The Last Continent - Part 2

I want to start off this post by wishing everyone around the world a very happy holidays. When we are travelling alone, my fellow travellers and I do miss our friends and family back home.

So this year, I wish you the happiest holidays from one of the coldest places on the planet on one of the warmest days there. Felices fiestas a mis muy queridos

And now the moment you have all been waiting for... drum roll please!!

ASMA EN LA ANTARTIDA

Day 1

On Dec 8th, as soon as I land in Chile, I am lucky to find a ride to the city of Punta Arenas courtesy my flight mate from Toronto and her pre-arranged taxi. Muchas gracias!

A personal tour of the city, a visit to a dance club in honour of the national holiday, a few hours of sleep, and I am off to drop off my bags at the Hotel where we will set off to begin our cruise.

Thinking back, it feels like yesterday and the nostalgia hits me. I remember meeting a few new ship mates, the staff with whom I would form strong bonds, and the cabin where I would spend 12 days.

Click - photo captured!

Day 2-3

The dreaded Drake Passage is upon us....

We sail through the Drake Passage past stormy waters, towards Robert's Point.

Deep in the bowels on the ship, or just a little above it, I can hear the thundering crash of the waves against the ship, and feel the boat swaying from side to side with wild excitement. I trust the crew completely, and love every moment of watching the waves play with our ship.

I enjoy the turbulence that the ocean brings with it, as we dance with our plate fulls of food and stumble along the corridors to sleep whenever we can due to our motion sickness pills. I feel as if I am being rocked to sleep by the sea.

If only someone could sing me a lullaby as I doze off while rocking in my bed.

Day 4-5

We offload the zodiacs/ inflatable boats from ship to sea. We think we can visit Robert's Point. But the winds are too strong. At this point, I have no idea how strong the winds should be so I wonder if it will get any better We proceed on and cannot make the next landing either.

Everyone is disappointed but I am very comfortable in my cozy chair up in the lounge away from the Antarctic winds. As I stare out the window, I reflect on the journey that is about to begin, the people I have met so far, and where I will go next.
















I am nervous about where I will stay when I return to Punta Arenas. Should I continue with my decision to travel without a plan. Hmmm... I brush away the insecurities and decide that I will live for Antarctica for the next 12 days.

Not too long later, we are all rewarded with a sighting of a breaching humpback whale and her baby!

All the passengers gather in the Bridge, behind those of us who sighted the whale blows in the distance! I am surrounded by binoculars and mammoth sized cameras, and feel the energy that has been elusive for days.

My eyes are peeled towards the horizon, and I ignore the delicate posture that strains my back and eyes, bending forward to allow passengers behind me a view of the whales. It is incredible!

Blow after blow, we see flukes (tails) appearing and the whales exiting the water face first and falling behind with a giant splash.

It is my first whale sighting. My wish to sight a humpback whale had finally been granted. I was on cloud 9

That night, the ship's PA system announces that our first landing will be for camping. Our very first landing! I have no idea what to expect but this is something I wanted to do, and I will do it dammit! (This blog is not suitable for young children).

Day 5 night

Land ahoy! The weather is finally calm and we can set sail for the peninsula!

\

I feel comfortably warm and safe, but cannot turn my head or body. Oh well, as long as I am warm right? I have on 5 tops and a jacket, 5 pants and an outer pant layer, earmuffs, a scarf, gloves, a lifejacket, and a waterproof backpack intact on my body.

I have dipped my rubber boots in water and scrubbed them clean to preserve the peninsula from foreign materials. My toes begin feeling a hint of cold and I ignore it - it is manageable. 

We then wait on deck to board the inflatable boats.

I watch as the passengers file into each zodiac, and are instructed about how to enter the boat. And then it is my turn to walk down the gangway (stairs) and on to a floating boat.

We are all smiling with nervous excitement!

As soon as we land at Portal Point, my camera dies!

As I walk a few feet to our camp site, I see mushy brash ice in front of me, penguins on either side of me on a stretch of Antarctic peninsula, and the Antarctic sea behind me with tiny bits of floating icebergs. I stand there staring at the Gentoo penguins to my right, and turn further to my right to watch the soft pink sky just above the ocean. The sky is dotted with what looks like a stack of pancake-shaped lenticular clouds,  some long enough to span the entire sky. I am in heaven.

My camera has died!!

Oh well, I decide to store away the memories in my own hard disk (aka brain) and live in the moment. I make my way up a hill on my left, and on the other side are British guards. Okay, not real British guards but tiny Chinstrap penguins that certainly look like guards because of the black lines that run under their "chin". I cannot help but smile....

After some time, I walk back to the camp site to get ready for the night.

I find on my travels that I am always trying to learn more about myself and my relationship to nature. As I lie in a caterpillar cocoon of sleeping pad, sleeping bag, liner and bivvy, in the tiny snow coffin each of us has dug for ourselves to escape the wind that would blow past us, I stare up into the sky.

I am slightly cold because my hands were exposed while digging the coffin and the sweat in my socks had moistened my feet leaving it vulnerable to the cold. But the rest of me is warm so I settle in. My rubber boots are tucked into each other forming headphones above my head. My jacket, outer pants, and backpack form my pillow below my sleeping pad.

I have been mainly disconnected from technology but I have seen and felt its presence in cameras and laptops around me on the ship. My true nature appears only in the absence of communication with technology, also when there are few other people around me.

Sleeping on the peninsula, I am finally free, although cold. I do not sleep a wink as it never gets dark and I believe I can solve the meaning of life on this Last Continent as I stare up at the clouds.

But all of a sudden I am attacked. Not by any animal on land, but by a sudden desire to use Mr. Yum Yum, the resident toilet. I probably would have solved the meaning of life had my biology not caught up with me! Maybe next time? But I do take away some lessons from my experience.

My Tips:

• Wear multiple layers of pants and tops
• Wear comfortable ear muffs (hint - its wires should not be digging into you)
• Change your socks before you wiggle into your caterpillar cocoon (see definition above)
• Mittens are great for the cold but not if you need your fingers to dig a snow coffin
• A good scarf goes a long way
• A blog is hard work; especially if you want to leave technology behind

Day 6

On Day 6, I am reminded of our thirst for National Geographic action. Out here, the beauty and tranquility is so pervasive that we sometimes forget that nature is unsympathetic to its wildlife.

Returning from a windy, cold morning of packing away camping gear, I enjoy a hot shower and breakfast at 6 in the morning. And then, a few hours into the Bransfield Strait, we spot Orca blows in the distance close to a baby humpback blow! It could mean that the killer whales are hunting the humpback.

Mama humpback is close by but cannot break the pod of killers, which are preventing the humpback from surfacing to breathe. The humpback is being drowned below the ocean surface as the killers are circling with their fins clearly visible.

Our ship is approaching the whales, and most passengers are out in the cold on the bow of the ship, right up front. The rest of us are on deck 6 in the Bridge. We are looking through our binoculars towards the multiple Orca fins and backs. There has been no humpback blow for some time. And mama humpback is also nowhere to be found.

Soon, one of us now spots blood around the mouth of an Orca. But we do not know if this means the end of the hunt. None of us move. We continue to look on.

There is more activity further in the distance. And we see some blows of humpback whales - whether these are the same whales, we do not know. But we would like to hope....

Not too much later, the Orcas are now chasing a lone Chinstrap penguin!

Penguins are aquatic and only land on icebergs or the peninsula to breed, lay eggs and take care of their chicks. This lone penguin, who has become the sole target of a pod of killers, is caught amongst the Orcas. It begins to porpoise, swimming in leaps out of the water, while all the ship's passengers are cheering it on.

The staff radios are alive with commentary. The penguin then takes a detour towards the ship and back away, and succeeds in eluding the Orcas. The Orcas have turned away as they are probably only training their young to hunt. The ship echoes with the relieved cheers of all passengers on board!

But soon after, I hear another penguin has lost the chase.

And one more has won.

Penguins 2; Orcas 1.

Day 6 evening

The end of Day 6 culminates with a visit to Deception Island. 

As we approach the island in the zodiacs, I smell the stark contrast against the other islands, and then see it. There seems to be a strong presence of sulphur, and steam is rising from the sea bed close to the coast line . We have arrived at Deception Island.

We are in the crater of an active volcano. When it last erupted many years ago in 1969, the resident workers had to run to escape from the rocks spewing from the sky.

But it looks peaceful now, and yes I feel safe.

The island is a scene of abandonment as boats are lying upside down on the sandy floor of the island, and I see the buildings on the island deformed and empty. They are being repaired.





















Yet we see a few penguins, fur seals, and Antarctic terns. As I walk along the coast, I come face to face with Gentoo and Adelie penguins walking and sliding along the coast.


We maintain a distance of 5 metres from the penguins and even larger from the fur seals as they are molting.

However, as I make my way up the hill, I find myself an inch away from a seal and startle myself. I backtrack very quickly and scold myself for not being observant and mistaking the seal for a large rock!

As I retrace my steps and take a different route, I arrive at the top of the hill overlooking the ocean, and find out that the actual volcano is deep below the surface of the sea.

Fear is our worst enemy. When we are fearful, we stop ourselves from experiencing events that can change our understanding of nature.

As I stood up there, I re-learned that very quickly and once I overcame my hesitation as I made my way down the initially steep, pebbly hill, I vowed to continue relearning that lesson and find ways to overcome any fear.

Day 8

Brown Bluff - the land of the undecided

Our zodiacs are sailing along the coast of the Antarctic continent as snow and wind envelop us. This time, I am prepared with double gloves, multiple socks, and a plan to warm myself up if I am cold. As we approach the island, we see penguin highways etched into the snow-covered hills and multiple penguins wobbling downwards to the edge of natural diving boards to jump into the sea.

Penguins are very indecisive! They seem to be teetering on the edge of the rock with their penguiny-mates and noone has the courage to jump in. They backtrack and give it another go - should I jump in?? And yet no result. But I must say in all their indecisive adorableness, I enjoy staring at them for hours and, no sooner than I start watching them, I smile widely and even chuckle.

We are seeing Gentoo and Adelie penguins comfortably living together with seals on the same island. Even a leucistic penguin (lacking the usual penguin coloration) is part of the clan and welcomed with open penguin wings.

Ah, we spot a chick at one of the penguins' feet at the top of one of the small rock cliffs. A tiny ball of brown fur with a small beak has reached out for food from mama/ papa penguin.

The Wedell seals, although not as active, are inching closer to the water with their large seal bodies. One of two on the other side of the island soon enters the water effortlessly and swims with its head bobbing in and out of the water.

We are surrounded by penguin calls, penguin highways, porpoising (swimming) penguins, hobbling penguins, and sliding penguins. It is a winter wonderland of penguin mania!

Day 8 evening

I decide to leave all my layered clothes on as we are departing for another excursion in the evening. The layering of clothes is a pain but once I am out on the sea, I appreciate every moment with my wild companions.

We are going to see a colony of Adelies! Another group of Adelies? But didn't you already see enough??

Well, when you come face to face with these Adelies, you will not ask me that. As we stand by a large group of Adelie penguins, I am constantly amazed by their calls,  how they walk and slide, and their tiny chicks that keep appearing from the recesses of their parent's feet.

A number of Adelies are walking to and fro from their partner's nest to the coastline. They are collecting pebbles to build up the nest. But I have never seen the pebble actually land in a nest, only the penguins carrying them in their beaks.








In fact, a few penguins have new born chicks too! I can see the tiny fur balls right at their mama/ papa's feet as usual.










And they are all protecting the eggs and newborn chicks from the well-known skua!

All the islands seem the same to me now, but the memory of the penguins regardless of their location is distinct. And when I watch the videos, I hope I always smile with the same new-found fondness that I have for them now.

Day 9

We are now close to King George island to drop off a sick crew member who has contracted a liver infection. But from what I hear about him boarding a zodiac, he is smiling. Well, that's good news!

He will be taking a flight from the island to a hospital on the mainland. We are waiting for the plane to arrive, as we watch various different bases from different countries inhabit the same enclave. Each country has its defined location but all bases are on the same island - from Chile, Argentina, etc.

I hear later that he has been successfully picked up as the weather permitted it, which really dictates everything in this part of the world.

I hope his surgery is successful.

In the evening, we take a tour of Maxwell Bay and watch different iceberg formations with clear blue water playing at their bases.

One has formed its very own enclave and the etches on it are incredible! It tells a story of snow, wind, water, and years of evolution as it stands towering above us and invites us into its enclave.




Day 9 evening

Robert's Point!


If you have heard that name before, scroll to the top of this post. Yes, that's the island we missed due to weather. We have come full circle and we are so grateful. Adelies, Gentoos, Chinstrap penguins, and elephant seals! Have I told you how much I love elephant seals?

Well, I love them!! Especially when they are play jousting! Or even sleeping... Lol.

And guess what??!

My camera is out of memory... Activate brain storage!

Yes, do you see a trend? Ah technology....

I sit on a rock and watch the seals for what may have been hours. Their tails flapping upwards and their bodies upright slamming against each other. There are two doing the same in the sea right by the land. They are juvenile males and practising fighting for when they will mature into full adults. I can only imagine the blood and gore that will follow then.

I hear a staff member recount her story of a baby seal laying its head on her lap, when it's parents were out to sea for a long while to feed.

As I walk back towards the zodiacs later, I climb a mountain and observe our tiny British guards nesting. There are some broken eggs around. I wonder if these are chicks that have already hatched.

It is time to go, and we bid a sad adieu to my new favourite Continent. Although cold, it is a land full of beauty, power, and a looming presence with active and endearing wildlife and impressive icebergs.

We will be sailing back into the Drake Passage shortly. What a treat!

Day 10

The Drake had been relatively quiet. Calm before the storm?

Nope, it is smooth sailing and I imagine Shackleton's voyage past these very seas and his encounter over a year, stuck on the Antarctic peninsula as the sea ice closed in on him.

Earlier in my day the ship was surrounded by numerous fin whales swimming all around us and heading in various directions.

I am now watching a series of tabular icebergs lasting 6 miles and I absorb my surroundings as we exit Antarctica.

I hope to return some day.

La Antartica, tu tienes mi amor....

What I will miss most:

• The company of my fellow passengers, and a good time on ship
• Constant food, warmth, and a cozy bed
• A big, warm towel and access to soap, shampoo, and moisturiser
• Looking out the window at the vista and being surrounded by beauty 24/7
• The penguins, seals, whales, and birds of the Antarctic

Next stop on the cruise to and from Antarctica - Falkland Islands.

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