So that’s the end of my latest adventure: the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Peninsula! And I’ve got the magnets to prove it!!
One last picture.…
Okay, 2 more (thanks, Gail!)…
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Post Ship Day 2: Return
So that’s the end of my latest adventure: the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Peninsula! And I’ve got the magnets to prove it!!
One last picture.…
Okay, 2 more (thanks, Gail!)…
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Post Ship Day 1: Colonia, Uruguay
Colonia del Sacramento is a lovely, small Unesco World Heritage town located across the Rio Plata from Buenos Aires. Several years ago when I first visited B.A. I had hoped to see Colonia but either the ferries were booked up or not running that day, or some such thing so I made sure to book a seat well in advance (i.e. back in October) so I wouldn’t be stumped this time. Annie, Gail, and Sheila had a family-friend-of-a-friend graciously offer to show them the highlights of B.A. so we all had plans for the day. A humongous catamaran ferry zipped me across the 30-mile wide muddy-colored river in just an hour, and with a quick fingerprinting and a stamp in the passport I was in a new country! Another magnet to collect!
What a delight Colonia was! Despite the 100’s of passengers crowding the ferry, I saw relatively few tourists roaming the quaint cobble-stoned streets, so I was perfectly happy poking my way along each little lane of the old town, checking out the charming shops and cafes, and trying to peek into the private tranquil courtyards hidden behind old stone walls. It was early summer so the hydrangea bushes were in full bloom, blue and white allium were waving tall in the light breeze off the river, and the mature plane trees offered welcome shade as their reaching branches stretched over the small streets. It was a wonderful juxtaposition to the cold white barrenness of Antarctica. I found a cheap, friendly trattoria right on the water so I settled in for a long lunch of pizza and white wine and watched the world go by. On my return to the ferry I found the “new” Colonia with modern shops and noisier bars that’s a bit inland from the historic area on the point but found that a bit jarring after such a peaceful interlude so I veered back to the old quarter and meandered back to the boat for my 5:15pm ferry back to Argentina.
Unfortunately B.A. was undergoing a bit of a transportation crisis when I emerged from the ferry terminal. Today was the last work day before a 4-day weekend and the subway was shut down due to strikes (because of or in sympathy to the death of a subway worker from a falling air conditioner) so traffic was at a standstill and no taxis were to be found. I had to pay a taxi driver off-meter at a rate almost 3x what it cost that morning to get to the ferry but I had no other option for getting back to the hotel. I wasn’t really upset as it was only about $20 and it took at least 3x the time to make the journey so it was probably fair in the end. I quite happily people-watched for the 45 minutes, checking out the local fashions, amazed myself at the indigenous driving habits (6 lanes of traffic squeezed into space for 4), and the incredible lines for the buses – some bus stops had people lined up for 3-4 blocks waiting for a bus! I felt very fortunate to have found a ride at all.
It was 7:30pm before I found my friends at the hotel and as none of us were very hungry we just popped out to a local supermarket for some snacks but as they had a full hot food section we each got a takeout dish and a beverage and dined back on our room’s balcony, watching the sun set over the Recoleta cemetery just across the street. A perfect end to a great day.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Ship Day 18: Ushuaia
Ushuaia: our final stop and the city from which we leave this fantastic vessel and our first Antarctic expedition. The early morning cruise into the flat calm Beagle Channel was not enough to wake me and so I got out on deck just before we docked in the port, catching the first rays of sun on the mountains behind the town. From that moment on it was a well organized but quick exit from the boat. Luggage was to be left out in the corridor at 7am as we went down to breakfast, and the buses taking away the departing guests started soon after that. As our flight wasn’t scheduled till 3:40pm, we caught the 8:15am bus amidst sad goodbyes and heartfelt thanks to all the staff, and were dropped off in town for a couple hours to shop and explore. Of course the heavens opened just then and every shop was shut tight at that hour of the morning so we hurried off to find a coffee shop to get warm and dry and while away the time until souvenir shopping could begin! I hunted for a good hour trying to find my Antarctica magnet and in the end settled on a compromise: an illustration of that continent with the words “Ushuaia, Gateway to Antarctica” on it. The only souvenir shopping I do is for a magnet, just one, from each country I visit and as we obviously didn’t hit any stores on the Peninsula, I was worried that I might have a hole in my collection but all is good, I’m relieved to say. By then it was lunchtime and as Annie is inordinately fond of King Crab we went off in search of a recommended seafood restaurant. Plain crab, baked crab with parmesan, and seafood pasta satisfied each of our cravings and we left Ushuaia with happy tummies and great memories of our whole trip.
I’m not sure what the backyard of this souvenir shop was trying to depict!
Annie’s final King Crab meal!
Monday, December 5, 2016
Ship Days 16 & 17: Drake Passage
Well, the cold that’s been running through the passengers ever since Day 1 has finally hit our little group. Sheila had it a few days ago, now the other three of us got it yesterday and it’s a doozy. Nothing but sleep and drugs will help and therefore I’ve not done much outside my cabin the last two days. Thank goodness it hit on our last 2 days at sea so we didn’t miss any excursions. The staff still kept a busy schedule so there were things to occupy one’s time, if so inclined….
I did get up to watch the photo competition this afternoon, which was fun and Nate’s recap of the voyage has some wonderful photos of the guests and our excursions which they graciously put on USB sticks for everyone to take home.
Tonight’s farewell dinner had the VIP guests sitting with Captain Beluga and Nate, and Nate called up all the staff in turn so we could clap our heartfelt appreciation for all they’ve done for us on this cruise. Tomorrow we have an early wake up call and an early breakfast before we disembark in Ushuaia around 8:15 am and we’ll have a couple of hours to sightsee there before our 3:40pm flight north to Buenos Aires.
Oh, and the infamous Drake Passage was a non-event. We experienced more the “Drake Lake” than the “Drake Shake”. Again, so so lucky. The captain in his speech mentioned that the next group that boards tomorrow afternoon is not going to be so fortunate!
Another dining room shot, I didn’t miss a meal!
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Ship Day 15: Antarctic Peninsula
Bright sun blinded my eyes as I peeked out from behind the curtain this morning at 4:30am. It was still blazing at 5:37am so I decided to get up and see what the outside world was like. It turns out it was very icy! Lots of small and medium-sized icebergs in the water and thick snow-covered mountains lined the channel. I snapped photos out on the deck until both my iPhone stopped working from the cold and my camera battery died. Inside for more layers, fresh battery and a cup of hot coffee in the bar before heading out again. At 6:30am the ship entered a lot of sea ice, probably 80% coverage, but we’re equipped for that so we edged through going on 2-3 knots. Our destination was Paradise Harbor and the unoccupied Argentinian research base “Almirante Brown”. The leaders had initially hoped to make a landing here but again the ice was too thick so it was changed to a zodiac cruise, which was just fine. The sun was bright and warm and the wind negligible so the water was like glass reflecting the mountains and icebergs = magical. We had to slowly push our way through the brash ice, giving us lots of time to appreciate it’s colors and shapes which actually made for a very peaceful ride rather than zooming around from one site to the next. There wasn’t a lot of wildlife but we did find a leopard seal sleeping on a floe which was very cool and we spent a lot of time cruising around and around him, trying to get the perfect shot; a cliff of nesting shags, and we cruised right up along the shore under the research base.
Our 2nd excursion of the day turned into a ship’s cruise – the ice is so thick in the channel leading out to sea that the ship needed extra time to navigate it safely so there wouldn’t be time for another landing or zodiac cruise. None of us minded though, as the way is so scenic it’s great to be viewing from the comfort (and warmth!) of the ship.
Afternoon Tea, which only happens on sea days, was moved to the foredeck so we could continue watching the fantastic views. They had hot clove tea with a splash of rum and those huge chocolate cookies that we so love, as well as music blasting and the crew got the guests out dancing. A short while later Nate announced over the P.A. that the second emperor penguin sighting of our trip was happening just off our port bow. I ran out to our back patio and was able to get a whole slew of shots of it before the captain ran over its iceberg! To be fair I think the wind was pushing the ship into it but I hope it managed to get away!
P.S. This was the first Emperor penguin that the ship’s captain has seen in 20 years sailing these waters so for us to have seen 2 this trip is amazing!
Friday, December 2, 2016
Ship Day 14: The Antarctic Peninsula
The Vavilov docked in the ice
Then we checked out some seals and Arctic terns that were camped out on the ice, before switching over to shoot iceberg shots. By this time the grey sky had cleared and warm sunshine was filling the sky and every photo looked great. We cruised around the large bay looking for wildlife but came up a bit short in that department. We did come across a very large group of shags (a type of cormorant) that flew away, flew in circles, dive bombed us, chilled out on rocks, swam for us, ignored us, and came over to check us out. It was amazing. We’d watch them for the longest time, cruise away, and they’d follow us! Our driver said that in 5 years he’d never seen a thing like it! The stray Chinstrap or Gentoo penguins that we saw got short shrift compared to these shags. It was noon before we returned to the ship and I immediately began to edit the 425 pictures I took down to about 50! Luckily my aim isn’t that great so the task wasn’t too onerous.:-)
Lunch was an Asian Fusian buffet (more delicious food!) then a 2-hour cruise to our afternoon landing at Cuverville Island. Nate, the expedition leader, described the landing as Gentoo heaven with the option of checking out the various little colonies, going for a good hike, or just chilling on the shore and watching the penguins play. This happened to be the one time I forgot my ankle brace and the hike was straight uphill in the deep soft snow, the rookeries were both left and right a distance through the deep soft snow, and the shore was filled with uneven large rocks! So I found a nice-sized boulder and sat in the warm sun right there by the zodiacs and watched a few little penguins cavort in the surf and waddle back and forth in front of me. I was perfectly happy with just being a passive observer.
P.S. As was mentioned at lunch the staff actually offered a 3rd trip this evening – leaving after dinner at 8:30 pm there would be a trip to (missed the name), a beach actually on the Antarctic Peninsula so those worried about not actually stepping on the 7th Continent would have their chance. There is a planned landing tomorrow but it’s always weather dependent and today we’re having stupendous weather so why not give it a go today? It’s light so late at night, in fact it only seems like right afternoon now and it’s already 9:20pm as I write this, that time wasn’t a factor. It wasn’t described as an excursion that I could do with my ankle so Annie and I and a select few decided sit this one out. Instead, I was able to photograph the intrepid folks blazing a trail up the snow-laden slope to a remote Chinstrap rookery with a killer view from the warmth and coziness of the top deck bar!!
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Ship Day 13: Antarctic Peninsula
We had calm seas but a big rolling swell last night that rocked the ship from side to side often and far enough to keep me from sleeping much. At one point, 2:37 am, I decided to glance out the window above my bunk and I saw the sun had already risen! We are so far south that it must hardly set before it gets up again. I finally rose at 6:30 am, 1/2 an hour before the wake up announcement, and was delighted to see the sun fully shining, the swells had died and there were icebergs and bergy bits floating around outside. We were just arriving at Spert Island which is just off Trinity Island, which is just off the tip of the Peninsula. Spert is another unvisited site, not unknown but cruised only by those “in the know”. Pictured below is a narrow cut between two giant basalt cliff faces into which we took our zodiacs and normally there’s 3 exit points once you progress to the center like the 4 points on a compass, except that all the other 3 were blocked by icebergs! There was plenty of room in the center for 3 or more zodiacs to drive around in but we could only go single file through the entrance. Afterwards we cruised down the coast, checking out the spectacular snow and glacier formations, a few chinstrap penguins, a few crab eater seals and some fabulous big icebergs. It was a stunning morning.
Lunch was a delicious pasta buffet with moussaka, mac ‘n cheese, mushroom carbonara, pasta puttanesca plus breads and salads. While eating, the boat chugged around the corner to Mikkelsen Harbor, which was an absolutely flat calm protected bay with a little island upon which stood a small Argentinian refuge hut and had a couple of Gentoo penguin rookeries. We started ashore at 2:30 pm but they ran boats back and forth all afternoon until 5:3pm so you could stay as long as you wanted. There wasn’t a breath of wind so many people had their parkas and gloves off and we could just stroll around the island at our leisure. It was the most peaceful and relaxing excursion we’ve done. There wasn’t any hurry to see the penguins, as we all have hundreds of penguin photos by now, and the birds were spread out all over the island and even swimming, so one could just sit on a rock and watch them to one’s heart’s content. Most of my pictures seemed to be wide-angle photos of people taking photos, which was a nice change.
We only were back on board for a moment before we had an announcement to dress warm and meet on the back deck for a barbecue dinner! What a surprise! The concierge staff had busy busy setting up tables and chairs and drinks and barbecues while we were out on our excursion! They greeted us with hot mulled wine, and had steaks, pulled pork, sausages, chicken wings on the grill and a big table of salads all set up. Music was playing and the sun was shining – what a great end to a perfect day!
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| The One Ocean staff |
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