February 7, 2012 - Days 28-34

February 1 – Day 28 –Cruising the Drake Passage Enroute to Antarctica

Last night we exited the Beagle Channel and entered Drake Passage heading almost straight south toward Antarctica. The passage is rough, and the outer decks are closed due to high winds and falling temperatures. In the early morning hours, we passed well east of Cape Horn. It would not have been in sight had we been awake. The Captain had again advised us to stow our Ming Vases, before going to bed, as the storm was creating large swells. Alice and I slept like babies. What swells?

We filled our day with lectures. There is an expedition team aboard consisting of a geologist, a naturalist and a historian. All of these men have spent time working in Antarctica. They are very knowledgeable and excellent speakers. They are teaching us about the natural life, penguins, whales, seals, and seabirds we will encounter. We are also told about the history of the area. This includes the treaties that impact the “use” of Antarctica. The geologist is explaining the land formation and the ice activity.

Upon returning to the cabin after the evening’s show, we found a marvelous Antarctica logbook on our bed. This has maps of the areas we will be visiting and pictures of the nature life we will be observing. It includes boxes for checking off our sightings. This is another of the things that set Grand Voyages apart.

The captain had told us that we are still ahead of the storm, but the barometer is reading the lowest pressure he has ever recorded, 28.40 inches of mercury. This does not bode well. We should be in sight of Antarctica at 5:30 AM. We will do scenic cruising all day.

February 2 – Day 29 – Antarctica!

I got up at 5:30 and headed on deck. There it was. Antarctica! The cloud mass was hanging low, but clearly on the horizon were cliffs and glaciers on the outlying islands. I stood in fascination as a fog or mist would hide the land, and then lift to show it off again. After getting chilled on deck, I went to deck 12 to sit in the Crow's Nest lounge. I was surprised at how few people were in there, but this did not last.

The view from the Crow's Nest was much better than on deck 7. I was glad I had come up, and I was admiring the starkness of this special place. Then it happened. First, it was just a few flakes. Then it got heavier. Finally, we were in a blizzard. As one of our speakers said later, this was the real Antarctica, not the brochure photos.

The captain altered our route a few times, trying to get beyond this storm. It did not work. We had a day of lectures interspersed with sporadic viewing.

February 3 – Day 30 – More Antarctica!

Today the sun is shining and visibility is awesome. A contingent from Palmer Station, the U. S. base on Anvers Island, is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 AM. I went to the Crow's Nest again. Again, it was almost empty. Shortly before 6, I saw a small boat approaching at a great distance. I watched it for a while before going out to the rail on deck 7. I was right above the boarding spot, when the zodiac pulled alongside. There were 11 people onboard. 9 of them boarded the Prinsendam. They told the others to be back at 11.

Before the zodiac left, it was loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. These were passed down by Prinsendam crew to the eager team in the zodiac. You could hear their happy exclamations as each new crate was handed over. Oranges, bananas, watermelons, lemons, lettuce, onions, potatoes. All in abundance. The zodiac was full. Last to go aboard was a woman, who was returning to study birds. She had just been away on leave. We had picked her up in Punta Arenas.

We were scheduled to meet with the Palmer Station crew at 9:30. It was very informative. They explained their duties and what their days were like. They were all very vivacious. Some were there for the first time. Others had as many as 20 years of working there. They also explained their work to minimize their impact on the land. For example, all human waste is accumulated and shipped once a year to the states for processing. None is left behind.

At 11, they boarded the zodiac and returned to the station. We resumed scenic cruising in sunlight. Captain Roberts wove us around various islands along the Antarctic peninsula. We passed icebergs too numerous to count. Each was more beautiful. Some had penguins on them. These guys are just 30” tall. From the deck, about 100 feet above the water, they were very difficult to see. Binoculars were a godsend.

Next came a pod of humpback whales playing ahead of the ship. Their blows were clear, and their fins and tails were unmistakable, as they breeched repeatedly.

The shore is majestic too. The mountains rise into the low clouds and the sun glistens on the fresh snow from yesterday. The captain has taken us around the islands in the passage, and now we are headed for Deception Island.

February 4 – Day 31 - Deception Island / Sea Day

We arrived at Deception Island on schedule at about 9 AM. After viewing the island and listening to commentary from the geologist, we turned north. This was an earlier departure from Antarctica than scheduled because there were more storms lurking in our path to the Falklands. This led to another day of high winds and rolling seas The captain explained that we were in “confused seas” with two large swells hitting the ship from different directions. This would cause uncomfortable motion until 11PM tonight. Next stop, Falklland Islands.

February 5 – Day 32 – Sea Day

The rocking subsided about midnight only to resume in the morning. We are “rushing” against the wind. Our goal is to get to Falkland Islands before the next storm arrives. This port is particularly vulnerable to high winds. That makes tender service questionable. So we keep our fingers crossed, as the bridge officers get continuous weather updates. They have made a slight course adjustment to the east to keep us in more moderate seas. Later they will head back west toward the Falklands.

The final course adjustment has been made. We have been told that conditions seem favorable for us to enter the outer harbor at Port Stanley at 10PM. This is early. We will ride at anchor overnight, and commence tendering early tomorrow.

February 6 – Day 33 – Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

We awoke to sunshine as we rode at anchor. Our tour to the Gentoo Penguin colony is scheduled to leave at 7AM. The wind was building as we boarded our tender at 7:15. The ride in was rough and slow. We bashed into waves, whipped up by the wind, coming from shore. The tender slamming was pretty bad. Some water washed in through the side doors. The woman across from me got her feet wet, when water on the deck washed past her feet. We had been advised to wear shoes suitable for walking through mud and water for this tour. She had white gym shoes with souls about ¼ inch thick. No wonder she got wet feet! She decided she could not go on the tour with wet feet, and stayed on the tender to return to the ship. I wonder how shorex worked out that cancellation.

Alice and I joined 14 others aboard a minibus, and drove off to the expedition sight. There we split into groups of 4 to board 4X4’s for the trek across the peat bog to get to the penguin colony. The driver made sure we had our seat belts buckled. 2 minutes later we all knew why, as we left the pavement and started on the trail through the bog to the sea.

Our driver was great. He was very personable and informative. He was from England, but had lived here for over 30 years. This is where his wife is from. He met her during the war with Argentina, and came back to marry her. 


He explained, when he dropped us off at 9 AM, that he would pick us up at a station over the hill at 10. Then he pointed us in the direction of the ranger, and took his leave.

The ranger gave us behavior instructions. She also explained that this was a Gentoo colony, but that there were 5 King penguins, with babies, nestled in the center of the pack. The colony consists of 1000 mating pairs. Most of the penguins we were looking at were babies who were waiting for their parents to come back for feeding. These babies were large balls of dark gray fur. Soon they would molt and go to sea. There were many adults in the mix. They were either nurturing or feeding the young.

This colony was on the edge of a lagoon just a few yards from the sea. Adults could be seen waddling to and from the sea. The wind was blowing hard enough to knock you off your feet. A couple of ladies will attest to that. Poor things. The ground is covered in poop.

Near the pick up sight were a café and a museum. We decided to get there about 15 minutes before 10. Our driver arrived about 5 to 10. We climbed aboard his Range Rover just as it started to rain. It poured. We were glad he had 4 wheel drive. We no sooner started moving than the rain changed to hail. That lasted for several minutes. Hail covered the ground. The penguins were un-phased. The tour that followed us was looking for shelter. We were very comfortable!

Back in town, we went to the tender pier to learn that tender service was suspended due to the high winds and waves at the ship. We should check back every 30 minutes for an update.

We went strolling through town because now the sun was shining. The sights were nice, but did not take long to do. We shopped. At 12:30 we went toward the pier, and were met by passengers saying that tender service would not resume for at least 3 hours. A few years ago, tender service could not be restarted and about 700 people had to stay in town overnight. Some were taken home by locals. Others "slept" on the cathedral pews.

We could see the heightened concern of fellow passengers. We went looking for lunch in a pub. The first place was already jammed with cruisers, but up the hill from there was the Victory Pub. The menu looked good so we grabbed the last 2 stools at a table with 7 others. Guiness and burgers never tasted so good. We dragged out the lunch, but, as it got more and more crowded, we decided to head back to the pier. It was 2:15 and a tender had just left. We joined the queue, and got onto the second tender to leave after that. The ride back was dry and smooth, as we were going with the waves, until we had to approach the Prinsendam. There it got rough, and some got wet. Alice and I did not.

We had a ball in Port Stanley, and we really like the Falklands.

We had rolling seas as we departed 2 hours late due to the tender suspension. The rocking would continue until midnight, but we were asleep by 10:30.

February 7 – day 34 – Sea Day

We awoke to a calm ship. The seas were high, but they were not contrary to the ship’s travel.

We have gone to lectures. I have spent a few hours doing this update. Antarctica was so beautiful I could not take the time to keep this current. I am breaking off now to prepare for formal night.