Ushuaia

Terra Firma at last!!!  We arrived in Ushuaia around 8.30 last night, it was beautiful coming in along the Beagle Channel, so calm compared to our last couple of couple of days.  Went for a short walk around the town after dinner, it was a lovely night and people out & about eating late as they do in Argentina.  Also a couple of cruise boats here, Le Boreal is across from us and will take on new passengers later today.  We will leave the ship at 9am, will be taken to some shops for an hour or so then off to the airport for flight back to Buenos Aires. This will probably be the last post from me as no more penguins, whales, seals, albatross pics to send now!  Thanks for persevering with the blog, a lot of it trivia, but a good record for me to keep.  But no pics or words can actually describe how amazing and beautiful the Antarctic is and it was such a privilege to be able to go. 

Love Maureen XXX

The Drake Passage

The Drake Passage is the body of water between the Southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands.  It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the Southern Ocean.  The passage is named after Sir Francis Drake whose only remaining ship after passing through the Strait of Magellan was blown far south in 1578 and who inferred an open connection of the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.  There is no significant land anywhere around the world at the latitudes of the Drake Passage, which is important to the unimpeded flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which carries a huge volume of water.  Sir Francis must have done it tough - it isn’t all that easy in a Silversea ship either!!!  

So, if yesterday was a challenge, last night and today have probably been worse!  The captain’s cocktail party was held in the theatre/lounge last night, and after some speeches all the ship’s crew were brought on stage to the tune of ‘when the Saints come marching in’ - as a group they swayed to and fro, back and forth, and I must admit I thought they might all go down like dominoes but they are all well seasoned and managed to get the dinner service done!  Such as it was!  At a table for six, we struggled to keep still, my chair almost threw me backwards even though the chairs are chained to the floor.  (They do have some flexibility). No-one ordered wine, my coke and water ended up on the tablecloth, and the cutlery took a nosedive to the floor!  Half the dining room was empty, not sure if room service would have been an option - maybe they just didn’t eat! 

After dinner Will, a guest, entertained us with sea-shanty songs, more like a sing-a-long.  Got back to the room, things everywhere, drawers open, stuff all over the floor, and later on staying on the mattress was interesting.  This morning has been just as bad, the ship is listing to starboard because of the very strong winds coming up from the south.  However, WE ARE NEARLY THERE - will be rounding Cape Horn around 4 pm and should be in Ushuaia at 8 pm.  The Captain has promised we can leave the ship to take a walk and hopefully there might be a saloon near the dock where we can have a drink without spilling it!  We disembark in the morning then make our way to the airport, with a 1 hour stop on the way to check out the shops.  

Drake Passage

Last night was a lot of fun.  The crew put on a show after dinner and, as usual, a lot of hidden talent on board.  Most of my pics are videos which I can’t post but there was lots of dancing and singing afterwards and even Captain Maggi was bopping along. Was rather tricky dancing with the ship rolling in every direction! A lot of sore heads this morning, I suspect!

How I managed not to roll out of bed I’ll never know!  During the night the wardrobe doors kept opening and closing, drawers came out, glasses rattled, but having a shower this morning was a major challenge.  Once again the tide was in!!! 

I went to a lecture earlier on fishing in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in particular.  Then at 11.15 there was a cooking demonstration on making gnocchi.  Chef Ross is Scottish, not sure he would top any of our chefs at home but he has managed very well on a 23 day voyage where the last few supplies of fresh ingredients were uploaded at Stanley, Falklands.  

After lunch it’s time to hand in the borrowed boots then tonight is the farewell dinner and Captain’s cocktail party.  

Deception Island, Telefon Bay and Yankee Harbour

We hit the bar for a few drinks last night before the usual briefing at 6.45 pm.  After that we added several layers and proceeded up to the top deck for our hot rock dinner.    Turns out there were only 6 of us and we had a fantastic time.  It was cold, no wind though, and the ship supplied blankets for extra warmth.  One person, who shall remain nameless, looked like he was off to the Antarctic! We all cooked some prawns followed by a steak of choice served with baked potato, a  vegetable skewer, French fries, onion rings OMG!  what a feast!!!! Couldn’t wait for dessert as had to go to the lounge for a night of fun with the expedition team.  Each member had written a line about something they’d done in their past and we had to figure out ‘Who Done It’.  It was fantastic, very well done.  

This morning we are on Deception Island.  We transitted through Neptune’s Bellows around 6 am on our way to Telefon Bay.  A large group left the ship at 7 am for a 2.5 km hike to Craters and Viewpoint and the rest of us left at 8am for a shorter walk to the rim of the crater and back.  This crater was most recently active in 1967 and 1969 and its eruptions caused serious damage to the scientific stations based in surrounding areas.  Currently there are research bases now run by the Argentine Army and Spain.  

Back at the ‘beach’ flags had been set up and towels laid for those adventurous souls planning a ‘Polar Plunge’ in the sea!!!!  Imagine taking all that gear off, and baring the body for a 30 second dip then having to put it all on again but 23 people did go and they have to be admired! 

Back on board and moving on to Yankee Harbour which is a small inner harbour entered from Shopski Cove between Glacier and Spit Point, indenting the South-west side of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands.  

Saw our last penguin rookery and seals this afternoon at Yankee Harbour.  The baby penguins were so cute, very inquisitive and all seemingly hungry waiting for their parents to come back with food!  We had a decent walk, on flat rocky terrain but no climbing.  The ride back in the Zodiac was very rough and appropriate for our last ride! A ship’s tender will seem tame now.  

This was our last excursion before heading out to the Drake Passage for our two day trip back to Ushuaia. 

Cuvervill Island and Neko Bay

This morning we are at Cuverville Island which is the site of a large Gentoo Penguin rookery.  The island was used heavily as a flensing area during the 1920’s and as a result there are several whale vertebra, ribs and jawbones scattered around on the beach.  The cove where the ship is anchored is probably one of the most beautiful and peaceful places you could ever be.  We are surrounded by magnificent ice covered mountains, icebergs and a whale and her calf performing tricks or having a lesson just near the ship. This afternoon we move on to Neko Harbour which will be the first actual landing on the mainland for us.  We missed going into the Antarctic Sound a few days ago due to poor conditions so this is our big moment!  

The beach is pebbled and there is an opportunity to walk up into a glacier, a moderate hike of about 1.6 kms, elevation 125 m.  In the rubber boots issued to us I definitely won’t be doing the hike!  Apparently there are also regular calvings from the nearby glaciers which can cause large waves so we have been warned to keep an eye out for that.  

Well, Neko Harbour proved to be a breathtaking place - truly beyond belief! The sea was like a mirror, calm and full of floating ice.  It was nice to actually put our feet on the Antarctic Continent at last!  The Gentoo penguins were very relaxed and friendly and all going about their business in such a methodical way!  It was rather nice not to have to step around seals today, the fur seal does not come as far south as this.  After disembarking the Zodiac we were offered Irish coffee, quite delicious!  

Last night we enjoyed dinner with our friends from Richmond and another young couple from São Paulo, Brazil.  Tonight we’re booked to have the hot rock dinner on the outside deck so will be rugging up!!!!! 

Petermann Island, Antarctica

After our fabulous landing at Half Moon yesterday we decided to sit on the deck enjoying a drink with some friends.  The sun was shining, the other 2 groups were still on the island and it was like being on a ski holiday being surrounded by snowy mountains and magnificent scenery.  Dinner was fun, rather like being at a football game as on both sides of the ship there were whales and it was a case of who could raise the biggest ooh aah ooh aah!!!  Guess that’s what we geriatrics do for fun these days!! 

So overnight we sailed south to the Antarctic Peninsular and early this morning we reached the Gerlache  Strait, a beautiful scenic stretch of water with icebergs everywhere.  It was really cold and windy for those brave enough to go outside but they will have some wonderful pictures. Gluwein was served around 10.30, and there was a lot of conviviality in the lounges!  At around 1 pm we approached the northern end of the very scenic Lemaire Channel.  This is a strait between Kiev Peninsular in the mainland’s Graham Land and Booth Island.  Steep cliffs hem in the iceberg-filled passage which is 11 kms long and just 550 metres wide at its narrowest point. Earlier on we did see another ship, the Le Borealis, going north.  

We will be, hopefully, doing a Zodiac landing at Petermann Island around 2.30. Conditions are looking favourable at this stage.  Petermann is a snow covered and domed Island that rises moderately steeply to a rocky summit more than 200 metres above sea level.  It has a rocky coastline with many small bays and the landscape has a beautiful red and green gloss due to snow algae.  Adeline and Gentoo penguins live here along with south polar skuas.  

Half Moon Bay, South Shetland Islands

The plan today was to arrive in the Antarctic Sound at around 7.30 am and that it would be a great sight to watch from around 5am.  And then we would be taken ashore in groups.  That was plan A.  Plan B was that if there was an iceberg somewhere near the anchoring spot (and we knew that 2 ships couldn’t go there yesterday) then it would be too dangerous to stay and we would go to a different bay where at the very least we could do a Zodiac tour.  Plan C was if neither of the other plans worked then we would head around to the other side of the Peninsular.  So, got up early, went to the observation lounge and all the windows were covered in snow, visibility low, winds high, travelling slowly and at 7.15 Stefan announced we would not be going to the Sound now, rather we’d be off to the South Shetland Islands!!!  Where a landing is almost guaranteed!  I expect we will still see most of what we’ve come to see as we are in the area for 5 days but conditions are always tricky.  And it’s safety first!!  Now  in calm seas, there is some sunshine and I can see the Peninsular on the port side, beautiful icy mountains just waiting for us!!! 

So there were the usual couple of lectures to fill in the morning or just to relax, read & have a hot chocolate which is what I did.  Lunch followed, and we are now approaching the South Shetlands, will throw out the anchor in half an hour and we are in the first group ashore.  Several Orca whales here, no doubt we’ll see more as the day goes on.  

We’ve had a wonderful excursion to Half Moon Bay, the sea is calm and we walked on pebbles, snow and slush.  There is a large penguin colony on a steep rocky hill and quite a few fur seals lazing in the sun!  But we needed to keep a reasonable distance from them as they are frustrated males, all the females have gone back to where they were born for mating.  This really is the most beautiful place, there is an Argentine base here with 17 young people working during the summer.  They came down to meet us and to sell a few t-shirts etc.  Back on the ship now & it must be time for a pisco sour!!!!