Day 5 – Whales, Icebergs & Penguins

Cierva Cove

Our morning was greeted by what was to become a very familiar voice, that of Morten Jørgensen, the Antarctica XXI expedition leader, urging us to rise from our bunks as there was “some really nice light outside“, and being we were all photographers it was something we “really shouldn’t miss“.

Iceberg and reflections, Cierva Cove

On deck, for those that took heed to the call, we were indeed greeted by some early morning, pale yellow light, and our first glimpse of the Danco coastline of mainland Antarctica with the occasional iceberg drifting by. That was soon followed by our first of many sitings of Humpback whales, which brought almost everyone to the viewing deck; a multitude of cameras snapping away like a veritable horde of paparazzo. For me this was the first time I’d really seen a whale up close … the trip was starting well.

Humpback Whale and whale shaped iceberg at Cierva Cove

Not long after the Ocean Nova was gliding into Cierva Cove littered with numerous icebergs from the surrounding glaciers. Impressive scenery indeed. The light was good too;  a lovely covering of quilted cirrocumulus stratiformis clouds providing a natural soft box. Great light for photographing icebergs. Soon were were cruising in amongst them in our zodiacs, with almost flat, calm, waters providing great refections of  icebergs and mountain peaks. Could it get any better than this?  It did. A couple of Humpbacks were spotted amongst the bergs, and a Minke whale swam right along side of our zodiac. I saw his eye checking us out. Wow!

A fluke shot !

Time just flew by, and soon we were being urged to make an immediate return to the ship. In fact we were rather late and another Zodiac with approached with Morton onboard. Kevin Raber, our LuLa instructor was asked to switch zodiacs fully expecting a blocking from Morton for staying out too long. Instead he was given to opportunity to fulfil a long term wish – to drive a Zodiac in Antarctica. I think Morton just made his day!

Hydruga Rocks

Cruising around Hydruga Rocks

After a most enjoyable lunch, dominated by chat about our fabulous morning, we headed for Hydruga Rocks for our first landing. A group of low rocky islands in the northern part of the Gerlache Strait named after the latin mame for the Leopard seal, Hydruga leptonyx. Funnily enough there are no leopard seals there. The islands, with lots of bare rocky outcrops, are home to a large colony of Chinstrap penguins, but we also saw fur seals, Blue-eyed Shags, Snowy Sheath-bills, as well as an elephant seal and several Weddell and Crabeater seals. After a couple of hours amongst the islands wildlife, the afternoon was completed with a cruise around the island on our return to the ship.

Chinstrap penguins, obviously stopping for a chin-wag!

At 18:30 in the evening we attended what was to become another familiar feature of our voyage, our daily briefing and recap in the panorama lounge.  Here the Antarctica XXI crew reviewed the days antics and wildlife that had been observed, but more importantly what was planned for the day to come. With fine weather prevailing,  a decision had been made to heading south to cruise the famous Lemaire Channel at sunrise followed by a 5:30 am zodiac cruise around the icebergs of Pléneau Bay. Expect a wake up call at 03:45am!

A sleeping Fur Seal

Day 4 – Arrival in Antarctica

King George Island

Well the time had come to get my baggage down to 20kg. Unfortunately I failed. I just couldn’t seem to reach that illusive number, not without ditching a lens or two, my Mad Water dry-bag backpack and seriously start thinking about forgetting spare socks and under wear and even squirting out some toothpaste and shampoo. All was not lost though, as our amiable Antarctica XXI tour guide had let slip the night before that ONLY our check-in baggage would be weighed. Phew! I left the hotel with a check-in bag at 16.7kg, and a carry-on at 8.7kg … well over the limit I’m afraid, but a mere snip compared to some others!

BAE-146 jet at Aeródromo Teniente Marsh, at Frei Base.

All kitted out in our rubber boots and waterproof trousers, check-in turned out to be a breeze.  Shortly after we were heading out on the tarmac to our Antarctic Airways, BAE-146, 4-engine jet; a high-wing aircraft with very short runaway requirements so ideal for our location.  The flight, smooth and uneventful, taking just under 2 hours to reach our destination Aeródromo Teniente Marsh, at Frei Base on King George Island. The Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, to give it it’s proper name, is the most important Antarctic base for Chile, located on the Fildes Peninsula; an ice-free area sitting above Fildes Bay at the south western tip of King George Island, South Shetland Islands.

Bellingshausen Station, named after the 19th century Russian explorer Fabian von Bellingshausen.

Once disembarked into the much colder Antartic air, we had an easy 20 minute walk from the airfield down through the Russian Bellingshausen base to the shoreline of Fildes Bay where our ship, the Ocean Nova, was anchored.  There we had 20 minutes or so to explore the shoreline and Trinity Church, a small wooden, Russian Orthodox church, that sits on a hill above the station.

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Journey to Antarctica – Day 1

Well this is something new for me. Writing a blog whilst on the plane. I’m not usually one of those who gets a laptop out and works while flying, and in this case I’m travelling without my iPad, but do have my new 11-inch Macbook Air. The Macbook Pro has been swapped for a rather diminutive but extremely lightweight Macbook Air. The reason? Well I’m on my way to Antarctica (currently en route to Santiago), but this time flying from Punta Arenas in Southern Chile to King George Island in the South Shetlands Islands, where I board my ship. I’m restricted to just 20kg on that flight which includes both check-in and hand carry luggage. I’ve spent the last couple of days swapping in and out gear trying to get the weight down, which hasn’t been an easy task, and so far I haven’t quite managed it. Luckily we’ve been told we can leave some stuff at our hotel in Punta Arenas, so my final decisions on what goes can be addressed later.

Later …

Well I’m now at my hotel in Santiago. I’ve chosen to arrive a day prior to the tour start since I simply don’t trust the airlines enough to get you and your baggage to your destination together on time. It seems at least half the participants thought the same, and one at least has arrived without his bags. My BA/Iberia flights were basic but OK; the Madrid to Santiago section a rather tedious 12-1/2 hours, but I did manage to get a few hours sleep. I felt quite rested upon arrival but the feeling of relaxed anticipation was soon dissipated  by the experience getting through Santiago’s Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport. The queue for immigration in a hot un-aircondition hall was horrendous, and took almost an hour an a half to get to the front of the line. That was followed by utter chaos in the baggage hall. There was no indication what-so-ever of my flight or which baggage carousel to collect it from. I eventually found it buried under several others piled up in a corner. At least it had arrived. An almost equally long queue then followed to get my bags scanned at customs before I finally made it out to the arrivals hall. Quite the worst 2-1/2 hours airport experience I’ve encountered for many a year.

Luckily I met one of the course instructors, Kevin Raber, just about to get into a taxi, so shared the ride to our hotel in central Santiago. Now rested, showered, and beer in hand, I’ve had the chance to chat with some of the other people about to share this voyage to Antarctica.

Day 2 >