have most of the day to walk around while being sore.

The Chicago marathon has around 45.000 runners each year which makes it one of the big ones, on par with Berlin and New York – but being one of the Marathon Majors it does attract a lot of runners in general. The small ones can be fun but participating in a big run just has a completely different feeling and something I am looking forward to experiencing again. And it’s just a plus that it’s in a city I haven’t visited before.

Going to US' hat

With many of my trips in 2020 involving some kind of running I felt it was necessary to book a tour that involved more relaxation than physical exertion to counter the exercise. My long list of places I want to go, roughly prioritized depending on current inspirations, has some destinations that have been a fair bit down on the list for a while. This is slowly changing, mainly because of the destinations higher on the list have been visited. But also because it gets me to some (potentially) beautiful nature, and it gives me a chance to maybe meet up with some of those people I have met in recent years through my trips.

So on this trip I’ll be aiming for a new country on my list – and it’ll be hard to miss considering its size.

28^th – 31^st of May

Flying out from Copenhagen in the morning via Frankfurt and arriving in Calgary in the western part of Canada in the afternoon. Here I’ll be spending a few days walking around and checking out the sights until Sunday the 31^st where I’ll be participating in the Calgary marathon. Might as well sign up for the run when it’s occurring when I’m there. The timing is totally coincidental.

1^st – 4^th of June

Meeting up with the group on the 1^st in the evening before leaving the following morning and going to the town of Banff, surrounded by beautiful views and landscapes. This will be a common feature for most of the places we will spend time on this trip. After a night there we’ll continue to Lake Louise where we will spend a full day.

5^th – 8^th of June

After having spent a full day in Lake Louise we’ll move further west towards Jasper where we also will spend a day to have time to take in the surroundings. The same is scheduled for when we arrive Wells Gray Park that we will go to after Lake Louise. Wells Gray Park apparently has quite a few waterfalls that are worth checking out.

9^th – 14^th of June

From Wells Gray Park we will continue on to Whistler followed by reaching the coast and taking the ferry to Vancouver Island and spending the night in Tofino. When in Tofino we will be going on a whale safari and doing some relaxing wandering around before driving south to Victoria (where we won’t spend an extra day) before taking the ferry back to the main land and driving to Vancouver where we will arrive some time in the afternoon concluding the tour.

15^th – 19^th of June

I’ll be staying in Vancouver by myself for a couple of days before flying home the 18^th in the afternoon and coming home the following afternoon. Just like Calgary I’ll get my tourist hat on, having a look around, just without any running this time.

Canada is full of beautiful nature which I am looking forward to see, and I’m hoping that the wildlife will be showing itself from it’s outgoing side. And if not that’ll just be an excuse to return some other time. Nights outside of Calgary and Vancouver will be spent camping and while that means cutting down on the luxury of a hotel room I won’t mind much considering the surroundings we will be finding ourselves in.

The Superhalfs

From 2020 a group of European half marathons have gotten together to create what they call “an adventure”. It is basically 5 different half marathons spread out throughout the year, two in the early spring and three in the fall. The list is as follows:

Lisbon (March 22^nd)

Prague (March 28^th)

Copenhagen (September 13^th)

Cardiff (October 4^th)

Valencia (October 25^th)

You have 36 months to complete all 5 races to be listed in the Superhalfs Hall of Fame, but I looked at it and concluded that I wanted to challenge myself so I decided to do them in within one calendar year. This has therefore resulted in me booking four extended weekends throughout the year (the Copenhagen marathon will only require a short train ride back and forth). They will all be Friday-Sunday with the exception of Prague which will be Thursday-Sunday as the run is on the Saturday instead of Sunday. Also, Prague will be a repeat visit but despite it was just in 2018 I went there last time I don’t really mind as I really enjoyed walking around in the old city (and the food was good and cheap).

I managed to get hotels close to the start/finish lines which fortunately were also quite close to the centre of the cities. Lisbon was an exception, though, as the start is across a bridge from the city centre. And from there the course mostly stays away from the main parts of the city centre. I tried to find a place close to a train station (the race instructions are to take the train to the starting area) and still close to the centre so I’m hoping I’ve read the map correctly and it won’t be a logistical nightmare when I get there to get to and from the run.