Saturday, December 29, 2007 - Deception Island in Whalers Bay

Highlights:  Swimming in Antarctic Waters (Yes - Swimming!) - Volcano exploration on Deception Island

We awoke at 5 am to get dressed to watch the ship enter the caldera of the volcano through Neptunes Bellows.  It was windy and cold.  We are scheduled to have an early landing on the black sand beach at Deception Island.  It was really rough sailing as we dressed.  Juast as we were ready to go out, John came on the PA system and announced we were delayed by 2 hours during the night due to the weather.  That was great news since I wasn't feeling so good then and hadn't slept well.  We both laid back down fully dressed and slept for another hour and a half. 

John finally announced our arrival at Neptunes Bellows and we went on deck to watch the ship enter the caldera through a very small opening.  The seas were still rough and the winds were gale force.  It was hard standing up on deck and it was really cold.  There was 2" of snow in the windows of the ship from the storm last night.

Once anchored, we were the first group to leave the ship.  Helena was right there with us as usual for our last shore excursion of this trip.  We walked back toward the entrance to Deception and up a small ridge to get a more panoramic view of the caldera along with the birds nesting in the mountain cliffs.  We walked back to the Zodiac landing site where the staff was digging in the black volcanic rock to see if we could find warm water.  They asked us to test the water and go in swimming - I told them to "Keep Digging"!

We walked the other way to an old abandoned plane hanger.  This used to be a huge whaling station with 30-40 whaling ships at anchor at an one time.  They slaughtered the whales on the flat shore.  The island is an old volcano with only the one opening now to the cone that is visible in the middle.  The British left Deception in the late '60's after the volcano erupted in 1967 and then again in 1970.  After walking to the hanger, we went back to the landing site to the "swimming pool".

The warmth of the volcanic rock has warmed the frigid Antarctic waters slightly.  Unfortunately, there was no steam as we had expected and the water was only slightly lukewarm.  Tim and I pondered this for a while and watched others in the water and I decided - What the Hell!  So Tim and I shed all of our warm clothes and it was freezing standing outside in the wind and cold with just our bathing suits on.  Then we went into the water, which actuallyy felt good since we weren't in the cold air any more.  Audrey took pictures of us and we splashed in the water for a while and then got out.  And BOY was that cold then.  I couldn't dry off quickly enolugh.  The ship had towels there for us to use. 

After dressing back in our warm clothes, we took a Zodiac straight back to the ship for a warm shower.  Then to the lounge where we talked to Helena (Mette is her real name), as we sailed back through Neptunes Bellows and back to sea.  We'll be in the Bransfield Strait for about 3 hours and will enter the Drake Passage for what is expected to be a rough ride back to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Tim went to hear Steve (Zodiac driver) talk about his life over 4 summers at Palmer Staion and Larry napped before lunch.  Lunch was with Tim Mather and Helena (fun!) while we were rockin and rolling through the strait.

We saw the third episode of Life in the Freezer (so interesting) about animal life in Antarctica.  At 4 pm we heard Trevor Potts talk about his recreation of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1916 voyage in Antarctica.  An amazing feat of an even more amazing original feat.

Note on some people on the trip:  We have named several people on the trip.  Michelen Lady is a huge rotund woman from Britain who wasn't able to move very well, yet she insisted on going on every excursion.  She was in our Zodiac on one occasion and I held my breath that we wouldn't capsize when she stepped in.  The Oblivions were oblivious of everyone else on the trip except themselves with regard to seating, Zodiac entry, everything.  Also, one of the Oblivions really didn't have a clue - she kept asking - Which way is east?  And Which way does the sun rise?  Duhhhh!  There was NEVER a line that they didn't break.  Audrey's Mom is here on the trip - Eleonore - she is 82 and made almost every landing with the group - what a trooper.  One couple on the trip celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and they were right in there with us too on everything - they had to also be in their 80's.  The Sleepers took over the Lounge whenever the seas got rough - they tied up the sofas with their pillows and blankets and others couldn't sit while they slept through many of the presentations given there.  Mack and Marietta were here on their honeymoon - she's the daughter of the ship's owner.  The McLaurens from Canada - "the boys!" were at play always (including Dad) at every stop - building dams, tobaggoning, breaking melting ice bridges - but Mom did the swim at Deception and the boys didn't.  So they were the "McLauren Players".  The Walkers were 2 women who walked and waled and walked around the deck.  But don't get in their way as they'll knock you down.

We'll now be at sea for 2 days.  Tim and I played backgammon in the Club - I won for once!  We got dressed for dinner and went to a debrief with John.  Our ship was almost diverted to go help another ship with 400 passengers today.  It lost all electrical power at Penguin Island and drifed ashore.  We would have had to go back about 9 hours to pick them up and then another 9 hours back to where we were and then accompany the ship across the Drake Passage.  Just before we headed to get them, they restored power and were fine so we kept heading north.

Rough seas - 10 - 20 foot waves at this point - has made this another rockin' and rolling passage but John tells lus this is mild so far.  We had drinks after the debrief with Roger and Pat and then went to dinner with them, Trevor and Oleg (trip staff).  We had the best poached salmon I've ever had.  Bogdan fixed me another special dessert.  Pam then came and summoned us to the Club for singing with John Harwood while he played his guitar.  Great fun.  We did rounds and ballads and camp songs.  Fun.  We decided to have just one more drink.  I told Lena - If I order another drink, she was to tell us Niecht (No!).  She responded - I don't know this word! So the one drink turned into 3 or 4 and we talked to lots of people around teh bar until well after it closed at 1 am.  To make matters worse, the Argentine government decided just today - yes today - to go to Daylight Savings Tim - so the time advanced an hour.  So it wasn't 1:30 when we went to bed, it was 2:30 am.  We poured ourselves into bed.  Even with the rockin' and rolling we both slept soundly.  Since we are a little further north we are not getting an hour or so of twilight at night rather than light all day long for 24 hours.

Larry and Tim

Friday, December 28, 2007 - Off Peterman Island on the Antarctic Peninsula - Our Southernmost Stop

Highlights:  Zodiac Exploration in the bay among the iceberg - Circumcision Point exploration

We got up at 7:30 and had breakfast at 8.  The first 2 groups left at 8 to go exploring in the icebergs in the Zodiacs.  Our group leaves at 9 am.  We are anchored off Pleneau Island and Booth Island in a bay where the icebergs get trapped here between the islands so there are LOTS of them here.  We dressed very warmly since we'll be out on the water in the boats for 45 minutes and it could be a bit wet too.

It was quite cloudy with occasional rain and ice falling.  Lots of different icebergs - some with arches formed by the water and wind.  Also one with a keyhole up near the top of the berg that was great.  I spotted a large seal resting on an iceberg.  This was so cool.  We also spotted several penguins that flew out of the water onto an iceberg to rest.  One flapped his wings as if he was waving to us.  Luciano was our driver.  He took us back to the boat for some warm tea.

Our next stop is at Port Circumcision off of Peterman Island.  This is our southern most landing of the journey - not quite to the Antarctic Circle.  Apparently, there are not that many sights between here and the Circle and there is still too much ice to safely navigate there too even though it is mid summer!  So this becomes our southern-most destination. 
On arrival at Peterman Island, a humpback whale was spotted off of the bow.  We were the last group to leave the ship which was fortunate as the ice and snow were so deep it was difficult to walk.  So the other groups made a path and we were able to literally follow in their footsteps which made it much easier.  It sunk to my knees though a couple of times.

The trip over was very wet with Trevor as our driver.  We watched the gentoo penguins walk in the penguin trails and one tobaggoned all of the way down the hill.  We made our way to the top of the hill.  The view was worth the climb as there was a small lagoon filled with icebergs.  Beautiful.  There was a steep hill overlooking where we were anchored so we trudged up there for a better view from above - it also was worth the climb.  Tim decided to tobaggon down and he created a compated chute so I followed him down toboggan style.  Many others followed us after that.

We then walked to the far end of Circumscision Point where there was a rocky cliff with another rookery.  Gentoos and cormorants are here on their nests.  There was a huge bowl-shaped crystal ice piece in the water below that was magnificent.  We paused to watch the penguins stealing stones from each other and move around.  They did an experiment with the penguins and cresated a nest with all pink stones.  Within days, the pink stones were scattered all over the rookery in many nests - evidence of how they take stones from each other.  We took a Zodiac back to the ship and had lunch with Audrey and John (FL), Pat and John Dill (MN), and Jim and Ralph (NYC).  Eleonore, Audrey's 82 year old mother joined us later. 

After lunch we visited the bridge as they navigated us around ice bergs in the Lemaire Channel on the way to our next stop later tonight.  It has been sleeting, snowing, and raining off and on all day.  After the bridge visit, Larry napped and Tim read.

At 4 pm, we went to Part 3 of Life in the Freezer - the Race to Breed, which was shown in the Lounge.  It has been interesting for us to see in real life what we have now seen on TV or in documentatires such as this.  Seeing it in person is the only way to see it though.  The beauty is difficult to capture in words or pictures.  So educational for us.

We are now anchored off of Almirante Brown Station at Paradise Bay.  Another beautiful setting.  An abandoned Argentine base (partly burned down a few years ago but they rebuilt some of it).  The Chileans also have a base here across the bay since both countries are trying to claim this part of the continent (probably in case it is ever possible to mine here).

We walked through the little village that had 4 containers turned into buildings and we watched the penguins who have built nests all around the settlement.  We then were part of the first ones to trudge (yes trudge - it was hard climbing) through deep snow up the hill for a spectacular view.  John Frick had told us it would be a sweaty climb and he was right.  Whew - but I made it.

Luqui was on the pinnacle and we stood with him and had our picture made by Helena.  Tim was then the first (of course) to tobaggan down and he helped create a fabulous togaggon run that almost everyone on our tour then used.  I had a great run right behind Tim.  Fun - Fun - Fun!  We talked Sherman and Joan Silber (St Louis) into going up and tobagganing down and they had a great time.  As we watched the others slide down, we saw 2 icebergs calve.  Loud cracks and then SPLASH. 

We rode back to the ship in a Zodiac with Steve.  He took us over to see the bird nests in the rocky cliffs and also a large vein of tanzanite in the mountain.  We then asked about the dark things floating in the water.  In actuality it was clear ice - or bar ice - no air trapped in it or the air was compressed out since this ice is so old.  It could be 10,000 to 100,000 years old  and has been compacted so long to make it clear.  We retriev ed a small piece that looked like a bird.  Then we found another one that was much larger that Tim pulled from the sea.  It was much larger than a basketball and had a beautiful design on the surface.  Tim was so proud of it and hald onto it even while he changed from his boots to his shoes.  He took the large ice to Len at the bar and they put it in the freezer.  We're trying to figure out how to break it up for cocktails!

After a quick shower, we dressed and went to the debriefing with John Frick.  Then Tim ran down to hold a table for us for dinner with Audrey, John, Eleonore, Jim, Roger, Pat and Regina (SF).  We had such a great time laughing and talking.  Audrey and I referreed Tim and John arguing politics - the democrats vs. republicans!  I got Pat and Roger talking about the Queen to avert a political spat between the two of them.  We were the lsat to leave the dining room and went straight to bed since is was 11:30 and we have to get up very early for Deception Island tomorrow.

We are headed back to the South Shetland Islands for our last stop.  A huge snow storm developed and it snowed heavily during the night with high winds.  The captain had to detour the route due to the bad storm and it took us 2 hours longer than expected to get to Deception Island.  The ship socked and rolled severely during the night - things were falling off of the counter and rolling around inside the drawers and rolling under the bed.  So I had to get up and secure things a couple of times.  Not a restful night at all, but such a fun day.

Larry and Tim

Thursday, December 27, 2007 - Lemaire Channel, Dorian Bay and Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Dorian Bay Air Strip - Port Lockroy Settlement Visit - Penguin Watching!

We anchored at Dorian Bay at 8 am.  After breakfast we got dressed in our warm clothes and went to a briefing in the Lounge.  Then we were the first group to head out to Dorian Bay.  We are now at the 63rd parallel (lattitude) - still not to the Antarctic Circle.  We came in the Neumeyer Channel and anchored below the Seven Sisters Mountain - 7 tall peaks and 1 huge peak representing the Mother.  There is a lion seal sunning here.  The leopard seal has the large mouth and preys on the penguins, but not the lion seal.  There are penguin rookeries around and an old British hut - very primative.  Also an Argentinian hut - there is a landing strip above us on a high hill so we all walked up a snow covered trail to the landing strip and we took in the spectacular views.  Port Locroy with 2 hours is below - we'll visit there this afternoon.  The mountain peaks are all snow covered and spectacular.

We had a group picture made and then Tim slide on his belly - face first (show off!) - all of the way down the slope.  The other kids joined in!  We retrieved my parka which I had shed for the walk up the hill and then went back to the ship for hot bouillon - that hit the spot. 

Lunch was a BBQ on the outside upper deck with ribs, steak, lamb chops, hamburgers, and hot dogs.  Yummy too!  During lunch the m/s Corinthian II repositioned on the other side of the hill where the landing strip was at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.  THere is a historic research station here that has been restored and is maintained by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust.  A crew of 3 are stationed here from October to early March - 1 man and 2 women - they were looking forward to March 8 when they leave here!  They run a small gift shop and post office in the restored station - quite primitive - I can't imagine having an assignment such as this.  They are running an experiment on the island to determine the impact of tourists on the penguin colonies.  So tourists are only allowed on half of the island.  Results so far - the penguins are doing better on the tourist side since the skua birds are kept away more by the movement of the tourists.  Interesting.

We watched a penguin in his never-ending quest to get rocks for his mates nest.  You can't tell male from female penguins and they share all nesting responsibilities.  They steal rocks from each other.  We then took a Zodiac ride to another landing site where whates and seals were slaughtered.  There were lots of whale bones around and some laid out to form a whale skeleton.  We then walked through another penguin rookery with lots of guano.  At this rookery, cormorants had their nests intermingled with the penguins.  The penguin nests were low and made out of small rocks.  The cormorant nests were built up higher from the group and built of feathers, twigs, and other material - not rocks.  We have no idea where the twigs come from - one of the guides told us that they could have carried it from the closest islands.  The cormorant chicks had hatched and the parent was regurgitating food for them to eat.  We watched this in awe.

We rode around a Dutch sailing boat anchored here and then back to the ship for hot chocolate offered on arrival.  Then a shower and clean clothes felt good.  Yeah.  Two Ukrainian scientists boarded our ship and we took them to their home base.   They got off later this night and that was the most southern point we visited on this trip.

During the cocktail hour we arrived at Cape Renard and the entrance to the Lemaire Channel - a 7 mile strait between Booth Island and Humphries Heights on Grahamland.

The one hour trip through the channel was spectacular with tall mountains and cliffs on each side.  Uma's Tits was the mountain at the entrance to Lemaire!  The wind and cold was much worse here.

After cocktails we had a briefing in the Lounge with John Frick.  He recited a poem about exploration in Antarctica and it was very entertaining.  John Harwood gave an explanation about our solr system using an umbrella that was very clever and informative.  We dined with Tim Mather.  THen we headed back to the room and watched Sunset Boulevard on DVD (the original).  Then off to sleep.

Larry and Tim

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 - Neko Harbor and Cuverville Island on the Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Watching and Hearing the Ice Crack and Break (Calve) at the Glacier - Cuverville Island Touring

A rough night at sea.  We went through the Bransfield Strait enroute to the Gerlache Strait.  The winds were high and the seas rough, so the ship was crashed forward in the waves and pitched back as well as rolling side to side as the Captain navigated through the high waves.  The ship movements kept waking me up so I didn't get much sleep.

We had left the cabin window curtains open with only the sheers covering the windows and it never got dark outside, so I kept thinking that it was morning and time to get up.  We awoke around 8 am to a beautiful clear day with blue skies and either side of the ship was surrounded with majestic snow covered mountains.  Words just don't describe the beauty of this place - nor does anything that you have ever seen on TV - you just have to be here and see it to appreciate it.  There are also blow spouts from whales in the channel this morning.

We had breakfast and Tim and I discussed how well educated and traveled this group is - Harvard, Wharton, Princeton, Berkeley, etc.  Hmmm - yes, they are well off too!!!!

We went to t talk in the morning by Jean Kenyon on the trip staff on penguins - she focused on the adelie, chinstraps, gentoos, and macaroni species that we'll see on this trip.  We have already observed up close many of the behaviors she described.  Fascinating.  Then John Frick - the tour director (and also a PLU) - gave a talk on ice - many of the words are French words adaped for the English language - glacier, avalance, moraine, crevasse, etc.  Very educational and informative.  While everyone else rushed off to lunch, we walked on the deck and talked to Steve (RI) and Helena (Lake Tahoe and Norway) and took in the beauty of the mountains, ice, and snow on each side of the Gerlache Strait.  Helena joined us for lunch and we relaxed until time to go out in the Zodiacs at Neko Harbor.

We were the 3rd of 4 groups to go ashore but we were there waiting with our boots on - we called ourselves the Eager Chinstraps.  While waiting, large chucks of ice fell into the sea with a loud boom - called calving of the ice.  We landed on a sandy beach at Neko Harbor - there was a lone seal lying in the sun on its back.  There was a gentoo colony here with their nests all over the hill.  We saw a skua with a penguin egg in its moutn - stolen from a nest where the parents weren't watching.  It was sad but we decided the birds need to eat too!

We watched the penguins for a while and then walked all along the beach to the base of the glacier that overlooks a cove.  It was beautiful.  Tim and I were the first to arrive so it was exceptionally quiet and we could hear the ice cracking and groaning and breaking all over the cove.  We saw a small chunk calve off and lots of little ones.

We sat in awe watching the glacier and then took a hike up the path to the top of a smaller hill for a spectacular view.  Tim decided to tobaggan down with  the others (kids) and he said that was fun.  I met him at the bottom and we headed back to the ship for tea and cookies.  It was SO HOT at the cove today that we had shed our coats, gloves, and warm hats and we got lots of sun.  My lips started to burn and I eventually paid for this!  We need more sun screen.

Underway again, we traveled a short way to Cuverville Island - yes, it is an island surrounded by water on all sides!  (This was one of the really stupid questions asked by one of the "oblivions" from New Jersey!).  Sailing out of Neko Harbor, we saw huge icebergs that were a few short feet from our ship but much taller and longer.  As we went into the channel leading to Cuverville Island, the scenery was spectacular.  We watched in awe at the mountains and icebergs.  Spectacular.

The water was still as we took the Zodiacs to shore at Cuverville Island - a short ride.  Two private sailing yachts were at anchor there.  Cuverville had rookeries all over.  We sat on a rock and watche the gentoo penguins move about.  One curious one walked right up to us to check us out.  Seems that they are more apt to do that when we are sitting rather than standing so we are not so imposing.  We then walked to the end of where we were allowed to go and watched a penguin taking rocks from another penguin's nest.  We didn't see any chicks here yet since we are further south and they aren't that far along in the breeding cycle - so they were all nesting patiently on their eggs. I believe they told us it takes 19 days for them to hatch - then another 40 days in the nest with their parents (away from the skuas) and then they are off to fend for themselves.  Skuas were close by and we saw the remnants of 6 eggs in the ice and snow where the eggs had been stolen from the nests.  While we were watching the penguins, Ben, Steve (RI), Tommy and Victor (NYC) went swimming in their underwear in the freezing Antarctic waters - brrrrrr!  They didn't stay in long.  We took a Zodiac ride all of the way around the island where there were also rookeris way up high in the rocks.  A beautiful sight.

Back on board we showered, had a drink at the bar, and went to dinner with Roger and Pat (England) and John Harwood who no lives in Brazil in the Amazon - he has interesting stories from his travels.  We learned that Trevor Potts who is one of our guides is the only peron to recreate Ernest Shakleton's 1916 voyage to Antarctica - both land and sea.  After a brief time in the cluub, we went to bed to rest.  Another fantastic day!

Larry and Tim

 

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 - Christmas Day - Brown Bluff at the Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Visit to Gentoo Penguin Rookery - Gentoos Nesting and Going to Swim - Adelie Penguins on Sea Ice

Merry Christmas!  We were up at 7 am, went to breakfast with Bob and Cathy from Reno.  We got dressed and went for the briefing and then loaded with the other chinstraps to go ashore.  We anchored at Brown Bluff on the Tabarin Peninsula at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.  The beach was black volcanic rock with a HUGE penguin rookery (nesting area).  We watched the penguins take turns sitting on either 1 or 2 eggs or 1 or 2 chicks that had already hatched.  Birds (mostly skua) were constantly flying over the rookery looking for either untended eggs or chicks.  We say one grab and baby chick and take off with it for its meal.  Survival of the fittest, I supposed.

We saw the penguins gather in groups at the shore building up the courage to go into the water to go fishing and feeding.  They were precious.  We saw an ice berg break apart on the short right after we had taken a picture of it.  There was a HUGE CRASH and the blue part of the blue and green iceberg fell apart and scattered.  Others had been taking pictures right by it just moments earlier and could have been hurt if they had been there when it crashed.

We waded out in the water since the tide was going out to see the penguins leaving the shore and coming back from fishing.  We also walked to the far end of the beach and saw other penguins (Adelies and Gentoos).  There was a huge ice bridge that Peter and Benjamin (Nova Scotia) broke - it made a huge crash into the waterfall below and got their dad (Tom) all wet.  It was funny but yet at the same time it was sad that others didn't get to see the ice bridge. 

We got a coupld of rocks for Deborah's rock collection and went back to the rookery and watched th epenguins some more.  We then boarded the Zodiac for a somewhat wet ride back to the ship from the ocean spray.  We donated our liquor that we had brought aboard to the ship bar since all drinks were free.  Lena taught us some more Russian words and then we were off to lunch.  We then sailed through Iceberg Alley and there are icebergs of all shapes and sizes everywhere.  We took a nap to rest up for the next landing.  It took us about 3 hours to sail to our next stop at Kinnes Cove where we'll go ashore under the reddish Madder Cliffs.  We'll see the Adelies penguins here.

We have learned that there are 4 species of penguins indiginous to this part of Antarctica - Adelies, Gentoos, Chinstraps, and Magellanics.  The Emperor penguins from March of the Penguins are only found way inland at the coldest part of the Antarctic continent and we won't be able to go there - too far.

When we got to Kinnes Cove, there was too much sea ice (where the sea freezes around the continent in winter) so we couldn't land on the beach.  This entire bay freezes for 20 miles in the winter and it is still frozen 1/4 mile from the shore.  So instead of doing a beach landing, our expedition staff decided to do a sea ice landing.  They tested it and determined that it was 4 - 8 feet thick and safe for us to land on as long as we don't all stand in the same place.  Before the summer is over, all of this ice will melt and then will start freezing again in late March / April.

The Adelies walked or slid on their bellies to the shore.  They gathered around at the edge in groups and then jumped in to go feed.  When they returned, they hurled themselves from the sea and slid on the ice - I was able to capture this in a movie on the camera.  It was amazing to watch them.  A true thrill to see this first hand.

Our Zodiac driver took us all along the edge of the sea ice and we watched Adelies going in and out of the water.  Once back to the ship, we showered, got dressed for cocktails and Christmas dinner.  Over cocktails, Joe told us about taking pictures of his brother Stephen naked on an iceberg earlier today.  We offered to proof the pictures!

The trip through Iceberg Alley was incredible - huge icebergs as big as cities.  Some were 50-100 fee high and 4 to 6 times that as long - one right after the other - blue ice, white ice, green ice, ice strata, etc.  This was fascinating for us.

We were dressed up a bit for the Captains Welcome Reception and Dinner and we talked with various people on the deck as we went through Iceberg Alley.  We had cocktails with friends (all made by Lena) at the bar and then went to the Captain's Reception in the loung where we had champagne and hors d'oeuvres.  We were still fascinated with the icebergs in Iceberg Alley.

Off to dinner with Tim, Jim and Ralph - a traditional turkey Christmas dinner.  Then to the bar where bartender Lena introduced me to Ramazotti - a great digestive - it worked amazingly well.

We sang a bit and talked to others.  Then to the room at 11.  We watched a little bit of the movie Lord of the Flies which Tim has never seen (the original movie) and then went to sleep before midnight.

Another great day in Antarctica.

 

Monday, December 24, 2007 In Antarctic Waters off the Coast of Antarctica

Highlights:  Ice Berg Sightings - Penguin Island Landing - Climbing the Volcano - Christmas Caroling!

We were up at 8, went to breakfast and then a mandatory orientation on visiting Antarctica.  There are specific requirements outlined in the Antarctic Treaty that we must comply with in order to be able to visit.  Most are common sense, but there are all kinds of people who visit here, so you have to review the requirements.

The water temperature has dropped from 55 degrees to 39 degrees.  We will be at anchor in the late afternoon.  We saw another chapter of Life in The Freezer (highly recommend others to view this for information on Antarctica), and then we went to Boot Decontamination lesseons so we will know how to clean our boots when we return to the ship.  Apparently the "guano" (penquin and bird shit) is extensive in many places.

We had lunch wtih Tommy and Tim and then we walked on deck for a while.  Huge white and blue ice bergs are everywhere by our ship.  This is so thrilling.  I was surprised at the various colors from the light refraction.  It is fascinating and I'm taking lots of pictures.

Larry took a nap before our landing and finished reading a book.  Tim went to hear a lecture by one of the naturalists (Trevor Potts) but he said it was boring and he slept through it.  We are passing King George Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands.  We'll anchor about 4 pm at Penguin Island and an advance crew will go ashore to ensure it is safe for us to land too.  Since the sun really never sets, we don't need to worry about running out of daylight - we have 24 hours a day of that!

We got all dressed up for the first time in our insulated underwear and warm clothes.  Excitement was building on the ship as everyone prepared for our first Zodiac landing.  We signed up for the "Chinstrap" Landing Group named for the chinistrap species of penguins.  As a joke we renamed it the Jock Strap Group and had some laughs about that.  We went down to the lounge to wait and while we waited we could see penguins swimming all around the ship - so fascinating.  We were the first to load in the Zodiacs for our group and off we went to Penguin Island - about a 6 minute ride.

The shore was very rocky but right away there are small penguins all aroun dus.  They walked right up to us and were not the least bit afraid.  The beach was FULL of them.  And seals laying in the sun too.  They are molting and will grow a whole new body of hair for the coming winter which starts in late March / April.  We were right by them all.  We took lots of pictures and we were so excited.

Then we went with Luciano on a one mile walk up to the peak of the extinct volcano.  A very hard walk but we had a 360 degree panoramic view of the islands and the cone of the volcano.  From the peak we could see two whales swimming in the channel far below.  At the rim of the caldera, strong gusts pelted us with ice crystals at one point.  The winds were so strong.  But the climb for the view was well worth it.  The climb up took 45 minutes and 30 minutes to come back down.  We went straight to the Zodiac for the short ride back to the ship, showers and dressing for dinner.  Boy did that shower feel good after that long climb up the volcano.

Tim had brought battery pack Christmas lights so once we were dressed for Christmas Eve dinner, we put the lights around us, turned them on and went to the Club for a drink (or two) before dinner.  We were a big hit and a lot of people wanted to take our picture.  We received a round of applause as we entered the dining room for dinner - it was all festive for Christmas and in fun.

We ate with our group of 7.  After dinner we went back to the bar for drinks and Christmas caroling with Sergyii at the piano and electronic keyboard.  They passed out the words to several carols and of course, Tim knew the words to those and more.  So the staff asked Tim to lead the caroling which he was happy to do.  The best was the 12 Days of Christmas and it was a riot to watch Pat and Roger (England) singing.  THey loved our lights but Pat touched her beautiful set of pearls around and neck and I told her - OK, You Win! 

We talked to a lot of people until midnight, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and then went to bed.  A fabulous first day in Antarctica.

One last remembrance - my favorite bartender is Lena from The Ukraine.  She sees us walk in and fixes our drink before we get to the bar.  She looks like she could be a Russian agent - and talks like one too!!!!  She was fun.

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Enroute to Antarctica

Highlights:  Rockin' and Rolling in the Drake Passage - Bird Sightings at Sea

Whoa - We have been rockin' and rolling all night in the Drake Passage.  It got really rought with higher winds around 2 - 3 am.  Only one casualty in our room!  The box of "rocks" with the bathroom amenities came crashing to the bathroom floor in one swell about 2 am.  I got it cleaned up and we slept until 8:30.  The "rods" worked perfectly and no drawers flew out at us!

Tim had breakfast, and I had coffee and a croissant.  John Harwood, a Scotsman, who lives in Brazile on the Amazon River, is on the tour sataff and he was discussing the geography and politics of the region.  We then went to the Lounge and Luciana (Luqui), a tall, drak Italian bird expert explained to us about the many birds - including the large albatross that are flying around our ship while at sea.  He said that they can live out over the ocean for years.  The only time they go to land is to mate. 

The ship is really rocking this morning.  In the lounge at 1 am there was a showing of a British documentary "Life in the Freezer".  A fbaulous documentary.  After that, Tim went to fin the gym (a real joke - a few machines under a canvas cover but outside).  I don't know how in the world you would use it in these seas anyway!  Larry took a much needed nap - with the ship rockin' and rolling the entire time.

Tim went to a lecture by Luqui on birds.  Lots of petrels and albatross are following our ship.  I got up and we went for a walk on deck to see the sea roiling and the birds.  Then to lunch - I almost got launched once across the buffet table!  We had lunch with Rana Ross (one of the tour staff) and Alexandre Svetlankovitch (San Diego - but very Russian).

Then we went to the Lounge to watch The Endurance - a movie about the exploration of Antarctica in 1916 by Sir Ernest Shackleton.  An amazing human feat of endurance.  After the movie, tea in the Lounge.  Tim ready and Larry walked the outside decks.  We are ready to enter "the Convergence" area where the frigid Antarctic waters meet the slightly warmer ocean waters.  The temperature will drop considerably.  John Harwood then gave a lecture with facts about Antarctica.  The continent is larger than the US and has mountain ranges taller than the Alps, but most are covered in snow andice and the valleys are filled in with miles of ice and snow.  The continent more than doubles in size during the winter when the sea ice expands the boundaries of the continent.  This has been so educational for us so far.

Later I had a one-on-one discussion with John Harwood about Al Gore's movied about the environment and global warming.  John believes for sure that man is accelerating the waming cycle that we are in due to carbon emissions, but he felt that a lot has been sensationalized in the movie.  John has charts that show the cyclic warming and colling patterns of the earth over the last 100,000,000 years - yep - 100 million.  We are at the peak of one of the historic natural warming cycles now.

We had cocktails in the club and then our tour director did a debriefing in the lounge.  He told us that we had made a relatively easy and quick crossing of the Drake Passage (I'd hate to be on a tough one!), so we are headed to Penguin Island - a one mile in diameter volcanic cone.  We are going to make our first landing on Christmas Eve. This is so exciting.

We should start looking for ice bergs no as we are entering the ice area.  I'm just hoping the captain and his staff are looking for them electronically.  These should be incredible to see.  Luqui posted a chart whowing the animals that have been spotted each day.  There are some really serious bird-watchers here!  We saw dalphin fumping, albatross, and various types of petrels.  The birds are constantly around our ship in the middle of the ocean. 
We had dinner iwth the 5 other PLU's we have met - an enjoyable evening.

After dinner drinks in the bluc, interesting discussions with the Ukrainian bartenders Lena and Natalye, laughs with Roger and Pat about where we can take other "inheritance spending trips".  Then to bed about 11:30.

A fun fun day about Corinthian II.

Larry and Tim