Make the wind stop - please!!!

Wednesday 20th Jan
Last night was horrific. The wind didn't stop all night. I have never heard a well made brick building groan in the wind before, and the sensation is quite off-putting.

The day dawned wet and windy and that was just fine by me. I really didn't feel ready to go tramping up into the mountains so was quite happy to go to the local internet cafe and try to sort through some of the photos and catch up on emails etc. Dave eventually found me mid afternoon and the weather looked to be clearing so we decided to go for a bit of a walk up to a local vantage point. 

Los Condors (The Condors) was about an hours stroll and well worth the walk. As we approached the top of the vantage point the skies cleared and the sun came out, the wind dropped, and the clouds lifted giving us our first look at the famed Fitz Roy. It is a rather impressive set of jagged tors rising out of the snowy mountain range across the valley.

Sadly we didn't see any condors up close but we did see them circling above us in the thermals. What an amazing bird. Even at a vast distance they still give a serious impression of size and strength. They are huge birds - wingspan of 2.8-3.2m and a soaring capacity that has to be seen to be believed. One second he was above us then in the next instant he'd caught a thermal and away off in the distance many kms away. Awesome.

We hung out on the mirador (view point) for about an hour then headed back down to the town. As we were going down a whole stream of people were making their way up. Seems that Dave had timed our walk just right to miss the throngs. The improvement of the weather had brought people out of hiding.

It was decided to return to the restaurant of the previous night as the food was so good and after another hearty meal we hit the sack in preparation for a day of hiking tomorrow - weather permitting.

Look out Patagonia - here we come.

Tuesday 19th Jan

The morning dawned with us docking in Ushuaia and my head pounding (deservedly so). Dave and I grabbed our gear, hugged all and sundry and headed of to the airport to catch an early flight to start our Patagonian experience. I discovered that sea legs and a hangover are a mighty combination when you are back on land. 

We flew from Ushuaia to El Calafate then caught a bus for a couple of hours up to the tiny town of El Chalten.

This town was only created in 1985 to cater for the hikers that march daily into the mountains to stare in wonder (or ascend for those fit and brave enough). The town itself is on a valley floor between a series of huge mountains. The Fitz Roy mountain is the highlight and the reason so many go to this area.

We were dropped at one end of town and after some series misdirection by a local shop owner we eventually found our hostel. Nice enough place with a great view of the mountains out the windows.

When we arrived the weather was clear with a bit of cloud but overall quite reasonable. We were about to learn our first lesson of Patagonia. Weather here is changeable!!! It took us about an hour to find our hostel and in that time it went from reasonable to deteriorating. Thankfully after we had made it to the hostel the real Patagonia kicked in. Wind!!! And I don't mean small gusty breezes, I mean Wind with a capital W. 

It got to the point where we had to lock the room door as the wind kept pushing it open and Dave was wondering if we should move the bed away from the windows in case they blew in. I have never heard anything like it. We had noticed there were no tall trees anywhere as we had bussed into El Chalten and seemingly this wind is why. It would take quite some tree to withstand the ferocity of the gales.

Luckily for us we found a restaurant near by and feeling a little worse for wear after such a big day we revelled in the hearty fare. Looking forward to sleep and hoping that tomorrow the sea legs will have gone so walking becomes easier.

The photo above is Dave pouring a "penguino" of red wine at the restaurant. Loved the way they presented house red.

Our final day...

Monday 18th January 

After such a lazy day yesterday today was a bit of a giggle really. All of a sudden we realised we were getting off tomorrow and that we would all be going our separate ways. Frenetic activity definitely marked the day with people exchanging email and facebook details and many cries of "if you ever get to Brisbane look us up..."

The consensus was that on a centralised computer we could each put of 5-10 best photos and at the end of the day those who wanted to could download/copy those shots so that no-one missed out. There were things that some of us saw that others missed when taking zodiac rides and of course different photographers take different shots. I sifted through my shots quickly and added to the pile and happily took a sample of the others best. 

Throughout the day we also had our presentation of certificates to verify that we have been to Antarctica and the crew had done up a DVD/CD with a slide show of our journey and all the daily running sheets, maps, animal counts, lecture notes etc. It was awesome how much work they put into it. I think most of us had expected to be handed a sheaf of papers that had the rundown of the days events but this exceeded our expectations by such a large margin.

Early in the morning we had left the Drake and moved into the Beagle channel so the water was calm again, the wind had dropped and we could see land. We anchored at about 2 pm and waited for the pilot to come aboard to lead us into Ushuaia harbour. It felt so strange to be anchored so close to our landing point and knowing that we didn't dock until tomorrow.

The day wore on with all of us returning our lifevests and gumboots and getting our gear packed for disembarkation tomorrow with the firm belief that we would not have the energy or inclination after tonights promised party.

And party we did. I think most of us went down for a drink or 2 with the crew to say thanks for taking such good care of us and showing us such a great time. I know that Dave and I had a couple of "quiet" ones as a parting gesture with our friends.

Somehow a big party seemed a fitting end to such a big trip.
The photos here are our merry little band of travellers, our tour guides/lecturers, and the 2 Augustines.

Back on the Drake

With the festivities of the night before the first day of our Drake passage was a quiet affair. Most of our crew were nursing hangovers and the weather was rough and foggy so a lot of time was spent just chilling out in the lounge area with people organising their photos or reading. We have heard that there will be another party tomorrow night so looking forward to that.

Apparently last night there was a 6.7 earthquake about 150 miles from where we were sailing. While we didn't feel it the whole crew were most excited - especially Dani (our geologists crew lecturer/guide). That said today the waves were pretty impressive. Standing on the lower deck the sea would rise up and obliterate all the sky so that the impression was of looking into a frothing wall of water. Then the ship would heave and the water would subside and we were left with a view only a few meters from the ship into the mists. Quite surreal and while it could have felt scary somehow it just wasn't.

Compared to our first crossing the waves were much higher but my fellow passengers seemed to have either gotten a handle on the principles of seasickness prevention or I think most of us had just developed our sea-legs enough that the waves weren't that much of a bother.

I figure that as nothing super-interesting happened today that I would pass on a few little tit-bits that I have learnt about travelling to Antarctica and travelling with a camera for the first time (as in the full gear not just the trusty point and shoot) so...

• Take a lot more warm clothes than you think you'll need - it was really cold. I realise that this sounds obvious but warm socks were at a premium and gloves that kept out both wind, water and cold would have been nice.
• Take some really comfortable clothes for lounging around in the bar - I would have loved a warm pair of track suit pants or something similar for the downtime.
• You cannot under-estimate the value of good moisturisers and lip balms - Antarctica is the driest continent on earth and it really starts to take a toll on the skin.
• Start the anti-seasickness medications before  you feel sick. I am very prone to seasickness but never once even felt queasy whereas many of my fellow passengers didn't emerge from their cabins for the first 2 days. The method I was told is halve the dose of antihistamine and take it twice as often, this stops the fatigue that comes with the drugs.
• If you own warm waterproof pants bring them - the hire stuff, while it was sufficient, was not comfortable or particularly well fitting.
• If you have a beanie or warm hat with earflaps use it - the wind makes ears get really cold. A thermal scarf is a must as well. I was wishing for a balaclava a lot of the time, my nose was suffering from cold.
• A rainproof jacket is a must but make sure that the hood will fit over a beanie comfortably and that the top zips up to your face, not just under your chin.
• Re camera gear.. bring a really sturdy tripod. The wind can push the camera around a fair bit and a light tripod with a big lens is a nightmare.
• Take plenty of storage - and I mean plenty. I took an average of 400+ photos a day (ok a bit snap happy but there is so much to take photos of)
• Take a computer. Never, never, never again will I travel without a computer. Not only for ease of sorting and cataloguing photos but if you are doing a blog it is much easier to blog while you are doing it than to have to hunt for internet cafes.
• If the ship has internet capabilities (ours had email that you paid to send through the ships computer via satellite) take a list of email addresses. I sat at the console and suddenly realised I knew almost no email addresses off by heart. Frustrating to know that we have become so used to just pressing our address book and having all the details pop up for us.

While this list is not exhaustive it does sort of get a few of the things that I learnt down and who knows - those little tips may prove useful to someone.

The photos I have included were taken throughout the journey and I figured were worth posting up here. The photo of Dave and I, while obviously not a glamour shot, does show a little of the wind that we met along the way.

Oh what a shaking salsa night!!!

Saturday 16th January

After our final landings we were all on  a bit of a high, although everyone was dreading the recrossing of the infamous Drake. 

We, (the group of rebel rousers Dave and I had found to party with - Nanja, Sam, Steve, Troy, Dennis and Philana) were invited to a secret staff party to be held after dinner in the out-of-bounds area below decks. We grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and went in search of music. Nanja and I were in stitches as we crept below decks listening at every door. In the end we had to give up for fear of getting either lost or found to be in areas we didn't belong. Thankfully our hosts (the zodiac drivers) came and found us and lead the way to what was to be quite some night.

The venue was the staff rec room - the size of an average 1 car garage, no windows, hot as hades, dim lights, loud music, lots of swaying bodies and looking like heaps of fun. And boy oh boy - was it fun!!!

We had just entered the Drake and the waves were significantly bigger on the return than they had been outbound and between the lurching seas and the red wine keeping upright was a bigger challenge than normal. Team this with a group of lovely South American lads inviting us to salsa and it was a scene of laughs aplenty. Our boys certainly sat on the sidelines watching and laughing.

They said that all you could see was a seething mass of paired bodies surging from one side of the room to the other in time to the lurch of the ship. As a participant it was a credit to the skill of my partners that I never once fell, slid or even faltered. That's definitely one advantage to salsa - the tight grip of my partner kept my feet from slipping too far from centre.

The night became more and more raucous as the sea became rougher. Thankfully the roof was low enough that if all else failed we could brace ourselves by throwing an arm over our heads to stabilise our downhill-slide. 

I can honestly say I have not laughed so hard in years. The whole scene bordered on the ridiculous except that it was just so much fun.

Definitely the only way to traverse a rough Drake!!!

I would love to have included photos of the night itself but I didn't have my camera with me - too busy dancing. The photos that are included are of Me, Sam, Philana, Nanja and Dennis and of the zodiac boys on the boats. The best I could come up with for this story.

Final landings

Saturday 16^th January

Our last day of landings … slightly sad but also getting ok with the idea of heading back to dry land.

The process of getting ready for each landing is exhausting. I personally had my prep down pat. Thermals first - top and bottom, warm thermal woollen tops x 2, socks x 2, jeans, insulated waterproof pants, gumboots, zip fleece, windproof waterproof jacket, life vest, gloves, beanie, camera gear, sunscreen, lip balm, sunnies – good to go!!!! Usually exhausted by the time I get off the boat but at least I'm warm.

Only this dressup was different – this dressup involved swimmers!!!

We were heading into Deception Island which is a volcanic caldera that blew a hole in the side when it blew it's top and made a handy entrance and harbour for ships. The bay was used as a whaling and seal processing port until continued seismic activity forced the closure and abandoning of the stations, the remains of which lay rusting half buried in the volcanic ash of the last explosion (1969).

The allure of the supposed geothermal warm waters had me in my swimmers with the understanding by all that if the water was not truly warm I wasn't going in. Needless to say they exaggerated the "warm" component and I stayed dry but most of my fellow passengers went for a dip – Dave included. They all maintained that the water was so cold that the landing onto the beach then seemed really warm. Not for this kid.

The afternoon landing which was poorly attended (I think a lot of people were getting over the whole get dressed, get undressed thing) was on a pebbly beach at Yankee Harbour. The waves came crashing in to the bank of pebbles and it washed up all manner of debris. We saw lots of skeletons of various animals including a whole leopard seal skull, which had the boys fascinated by the size of the teeth (which were very impressive).

I must admit that by the time we headed back to the zodiacs for the final return to the ship I was happy to go. I had seen all that I came to see and had really enjoyed my adventure. I felt that topping what we had seen and done would have been impossible so why even try. I went completely satisfied and ready to get back to Ushuaia and start our next part of the adventure.

2nd day of Antarctic landings

Friday January 15^th

Another day of landing on the Antarctic Peninsula. We had big plans for a morning landing but the weather finally got the better of us. We had snow!!!! It was awesome. I had never seen snow falling from the sky and it was incredible. The ship slowly but steadily turned from coloured to a gorgeous monochrome of black and white. I loved it!!!!! It cleared in the afternoon but that morning was truly a highlight for me.

We landed in the early afternoon at Brown Buff – a beautifully scenic spot on the peninsula where the penguins and seals make their home amidst a bay full of icebergs. This was the first spot we had been to where we could actually get right up close to the icebergs. They littered the shore and Dave and I definitely took the opportunity to climb over a few (a first for me but of course Dave had already crossed that of his list earlier in the trip). I took this opportunity to relax a bit with the camera and sit back and watch the crazy antics of the penguins. They are just so endearing. A couple of our mad mates took this opportunity to prove their manliness and took a first for the group by taking an impromptu Antarctic dip. The facial expressions that came with their surfacing were priceless. Certainly reinforced the notion that the sea was fairly cold.

Lying happily on the beach was a young Weddell seal pup who kindly yawned and made my day. It was awesome to see her teeth so beautifully on show.

The afternoon landing was made at Esperanza station, an Argentine research station that  was quite unlike the Palmer Station of our previous visit. This station was founded when the nations were trying to carve Antarctica up for ownership (unlike now when use of Antarctica is governed by a treaty) and consequently resembled more of a township than a collection of research buildings.

The town was made up of a collection of houses all painted a rusty reddish colour and after a year of living on the base solo the scientist can bring their families. Indeed, 7 children have been born at Esperanza over the years. It was a neat place although a little too dismal for my taste. The coolest thing was that they had a postal service so I took the opportunity to send so postcards home. Figured it wouldn't be too often that friends and family received postcards from Antarctica.

Once we were back on board we had a much awaited BBQ. The crew had been stoking up the fires when we headed out to the station and the meat quantity was huge. The Argentines do a BBQ like no other and the food was fantastic. There is something very cool about standing on the deck of a ship in Antarctica eating BBQ snags in bread rolls. Just fantastic.

What a perfect way to spend last day of landing on the Antarctic mainland, a feat we achieved not once or twice but four times in 2 days!!!!!