Tolhuin, Argentina

As we crossed out of Antarctica and once again faced the Drakes Passage it gave us a bit more of a shake around with Force 10 conditions and wind gusts of 63mph/102kph, 9.3m high waves. The pills held me together and I spent a relaxing day, now with a familiar pattern of lectures, food and naps.

Artigas Base, Antarctica

Pretty much as soon as we got back to the cabin last night we packed everything away and the wind picked up. Our cabin is at the front behind the bridge so we get the most movement, particularly the slams as we hit waves. It doesn’t seem to be consistent noises so woke a few times in the night despite earplugs. Today was spent attending a few lectures, blog updates and a fair bit of napping. Seasickness pills seem to be holding off any nausea (touch wood). Sea calmed late afternoon and by sunset it was lovely, stepped outside to see a couple of Albatross flying around the ship.

Paradise Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula

Early morning call today as we attempt to pass through the Lemaire Channel. The Lemaire Channel is an 11 km long by 1.6 km wide passage that runs from False Cape Renard to Cape Cloos, separating Booth Island from the Antarctic continent. At its narrowest, the Lemaire Channel is less than 800 m wide with towering peaks overhead. The channel can be full of icebergs and sea ice, which makes manoeuvring difficult. Unfortunately for us as we approached the entrance we could see it was littered with iceburgs and due to wind, once in the channel the ship would have little steerage so it would be foolish to attempt. We turned around and headed for shelter from the gusty wind, in the form of the aptly named Paradise Harbour. Whalers named Paradise Harbour because it is such a protected anchorage. Deep and glaciated, it is a favoured location for zodiac cruising, particularly around the glaciers of Skontorp Cove, which sometimes calve. This region supports nesting blue-eyed shags, Cape petrels and Antarctic terns on the nearby cliffs. It is also home to the infrequently occupied Argentinean station Almirante Brown that is located on the Antarctic mainland. We learnt that the Argentinians built the most bases and refuges on Antarctica, mainly as political statements. It was great getting back in the zodiacs to zoom up close to the glacier and around the ice structures looking at sea birds and penguins ‘porpoising’ or cruising along the surface of the ocean. We even managed to look up around 10.30 to view a partial solar eclipse through cloud which was cool. On landing Gentoo penguins greeted us, many of them adults moulting so they conserve energy and shelter themselves in groups. We hike up to a high point for a spectacular view of Paradise Harbour and bizarrely it is the first walk on snow this trip. We walked over to the Cove and just marvelled at the glaciers, massive descending ice to the sea shore, with blue and white peaks often looking like meringue. This afternoon we headed in to Cuverville Island which lies in the Errera Channel, between Rongé Island and the Arctowski Peninsula. This small rocky island has vertical cliffs measuring 200 m (650 ft.) in elevation with extensive moss cover. Cuverville Island is home to the largest gentoo penguin colony in the region (6,500 breeding pairs), along with southern giant petrels, kelp gulls, Antarctic terns, snowy sheathbills and south polar skuas. It was amazing to see how high up the penguin colony is based and all the trails down the snow to and from the beach, bit like ski runs! Saw a few penguin carcasses that were not so nice to see, but we do get reminded of the circle of life. Last trip on the zodiacs was with Daven and we were keen to see whales, we shot out of the cove and sped past the seals languishing on iceburgs, Crabeaters and even a Leopard seal swimming underneath the zodiac could not stall us we were on a mission. Just outside we spotted a couple of sleeping humpback whales, on waking they dove down with a quick furnish of tail fins. We kept our eyes peeled and spotted a couple more in the distance, and then the previous two surfaced nearby for us to watch. There was a annoying American woman, trying to get a perfect whale shot on a iPhone who kept moaning about missing it or Justin’s bobble hat getting in the way. We still had a great time sat watching them and at one point there were about seven around us which was incredible to watch, such large magnificent creatures. Got back to the ship and learnt that in order to get ahead of a storm we would leave Antarctica tonight in an attempt to have a calmer trip across Drakes passage, we were told that the last expedition crossed in 11m high swells….sounds terrifying! As I was finishing my lovely hot shower tonight an announcement was made that in 10minutes time people could do the ‘Polar Plunge’ if they wanted. Basically they tie a rope around you and you jump into the Antarctic Ocean which is below zero – of course we were doing it! As we lined up the music was pumping to fire the energy as about 70 of us got ready to jump one by one. It was great to see Sarah, Paul and Kasper in the line and people coming out looked okay. I lowered myself down the steps off level 3 to the platform where they tied the rope round me, there was a boat off the stern taking pictures so I launched myself dramatically and flung myself as far as I could. Big mistake, this water was cold and I had not factored in such a strong current, as a started swimming back to the platform I remembered how small the lady was who had the other end of the rope….but we got out, just as Justin threw himself in and made a similar choice! It was exhilarating and we chatted for a post plunge minute before heading back for hot showers!

, Antarctica

I woke several times in the night as the boat listed sailing through some big gusts, quite annoying having Justin wake up fresh as a daisy having slept through it all. Drinking several cups of coffee at breakfast perked me up, and the announcement that we would cruise round Mikkelsen harbour before landing on D’Hainaut Island is a small, largely flat & rocky island (less than 1km2) that lies within Mikkelsen Harbour on the southern coast of Trinity Island. The area was first charted by Nordenskjöld’s Swedish Expedition, and later used by whalers as a mooring point for factory ships each season from 1910-1917. The remains of wooden casks, water boats and whale carcasses dating to this period can be seen at the landing beach, and there is a semi-derelict Argentine refuge hut that was established in 1954. The weather was described by Ross, our driver as ‘soupy’ a dense grey fog hung over the sea. We zoomed around the coast looking at Gentoo & Chinstrap penguins, seeing more jumping in the water. Fur seals and Cormorant birds were also found on the craggy, algae covered rocks around the bay. We then got to land on D’Hainaut island which had a colony of Gentoo penguins along with large whale bones. Fur seals once again littered the landing shore in varying states of interest in us but the stars here were the penguins. We walked part the adults going through a moult, and clambered over a small hill which was just covered in penguin poop. This stuff is pinkish due to the krill they eat and stinks! We spent about an hour watching the penguins, saw 2 with young chicks in the nest and found if we just sat quietly the juvenile birds would be curious enough to come up to us – so cute! Justin even got pecked by one until it decided he didn’t taste as good as Krill. Took a bit longer washing down as we got back onboard the ship and the cabin still smells a little penguinish. After our usual buffet lunch where I also finished five banana fritters off quite easily, we hopped back in the zodiacs to explore Cierva Cove. Cierva Cove lies on the south side of Cape Herschel, within Hughes Bay. It was named after Juan de la Cierva, the inventor of the autogiro (the precursor to the helicopter, first flown in 1923). The cove is surrounded by glaciated peaks and valleys up to 2000m in height, is known for its stunning icebergs, which were all stunning sculptures. They seem to be more vivid against the grey cloud, towering in chunks of blue and white. Lots of Antarctic Tern birds gliding around the rock. We found a Weddell seal having a good roll and scratch on a iceburg, and also 2 Crabeater seals playing in the water. Lots of penguins rushing through the water before hopping up to the rocks, I even saw a chick being fed! The great spot today were 3 Antarctic Minke whales that were just off the front of the zodiacs, apparently about 7m long and one of the fastest. We ended up staying out for 3 hours and ended the cruise by stepping off the zodiac onto the main Antarctica continent. An area home to Primavera, an Argentinian summer research station but for us a jump onto the rock for a official Antarctic picture as I can now say I have been to all 7 continents in the world! This evening was a BBQ on deck, below zero but good food and mulled wine to keep us going!

Fortín Sargento Cabral, Antarctica

About 4am this morning it became clear that the winds had picked up, it made it particularly fun at breakfast as the boat kept listing in the wind causing glasses and cutlery to slide off! The plan was to visit Paulet Island but there was no way the Zodiacs would survive in the wind and waves. We moved on back towards the Antarctica peninsula and anchored off Andersson Island, so we could do a cruise around the moving ice. It was colder today and still overcast so it didn’t look promising but always keen to get off and explore. Turned out to be fantastic, lots of cool ice formations (glacial ice) with blue sections to photo, we then saw a Fur seal sat lazing on a flatter piece. Spotted 2 Leopard seals, one sliding back to the water. These are penguin predators and look more like a snake who have swallowed a small animal! There were 3 Crabeater seals lazing on ice, looking cuddly, you could see scars on one where as pups they are often preyed upon by Leopard seals. Saw lots of penguins, Justin loving the groups swimming and jumping through the water. Found our first Weddell seal just as we were heading back to the boat. We also saw Terns flying overhead. Sunshine greeted us as we anchored off Brown bluff island, and we rushed to the bridge as a whale sighting was announced. There were 2 Humpback whales near the ship blowing and flipping their tails up at us! Brown Bluff lies on the eastern side of the Tabarin Peninsula overlooking Antarctic Sound. It is an ice-capped, flat-topped mountain (745m or 2400ft) with a prominent cliff of reddish-brown volcanic rock on the north face. Brown Bluff hosts around 20,000 breeding pairs of Adelie penguins and about 600 Gentoo penguin pairs as well as nesting kelp gulls and snow petrels. Zodiac cruising started at 3.15 and as we stepped out, it might as well have been a different day, sun was streaming onto the ice chunks as we cruised the clear, calm waters. We saw a Leopard seal watching us from a ice plate and then we were able to approach Bluff Island beach to see Adelie penguins running around and flipping out of the water, fur seals were also cooling off by barrel rolling in the sea. It was amazing zipping through ice blocks in such gorgeous weather. We were out for about an hour and a half before heading back to the ship. Justin and I reviewed pictures over a mug of wine, he really does have a new penguin obsession!

,

Yesterday they launched a guessing competition for the time we would see the first iceburg, it appeared at 07:59 this morning. We went to a lecture on seals after breakfast and learnt about what we might see. The elephant seal (so called for the male’s ugly nose) were the most interesting to me. The male can reach up to 4000kg but only 2-3% will mate in their lifetime. They approach the breeding ground and essentially have to defend their part of beach from other males whilst the females arrive. The male will only be ‘beachmaster’ for 3 or so years but in each of those years will have a harem of approximately 100 females. During the season of 2 months he has to starve himself and stay alert to any approaching male threat! The female breeds most years of her life in a delayed pregnancy, so it won’t implant until she has recovered to a suitable condition after weaning her current pup. We saw spouting Sei whales off the bridge this morning but it would be great to get closer to a whale. Penguin Island is a small, ovular shaped island located off the southeastern section of King George Island. Approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) long, the island’s prominent geological feature is the 170m high cone of Deacon Peak, the northern face of which slopes gently down to the landing beach. Low cliffs surround most of the island, and there is a crater lake in the northeast. Chinstrap penguins, southern giant petrels, Antarctic terns, kelp gulls and skuas breed at this site. Southern elephant seals and Weddell seals are known to regularly haul out. About lunch time we anchor off the shore of Penguin Island, the weather is clearing and excitement is building as we can see the hundreds of penguins in the colony perched on the rocks. We are one of the first groups to get to shore and start exploring, I wasn’t really prepared for the aggressive fur seals that we kept a wide berth from or the hundreds and thousands of Chinstrap penguins. The adults are moulting a new coat which takes a lot of their energy and was really fascinating to see them in different phases. I also loved the huge elephant seals just lying, snoring on the beach. Time flew by and after an hour or so we switched into the zodiacs and cruised around the bay looking at the glacier and birds including the Southern Great Petrels and Antarctic Cormorant. We had fabulous weather and it was lovely seeing so many thrilled people back at the ship, buzzing about their experience, including Casper who had watched a penguin get eaten by a Fur seal !!!

,

Woke in the night, unnerved and had trouble sleeping, I think it was just the magnitude of crossing Drake’s Passage going so far from help. Had to get up to stop the beer rattling in the fridge! Day of naps between briefings, we went and organised our boots and learnt more about how to safely deploy into the zodiacs. Also listened to a good photography lecture, which will hopefully maximise my shots. We have had a pretty flat trip across and have discovered we are making good time, so there is a promise of a excursion to penguin island, which sounds great if we can. Everyone is very friendly and you sit where you like at meals so have already met Dutch, American & Australian on here with relatively few Brits. We will cross both the Polar front tonight (where sea temperature drops 4degrees and also the political line into Antarctica overnight. Other things I learnt today: Krill most plentiful animals in the world and feed the whole food chain. Penguins have long legs (just long bodies cover them).

Ushuaia, Argentina

The hotel is pretty basic and there is very much a transitional feel to it so we decide not to hang round. It has a great location looking out over the Beagle channel but you can’t stroll along the shore due to a uncrossable river, so we took the road for 45mins back to town. We genuinely have nothing to do today prior to 3.30pm when we meet to embark the Ocean Diamond so we visited several coffee shops and made the most of wifi to catch up with friends. My post office credit card is blocked again, so really frustrated that I will have to ring them when I get back to resolve – don’t know what the issue is this time. We buy more wine and head down to the port to begin boarding, we also spot the huge cruise liner Crown Princess in the next berth which makes our ship look tiny in a good way. Cabin is a big size and we are just behind the bridge at the front of the ship, level 6, so good spot. We seem to get a lot of briefings and then a lifeboat drill, get our jackets which are huge yellow parkas…. all while people are taking pictures! Strange to be among so may tourists. We manage a big 4 course dinner, definitely going to be well fed and free wine throughout which was a surprise. Sleep was surprisingly had to come by, I seem to be awake as everything swayed around for most of the night. Finally put headphones in and moved head to other end of the bed which seemed more effective.

Ushuaia, Argentina

Amazing mountains and blue sky from the hotel this morning. Took a walk across the water to view the Beagle Channel and look back across at Ushuaia framed by the mountains. Visited the Museo Maritimo, Ushuaia was first built around this jail. The building still stands after being built by convicts 1902-1920, just incredible that they ferried from the quarry and constructed with their hands in such harsh climate. Several interesting exhibits on ship structures and Antarctica exploration make for a nice couple of hours immersion. Walked up and down town getting supplies for the boat in the form of wine and chocolate. Lunch was too big, forfeited a dinner for snacks in the hotel. Tomorrow we board our boat for Antarctica!

Río Grande, Argentina

I thought I would struggle to write anything for today, as it was a epic 10 hour bus trip from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia. It was actually ok, and fairly eventful. First we set off early, me wheeling my rucksack whilst justin carried his (some of my stuff fitting into his pack nicely) to the bus station. Boarded into our seats, with plenty of snacks to hand of course and we were off. Worth mentioning that this epic trip was driven by one driver and cost equivalent of £40, didn’t think £4 an hour was too bad. We drove onto a ferry about 2 hours in to cruise across Magellan strait, nice to stretch our legs and grab a coffee. The scenery is mainly flat against a blue sky with amazing cloud formations, see lots of guanaco, rhea, foxes and birds. Boarder crossing at San Sebastian was interesting, first the Chilean and then about 1km up the road is the Argentinian. We get off the bus each time and once through both it becomes clear one of the girls has a visa issue. We all go back to the Chilean side so she can access Wifi to download her visa to present to the Argentinian immigration. I knew this girl was trouble when she got on the bus with furry stripped gloves and indexed coloured notebook!!! So, actually crossed the border 3 times before getting everyone through and back on track. About 2 hours in or 1 hour from Ushuaia the scenery changed to become mountains and really stunning lakes, road got a bit winding as we dropped in to Ushuaia and the most southerly city on earth. No problems finding the hotel before a quick bowl of pasta and bed. Prices are way more down here, so need to be careful. Using this post to reflect a little on Chile. Friendly people, speak fast Spanish with slang terms. Never felt unsafe and really easy to travel around. Amused a lot by their obsession with providing a receipt, slow walking pace and pedestrian priority at all times. Food is often sweet with Dulce del leche (caramel) everywhere, even on toast for breakfast! General food is meat or cheese based and is more bland than I was expecting.