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Flat Stanley Visits Antarctica with Adventure Life

Beth Conway — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:11:11 +0000

Flat Stanley and Beth at Paradise Bay in Antarctica

Flat Stanley: The ingenious little international phenomenon that encourages school children to expand their geography know-how and explore the world… arrived on my Missoula, Montana doorstep at the end of October, via US Post. He came compliments of my darling 6-year-old cousin, Evan, from Olive Branch, MS. The timing was perfect — I was only weeks away from departing on a two-week trip to Argentina and Antarctica. And while Stanley did not pack is parka, I insisted he join me on my Antarctica adventure. Below is Stanley’s first-hand report that he shared with Evan and Evan’s first-grade class.

Flat Stanley and Beth at Tierra del Fuego National Park, Argentina. See the mountains in the background? That's Chile!

My Antarctica Adventure – by Flat Stanley
Missoula to Ushuaia; four flights, and too-many hours I arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is also known as the “End of the World” as it is the southern-most city in the world. Before we set sail for Antarctica, we decided to take a little time exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park just outside of Ushuaia. We went on a nice hike, and inflatable canoe trip in the park. I saw a huge woodpecker during our hike, a Magellanic Woodpecker. Our guide told us it is the woodpecker that Woody Woodpecker was designed after (if you don’t know who Woody Wookpecker is, ask your parents).

Flat Stanley takes a picture of his Adventure Life travel-mates. And their new Antarctica friend!

Finally it was time to embark on our Antarctica adventure. Our ship, Lyubov Orlova, is named after a famous Russian actress. It took about two days crossing the rocky and rough Drake Passage, and finally it was time for our first onshore expedition. We took zodiacs (small inflatable boats that seat about 12 passengers) from the Orlova to shore. Our landing was on Aitcho (pronounced H.O.) Island. Here I saw four Weddell seals, an elephant seal, and hundreds of chinstrap and Gentoo penguins. Antarctica has five species of seals, and we saw two of them our very first day. The penguins are very noisy (and smelly). They are also very curious. Beth had one that tried to sit in her lap!

Setting up tent on Paradise Bay. It was about 11:30 pm in this picture. Look how light it is outside!

Next we visited Paradise Bay, which — along with many Gentoo penguins — is also home to Almirante Brown, an old Argentine research station. There are many different countries who have station in Antarctica including Chile, New Zealand, USA, Great Britain, and both India and China are looking at establishing stations as well. I went sledding on Paradise Bay during the day, and camped here during the night. It doesn’t really get dark during Antarctica’s summer months, so sleeping was a challenge. That, and the penguins decided to give us a wake-up call at about 3:30 in the morning.

The next afternoon, the ship was visited by a humpback whale. It came right up next to the zodiacs! Whales are divided into two main groups: toothed and baleen. The only toothed whales found in the Antarctic are the Orca and the Sperm whale, while a variety of baleen whales have been sited: Blue, Fin, Humpback, Minke, and Southern Right. There were a group of travelers who went sea kayaking during our trip, and they also saw a humpback and her calf! The sea kayakers also came across a leopard seal and watched an iceberg break in two!

At Jougla Point. See the whalebones in the background?

Flat Stanley takes his picture next to a Gentoo penguin at Port Lockroy in Antarctica

We also visited Port Lockroy and Jougla Point. Port Lockroy is a British station — it also has a post office. I sent a handful of post cards; delivery typically takes about 2 months. How’s that for snail mail! Gentoo penguins have built their nests right outside of the station. One of our expedition leaders pointed out that he saw a penguin with three eggs (typically they lay about 1 or 2 per season). This is very rare and I feel very luck to have seen it. At Port Lockroy I also saw an huge elephant seal, and at Jougla Point I saw three more Weddell seals.

This iceberg reminds Flat Stanley of a giant cake!

Flat Stanley takes a picture of the blue icebergs in the Iceberg Graveyard

And I can’t mention my Antarctica trip without talking about the icebergs. We spent many afternoons taking the zodiacs out through a maze of icebergs and to the giant ice cliffs along the continent. The ice is a brilliant blue — in fact, the thicker the ice the bluer it is. I watched an iceberg calve; it made an incredible cracking noise as it fell into the water. And then slowly, it created great waves on shore. One afternoon, we took the zodiac through a place called the “iceberg graveyard.” This is a particular location that is known to have a lot of icebergs of varying shapes and sizes in one confined location. The currents from the nearby Ross Sea bring in, and then trap, the icebergs into this area. It was beautiful — like being on another planet.

Flat Stanley takes a picture of fellow travelers readying themselves for the Penguin Plunge on Deception Island

On our last day in Antarctica, we when to Deception Island to take the legendary Polar Plunge. The water Deception Island is sometimes heated by an underground volcano — but there was nothing warm about the water that afternoon! But we were brave and did the polar plunge anyway! It was as freezing as it was fun. I brought home a certificate declaring I am an official penguin polar plunger!

Bye Antarctica -- Flat Stanley promises to visit again sometime soon!

It was a great trip, and I cannot wait to see where my next adventure will take me.

Chilling in Antarctica

Beth Conway — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:11:21 +0000

The famous and beautiful blue ice of Antarctica

Curious gentoo penguins in Antarctica

Antarctic traveler and travel writer, Chris Connelly, shares his experiences in the great white continent.

I’m wearing snowpants for the first time since childhood, and I have on the same coat I wore several years ago while covering the Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. This coat comes with an extra dense fleece lining that can be unzipped and removed, and despite living in Wisconsin, where winter temperatures routinely dip into the minus-30s, this is the first time I’ve ever needed to use the lining. The ship’s deck I’m standing on is wet with spray, and we are really rocking and rolling — the seas in the Drake Passage are the roughest in the world.

Yes, it’s a tad cold, but Antarctica offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, an unscripted nature show starring seals, whales, sea lions and a cast of approximately 400 gazillion penguins, as well as the pride that comes from looking at the bottom of a map and thinking, “Yeah. I’ve been there.”

Let’s discuss maps for a minute. We here in the States generally like maps with America in the middle. In Europe, fittingly, Europe is front and center. Africans and Asians and South Americans also like to occupy the most prominent spot on their maps, and Australians, well, honestly, I’m never quite sure what they’re up to. But unless you’re looking at a nautical chart or a very specific type of map, you’ll never find a global map with Antarctica in the starring role. Why? No one lives there. In fact, there is no such thing as an “Antarctican.” The only people who live in Antarctica are scientists and people who are paid to live in Antarctica. In 1959, the governments of the world decided not to fight over Antarctica. They declared it an internationally controlled center for scientific research and agreed that no one would ever “own” it. Several countries, among them Chile, Argentina and America, do maintain a year-round presence in Antarctica so that if vast oil fields or plutonium deposits are ever discovered there, they’ll be able to say, “Hey! We’ve had a presence in Antarctica for years!” But beyond researchers and these “professional Antarctica inhabitants,” the only other humans on the continent are tourists.

Tourists who make it to the Great White Continent become members of a very exclusive club. However, the number of club members is increasing — the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators says visits rose from 6,700 in the 1992-93 season to 45,213 in 2008-09.

Of the lucky few who do visit Antarctica, the vast majority do so on cruise ships, sleeping on board and taking as many shore excursions as the weather and the seas allow. The ship that brought me to Antarctica is a smaller ship, the Antarctic Dream. There are several cruise lines that sail to Antarctica — from small to very large (think floating resort)—depending on your preference. Small ships can bring you in a bit closer to the action and offer a more intimate setting, while larger ships provide more stability for rugged waters and greater onboard amenities.

Upon arrival to Antarctica you spend your days “island hopping” — sailing from site to site and making landings via Zodiac on icebergs, in stunning bays and on black, sandy beaches. While sailing from place to place is thrilling — you’ll see whales, seals, sea lions, penguins and immense blue-glowing icebergs — the shore excursions, of course, are the highlights of any trip.

Antarctica is a land of extremes — technically a desert. It’s Earth’s coldest, driest, highest and windiest place, and the first landing we made, on the Island of Barrientos, presented us with the complete package. To our right loomed a stark and craggy rock formation bedecked with thousands of juvenile gentoo penguins. To our left lay a 40-foot-long dried out whale skeleton, a couple big chunks of iceberg, and a fur seal who lolled his head over to one side and regarded us quizzically. For many of us, myself included, this was the big moment. It was official. I had been to Antarctica.

There is a type of ice all over Antarctica called blue ice. Blue ice is formed at the very deepest layers of icebergs and glaciers when, over millions of years, the oxygen within the ice is forced out by the weight of the material on top. In small chunks this incredibly dense ice is perfectly clear — so clear that once you see it, you realize that you’ve never seen clear ice before — and in large chunks it absorbs light at the red end of the spectrum and appears to glow blue, as if from some inner source of illumination.

I sat down on a chunk of this blue ice and looked around me. The seas in the bay were perfectly still, and off in the distance, immense, blindingly white mountains clamored skyward. Overhead, albatross and giant petrels soared in lazy circles, but other than the gentle movements of their wings, the world was frozen and utterly silent. I thought about all the maps I’d be able to point to and say, “I’ve been there,” when suddenly I felt something tugging gently on the cuff of my right pants leg. Maintaining my serenity, I looked down and saw a fat little penguin climbing onto my boot. I didn’t move a muscle. Egged on by a few of his friends, the brave little guy grabbed a snatch of fabric in his beak and hauled himself up to look at me. His feathers were sleek and glossy, his eyes sharp and penetrating. We spent several minutes checking each other out, then he hopped off and waddled back over to rejoin his friends.

I had many magical moments in Antarctica: climbing a snowy mountain on Deception Island; watching building-sized chunks of glacier break off and fall into the sea with a crack like cannon fire; swimming in the Southern Ocean at the foot of an active volcano, where the subterranean lava heats the water to near-pleasant temperatures.

But of all the wonderful moments I had, my favorite was the first one: When I initially and officially set foot on the continent, and a resident penguin jumped on my leg to say, “Welcome.”

December 2: The Falklands

Brian Morgan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:37:27 +0000

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.

On Toward the Falklands

Brian Morgan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:14:04 +0000

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!

November 29: Penguin Plunge

Brian Morgan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:21:21 +0000

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.

Landing on the Antarctic Peninsula

Brian Morgan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:48:46 +0000

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

This evening we returned to our anchorage off Snow Hill in hopes of a visit tomorrow. The return journey was probably the most spectacular iceberg landscape to date. The sun was setting as we wove our way through giant tabular ‘bergs and towering jagged ‘bergs. Our previous cut in the ice had filled in with debris, including icebergs too large to go through, so we cut a second channel in the ice. Watching the ice split, crack, and be shoved away by the Khlebnikov memorized me and other passengers were alternatively giddy with excitement and awestruck.

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.

Greetings from Antarctica

Beth Conway — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:31:28 +0000

Adventure Life Women explore Antarctica

Good morning great Adventure Life friends!!!

Just a quick note to let you all know that we have fallen in deep deep love with Antarctica. I will fill you in on all the details when we get back, but let’s just say … spectacular. Here’s a bit of our checklist: kayaking through icebergs, camping on the continent, humpback whales, albatross, chinstrap penguins, gentoo penguins, elephant seals, weddell seals and the most incredible landscape I have ever seen. Truly otherworldly.

We’ve been thinking about you all, HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING!

-Beth, Julia and Renee

Day 4 at Sea: First Emperor Penguin Sighting

Brian Morgan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:05:09 +0000

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.

Day 3 at Sea: Iceberg Alley

Brian Morgan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:02:44 +0000

Image from Gregory Dohrn's Antarctica Journal

What a day! Today we entered Antarctic Sound, also known as Iceberg Alley. And what a place it is! Gigantic table icebergs float everywhere, and on smaller ‘bergs Adelie penguins perch in the dozens. I’ve seen one seal as well and this morning a whale rose near the ship. The ice is getting thicker as we enter the Weddell Sea and the ship now shakes occasionally with the impact.

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.

Day 2 at Sea: Crossing the Drake Passage

Brian Morgan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:55:44 +0000

Albatross cruising the Drake Passage to Antarctica

The ship has been rocking back and forth since around 2 am this morning.
Swells look to be about 12 feet high, and the crew calls this the Drake Lake. This is versus the Drake Shake which is what I’m hoping for on the return trip. A few of my fellow travelers hope for the same, but we’re
definitely in the minority. Most passengers are walking around with the little motion sickness stickers stuck behind their ears, and the seem relieved at the calm passage.

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!