See rockhopper penguins up close on a Falkland Islands tour. Photo by: Jo Turner

An absolutely stunning day today! Due to departing Antarctica a half day early, the Expedition Leader requested permission for an additional landing in the Falklands. The landing was at Steeple Jason Island and the highlight was the largest Black Browed Ablatross nesting site in the world. Thousands of the enormous birds covered the beach and upland slopes – a literal sea of wings and squawking. Intermingled with these charismatic birds were Rock Hopper Penguins. Their yellow eyebrow feathers giving them a decidedly intriguing appearance.

After spending more than an hour just meters from this sea of wings, a few of us headed up the islands main mountain where more albatrosses, caracaras, and nesting giant petrals nested and swooped down the mountain. At times, these birds passed within a few feet of our heads, and two companions actually had the caracaras knock them upside the head, attempting to take off with their colorful skicaps.

Upon returning to the ship, the bar was filled with chatter and toasts to the best landing of our trip. Many agreed with me that this special request landing made up for many previous missed landings. Tomorrow, more albatross, more Rock Hoppers, and maybe even a few King Penguins.

Kapitan Khlebnikov breaking ice. Photo by Paul Orenstein

Yesterday’s attempt at the Shetland Islands was a bust, again due to weather.  Winds were blowing hard, and word was that all the ships in the area that had planned similar visits canceled their trips as well.  This meant that we immediately turned toward the Falkland Islands and have now been at sea for over 36 hours.  Expected land arrival is tomorrow afternoon, which will mean my longest time ever at sea – more than 60 hours.  Most of the time, seas have been relatively calm with 3-5 meter swells.  Passengers seem to be doing much better than during the southward crossing, and the lounge and library are full of people playing chess, looking at photos and enjoying each others conversation.

Lectures today have been great – with one about Shackleton’s early life and another about ice in literature – heaven or hell?

This afternoon calls for an hour workout in the gym and maybe some rolling ping pong!

Pete Dohrn takes the Polar Plunge! Photo from Gregory Dohrn's Antarctica album

November 29

This is it. Our last chance to make it to the Emperor Penguin Rookery at Snow Hill. At 5:30 AM, Shane’s voice wakes us with the announcement that visibility is only 100 meters and the helicopters need 300. We wait and see.

At 7:45, he comes on again. Penguin Plunge will be at 8:30 sharp! What’s a Penguin Plunge? Its a jump and a swim in the ice Antarctica waters. I’m proud to say, this was my idea and I urged Shane (Expedition Leader) to arrange it. Word from the crew is that this was the first time this season for this – clearly, we have an adventurous group on board. Or is it just crazy me?

As I walk out onto the ice, over a dozen others join me! Dressed in bathrobes with jackets over the top and giddy with the craziness of what we’re all about to do, we gather around the hole in the ice. As the
instigator of this craziness, I was the first to jump. A running jump and splash! The water was okay – I can’t even remember if it was cold – but getting out and standing on the snow with my bare feet was the real cold part of the moment. Someone hands me a shot of vodka to help warm me from inside out.

Over a dozen others joined me and Tui de Roy (wildlife photographer) even went twice – just to see what it felt like. The highlight was when a minke whale surfaced in our puddle. It was incredible, to say the least. I believe it was when the third jumper was climbing out of the water that it surfaced. I like to think that it was my lily white body that first
attracted the minke whale to our escapade.

At 10:30, the last hour passed for us to visit Snow Hill and the ship’s engines started. We cruised over to Brown Bluff as the wind started picking up. By the time we arrived around 2:30, snow was falling sideways with the brisk blow. I think my core was still a bit chilled, as I only lasted an hour at the site.

Tomorrow, we are off to the Shetland Islands to continue our Antarctica journey.

Adelie penguins jumping into sea

November 26
Woke to poor visibility and the 5:30am announcement that helicopter flights to Snow Hill were delayed.  An hour went by and another announcement came regarding further weather delay.  Then, another announcement later in the morning that we had missed our daylight window.

No worries, however, as we backed out of the ice and headed over to Paulette Island for our first landing via zodiac. Thousands of Adeli penguins covered the island.  Walking along the frozen beach, I watched them swimming like dolphins and leaping out of the water and onto icebergs, then waddling back to the edge and diving in again.  They genuinely seemed to be playing, although I suspect they were fishing.

I also saw two Weddell Seals – the first from this trip.

In the evening, the kitchen treats us all to an improvised Thanksgiving Day dinner.  Turkey, stuffing of sorts, cranberries, and good wine and conversation makes for a wonderful and Thanks-filled day.

November 27
Today’s plan – clear weather, cruise back to Snow Hill.  Foul weather, head to Brown Bluff.  Poor weather has us dodging icebergs to arrive at our anchorage for another land visit.  Unfortunately, the Khlebnikov has trouble getting the anchor to hold and the wind is blowing so hard that it’s not safe to board the zodiacs.  Thus, we head to plan B for the afternoon – a visit to Devil Island.  The afternoon is glorious and again thousands of Adelie penguins treat us to their antics.  Several of the most adventurous head up two different ridge lines for spectacular views of mountains, sea, and ice on all sides.

Khlebnikov cuts through the ice

November 28
5:30 am wake up call:  white out conditions prevail with 30 knot winds.  No Snow Hill again this morning.  Some passengers were a bit disappointed, but I’m so delighted to just be in Antarctica.  I take the bad weather news as just part of the challenge and experience of visiting such an inaccessible place.  Fingers are still crossed for better weather later this morning.  Otherwise, I’m sure we’ll pull out and find another site to visit.

Emperor Penguins in Antarctica. Photo by Laurie Allread

This morning I woke to ice on three sides of the ship. Being trapped with ice all around made for a wonderfully peaceful night of sleep and I felt energized all day. Weather around the ship was beautiful – sun poking through the sky and relatively warm. Unfortunately, 20 miles away, surrounding Snow Hill, was a wall of clouds that made helicopter visits to the emperor penguin rookery impossible.

No worries! A couple dozen emperors made an appearance and tobogganed on their bellies past the ship. Plans changed for the day, and all the passengers, staff, and some of the Russian crew headed out onto the ice. We observed penguins, crab eater seals, skua, and snow petrels all day long. In the afternoon, we made a trek to a jagged iceberg two miles away.

Today was also my first ride in a helicopter. Fantastic experience! Seeing the ice, rocky islands, and ocean from the air really drove home how incredibly fortunate I am to be in Antarctica.

Finally, my day ended with talking with Victor, the radio officer. I’m trying to bring back some of my Russian, so I asked him to write down several Russian words. I’m trying these words out mostly with the
hospitality staff, and it’s been a blast. Even managed a simple conversation with one that spoke no English – only Russian and German. She lied and told me that I spoke Russian very well!

Tomorrow, we all hope to visit Snow Hill for our first experience at the Emperor Penguin rookery.

Image from Gregory Dohrn's Antarctica Journal

Less dramatic happenings include a few games of ping pong as the ship rocked and rolled through the end of the Drake Passage, and I tried out some of the exercise equipment earlier this morning.

Tomorrow Snow Hill and the Emperor Penguins! Much depends on improving visibility, so the whole ship has our collective fingers crossed.

Albatross cruising the Drake Passage to Antarctica

This morning I was up early and saw my first albatrosses – two Black Browed and one magnificent Wandering Albatross. Cape Petrels fallow our course and seem to joyfully follow the crests of waves around the ship. And I spied one stormy petrel around 10am this morning.

The lectures have both been fabulous. The first, regarding sea birds, was the most entertaining, and has me excited to spot as many of the mentioned birds as possible. The second was on geology and was enlightening, particularly on the source of tsunamis.

Food has been fantastic, and the fruit and veggies are several steps better than what we found in Ushuaia’s restaurants.

I find myself continually climbing from the top of the ship to the bottom in excitement. The Russian crew is super friendly and I find myself searching my brain for Russian words to speak with them.

All in all, and absolutely fabulous first day at sea!

Leaving Ushuaia for Antarctica

Last night, in preparation for departure, Douglas Allan gave a fantastic presentation about his film making career. He’s one of the camera men responsible for SEVERAL of the Planet Earth episodes. We have several incredible people on board and I’m looking forward to all the presentations.

My next entry will be emailed by satellite connection from the Drake Passage. Wish me luck with the weather!

As of 7PM Ushuaia time, the Kapitan Khlibnikov remains trapped in the ice near Snow Hill – making it 6 days, I believe, of being stuck. In the mean time, I continue to explore Ushuaia. Today and yesterday, I hiked up snowy slopes behind my hotel. The views were fantastic, seeing far out into the Beagle Channel and the surrounding mountains.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Gable island with our local outfitter and Friday is a 30 km mountain bike ride. Saturday’s activity….? I have no idea, as we’re beginning to exhaust options around this coastal city.

We are expecting to board the Khlebnikov on Saturday evening, at best, and quite possibly Sunday.

Beautiful Ushuaia, Argentina -- not a bad place to spend a few extra days

Upon arrival in Ushuaia, I treated myself to a dinner of king crab. Nighttime finally fell at around 10:30pm and a nighttime dinner found me asleep after midnight again. Today we spent the day hiking and paddling in Tierra del Fuego National Park. I drank half a bottle of wine at lunch and the 5 mile hike felt more like 15 – but it was a glorious lunch and I had a beautiful rest on the shores of the beagle channel!

Upon arrival back in Ushuaia, I learned that the Kapitan Khlebnikov has been trapped in the ice for the past 6 days! Thus, our departure will be delayed till Wednesday. I’m taking this chance to explore more of Ushuaia, renting mountain bikes tomorrow for a day of riding. Six days, trapped in the ice! This information keeps rolling around my head. What a Shackleton experience! I’m quite glad that I’m here, enjoying the foods, treks, and biking of Ushuaia.