Happy Mother's Day Mum

Here's a video clip just for you mum. I know you wanted my to smuggle home a real one but hopefully this is the next best thing.

Love you

S

Cruising the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

I thought you might enjoy a little Antarctic experience. Here we are cruising through the beautiful Lemaire Channel through the brash ice.

The Coldest, Windiest, Whitest Continent on Earth

Is a two day crossing (make that four days if you want to get back home again!) of the notorious Drake´s Passage worth the effort?

Without a doubt.

Visiting the coldest, windiest, driest, iciest, whitest continent on Earth is not everyone´s idea of money well spent, but it is mine. I have always wanted to visit the mysterious Antarctic region but I´m not sure that I thought I would ever actually get there. A place confined to beautiful coffee table picture books and scientific expeditions, Antarctica can seem beyond the reach of the humble traveller. These past nine days at sea on board the MS Polaris have had their ups and downs (literally and metaphorically speaking) but making it to Antarctica has literally been a dream come true.

The first iceberg sighting was made as we approached the South Shetland Islands and it didn´t disappoint. As we got closer in the fading light of our second full day at sea an enormous tabular iceberg emerged. Reaching over 100 metres in height (bearing in mind that only an eighth of an iceberg is visible above water) it was a monster! This initial sighting was followed in quick succession by others which appeared on the dusky horizon floating majestically on the Southern Ocean. With the calmer waters came a good night´s sleep and an early morning wake up call and the fun began. Our first trip off the boat was a zodiac cruise around Enterprise Island and to the wreck of the Governor (a 1920s whaling ship) in Foyn Harbour. It was a great first cruise and a good taster of how many layers (more) I´d need to wear on our subsequent outings! That afternoon we made our first landing of the trip on Cuverville Island, home to a large Gentoo Penguin colony. As we approached land it was clear that there were thousands of penguins on the island, both adults and large chicks. Identified by their distinctive orange bills and a white flash above the eye, these little fellows were my first introduction to penguins en masse and they were truly a sight to behold.

The following morning we sailed into Paradise Harbour and landed the Zodiacs at the now unused Argentinian base of Almirante Brown. We walked up the hill to enjoy the stunning view over the harbour and were treated to a beautiful sight - after a few grey days of rain and snow, the sun was rising over the mountains and the cloud receding. Looking forward to a day of good weather, the steep climb up turned into a great snow slide down for many. We got back on board the Polaris and set sail for the Lemaire Channel, a narrow ice-filled channel that was a truly spectacular sight. The most scenic part of the journey it was a real treat to experience it in such good weather. Picture postcard opportunities presented themselves one after the other as we cruised through the ice the sun lit up the snowy peaks surrounding us. I didn´t think it could get much better than this until we reached the aptly named Iceberg Alley where the Antarctica of my imagination revealed itself. We Zodiac cruised for about two hours around the icebergs witnessing an abundance of wildlife including: Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, Crabeater Seals, Antarctic Fur Seals, a lone Adelie Penguin and the spectacular Leopard Seal. All of this as the sun slowly began to set over icebergs that were even beyond my imagination - turquoise in colour and carved into beautiful shapes. Truly overwhelming!

With the weather forecast for the following day looking a little less than perfect the expedition team even managed to squeeze in a third outing for the day to the Yalour Islands, home to an Adelie Penguin colony. A little smaller than the Gentoo and without the orange bill, these penguins are really cute but exceptionally smelly. As opposed to our landing on Cuverville Island where we were able to land away from the nesting sites, at the Adelie colony we found ourselves right in the middle of what had been their nesting site earlier in the season. The guano literally coloured the island red and smelled so bad that I was convinced the Adelie scent had permeated my clothes and skin! That said, it was a wonderful opportunity to see another species of penguin in such large numbers and to observe their amusing behaviours. Feeling exhausted we returned to the ship where we had a good nights sleep at anchor.

The next morning we woke up to worse weather (which made us feel very thankful for the perfect day before). We had been planning to visit the Ukranian Vernadsky Station on the Argentine Islands. Unfortunately though, they were in the midst of their annual crew change and it was not possible to tour the station itself. Very kindly they sent their radio controller, Eugine onto our boat to tell us about the station and answer our questions. It´s a shame we didn´t get to visit as I´m sure it would have been fascinating. We did land however at part of the original station, Wordie Hut, which was part of the British base B which later became Faraday. It has been left as a testament to how things used to be and was a real eye opener - the marmite looked tempting though, despite its age (I'm having some serious withdrawal symptoms here)! That afternoon in slightly less picturesque conditions we sailed back down the Lemaire Channel and on to our next landing site back in the South Shetlands, Deception Island. As our ship´s captain skillfully negotiated Neptune´s Bellows (a very narrow opening into what is in fact a volcanic caldera), Whaler´s Bay came into view. Whaler´s Bay was home to a succession of whaling and research stations and is now an open air museum with many well preserved remnants of years past. This was a fascinating stop and gave us an idea of the scale of whaling operations in the region.

Whaler´s Bay will also hold memories for us of a different kind. All week we had been gearing up towards a dip in Antarctic waters and were determined to beat the last Polaris Antarctic Swim Team record of 31 passengers/crew. Had the sun been out it would have been a less daunting proposition but we took the plunge nonetheless. We had to wade into the water and ensure that we swam with our heads fully submerged in order to count as an official swim team member. It was a pretty amusing sight for the onlooking fur seal as 39 passengers/crew stripped down to their swimsuits and entered the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean. Not an experience I feel I need to repeat but one that with hindsight, and dressed warmly, I think I almost enjoyed!

After a hot shower and back into a sensible number of layers we made our final landing of the trip that afternoon at Walker Bay on Livingstone Island. The conditions were pretty interesting: the wind was blowing fairly hard and we had quite a big swell which made transferring from the gangway to the Zodiac and back quite exciting. We all made it unscathed though thanks to the hard work of the staff and enjoyed a final stroll on land taking in some new species and saying goodbye to some old friends. Large colonies of both Gentoo and Adelie Penguins lined the rocky bay as we walked to Hannah Point at the end of the island. The glacial ice washed up on the beach made for a spectacular sight and we were even lucky enough to catch our first sighting of Southern Elephant Seals. These monsters can reach four and a half tonnes when fully grown and if the juvenile males we saw (at about two and a half tonnes) are anything to go by, they must be gigantic!

And so began our journey home. My only complaint about this trip is that it was just not long enough. I could have spent many many more days exploring this last wildnerness but am thankful that I am one of the few who have been here at all. We were blessed that our return trip on the Drake was less eventful than our first and we will leave with wonderful memories of Antarctica. I feel a trip further north coming on...anyone ever seen a Polar Bear?

Drake's Passage - an experience!

After a day pottering around in Ushuaia (I think it's fair to say we know this small town very well now!) we made our way to the passenger terminal at the port and boarded a GAP Adeventures bus bound for the MS Polaris: the Russian ice-strengthened boat that was to be our home for the next 10 days. As we approached along the pier, our little boat appeared dwarfed by the other vessels docked alongside her and it was at this point that I was both grateful for the small capacity of our cruise (65ish passengers) and a little worried at how much she might move in the swell of the Southern Ocean.

It's fair to say that Drake's Passage has a bit of a reputation for turning those with even the strongest stomachs and most hardy sea legs into whimpering, bed-ridden individuals begging for mercy as they are tossed around on the mighty Southern Ocean. With postcards for sale all over Ushuaia stating things such as "I've survived Drake's Passage", and even a Drake's Passage 'experiences board' in the local bookshop, I was more than a little concerned that no amount of Dramamine would keep me from my bunk! But, it was hard to believe the stories as we set sail along the glass like Beagle Channel, spotting Dolphins and sea birds and watching the sun set over the receeding mountains of southern Argentina and Chile.

With all the orientation stuff sorted we had a good dinner and began getting to know our fellow passengers over a drink in the bar. I had no trouble falling asleep that night with the gentle motion of the boat and dreams of what would await us in the mighty White Continent. However, I was woken up in the early hours of the morning by some fairly violent sideways motion of the boat which, considering the layout of our cabin and bunks, meant that we were tipped from one end of our bed (standing on the outside wall of the cabin) to the other (protecting my head from hitting the wall with my hands). I had followed instructions and taken my Dramamine (sea sickness) tablets before bed and thankfully in a lying position didn't feel sickness of any kind. No sickness...and no sleep! As the boat continued to sway from side to side at increasingly precarious angles and our belongings swam around on floor of our cabin I concentrated on trying to wedge myself into my bunk and make it through the rest of the night.

Our morning call by the ever cheery expedition leader brought no respite from the swell of the Drake, but determined that it must be mind over matter, I got myself out of bed and even (such a maratime amateur) into the shower. It was quite an experience trying to wash my hair at the same time as clinging onto the wall bars for dear life and probably not the best way to start my day. Feeling like I'd been through the spin cycle of the washing machine, I followed Simon upstairs to the dining room for breakfast. However, while waiting to be called I was overcome by nausea and retreated hastily to our cabin where Simon later found me clinging to the toilet bowl. I have felt sea sickness before but thankfully it has never progressed beyond a feeling of nausea. This time was different...feeling a complete lack of control I was sick before I'd even been to breakfast and had to lie down in my cabin for the next few hours before I felt able to try the vertical position again. The rest of the day passed in an uncomfortable haze of dramamine fuelled semi-conciousness, although I did make it to the brilliant and informative lectures given by our expedition team and the remaining meals of the day.

I had just about managed to adapt to the motion of the boat on day one of the Drake's Passage crossing when day two dawned. I could tell that the boat was moving alot more on day two by the angle reached by our waterproof jackets (hanging on the wall of the cabin) each time the boat swayed from side to side. I didn't make breakfast on day two either and was incredibly relieved when it was announced that lunch would be served to cabins (it meant that most people were feeling as bad as me). I did venture up for dinner where chairs and people were sliding from one side of the dining room to the other and many laps got a soaking from toppled drinks. I was relieved to hear that this is the worst crossing of the Drake so far this season and that I was justified in feeling a little under the weather. Thankfully as we entered calmer waters that evening people began to emerge from their short hibernation and the excitement at approaching Antarctica began to heighten.