Category: Antarctica

Day 283: Antarctica Cruise Day 19 – Salisbury Plain

Our final stop in South Georgia was Salisbury Plain – a large, flat beach at the base of the Grace and Lucas Galciers. The flat ground and easy access to freshwater from the glacial melt made it the perfect location for nesting King Penguins. Here was where we finally saw illustration of the dense concentration of wildlife on South Georgia: the beach was home to over 250,000 moulting and nesting King Penguins – you could not step one foot in front of the other without bumping into a bird! And that’s not all – the beach was also populated with several hundred fur seals who established their mating “harems” within a few meters of each other.

Unfortunately, the weather did not hold out for our last day in South Georgia – it was windy and lightly snowing, which was just enough to make the swells a little too big for the zodiacs to land on the beach. We could only observe this bountiful display of nature from afar. Too bad we had to end our adventure on a low note, but that’s the Antarctica for you: nothing is ever guaranteed.

Cold weather and swelly conditions at the beach on Salisbury Plain make it too rough for the captain to allow us to land onshore, so our visit is limited to a zodiac tour

The plain is LITERALLY covered with penguins. With over 50,000 nesting pairs, Salisbury is the *second* largest King Penguin rookery on the island. Apparently St. Andrews Bay, further south on the island, has a whooping 300,000 pairs! As impressive as that may sound, King Penguins aren’t even the most abundant penguin on South Georgia – the real “king” of the island is the Macaroni Penguin. With the island boasting over 5 MILLION nesting pairs, it’s pretty shocking that we didn’t even see one.

Fur Seals coexist peacefully with the King Penguins. The dominant males each establish a territory on the beach and will claim the right to mate with any females who camp out on their property, thus making himself a harem. Younger males will have to go further inland where they will probably wait disappointed, as few of the females will bother to leave the beachfront locations.

All the other penguin chicks we have seen until now were really cute. But King Penguin chicks just look awkward – talk about an ugly duckling! Their puffy brown feathers look like an comfortable winter coat even when it’s dry, but the poor things look exceptionally gross when they get too close to the surf.

King Penguin chicks take about a year to mature, so many of last year’s babies are finally finishing their “awkward teenager” phase and are moulting into their adult feathers.

The Expedition Team spotted a Leopard Seal lurking near the beach earlier in the morning, so the penguins are probably wary of predators. We see groups of them congregating on the beach before taking the plunge together – safety in numbers!

Day 282: Antarctica Cruise Day 18 – Grytviken

Our second day in South Georgia proved to be the best, which was a stroke of luck for us as we had booked a kayak tour for this morning, and it ended up being the only day that wasn’t cancelled due to weather. However, we were initially disappointed when we found out our tour location was at Grytviken – the island’s first whaling station, now little more than a collection of rotting buildings, rusted tanks, and a tiny museum. This was more of a “place of historical interest,” not a wildlife hotspot, so we were concerned that the kayaking would hold little interest for us.

Turns out, we needn’t have worried – South Georgia is so jam-packed with wildlife that it’s hard to walk anywhere without tripping over a seal or penguin. Since we would be exploring the “town” of Grytviken by foot later in the day, our kayak tour took us along the coast in the opposite direction. As we paddled through dense kelp forests, we were surrounded by curious fur seals who would porpoise alongside us, and occasionally come up and sniff our paddles. (They weren’t quite as bold as the fur seals we kayaked with in South Africa, though.) While Igor took dozens of great shots of the seal colonies sleeping on the wild, uninhabited beaches, and great big bulls posing on rocks, we unfortunately discovered halfway through the tour that the good camera didn’t have a memory card in it! (Blame Lindsay – she forgot to replace it the night before.) At least we still had the GoPro!

After three days confined to the ship, we are so excited to set foot on land in Grytviken, South Georgia

While it might be more of a historical site, the island is just teeming with wildlife – a curious seal swims around our zodiac as we try to launch our kayaks, and a tiny black seal pup sleeps next to the rusted hull of a grounded whaler

Kayaking in South Georgia, surrounded by playful fur seals

Igor entices a brave fur seal to come visit us by gently tapping his paddle on the surface – the little guy couldn’t resist a sniff!

After our kayaking tour, we sat around the ship anxiously for about an hour until the next group got clearance to visit the shore. We made sure our camera was properly set-up with an empty memory card this time, and we headed back to Grytviken. While there were a lot of historical sights to explore (which we eventually did), we were entranced by the sheer number of animals loitering all over the beach – Igor quickly made up for all the lost shots from the morning kayak trip.

South Georgia has a population of about 3 million fur seals – so even though this beach isn’t a “hotspot”, the moment we step out of the zodiac, we are surrounded by fur seals

“You takin’ a picture of me? OK, make sure you get my good side.” This guy was really hamming it up for the camera! He is so cute – don’t you just want to put a beachball on his nose? J

The Antarctic Fur Seal is very different from the seals we’ve seen down in the Peninsula. Unlike the fatty Elephant, Weddell and Crabeater Seals, who keep warm from their thick layer of blubber, Fur Seals depend on their thick, two-layer fur coat to insulate them from the chilly Antarctic waters. They are also more mobile, as they can walk on all four flippers like a sea lion, whereas the “blubber seals” can only slither along, slug-like on their stomachs

Fur seals are more mobile, more active, and more aggressive than the all the other “blubber seals” we’ve seen so far, so it’s even more important to maintain the IAATO 5m distance to make sure we don’t get bit! The Expedition Team warns us not to run if a seal approaches us, as they will chase us like dogs. Instead, we are supposed to stand our ground and clap our hands, and the seals will back off. Both Lindsay and Igor had juvenile fur seals charge us – we each channeled our inner Cesar Milan and shouted, “NO! BAD SEAL!” Totally worked. #sealwhisperer

As we watch the napping seals, we notice other seals will boldly walk up and bully them out of their beds, claiming the comfiest patches of grass for themselves. The fur seals always need to be aware of their surroundings – this guy is literally sleeping with one eye open.

Prepare to have your cold heart melted by the most *adorable* seal puppies imaginable! Our timing was impeccable, as fur seals start giving birth in December, so the beaches of South Georgia were full of tiny, mewing black puppies. Unlike the blubber seals (who feed their young using their reserves of fat), the fur seal moms have to keep feeding themselves to produce enough milk to nurse their babies. As a result, the pups are left by themselves most of the day, so we were able to get really close to these precious little guys

While most of the pups were pretty shy, these guys seemed to gather enough courage between the two them to crawl up to Lindsay and Igor. The first pup gets right up to the GoPro and looks like he is about to bite it, when his friend decides to climb over him in order to sniff Igor’s knee! Igor finally had to stand up to avoid touching the little guy (although the temptation to pet him was almost overwhelming)

King Penguins! This colorful guy is the penguin we have been dying to see. While they look similar to the Emperor Penguins that exclusively breed on the Antarctic continent during the winter, the Kings nest in the more hospitable South Georgia Island thoughout the summer. We spot about a dozen King Penguins around Grytviken today, but none of them are breeding – these guys are just molting

These molting King Penguins look so uncomfortable – poor guys

This fur seal is jealous of the penguins stealing his spotlight! #photobomb

A handful of young Elephant Seals haul out into the grass to nap amongst the fur seals

While we could have spent all day with the animals, the main draw in Grytviken was, of course, the history. Our tour of the town started at the eastern edge of the beach, in front of the Whalers Cemetery – a small fenced-in plot of land with a couple dozen headstones. Most were low-ranking sailors, but they share their eternal resting ground with one of Antarctica’s biggest celebrities: British explorer Ernest Shackleton. Although Shackleton survived the 800 mile, 16-day crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean to South Georgia in nothing but a lifeboat during his rescue mission back in 1916, he died 6 years later on the same island from a heart attack (an anti-climactic ending for the intrepid adventurer). Today – January 5^th – was the 95^th anniversary of Shackleton’s death day. No doubt the history buffs (including our ship’s captain) were geeking out over the fortuitous timing.

Shackleton’s Grave (left), where explorer Ernest Shackleton was laid to rest exactly 95 years ago today. While his body was en route back to England, his widow decided that he should remain in Antarctica, where he spent so much of his life exploring. The pretty, white picket fence surrounding the graves were installed later to prevent molting elephant seals from scratching themselves on the headstones.

The Whalers Church in Grytviken – erected in 1913 with the best of intentions, this pretty building was soon the most under-utilized place in town. The station manager of Grytviken finally sent the minister back to Norway and used the church for more popular purposes – like storing potatoes and playing movies

We walked to the western end of Grytviken to meet up with the museum’s walking tour of the whaling station. Grytviken was the first whaling station in South Georgia, set up by an Argentinean-backed Norwegian Carl Anton Larsen in 1904. When Larsen first scouted out the location two years before, he told tales of literally hundreds of whales swimming in the protected Cumberland Bay, where Grytviken is located. Today, the curator of the museum told us that no one has seen a whale in the bay for decades. It was pretty depressing to hear the numbers of whales slaughtered in such a short period of time. By the time Grytviken finally closed shop in 1965, a total of 175,250 whales (Blue, Fin, Humpback, Sei and Sperm) had been “processed” – their blubber, meat and bones boiled down to extract oil used for just about everything from cosmetics and candles to fertilizer and tanning products. Igor felt like he was walking through an animal Holocaust – of all the species that were hunted to near extinction, only the Humpback has rebounded enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List.

The whaling industry in South Georia came to an end in 1965, when synthetic alternative to whale oil made the hunting unprofitable. As the first and last whaling station in operation, Grytviken is now home to the South Georgia Museum as well as a large scientific research center (not open to tourists)

We explore the open-air museum, where nature is slowly breaking down the rusted remains of the processing plant and blubber boilers. Of the six original whaling stations, Grytviken is the only one open to visitors, as the rest are deemed unsafe due to asbestos in the buildings (the government of South Georgia went to the expense of removing the asbestos from Grytviken order to maintain the historic site)

The derelict mains of the “Petrel” – a circa 1920s whale-catcher. It was small but fast, which allowed the hunters to effectively hunt down their prey. When they succeeded in killing a whale, instead of returning to the station, they would fill the lungs with air, stick a flag on the carcass and leave it floating in the water to pick up later. The Petrel had the ability to drag up to 14 dead whales at a time.

Part of the motivation for the unchecked exploitation of the whales, was that the whalers wanted to make as much money as they could as quickly as possible, so they wouldn’t have to ever come back to South Georgia. The island is 800miles from the nearest continent – talk about remote! During the summers, the population of Grytviken would swell to about 500 men, who would work 12 hours a day, live in cramped dormitories (if they were lucky, they got the one with an indoor shower), and had NO BOOZE (Larsen wanted everyone to be sharp and ready to work, so he banned alcohol on the station). In the winter, a maintainance staff of about 90 remained – mostly to brush snow off the roofs of the buildings so they didn’t collapse under the weight. Given these conditions, Movie Night was probably the most exciting entertainment around. The men would watch the same 15 films over and over again (especially if there was a pretty girl in one of them…)

Whaling artifacts from the Grytviken Museum. The oil was sold in different grades for different purposes (higher quality for cosmetics and food, lesser quality for fertilizers and industrial use). By the 1960s, the majority of the Norwegian whaling companies agreed that hunting whales in South Georgia was no longer profitable and started to close shop. The Japanese leased the facilities at Grytviken for the final season to hunt whales for meat instead of oil, but (thankfully!) also failed to make enough money to continue the venture.

And just because I don’t want to finish this blog post on a depressing note, check out this random King Penguin who was just chillin’ on the ground next to our return zodiac!

I’m lazy and I don’t feel like getting up.

Days 279 – 281: Antarctica Cruise Days 15 – 17: Journey to South Georgia

While our original itinerary gave us 6 days in Antarctica, everything was weather dependent down here. Our captain could see that our stretch of good luck was running out and we would likely run into storms both in South Georgia and during or return voyage across the South Atlantic Ocean. As a result, he pulled the plug on our last day, intending to book it to South Georgia as quickly as possible – hopefully the extra time would give us more opportunity to take advantage of small breaks in the weather.

The next two days at sea were pretty uneventful – we had lots of time to catch up on pictures and the blog, as well as attend our fill of educational lectures (Lindsay fell asleep during every single one – not because of the content, but because of the dark room and the constant rocking of the ship). We also had to undergo a second Bio-Security check the day before we arrived at South Georgia – since this sub-Antarctic island was under the jurisdiction of the British crown, we had government officials watching us carefully to make sure we followed IAATO guidelines to the letter. Other than that, there wasn’t much to do each day expect look forward to our next decadent meal.

Getting up at 4AM to catch our last glimpse of Antarctica as we sail past Elephant Island and Clarence Island

A small group of passengers huddle in the Observatory Bar as we sail by Elephant Island to listen to the historical significant of this windswept and desolate rocky island. In 1915, British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 had to abandon their ship “Endurance” after it was crushed by ice floes. They survived for 5 months on pack ice, waiting for the water to thaw enough for them to escape using their three lifeboats. Shackleton got as far as Elephant Island, and left 22 members of the crew behind while he and five others took the last lifeboat and somehow managed to navigate 800 miles of open sea using nothing but a sexton to find help on South Georgia. Meanwhile, the party on Elephant Island survived another 135 days (in the winter!) with nothing but two overturned lifeboats for shelter. Miraculously, everyone from the expedition was rescued.

The historically unimportant – but very pretty! – Cornwallis Island

Weather conditions are not nice outside – apparently it was snowing, but the wind was blowing so hard we couldn’t tell

A special 6-course Chef’s Menu is the highlight of our day!

Three courses and counting! Cheers!

Avocado Tartar (AKA guacamole), Beef Consume (dumpling soup), and a delicious piece of chocolate ganache (which, let’s be honest, looks like a piece of poo) – while everything tasted really good, sometimes this ship is insufferably pretentious)

We hear that one of the guest performers missed the ship back in Ushuaia (no idea who it was supposed to be), so our entertainment got a little dull after a while (too many movie-nights and lounge singers) – we decided to break up the monotony a bit with some board games and a night cap in front of the snow-covered window at the piano bar

Although South Georgia is 800 miles away from the continent and sits above 60⁰S latitude, it is considered a “sub-Antarctic island” because it is located below the Antarctic Convergence, and as such, is surrounded by the same icy waters as the Peninsula. Many of the same animals we saw around the continent – penguins, seals, and whales – migrate back and forth to South Georgia to feed and/or breed. While the water remains just as cold, the warmer air temperature allows for a greater variety of plant life and flowing freshwater on land – factors that help make South Georgia one of the most prolific locations for wildlife in the world, rivalling even the Galapagos Island for density of animal population.

After two days at sea, we finally arrived at the southern tip of South Georgia in the late morning, a good three hours behind schedule due to the previous night’s snowstorm. It was cloudy and windy, and the waters were pretty rough, so the captain decided to limit the day’s activities to scenic cruising of the relatively protected Drygalski Fjord. The weather started to clear up enough for one group of guests to get approval for a zodiac tour around the shore, but as we had the last time slot of the day, we didn’t hold out much hope of getting off the boat. Keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow!

As we approach the island of South Georgia, we can barely make out the tops of the mountains through the foggy clouds

About half of the landmass of South Georgia is covered by glaciers and snow – that sounds like a lot, but it’s a tropical paradise compared to Antarctica, where 97% of the continent is hidden!

Scenic cruising in the Drygalski Fjord – a protected channel of water at the southern tip of the crescent-shaped island

An Antarctic Tern flits above the deck of the ship, hunting for fish and krill in the icy waters below

The clouds lift just enough to brighten up the snow-covered hillsides

South Georgia is notorious for bad weather, and only gets an average of 1,000 hours of sunshine per year

We watch jealously as the first (and only!) group bounces through the icy water on a zodiac tour. While the conditions aren’t that bad once you are on the zodiac, the swells next to the ship made loading and off-loading too dangerous for the captain to let the tours proceed. After all, there are a lot of frail, elderly guests on this ship – last thing they need is for someone to break a hip…

The water immediately surrounding the island is pale blue, compared to the darker water in the Atlantic Ocean, thanks to the icemelt coming down from the glaciers. Since freshwater is lighter than saltwater, the glacial water “floats” on top of the seawater

As we sail away from the Drygalski Fjord, the captain navigates us between two huge, stunning icebergs

A huge iceberg, floating off the coast of South Georgia

Artsy close-ups of the cold, jagged edges of the mighty blue iceberg

Day 278: Antarctica Cruise Day 14 – Half Moon Island

Our first and last stop of the New Year in Antarctica was at Half Moon Island – a small island within the South Shetland Islands with a rocky beach and a very large colony of Chinstrap Penguins (Alex’s daily nest-count puts it at 1,983 pairs). We could have spent hours just standing around, watching the loud, feisty little birds stealing rocks, fighting with their neighbors and feeding their chicks (oh wait…we did do that!). When the rookery got a little crowded with fellow tourists, we continued down the crescent-shaped beach to check out some whale bones, a dilapidated old waterboat, and some of the island’s other resident nesting birds.

The decaying skeleton of an abandoned waterboat greets us when we land on shore at Half Moon Island

Sadly, our streak of fabulous weather seems to have disappeared with the old year – the snowy ground and the cloudy sky are almost the same color, and it’s getting chilly

A huge colony of about 2,000 pairs of Chinstrap Penguins have built their nests under the lichen-covered rocks on Half Moon Island

Like the Gentoos, the Chinstraps have a little more flexibility toward their changing environment and their population numbers have remained strong – they are the second most abundant penguin species on earth.

Chinstraps are quite athletic little guys, and prefer to build their nests in rocky cliffs high above the beach – watching them hop their way up the hillsides is alternately amusing and nerve-racking as you are sure their stubby legs are too clumsy to climb over the jagged rocks without toppling over

Several nesting Chinstraps start squawking and snapping at a bothersome neighbor who was getting a little too close for comfort. Wary of rock-stealing, several penguins gang up on the interloper, peaking at her face, wings and legs until she finally runs away

Chicks! This Chinstrap rookery is full of fluffy gray babies, each chirping for a barf-induced lunch from mom. Even though she’s probably tired and covered in shit, this dedicated mama spews some regurgitated krill for her chick. #parenthood

Chinstraps aren’t the only birds with babies on the island – on the other side of the path we find a small colony of Kelp Gulls, with some healthy-looking spotted chicks demanding a meal.

While we don’t see any eggs yet, several Skuas are guarding their territory on the beach, making us think a bundle of joy may be on the way

A lone Weddell Seal naps on the snow, occasionally scratching his fur as he finishes his summer molt

At the other end of the beach we find the remains of a Blue Whale jawbone and skull

In the distance, we can see the bright blue flags painted on the Argentinean Naval Base, Camara Station

Day 277: Antarctica Cruise Day 13 – Waterboat Point

We woke to yet another gloriously sunny day for our visit to the Chilean Naval Base, González Videla Station, located on the small peninsula of Waterboat Point. Though it is now claimed by the Chileans, the beach’s first human inhabitants were British. Back in 1921, an ambitious expedition project was started by a Brit named John Cope – he planned and tried to raise funds for an outfit of over 100 researchers. He came up more than a bit short and ended up coming down to Antarctica with only 3 other people, two of who were barely teenagers! When their boat ran ashore, the leader and his second mate abandoned the project to go get help, but the youngsters volunteered to stay behind and continue the year-long project by themselves. They spent the entire winter in Antarctica (literally, the only two people on the entire continent at that time), living in an overturned lifeboat and surviving on penguin and seal meat. When their boss returned 11 months later to rescue them, they insisted that he go away and pick them up a month later – they wanted to finish the full year! Best. Interns. Ever.

The Chileans moved in to Waterboat Point in 1951 and built a small station that is still maintained during the summer season (empty in the winter) by 9 residents – five Navy and four Air Force. Since the Antarctic Treaty (signed by Chile in 1959) prohibits any nation from claiming any sovereignty over Antarctica, González Videla is considered an inactive military base, whose sole purpose is to conduct scientific research (mostly weather-related). In addition to the living area and research building, the base has a small museum & gift shop as well as a post office to lure cruise ships into stopping by – not only do the residents get an exciting afternoon with foreign visitors (and a rare chance to talk with someone new!) they also get a resupply of fresh produce (those guys must be *dying* for a fresh apple!).

Waterboat Point – a naturally protected beach within Paradise Harbor on the Antarctic Peninsula where an (inactive) Chilean military base is located

González Videla Station – a scientific research center run by the Chilean Navy and Air Force

Though it is now a Chilean base, the first people to spend the winter at Waterboat Point was a pair of British kids (aged 19 and 22) who continued a year’s worth of experiments even after their boss literally abandoned ship – to this day their data is used as a baseline for modern research

A shrine to the Virgin Mary has watched over the station since the 1960s. Igor climbs up the lookout tower just to be sure there is no danger on the horizon

It may be small, but the living quarters for the station’s inhabitants look pretty cozy (the high-def TV and case of Frontera must make the isolation much more bearable)

The base is super excited to welcome foreign visitors, and is one of the few places on the continent where you can send a postcard. Granted, it costs USD $5 a pop and will probably take over three months for delivery…

As we are taking a picture of the New York sign post, we hear an annoyingly wealthy teenager comment behind us, “I’ve been to every single one of these places.” Spoiled brat.

In addition to the nine Chilean officers, Waterboat Point was also home to a rookery of exactly 3,186 mating pairs of Gentoo Penguins. Once again, we found it very difficult to comply with IAATO’s 5m distance regulation – not because we were intentionally invading the penguin’s personal space! – it was because the penguins chose to build their nest and lay their eggs a foot away from the paved walkway that connected the dock to the base! As a result, we got incredibly close-up shots of the nesting birds, their eggs, and even their *tongues*!

Staying on the paved path to avoid stepping on the penguins’ nests…and also to avoid penguin poo. Seriously – every inch of the beach was covered in guano. And those guys can get projectile: just look at the sides of the buildings!

Nesting Gentoos – each couple splits their time sitting on a pair of eggs

Did you know that penguins have *barbed tongues*? It was really warm today, so the birds were panting, revealing their mouths to our cameras. Since they don’t have teeth, penguins tongues have evolved to have these barbs to prevent the fish they have swallowed whole from coming back up and escaping

It’s a warm summer day here in Antarctica, and all the birds are throwing their heads back and enjoying the sunshine

Hidden within this Gentoo colony is a very unique bird: “Marilyn” – a leukistic penguin! Leukism is a genetic abnormality that occurs in Gentoos about once per 10,000 where the bird doesn’t produce any melanin so it is white instead of black (similar to an albino). The Expedition Team isn’t positive Marilyn is a female, but the bright red bill just looks so much like lipstick against the blond feathers that the name stuck.

Gentoo Penguins aren’t the only birds on the beach – we spot a couple Snowy Sheathbills. These chicken-like birds look deceptively innocent – they are actually scavengers, and are lurking around the penguins’ nest to try and steal the eggs

When we try to return to the zodiac at the end of our allotted hour, we run into an obstacle that delays our return – a Gentoo Penguin decides it doesn’t want to walk in guano and starts taking up the paved walkway! A traffic jam builds up behind us as we snap pictures and wait for the bird to move. Eventually it does…but in the wrong direction! This little guy must really want to be on the cover of National Geographic because he keeps coming in for a close up

A beautiful Gentoo Penguin, making love to Igor’s camera – work it, baby!

Once we got back on ship, we decided to have lunch on the outdoor patio where we had a great view of the scenic landscape surrounding Paradise Harbor. As we sailed away that afternoon, we were treated to more beautiful icebergs, ice-capped mountains, and even a pod of about a dozen Orcas!

Lindsay’s descent into carnivorism is complete as she devours her first cheeseburger in months. #OMNOMNOM

It is just our imagination, or has someone been *skiing* down that mountain?

Passing by icebergs as we sail through Paradise Harbor

Another gorgeous sunny day on the Antarctica Peninsula

Everyone in the ENTIRE boat comes rushing to the deck when the captain tells us there is a big pod of Orcas surfacing just off the bow

Although they are common referred to as “Killer Whales,” Orcas are technically a dolphin.

We made late reservations at the ship’s fancy steakhouse restaurant, the Thomas Keller Grill, in order to celebrate New Year’s Eve. After dinner we listened to the guest performer, comedian Scott Harris, wax nostalgic about the Baby Boomers’ good ‘ days and rip into the absurdities of Millennial parenting (being childless we were a bit surprised to find out that kids have to use car seats until they are 8yo nowadays…seriously?). After the funny man wrapped up his show, we only had about an hour to kill on the dancefloor before our midnight countdown (even though Igor’s foot was still hurting, he couldn’t resist getting up and showing a pair of dancers attempting a rather violent hustle how it’s REALLY done). While 2016 might have been a shit year for most Americans, we had one of the best years of our lives since we got the hell outta dodge! While 2017 can’t possibly top last year for us, we’re optimistic that we’re at least getting off to a great start.

It’s formal night again, so we get all dolled up (except for Igor’s sneakers) and grab a table for two at the ship’s fancy steakhouse

The main stage is decked out with balloons and streamers, ready to welcome the new year

We’ve got another hour to go – keep those champagne glasses full!

Despite the older demographic (or maybe because of it…?) the dancefloor is *packed* on New Year’s Eve. We manage to find a little space for a few rumbas and a hustle or two

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just after our midnight toast we peek outside to illustrate the 24 hours of daylight we have in the Antarctic – this year will definitely be one-of-a-kind

Day 276: Antarctica Cruise Day 12 – Torgersen Island

Just when we think Antarctica can’t get any better…well, the weather *did* hold out for us, so we had a lovely sunny morning for our kayaking excursion around Torgersen Island – a small rocky island where a rookery of Adélie Penguins was just barely hanging on. The area was extremely familiar to the Expedition Team, as many had spent a season or two at Palmer Station – an American research facility within the same harbor. The compound was set up in the 1960s and hosts some 4 dozen researchers during the winter, with only half that number staying throughout the winter as well. Of the many on-going projects, Palmer Station monitors the local Adélie population (sadly, on the decline) and the impact of tourism on the environment.

Since Palmer Station is a small facility, it is only open to 12 tourist visit per year, and we were not one of them. So instead of landing on shore, today’s visit was limited to zodiac rides and kayak tours – lucky us! We had the 8AM time slot for our kayak tour. It was a nice change of pace to explore the icebergs from the water, although we were a bit disappointed we didn’t see more wildlife (we’ve been spoiled with all our onshore penguin encounters!).

Zipped up in our drysuits, we hop in the zodiac and wait on shore (Yay! Techically, that’s a landing!) while the Expedition Team arranges the kayaks

We slide into our sturdy kayak and paddle out into the calm waters of Aurther Harbor

Kayaking in ANTARCTICA!

Getting up close to the funky-shaped icebergs

This fluffy, cloud-shaped ‘berg looks like it might be grounded, as the bottom is getting worn away by the tide

More stripy icebergs

Apparently, icebergs are not just for looking at…they are for climbing! Lindsay squeals in delight at our first encounter with Adélie Penguins

While the Adélies are endlessly entertaining – porpoising through the water and hopping on icebergs – the Crabeater Seals and Elephant Seals continue to do what they do best: imitate rocks

After our kayak tour, we had a short 1hr break before our zodiac tour. During the interim, we got word that several Humpback Whales were feeding just off the starboard side of the ship! We were incredibly antsy, waiting for our turn to get back onto the water – luckily for us our patience was rewarded! As soon as we were seated, our zodiac floated over to the area where the whales were surfacing. There were a couple of pairs of whales in the harbor, each “hunting” for krill by creating “bubble nets” underwater.

We watched in awe as a whale’s fluke (tail) dipped below the surface about 50ft away from us. We scanned the horizon, trying to anticipate where the cetacean would pop up next, when all of a sudden the waters surrounding the zodiac started to fill with bubbles. O.M.G. THE WHALE IS DIRECTLY BENEATH US.

“Do they know we’re here?!?”

“Can they tip us over? They’re going to tip us over!”

Not even exaggerating – the whale surfaced less than 5ft from our zodiac – it was SO CLOSE that Igor’s camera was too zoomed in to capture it. Lindsay’s GoPro, however, was running and captured the whole encounter on video! (Once we get stronger Internet we’ll post it to YouTube – promise) It appeared that these Humpback Whales were very curious about us, as they proceeded to surface within a few feet of each of the three zodiacs in turn (and just for the record, no one’s boat got overturned).

A pair of Humpback Whales keeps surfacing just off the starboard side of the ship – we are getting so jelly of the previous zodiac group – we wanna get out there!

The Humpback Whales show off their beak, flukes, and dorsal fins as they repeatedly surface right in front of us!

Our feeble little Mack 6 zodiac is suddenly surrounded by bubbles as the Humpbacks hunt for krill directly below us. When one of them surfaces 5ft from the boat, Igor can’t capture the entire back in his viewfinder!

The whales pay a visit to each of the other three zodiacs floating in the water. See how close he is to that zodiac? That happened to us!!!

After the adrenaline rush of our whale encounter, we continued our tour around Torgensen Island, revisiting most of the places we already kayaked through. We saw more Adélie Penguins, more Crabeater Seals and more icebergs (one which calved about 60sec after we drove by!). By the time we got back on the boat we were wondering if there was anything left to see in Antarctica – we’ve kinda ticked off every box!

Crabeater Seals snoozing on an iceberg. Funny enough, these seals don’t eat crab – they eat krill (apparently the name is due to a mispronunciation of the German word for “krill”). Happily, the Crabeater population is incredibly heathly – at about 15million, it is considered the world’s most abundent seal

An Adélie Penguin stands in front of a Crabeater Seal and looks back at us as if to say, “Guys! He’s THIIIIIIIIS big!”

Tobogganing penguins sliding around the snow near the Adélie rookery on Torgersen Island. Sadly, these cute little guys are declining in the Antarctic Peninsula due to the warming temperatures in the area. Unlike the Gentoo Penguins, who can delay their mating schedule and/or move to more favorable nesting sites, the Adélies have a very rigid reproduction pattern – they always lay eggs at the exact same time every year (the last week of November) and they always return the same nesting area. Along with the Emperor Penguin, the Adélies are the only true Antarctic penguins, as they do not mitgrate north in the winter. They love the cold, and spend most of their time on the sea ice.

A tuxedo-clad Adélie Penguin dives off an iceberg and porpoises off in the waves

Cruising around in the zodiac, admiring the weird and wonderful shapes of the icebergs – some are fluffy like clouds and others look as sharp as broken glass

The “Blue Berg” – the stunning blue color is the result of the compacted snow and ice of the original glacier

As we return to the ship, we see several zodiacs from the Palmer Station floating in the harbor – looks like even the scientists got excited about the Humpback activity outside their window!

Once the zodiac tours were finished for the day, we sailed away through the beautiful Neumayer Channel where we were surrounding by towering peaks of snow. Around 5PM we got a surprise announcement on the PA – every Seabourn cruise to Antarctica hosts a “Caviar on Ice” event, and today was our lucky day! Lindsay immediately dropped whatever she was doing and ran out to the Patio deck to literally feast on delicious blinis topped with black caviar and guzzle champagne to her hearts content. Guys, I FUCKING LOVE THIS CRUISE!

Enough with the wildlife already, it’s time for some ridiculously decadent food! It’s Seabourn’s signature “Caviar on Ice” event! Igor gets in line as the staff dollop out heaping spoonfuls of black sturgeon caviar

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne, paired with Caviar Blinis topped with sour cream and egg salad – YUM!

A near-endless supply of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne sits nearby, plus a variety of vodkas for the Rusky-at-heart

LET THE CHAMPAGNE FLOW!!!

Damn, this would be such a classy event, if it weren’t for Lindsay running around in her hippie pants going back for seconds, thirds and forths of caviar. Seabourn’s Marketing Team is going to have to spend some time editing her out of their photos…

After filling up on champagne and caviar, we finally look up and remember we are surrounding by breathtakingly beautiful scenery

Ice-blue icebergs floating in the glittering Gerlache Strait

Scenic cruising through the narrow Neumayer Channel

We have company! Why, it’s the Holland America cruise ship! Guys, we were SO CLOSE to booking this cruise instead – it has practically the same itinerary but it costs about 2/3 less as the ship is too big to make landfall (oh, and booze is NOT included). Even though Seabourn had a huge price tag, we decided to “go big or go home” – if you are only going to visit Antarctica once, you better do it right and set foot on land, not just look at it from afar. Lindsay raises her champagne to the scenic cruisers: “So long, losers!”

Our streak of perfect weather continues as the wind dies down in the evening, giving us mirror reflections of the shoreline

Postcard-worthy landscape in the Antarctic Peninsula

Evening clouds roll in providing a dramatic ending to the day

We kinda overindulged on the rich caviar and champagne (OK, Lindsay did…), so we ofted to skip the fancy menu of the sit-down restaurant and call in for room service. Comfort food (cheeseburger and pasta) and comfort clothing (bathrobe and PJs) were the perfect end to a perfect day.

Five-star room service – we don’t even have to sacrific the breadsticks! Thanks, Seabourn!

Day 275: Antarctic Cruise Day 11 – Neko Harbor

OK, if we are going to get technical, today is the first day we step foot on THE CONTINENT of Antarctica. Yesterday’s landing at Yankee Harbor was on an island, today we would be getting off at Neko Harbor which is actually on the peninsula of mainland Antarctica. So, super official now.

We are the only ship planning a stop in Neko Harbor today, so there was no need for a 5AM wake-up call (good thing too, as we were assigned to the first group of the day at 8:00AM!). Neko Harbor was home to another large rookery of Gentoo Penguins (1,141 nests according to the researcher’s daily count), although these guys didn’t have any chicks yet. Since this beach was covered in snow, this colony of penguins delayed their mating by a few weeks to wait for the perfect nesting conditions – instead of chicks, we saw many penguins still sitting on a pair of recently laid eggs.

We peek out our curtains after our alarm goes off, and we are breathless – the water is GLASS

While we could technically make it up to the buffet for breakfast, we decide to schedule room service as an extra alarm to make sure we don’t sleep through our landing time.

Can we all just stop for a moment and recognize that Igor is having a FABULOUS hair day? My baby be FOXY

While Yankee Harbor was very flat yesterday, the beach at Neko Harbor gave us an opportunity to take a little hike. The Expediation Team set up a trail through the snow, giving us access to a rock outcrop with a fantastic view.  After climbing up, we got a beautiful vista of our ship in the iceberg-filled harbor, plus an aerial view of the neighboring glacier and the Gentoo rookeries below.

Zodiacs zipping across the flat waters in Neko Harbor – it’s a beautiful morning in Antarctica!

We are so excited to be first to the landing today!

The beach at Neko Harbor – unlike yesterday’s rocking landing, today the ground is covered in snow! Hey – they don’t call it the “White Continent” just to be racist!

Penguin encounters are even more amazing today as the snow forces both humans and birds to walk in the paths. We are required by IAATO regulations to “yield” to penguins on these “penguin highways” – but even though we have to step aside to let them pass, the penguins couldn’t care less that we are standing nearby and waddle within a few feet of us – GUYS, IT’S SO MAGICAL!

The Gentoos build their rocky nests on any available patch of bare earth. Many of the mating pairs have already laid their eggs already – we catch a glimspe of some eggs though the Expedition Team’s XX-scope every now and then when one of the mothers adjusts

A pair of busy penguins commuting down the “Penguin Highway”

Penguins aren’t the only wildlife on shore today – we also see a pair of spotted Weddell Seals resting on the snow

A view of our ship and a stunning iceberg from the shore

Chillin’ on the White Continent – even though it’s covered in snow, the day heats up under the bright morning sun and we start shedding layers as we climb up to the viewpoint

The glacier next to the beach is really pretty – the terminus of the glacier is covered in picturesque jagged crevasses. The glacier is known to be very active with frequent calving. Sure enough, as we are busy admiring the penguins we hear a loud crack and a roar as a big chuck of the glacier overhanging a rock crumbles in a cloud of snow

View of Neko Harbor and the glacier from the top of the viewpoint

As we carefully make our way back down the hill, we see the morning kayak group returning from the ice fields – today would have been a great day for kayaking, but at USD$295pp it’s way too expensive for us to go every day. We booked a kayak tour for tomorrow – keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds out!

The Gentoo Penguin rookery at Neko Harbor

Before heading back to the zodiac, we hide out at the crossroads of a penguin highway to try and record some video footage of the passing penguins. Lindsay jams the GoPro selfie stick in the snow and steps away to allow the penguins to approach in peace. We wait patiently, and it seems to be working! A trio of Gentoos waddles along – as they come to the crossroad, it looks like one is going to walk right up to our camera!

Wait, wait! Why are they all running away? YOU BITCH!!! An oblivious fellow cruiser doesn’t see our camera and not only chases off the penguins, SHE SITS DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SHOT! Lindsay indulges in some mild, under-the-breath cursing, but evenually forgives the innocent accident. Igor, on the other hand, has decided to hate her forever. It’s been over a week since “The Incident” and he still give her the evil eye every time we pass in the ship. Bitch better keep a lifejacket handy.

Somehow time has just flown by and it’s just about lunchtime by the time we return to the ship. Despite “The Incident,” this morning has been pretty perfect – we raised a toast over lunch to our good luck as the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. The rest of the afternoon was spent in leisure as we waited for the rest of the groups to take their turn on shore. As we sailed away from Neko Harbor, the winds died down again, giving us more breathtaking mirror images of the passing mountains and odd-shaped icebergs.

A glass of Nicolas Feuillatte, a shrimp-parm wrap, and an al fresco table in Antarctica…sorry, I know y’all must be jelly…

Dark clouds roll in, giving the Antarctic landscape a new, dramatic look

When the wind dies down, we are once again treated to rare, mirror-images of the shoreline

We pass many odd-shaped icebergs as we sail away from Neko Harbor – this one seems to be melting from the inside, with a little freshwater pool sitting in the middle

The Glaciologist on board (yes – that’s a real job) goes nuts when Igor shares this picture. The grooves in the ice were actually formed before the iceberg broke off of the glacier – most likely carved by a rock as the chuck of ice slowly slipped sideways. The streaks of brown were created by layers of dirt that landed on the glacier inbetween the seasons – each winter a new layer of snow would bury the line of dirt

Finishing off the day with a decadent dinner (poached quail egg with truffles, anyone?) and dessert (sharing a “chocolate bomb” with toasted marshmallows!)

As if the food and (ahem!) stimulating conversation wasn’t entertaining enough for Lindsay’s husband, Igor excused himself in the middle of dinner because he was SO DISTRACTED by the view out the window ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT he just had to get up to take a picture. Yes, yes, dear – it’s very pretty.

Day 274: Antarctic Cruise Day 10 – Yankee Harbor

OUR FIRST DAY IN ANTARCTICA! As of today, we have officially set foot on all seven continents at some point in our lives, so we can cross that off our bucket lists. J

Our first landing in Antarctica was on a small, protected beach called Yankee Harbor (named after the American whalers who used to camp out on the beach in the 1820s). The anchorage was protected by a 1KM-long gravel spit that juts into the water, creating a practically wave-less harbor that is easily accessible for cruise ships. In fact, Yankee Harbor is so popular, a second cruise ship was visiting the beach that day as well.

Since IAATO regulations only allow 100 people to go ashore at any one location at a time, our captain had to negotiate our time slot with the other ship. All the guests were divided into 5 groups and randomly assigned landing times. The first group had to get up at 5:30AM (hey – the sun doesn’t set in Antarctica, so we have plenty of daylight to work with!) for their 6AM landing…poor souls. We got lucky and ended up in the last group – we were a little antsy, sitting around waiting for our turn at noon, but not only were we well-rested for our first visit the shore, we also got the best weather as the morning clouds burnt off by the early afternoon.

Watching Gentoo Penguins as they “porpoise” through the water (i.e. jump out like a dolphin)

Igor waits impatiently on deck for our turn to go ashore. As he jealously watches the earlier groups head out to the island, he spots a few humpback whales and penguins breaching the surface of the water

Yankee Harbor, Greenwich Island – within the South Shetland Islands along the Antarctic Peninsula (check out that HUGE ice sheet coming down to the water!)

We watch zodiacs carrying a dozen guests zip back and forth from the ship to the shore (there’s a close-up of that MASSIVE ice sheet)

Finally! It’s time for our group to go ashore! We zip up our parkas, clip on our lifejackets and head down to the zodiacs

Our new couple of boots get a thorough washing before and after we go on land (to prevent transferring any illness from one penguin colony to another). We step into the zodiac and drive over to Yankee Harbor

We had an hour and a half allotted to explore the island (although, Igor soon learned that no one was *really* keeping track of how long we stay…if we stayed an extra 30min here and there, it didn’t hurt anyone…). The #1 attraction, of course, was the PENGUINS! Yankee Harbor is home to 5,466 nesting pairs of Gentoo Penguins (we know, because Alex Borowitz, a researcher from Stonybrook University, had to go and count each penguin 3 TIMES). Of the three types of Antarctic penguins we saw during our trip, the Gentoos were the healthiest population because they had the most flexible reproduction habits. As the climate changes, they had no trouble moving their nesting sites to cooler locations and delaying/speeding up mating to fit that year’s weather conditions. Overall, the population of Gentoos are on the rise in the Antarctic – it was nice to hear that the environment wasn’t all “doom and gloom”.

A couple of boots in Antarctica!

Igor taking pictures of the Gentoo Penguin colony in Yankee Harbor, with our ship in the background

We have to follow the IAATO guidelines regarding how close we can get to the wildlife (no closer than 5m). To comply with this, the Expedition Team set up flags and ropes for the guests to stay within. Now, that being said, the birds have no idea that this rule exists and would often walk up to *us*! After all, they are curious creatures and do not have an instinctual fear of humans. As long as we are not standing in the middle of a “penguin highway,” we are not required to run away to maintain the 5m distance from the birds so we are able to get quite close and we get some AMAZING pictures!

The Gentoo Penguins build their nests out of rocks, so that the eggs will stay dry if it snows during incubation. While many of the eggs in Yankee Harbor have already hatched, we still see several fathers hobbling around, picking up rocks (often stealing them from other nests!) and presenting them to their mates. The mothers and fathers take turns sitting on the eggs – when one mate gets tired or hungry and wants to switch shifts, s/he throws their head back and starts calling for their mate to come home

Another mother calls for her husband, while he’s busy stealing the neighbor’s rocks

So many baby chicks! Gentoos typically lay two eggs per season, so there were a lot of these fluffy little guys

Fat, lazy slugs…I mean, Elephant Seals! About a dozen of these tubers of blubber were sleeping (and burping) on the beach. The poor guy on the right looks like we may be recovering from an Orca attack – feel better!

These Elephant Seals look pretty gross, because they are molting. Unlike dogs, who just shed their fur, Elephant Seals undergo what is called a “catastrophic molt” where they shed both their fur *and* and layer of skin. The whole process is rather itchy and uncomfortable, so we see many of the seals wiggling around and scratching.

“I’m done!” This relatively small Elephant Seal looks like he is done molting – it takes him about 10min to wiggle his way down to the water. Hard work, buddy – you’ve earned a break.

Although Elephant Seals are the world’s biggest seal (breeding males can weigh over 6,600lbs and be 30ft in length – that’s equivalent to 7 polar bears!), they are not penguin predators – they only eat fish and krill – so the Gentoos are fearless, walking among the slumbering pennipeds. These Elephant Seals aren’t that big – they are juveniles (around 3-4 years old) and aren’t big enough to fight off the dominant males and claim a “harem” of females to breed with. Not only are they quite young, but because they can’t feed while they are molting (not enough insulation for the frigid waters until they grow their new coat of fur and skin) they are losing a lot of body mass

While the penguins have nothing to fear from the seals, the Skuas are another story. These huge, gull-like birds often set up their nests adjacent to penguin colonies as they prey on penguin eggs and chicks

Sadly, this little Gentoo chick was victim to a Skua attack. Since Skuas don’t have any thumbs to tear the meat apart, it’s a gruesome scene as the bird repeatedly shakes the corpse to break away bite-size pieces. Circle of Life, yo.

After two hours of snapping pictures, we start to make our way back to the zodiacs, when all of sudden we notice something…different! A Chipstrap Penguin! Looks like this little guy got lost and followed the wrong penguin home. (There is a Chipstrap rockery on the neighboring island, so he’ll find his way back eventually)

All good things must come to an end, so at 2PM we had our All Aboard so the other cruise ship could have their turn visiting the beach. The weather that afternoon was GLOROIOUS, and the views we got of the Antarctic Peninsula as we cruised further south were AMAZING.

Scenic cruising along the Antarctic Peninsula

It’s so beautiful…I think Igor is about to cry…

Postcard-perfect pictures of the Antarctic Peninsula

Seriously…it doesn’t get any better than this!

Icebergs floating in the Bransfield Strait – nothing too big to worry about, just the perfect size for seals and penguins to take a little break

Late that afternoon, our Captain came on the PA to share an exciting piece of news: the weather was so phenomenal that he had decided to take us on a detour to visit Deception Island! Deception Island is the flooded caldera of an active volcano, which has a narrow opening on the northeast side of its perimeter – it earned its name because it took sailors decades to realize the opening led into a protective harbor in the middle. The 230m wide passage into the caldera – called “Neptune’s Bellows” due to the strong winds that can blow through the opening – can be very dangerous in bad weather and have sunk several ships over the years. Most cruises to Antarctica (especially in ships our size – the biggest that can make landfall) have to bypass Deception Island – several members of the Expedition Team and repeat guests told us this was the first time they could *see* the island, let alone sail inside! We’re just lucky, lucky, lucky!

Calm waters in the Bransfield Strait as we sail up to Neptune’s Bellows – the entrance to Deception Island’s hidden harbor

Sailing inside an active volcano – Deception Island!

Inside the Whalers Bay, where we see the rusting remains of the New Sandefjord station. Back in the summer of 1912-13, the waters of Whalers Bay turned red as over 5,000 whales were hacked to pieces in order to boil out the precious oil from the meat and bones. Nowadays, the buildings are used as a research station. Sadly, we are not permitted to make landfall within Deception Island (only ships with fewer than 300 passengers are allowed) We’re a bit jealous as we watch the smaller cruise ship that was behind us in Yankee Harbor stop and ferry its guests to shore.

A clear view of the 230m-wide “Neptune’s Bellows” – alternately called “Hell’s Gate” and “Dragon’s Mouth”

As we sail past the headland, we can see thousands of little black dots covering the cliffs – an estimated 50,000 pairs of Chinstrap Penguins are nesting on Deception Island