Flashing back...

... here are some excellent other summaries of my Antarctic trip, complements of Matt and Stefanie. Their other travels are fabulous too! Enjoy...

I-have-no-idea-what-day-it-is five.

It seems so long ago now, but here are five fun Antarctica facts I learned on the expedition that I wanted to share. If anything is wrong, I blame my fearless expedition leaders.

1. In the '60s Argentina took sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and held hostage anyone trying to help Britain regain control... Hostages were tormented with really loud country western music. (Britain has since regained control, but this might partly explain why so many UK/Aussie folks knew the words to "Take Me Home Country Roads" during the karaoke singalong the second to last night of the expedition...?)

As an aside, it seems that Emperor penguins are attracted to heavy metal music. One of our expedition guides worked on the continent for a few years and his mate would blare metal from the speakers in the shop, and twice Emperors wandered in and stared at the speakers.

2. Only 0.4% of the continent is visible. (And I got to play on 0.0000000001% of that 0.4%!)

3. It holds 90% of the world's ice and 66% of the world's water.

Please pause to go install CFLs and insulate your attic - if/when that ice melts we're all doomed.

4. The ice is one mile thick on average and can be 3 miles thick in places. Next time you walk 3 miles (because we're not driving anymore, right - see #3?) think about how thick that would be. Neat, eh?

Another aside, the ice moves. Speed at which it moves varies but on January 1 each year scientists have to go out and reposition the South Pole marker, which moves about 10 meters/year.

4. The average temperature is -30f in summer and -70f in winter... I think that translates to DAMN COLD in celcius degrees.

5. The sea around Antarctica freezes about 1-3 miles per day in the winter. Yes, per day. I had him repeat it.

And a bonus fun fact. Approximately 2300 cubic km (2 million cubic tons of water) calves off the ice shelves and glaciers each year. I only mention it because it's fun to say "cubic."

And now I can throw this stupid piece of paper away. Every little bit helps when you're traveling light...

Photo of the day, 3/13/2010: phase I, the end.

Song o'the day: Time to Move On, Tom Petty. What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing...

Photo of the day, 3/12/2010: lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down... fight, fight, fight!

Drake Passage pitching

Song o'the day: Triveni, Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Photo of the day, 3/11/2010: sea day humor.

read #5 - haha

Song o'the day: Angels & Seagulls, Kimya Dawson.

Photo of the day, 3/10/2010: the last of the penguins.

the king of all he surveys

Song o'the day: OK, let's just do this. It was Sky Blue Sky, Wilco.

Antarctic peninsula, 3/8-3/10.

Gourdin Island: another rare landing for tours. I was beginning to think they just say that, though. This was as close of the Penguin U.N. as I would get (Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie coexisting peacefully).

Adelie: all black head... Gentoo: orange beaks... Chinstrap: self-explanatory

speak loudly... and carry small flightless wings

signaling a left turn

guess what? penguin butt!

The continent was just a mile away but fogged in. Never mind that - the icebergs were stunning.

Gourdin Island iceberg

Later we took a 30 minute Zodiac cruise around Astrolabe Island for more icebergs (the blue! wow), Weddell seals lounging, leopard seals playing with the boat, birds everywhere and even some class 3 rapids... Expedition co-leader Alex said he would sign a certificate affirming it.

file under: photo does not do it justice

not a leopard seal

... and ended the day with an amazing sunset.


Day 2: Mikkelsen Bay. Absolutely horrid weather. Sideways snow, gusting winds, gray skies. We all later thought the crew was desperate for a landing - they seemed to want to land here as much as we did. A good taste of actual Antarctica though.

that green isn't grass - it's penguin guano, YUM!

never did figure out who would be crazy enough to sail under these conditions

Later after Grant Passage we set out on a continental expedition, the crew knowing how much that "7th Continent" landing was to some folks.

first things first: Grant Passage

Many of us were dubious as we Zodiaced to Portal Point after being so roughly windblown and rainsogged that morning at Mikkelson Bay. But the weather changes in seconds here and the sun came through the clouds. As we stepped onto the continent we turned into 10-year-olds! Pure white mountains of snow meant perma-grins, snowball fights and glissades all around.

what one would expect a frozen continent to look like

Antarctica: check

Day 3: The joyous mood lasted through the next day where we kayaked around Cuverville Island after watching an amazing sunrise (and a seal eat a penguin - blech).

sunrise at Cuverville Island

The pm kayak at Melchior Islands was something I will never forget - sunny, calm water at the base of the open ocean and not a sound other than our paddles dipping into the water, birds singing and ice calving from the shelf.

sky blue sky (is this getting old? if so, blame Wilco...)

somewhere in there are teeny tiny kayakers

not-so-teeny tiny kayaker

As an ode to the Brits on board, I will sum up the last 3 weeks with one word: "BRILLIANT." So much more to say, so many photos to post, so many emotions to recall throughout this expedition, but this will have to suffice for now. This is the 2nd, 3rd time for many people on this expedition. While I don't plan to return any time soon, I completely understand the draw.

Onward and upward through the relatively calm Drake Passage to Ecuador, 85 degrees, and no more penguin poop...

Photo of the day, 3/9/2010: wheeeeeeeee!

glissading down the continent - Portal Point, Antarctica

Song o'the day: Sons & Daughters, The Decemberists. A happy song for an amazing Antarctic day.

Photo of the day, 3/8/2010: the tip of the iceberg.

Gourdin Island iceberg

Song o'the day: Oliver's Army, Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Dedicated to those cute little chinstrap penguins on Gourdin Island - I couldn't get that song out of my head for DAYS afterward.

Photo of the day, 3/7/2010: fin whale fun!

A fin whale I spotted off the port side. Selfishly, I didn't tell anyone I saw it, then others spotted it. But I had my moment.

Song o'the day: There's No Home for You Here, White Stripes. Dedicated to the same people. I mean, you signed up for a three week excursion, now SHUT IT already!

Photo of the day, 3/6/2010: sea day fun.

There's nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy... other than watch your nails grow.

Song o'the day: Blacking out the Friction, Death Cab for Cutie... dedicated to everyone on the ship who complained about the pitching and rocking, and the three full sea days, and one of the expedition staff's lousy puns.

Sea day haikus.

One nautical mile
Sea stretches ahead of days
Minutes pass slowly

Breakfast - lunch - dinner
Milestones of cruise traveling
Can't eat any more

Birds off the ship's bow
Icebergs through binoculars
Dophins play portside

Ahoy and yo ho
Stormy seas caused no trouble
Pirate's life for me

Magellenic, King
Rockhopper, Chinstrap, Gentoo
And Macaroni :)

Photo of the day, 3/5/2010: Drake schmake.

Three full days of stormy seas was almost worse than anything Drake's Passage threw our way... (Almost.) It's possible that this was residual weather from the Chilean earthquake.

Song o'the day: Snakes & Martyrs, TV on the Radio.

Photo of the day, 3/4/2010: why hello, elephant seal.

Cooper Bay, South Georgia

Song o'the day: The Cold Part, Modest Mouse.

FI -> South Georgia, 2/27-3/4.

Heading to South Georgia our trusty captain was able to swing the ship past Shag Rocks (another rare sighting). Six small rocks jutting from the middle of nowhere, with hundreds of shags nesting. Very cool...

there's a sixth one in there somewhere

I thought this one looked like a muppet

Saw my first iceberg the morning of the Salisbury Plain landing. And many subsequently - they're everywhere, and some are quite large.

This was our first landing with King penguins and fur/elephant seals. The Kings are majestic indeed, especially with sun shining on their bright orange spots. Very curious too - they would walk right up to you and stop as if to inquire what you were doing.

King penguins a'plenty - about 200,000 of them

my new BFF

as in other places, we were able to get quite close - I'm still not sure if this was a good thing (for their sake)

Fur seals have since grown on me but first encounters were stressful - they will charge (it's a bit reminiscent of a poodle charging a rottweiler, if poodle bites were infectious).

they look really cute, right? sooooo not cute

Elephant seals are appropriately named - watching 2-4 tons of blubber try to make its way up a rock or to the beach is quite entertaining, and when they roar the whole island hears it.

bathtime

South Georgia was a complete 180 from FI sunny landings - snowing/hailing at times, gusty winds, overcast. It was all part of the Antarctic experience though, and I have to say it was my favorite place of the three land masses we visited. Yes, it trumped the actual continent - which was amazing - so be sure to include a trip here if you visit the south.

After Salisbury Plain we visited Fortuna Bay for more Kings but had to postpone the hikes due to inclimate weather. The skies were not much better the next day but hike we did, about 5km from Fortuna over to Stromness on the other side of the mountain ("Shackleton's walk"), and another blizzardy afternoon hike uphill from Maiviken to Grytviken station.

Scenery on both hikes was amazing, awe-inspiring, even emotional at times. Possibly some of the best hiking I will ever do in my life. I can't imagine doing that without waterproofed/fleeced/insulated everything, or while pulling 200lbs of equipment. Those brave and crazy explorers from 100+ years ago constantly amaze.

cold, cold, cold

cold, cold, cold... but absolutely gorgeous

Shackleton's waterfall

light-mantled sooty albatross pair on the Maiviken hike - the "holy grail" of albatross, apparently

The whaling stations were interesting. Just as I cannot imagine hiking in those conditions, working in those conditions was even less desirable.

Stromness station

there, I fixed it! - Grytviken whaling station

We huddled around Shackleton's grave that evening to drink a Tullamore Dew toast to the Boss...

cheers, Boss

The next day we hit Moltke Harbor where a few of us were able to put out the kayaks for a bit under the unusually calm seas and blue, blue skies while everyone else went ashore for photo ops.

Then down to Gold Harbor for more of the same wildlife and a nice walk up to the top of a ridge for beautiful scenery.

sleepy

penguin sundial

Our final stops in SG were Cooper Bay to see Macaroni penguins and more fur seals...

stick a feather in its cap... yeah, lame name

a rare quiet moment

fur seal doing what it does best - scritchin'

... then down to Drygalski Fjord - a stunning glacier. We were able to get within 20m and see a few small calves.

my fjord is one mile wide

We are now in the midst of three sea days but the first stormy day is behind us. I'm sure to get grief for this but way to go, Canadian Olympic hockey team and Sidney! Yes, we get some news down here but most of the crew is Canadian so it's a bit skewed... says the Canadian at heart.