In Fields of Ice

Maps

This is where we went. The Vernadsky vodka bar was the southernmost point of the trip.

Random Musings

By the way it seems Roberto Cavalli was looking for inspiration for his next collection. My guess is lots of white with leopard seal flourishes.

You may be wondering about the makeup of the passengers. We were definitely the only gays out in the village. There were a couple of boys who could have been and a marine who was so far immersed in "don't ask don't tell" that she was monosyllabic and scowling every time we were near. She had a few laughs with her rugby playing girlfriends though so at least she has a life.

Half the people were under 50 which is supposedly a but unusual. There were over 50 from the US, three Swedes including Roberto's partner (and she wasn't blonde, she had long dark hair and under the excessive makeup was very pretty) on Kiwi - Helen (it went by passport) about 15 Canadians, 10 Aussies, some Germans, some Dutch and two South Africans. The expedition crew was mostly form the UK with one Kiwi and a couple of South Africans. The ship's crew were Polish and Fillipino.

Here are links for Polar Star expeditions and for expedition leader Hannah Lawson's art work web site in case you are interested.

VIPs

What I neglected to mention is that we had VIPs on board the Polar Star. Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and his beautiful Swedish "assistant" were on board. He seems best known for leopard skin and dressing the Spice Girls for thieir 2007 "comeback" tour. The story goes that he flew to Tierra Del Fuego in his private jet to join a cruise but didn't like the people so chose our ship instead. Apart from being agog at why someone with a private plane would come on what is definitely not a five star cruise, although it was a five star expedition, the whole ship was alive with gossip for a while, egged on by the fact that no- one had Internet access except via emailing family and getting them to look him up and then send back a report. Roberto and friend also had reserved seats at meals so it became a game as to who would sit with them until it became apparent that they actually welcomed the company and were very friendly and hospitable. He had numerous bottles of his own wine which he dispensed liberally. They also smoked electronic "cigarettes" as it was a no smoking boat. His special concession was that he had his own zodiac at his disposal whenever we went ashore. It must have stretched resources occasionally but we were never discommoded. The other cause of much speculation was where they slept. As we and another couple we befriended had the best two cabins, the only real suites aboard, we were all fascinated. We never did find out although there was speculation about crew being turfed out to accommodate them.

Deception island

As you can see it is a circular island with a very narrow channel at the bottom right. Whaler's Bay was the site of my heroic icy swim and Sculpture By the Antarctic Sea.

Trivia

They even stamped our passports at the bases in Antarctica! These are Polish Arctowski andUkrainian Vernadsky

and this obviously is British Port Lockroy

Orcas

They're not black and white like the northern ones. They look grubby but they're not!

And one of the many penguin photos

Leopard seal and friend

One of the hundreds of iceberg photos we have to bore you with

Home safe

We arrived home last night. The pussies were glad to see us but had been very well looked after. Tui tried to sleep with Soli but he drew the line at her licking his face while he was asleep.
We were not too buggered as we had an unexpected upgrade from premium economy to business class. thank you Qantas and especially the charming young man from then Buenos Aires check in desk who did it.

I will keep posting photos for a while as I sort through and pull out the best and also to tell you things that got forgotten in the excitement at the time.

Like arriving at Vernadsky Base early in the morning, creeping in through ice floes and bergs. Looking out the window it was like seeing Shackleton's Endurance in the ice. Or Hurley's iconic picture anyway.



It seems this is a cruise boat the Europa that should have left before we arrived. The Antarctic Tourism agreement means that there is only ever one boat in a place at a time. However the crew and passengers, who have to work their passage, partied so hard with the Vernadsky base team the night before in the vodka bar that they didn't get it together to leave before we got there. It also explains why out base tour guide kept apologising for his bad hangover alternately with apologising for his bad English. I can't vouch for his hangover but his English was great given he had only been learning it since he arrived there 8 months earlier.

70 Below

Ice for the vodka

Further south by air

We are flying home at 28,000 feet or 8,500 meters, 850 kms per hour and our flight path is to go south to 70 degrees which is further than we went by boat. But first we fly over the Strait of Magellan which is the route sailed by the square riggers until the dreaded Drake Passage was discovered. Before that it was believed that South America was connected to the mythical southern continent. You can just see the narrow passage between the two open stretches of water.

See

Stop light at the end of the world

Even in Ushuaia there are traffic lights, and of course they are always red!

Poppies and Lupins

Ushuaia has lupins everywhere. And we've never seen such big poppies.

Mate tea service

Anni on mainland Antarctica one last time

Otherwise known as Michelin woman

Helen on our last trip ashore

Not so benign Drake Passage

I tried to get some footage to show the ship movement and if I can I'll post one later.

Back in BA

We arrived back in Buenos Aires yesterday with all our luggage. Marcella was there to collect us again and bring us to our new hotel called Home. It is really lovely with a garden and pool as well as a small restaurant and bar. I asked if we could stop at an ATM as we were running short of pesos ans she said the the peso printing machine had broken and the whole country was short of cash until Brazil had time to print some notes for Argentina.

In Ushuaia I was struck down with flu but hit the well travelled Tamiflu and staved off the worst of it. Before leaving we decided we should try mate which seems to be a local drink here you have through a metal straw with a sort of seive at the end. The first cafe we went to said they only did a claytons version and sent us to another place. It wasn't actually open but they let us in and with his three words of English and our three words of Spanish we got our mate. It is a kind of grassy tea. It is served in a small gourd cup with a metal rim. The cup is full of the "tea" leaves. Then you pour a small amount of cold water in, followed by boiling water to fill the cup. Then you sip it through the straw. It's quite nice if a bit bitter. Our man recommended some sugar which was better. It seems it is what they all drink from little folk at the fin del mundo. Not as elaborate as a Japanese tea ceremony but has a small touch of the same ceremony and I bet there is an art in the utensils apart from the cheap touristy bits we have seen.

Our ship dwarfed by mountains

Sculpture by the Antarctic Sea

Helen and friend at Deception Island.

The ruins are part of what's left once the volcano took it's revenge.

Evidence that I did swim

My new friend the Skua

Gentoo penguin with chicks

CUTE!!

Our first iceberg

It loomed out of the fog.

The very calm Beagle Channel

Signpost at Vernatsky base

Adelie penguins

A Leopard seal on an ice floe

Helen on the ice

Us with many smelly penguins and lots of clothes on!

Back on terra firma

We arrived back at Ushuaia at 7.30 this morning. The trip was slow because of the rough seas but we reached calmer waters about midnight and then with both engines at full steam ahead we met the schedule. It was cold and drizzly but is clearing a bit now. We did the city tour to kill time while waiting for our room to be ready. It's a quaint little town, part shanty, part Swiss village. But lots of colour on the houses. And I'll start posting photos again now. Some of you get auto updates but I could only put a few email addresses in the system so the rest of you will have to look up on the net. Sorry about that.

Drake Passage Lives!

It lives up to it's name. At least to some extent. After a very rolly night and a recommendation from the expedition leader not to try and shower this morning we are steaming along through 8 meter swells in about 30 knots of wind. The swells are magnificent rolling dunes of blue blue water. The sun is shining through very high light cloud and we are all doing very interesting walks around the ship. The saying "one hand for the ship and one hand for you" is really true today.
I have been trying to video the movement of the ship but it is really hard to get the true impact specially when every time I try the swells slacken and then as soon as I switch off a great big roller comes through. You'll have to take my word that it is rough! Fun though.
We haven't been sick but have been on the drugs, specially me. The ship doctor walks round with a pocket full of tablets for anyone who asks.
The Captains farewell has just been cancelled and we just got a big wave breaking over our windows and we are just below the bridge!

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Whales in the morning

Whales in the morning, whales in the evening, whales at supper time.
After the wake up whale call we then had the most wonderful whale display
which held up dinner while everyone ran from one side and end of the boat to
the other. Just before they left us the two hump backs surfaced literally
just of the stern. We could clearly see their breath holes as the slid back
into the briny.

Earlier we had visited a small island covered in gentoo penguins and some
Wedell seals who decided there were too many humans and heaved their way to
the sea and dived, well actually flopped in, and swam away. We also did a
long iceberg tour in the zodiaks. They are really incredible with so many
shapes, textures, sizes and colours.

Last night we saw Hurley's footage of the expedition with Shakleton with a
truly awful music track and bad subtitles from the British archive.

Today we get Happy Feet with Helen's voice on the sound track.

So far the Drake passage is benign, not even any white caps, as we make our
way back to Ushuaia but I think the weather will pick up tomorrow. We do
have albatross though. Sailing effortlessly through th sky behind us.
Apparently they can only fly if there is wind so when it's too calm they
have to sit on the water and wait. Like sailors really.

From midnight tonight the email is switched off so no more posts after
tonight til we land.

Tomorrow is our 35th anniversary. Have a glass with us in cyber space.

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And whales

I forgot to mention that today's wakeup call was whales, humpbacks doing all
their blowing and tail flicking off the bow. We could see them out our
porthole.

Every morning, Hannah, our expedition leader finds some reason for us all to
fly out of bed, fling on our many layers of woollies and rush to the decks
or the bridge. And it was humpbacks today.

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To busy to blog

I know you've all been waiting breathlessly for the next blog update but we
have been flat out! When we're not looking at seals and penguins and
icebergs and growlers and bergy bits (technical Antarctic term for bits of
ice smaller than a growler and bigger than brash) and brash which is the
stuff that is chunks of ice floating around we are either eating, sleeping
only occasionally, putting on copious layers of clothing to go zodiaking, or
taking off copious layers of clothing when we come back from shore.

Yesterday we started off with sunshine on fabulous scenery in the Lemaire
Channel. Otherwise once know as Kodak Alley but now renamed as Pixel Pass.
Then we had three expeditions ashore for penguins and seals, vodka (yes the
Ukrainian base has a bar) and an evening trip via a penguin colony for a
zodiak cruise to view icegergs. Then I couldn't go to bed because we cruised
back through the Lemaire Channel as the not setting sun tipped the mountains
a soft gentle pink. A perfect evening, brandy in hand.

This morning another cruise to more spectacular icebergs and several seals
on floes and a last step onto mainland Antarctica before we head off again
for on last stop before we hit the Drake passage for the voyage home.

We've had everything weather wise except stormy weather fortunately. Sun,
snow, rain, breeze, perfect stillness.

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We've Stepped on all 7 Continents

After this morning's expedition we have now walked on all 7 of the world's
continents. We went ashore at a tiny Argentine base this morning on mainland
Antarctica. Until now we have been visiting the South Shetlands which are
officially Antarctica but it's not quite the same.

And I have now swum in seven oceans as well, or whatever. The big excitement
was the hot tub. Yesterday we visited Deception Island and one of the crew
dug a big hole and it filled with steaming hot water. Of course I couldn't
resist and was first in. Then into the freezing ocean and back in the hot
tub. Very bracing.

Deception Issland is the surrounds of the caldera of a volcano. The volcano
erupted and swallowed most of the base that was built on the site of an old
whaling station. Nature's revenge according to Helen. Fantastic remains of
buildings that were literally abandoned, and hulks of old machinery, and
timber boats along the shore that made it rather lioke sculpture by the
(Antarctic) sea. And the inevitable penguin demanding right of way.

This morning we were woken just before 6am to see a big pod of killer whales
that came right up to the ship. And we were surrounded by icebergs and snow.
Very pretty. And on our morning excurrsion we took a zodiak cruise through
icebergs and two crab eater seals also came very close to see what we were
up to.

It's very cold outside and we wear most of the clothes we have borrowed from
many of you. But it is also spectacular.

Tonight's dinner is a BBQ on deck. Would madam like snow with that!!!

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Been ashore, celebrated New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

We celebrated by a trip ashore to the very antiquated and dilapidated
Arctowski Base, a Polish station. It had a caravan! But it also had seals,
both elephant and fur, and lots of chin strap, adelie and gentoo penguins,
all very cute and anthropomorphic. And it was beautiful. Great swathes of
moss and still lakes.

We went ashore about 9.30pm, came back at 11 with a very efficient zodiak
service, and then had a rather odd New Year party where the crew and the
three Poles from the base celebrated rather harder than the rest of us.
Which is not to say that we didn't also celebrate. I had a heart to heart
with a rather beaten up but beautiful Polish boy who had a broken heart. It
was quite dim in the lounge which is why he lamented that the ship was not
staying longer so he and I could go to his quarters and show that
heartbreaker she was not the only girl in his world.

At 1pm it was still twilight and then started getting lighter. No dark here
below 60 degrees south.

The ship set sail again at 2.30 am and by morning we were in a group of
islands called Atcho (HO) where the landing was among a rookery where heaps
of baby penguins were discovering life under their parents stomachs. I do
wish I could post some of the many many photos. And there were seals and a
predatory bird called a skewer looking for lunch. And it was beautiful. Lots
of moss again, snow banks and spectacular rocks left over from a volcano.

I nearly trod on an adolescent fur seal so well camoflaged was he, but not
when he got cranky and barked at us to rack off.

We are now heading for Deception Island which is an almost full circle
crater of an active volcano with a narrow entrance channel. The Lonely
Planet Guide says there is a rock in the centre of the channel 2.5 metres
deep which it is wise to be wary of!!!! It doesn't say at what tide. The
management plan for this place suggests if the volcano erupts ships are
advised to leave, ideally after picking up all passengers from the shore.

Because it is volcanic there may be the opportunity to have a swim in heated
water. I will take my bathers ashore.

We have seen hump back whales today, lots of porpoising penguins (they swim
like dolphins, julping out of the water every now and then) and the most
beautiful nissan hut shaped blue iceberg.

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