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!!!!!

Stepping on the continent

Today was a red letter day for the cruise. Our first steps on the Antarctic continent proper. Having said that not all of us made the big step.
With the frivolities of the night before 4 members of our party did not make it out of bed in time for the first landing of the day, and unfortunately Dave was amongst their number. Having said that I only made it by accident.
I got up late and thought they had already left. When I walked out on to the deaprture deck there was still one boat to go so I ran back down, grabbed my boots, pants and lifevest and bolted back up to be the last one aboard.
When I say the last aboard I mean the last aboard a rather private boat tour. There were only 3 of us on the zodiac and we had a maniac driver (read good maniac - not bad). The other 2 on the boat were the 2 Dutch friends from across the hall (Linda and Rob) and they spoke Spanish so were egging our driver on to greater and greater speed for our tour of the glaciers. I thought I was going to be sick. It was a case of yes, yes go faster, oh no, please make it stop!! The glaciers themselves in Paradise Bay were pretty amazing with lots of Antarctic Cormorants nesting on the cliffs, icicles hanging from the overhangs and and huge walls of glacial ice and snow just waiting to calve. Unfortunately we only saw a small calving but it was still pretty cool.
The walk onto the continent itself involved a visit to a closed station (Brown Station - Skontorp Cove) and a look at some more gentoo penguins.
This was our coldest morning yet with overcast skies and a slight hangover did nothing for the weather. I was pleased to get back on the ship, my toes were too numb to feel through the boots.
Having said that the frosty reception from those that missed the mornings activities made the return less warm than expected. Apologies and explanations aplenty and seemingly forgiveness was granted across each group.
The afternoon landing was a spot called Niko Harbour, Anvord Bay where we were invited to watch a glacier in the hope it would calve. Dave and a dozen or so others of the group took the opportunity to gain some high ground for viewing and they made an awesome sight as figures walking a white line against a white sky. Fingers crossed but those photos should turn up next time I have the hard drive plugged in (sorry I am so disorganised photo wise).
I didn´t see the glacier calve as I was busy playing with the penguins - adelie this time - but I heard it. The crash is amazing.
This landing was really rather pleasant as we all seem to be taking a bit more time away from our cameras to just sit and watch. Not so snap happy, more of a connected observer. Instead of taking heaps of photos I decided to take a few movies instead which I need to figure out how to post. They are amongst the funniest things I have from the holiday. Penguins are truly amongst the most character filled birds in the world.

Palmer Station and Iceberg Alley

The photos above are not all from this days travel but my computer skills are proving hazardous when working in internet cafes.
So...
The day started with a trip to the US Base of Palmer Station. We were all pretty excited by the prospect of seeing a working Antarctic station and by the promise of a "shop". The station does a vast array of research that runs from checking on the chemicals used in sedentary organism defenses at the bottom of the ocean, seismic activity, subglacial topography, astrological studies, ice movements and the impact of decreasing icve on the krill and penguin populations, salinity levels and a whole range of goephysical monitoring. It was a really cool place although I think the thing that most intrigued me was the hot tub! Yes ok, I realise that science is important but I could really see the value of a hot tub in Antarctica - hey, it´s cold down here!!!! There are 45 permanent staff during summer and 19 that stay through the winter. The shop did proive a hit and I went a little crazy. I bought a really cool/warm jacket with Palmer Station on the front and Antractica on the back. The others hadn´t seen the writing on the back and that jacket was coveted by many back on board the ship.
That afternoon we went to the Lemaire Channel (Kodak or Iceberg Alley). OMG!!!! What a place. We split the ships passengers into 2 groups and took turns to do an iceberg cruise in the zodiacs.
We were first out to iceberg alley and seriously, neither words nor photos can do justice to what we saw. The colours and formations were spectacular. Dave asked our driver if he could hop onto one of the bergs. The guys said yes and drove right up to it. Whenm Dave jumped off I thought the driver was going to have a breakdown. It seems we had a slight language miscommunication and he thought Dave just wanted to reach out and touch it. All ended well though with Dave safely back in the boat and the driver having a good chuckle at his bravado. Not only did we spy icebergs of fantasy colours and shapes but also leopard seals, weddel seals and crabeater seals. Awesome place - truly, awe inpsiring.
While the second group did their tour we were watching whales frolicking (sp) alongside the boat when a whale did a really close turn then came up for a look at the people gathered on deck. Again I didn´t have the camera with me but a friend got a great shot that I will post later when I work out how to downsize a file (darned Spanish computers). The minke whale was literally looking straight up at us - the line between watcher and watched definitely blurred there for a moment.
What an amazing day. And it was not over yet...
For reasons of beer - well lets be truthful - we decided to wait for sunset and sunrise. That meant that about 10 of us stayed up drinking beer and wine until 4.30am. The sight was truly awesome. It didn´t get truly dark at any stage and the light that was playing across the ice at dusk and dawn was fantastic. It felt like it was only 10pm at 3am. The no dark thing really messes with the mind. This was another reason I really liked our little no-porthole dungeoun. We had to turn the light on whereas others couldn´t get rid of the light. Made for better sleeping for us I think.

And now for a catch-up

January 12 and day 4 of our Antarctic adventure took us to Hydrurga Rocks and Cuverville Island.
The day had started with overcast skies and our first landing was over rough water in the zodiac. Don´t mind saying it was a bit bumpy and the knuckles were quite white.
The trip was worth it though. We got to see a colony of chinstrap penguins doing their thing. These little guys are so cute to watch. They look like a bunch of little fat old men with their pants pulled up to their armpits as they make their way along their highways between the nests and the sea. They are so endearing to watch and seem very nonplussed by the attention of the tourists.
The afternoon at Cuverville was something else. The weather was pristine again and the colours of the ice bergs as we travelled to from ship to shore was incredible. The light is amazing and the bergs gleam in colours from pristine white, to iridescent blue and sparkling green. Each shape is so different from the last and really makes you appreciate the power of time and water, compressing the ice into these amazing colours then whittling it away into such incredible shapes. At this landing the colony was of gentoo penguins (orange beaks) and these guys and girls had babies. They were utterly amazing. These little balls of fluff that popped out from under the parents belly demanding to be fed at regular intervals. They ranged in size from a tennis ball of fluff up to a mini-sized penguin shaped fluff ball. Too cute. And these guys can really talk. The chinstraps made noise too but the gentoos have a real chorus going on. I have unashamedly taken so many photos. I am truly loving this!!!!

Land ho!!!

"Good morning Antracticans. Last night one of your fellow passengers earnt himself a bottle of wine for being the first to spot an iceberg. Congratulations Thomas...." This announcement had us all scurrying topside with our cameras. And there on the horizon under a perfect blue sky was a massive tabluar iceberg (the huge flat ones that have calved from the iceshelf). What an amazing sight to see. It was perfect against the deep blue sea and the clear blue sky as a block of stark white on the horizon.
Cameras were snapping like crazy - setting the tone for the days to come.
The afternoon was spent with whales being spotted all about the ship. And for those that think I am talking spouts on the horizon.. no, no no. The humpbacks were feeding right alongside the ship. Their massive mouths would swing open in unison after they had bubble netted krill into a ball then massive gulps would be enough to have the crowd in raptures. I have included a photo taken by one of my fellow passengers (I had unwisely not taken my camera up with me when I went for a stroll then once the whales arrived I was too transfixed to miss anything by going back inside for it).
Then in the afternoon we had the call we were all hoping for...
"Good afternoon Antarcticans. We have made better than expected time on our crossing and to the front of the ship we have our first sighting of land with the South Shetland Islands. We expect to launch the zodiacs for our first landing this evening..." Yay!!!!!
Now we were getting excited. We all scurried down to the zodiac/landing briefing and picked up our lifevests and boots. Dinner scoffed and we were all loaded into our zodiacs.
Looking back now it is quite funny. I think most of us ladies were a bit nervous about gettig down into the zodiacs and I know that I was not the only one hanging onto the ropes with white knuckles. That first trip was such a buzz. Our first solid ground in 2 days and our first penguins.
Chinstrap penguins are sooo cute. They trundle around like they own the place - which they obviously do compared to us. The colony was complete with babies tucked into the feet of their parents. Our rules were to stay off the penguin highways (tracks they walk in to get across the softer snow), no closer than 5 meters to penguins and at least 15m to seals.
The trick is that no one told the penguins this. If you sit in one spot they come waddling past like you aren´t even there. Being so close is one of the true delights of being ashore. There as not a person amongst us that didn´t fall in love with these delightful little guys.
I had forgotten how cold snow is and my toes were defintiely suffering in the rubber gumboots we were given but it was such a small discomfort to endure to see wildlife up so close.
So our first landing completed all safely back on board and photos to prove I was there. What a great way to start our introduction to Antarctica.

Drake Lake or Drake Shake???

Talk about fortunate - we got Drake Lake. YAY!!!!! Drake passage is renowned for being one of the most violent pieces of water in the world nad was my source of greatest fear for the journey. I hate being seasick and seasick and scared together is even less fun.

When I say lake I don´t mean lake like you would think of a lake. We were still rocking and rolling but it was not too bad. My tablets took care of the worst of it and apart from feeling a bit fatigued I was quite relieved that it was tolerable.

Breakfast told a different tale however. Where dinner had been a full compliment of passengers (84), breakfast had no more than 30 poeple. Apparently the ships doctor had been kept fairly busy through the night with people who had not taken their tablets before we hit rougher water and were suffering for it. Dave of course took nothing and was almost disappointed that it was Drake lake - I think he wanted to pit himselñf against the mighty Drake heh heh.

I was so impressed with my feeling of well being I decided to go up onto the bridge deck and check ou the scene. What a stupis idea.

While our little cabin might have seemed a bit rocky it was nothing compared to the top decks. The movement up there was horrendous!!! I was hanging onto the railing for dear life and couldn´t get back down to the bar level quick enough. My opinion of our cabin changed plenty over the course of that day. Those who had portholes were now subjected to watching the heaving sea at close quarters, had constant light (sunset was officillay 10.45pm but I´m pretty sureit didn´t actually get dark for amore than a couple of hours at most) and had heaps more movement than those of us in the bowels.

The day was spent in lectures, birdwatching and photographing off the back deck and gettign to kow our fellwo passebngerts.

The bird photography became a real challenge for me. I had attended a lecture in the morning and was so exctied to see the petrels, skuas and albatross cruising the wake of the boat. It turns out that catching a big bird as it effortlessly soars past at speed while standing on the deck of a heaving ship is a far bigger ask than I had anticipated. Certainly took my mind off the seas though and was a nice activity to pursue outside.

On this particular voyage we were lucky enough to have a fantastic bunch of crewmates. A group of 3 guys had left their overland tour to take a side trip with us to Antarctica. Steve (Aus), Troy (Aus) and Sam (UK) were a breath of home in a sea of USA voices. Nanja (Neth) was to prove gold for me as she and I hit it off straight away and have very similar personalities. Bascially, we got on like a house on fire. To round out our little group there was Dennis (Irish) and Philana (US).

Robb and Linda (Neth) were across the hall from us and Linda had a wickedly quick sense of humour which kept us all in stitches when the boys weren´t up to some form of mischief.

Our first day at sea passed with ease and relatice comfort. The excitment of actaully being out there doing it made the time pass quickly for all of us I think.

 

 

What a life changing time I´ve had!!!

To say that Antarctica is amazing is such an understatement!!!

I´ll start at the beginning...

Jan 9th we wandered down to the main docking wharf in Ushuaia. It is a long pier with a dozen ships docked to the wharf. We passed through immigration and made our way down the dock to our ship - the MV Ushuaia. She was a fine looking vessel although I must admit to being more than a little nervous about getting on and being "stuck" on board for the next 12 days.

We were taken to our cabin by one of the crew and a smaller dog box I have never seen. We were tucked away in the bowels of the ship with no window (or port hole in ship talk) in a room with 2 bunks, a cupboard, a table and a sink, our bathroom shared with the folks next door. I couldn´t get out of there quick enough. My comment to Dave was that I could never commit murder as I definitely would not be able to do the time.

We dumped our gear and went exploring. The ship is well appointed with a lovely bar/lounge area with huge big windows. The decks run all the way around over 2 levels so we went up onto the bow to check out the sights. It was such an exciting moment. An announcement called us all in to the bar for a meet and greet where we got to check out our fellow passengers.

What a fantastically mixed bunch we were. People of all ages, all langauges and all types. There was a large group of US University students with several of their professors (the loudest group in the room :) lots of older passengers and a smattering of 20-40yos.

A quick toast and we were off. Next stop Antarctica!! Even now typing this I can feel the nerves bubbling away inside. Such excitement but so many nerves.

Once we were underway we had our first introduction to our crew and lecturers/guides. My head nearly fell off when the group leader was introduced - Agustin Ullmann (said just like my name). It was to prove amusing for me over the next 12 days to hear my name in constant use when not in reference to me. (Yes I realise most people in the world hear their name in use when it does not reference them but not for me, I´m the only Augustine I know).

We were warned to go below and secure our belongings as at approx midnight we would be starting our Drake crossing and it could get rough. Then we had all of our lfe boat drills. The lifeboats are fully enclosed orange pods that looked quite seaworthy so I was feeling fairly well at ease with that idea.

We met a few of our fellow passengers that night and many of them had special patches that they put behind their ears to ward off seasickness. I was quite jealous as these patches don´t make you drowsy unlike my medication, until a fellow Aussie said that we can´t get them in Aus because they have been shown to have permanent sight damage as a possible side effect. No thanks, I´ll just stay drowsy.

So after a fine dinner and a movie about Antarctica (through which I was falling asleep) we retired to the dungeon for the night. I was so scared of the tight confines of our room I slept with the light on (yeah I know - what a chicken but I was worried I´d bash my head if I sat up in a hurry looking for the bin to throw up). Seasickness tablets taken and I was ready for the infamous Drake.....

 

The city at the end of the world

The end of the world looks nothing like I thought it would. I´m not sure what I thought it would look like but I was unprepared for the stunning beauty of Ushuaia.

Flying into the Argentine island of Tierra Del Fuego is like watching a tapestry of snow capped mountains, heavily wooded valleys and intricate waterways unfold beneath the wings of the plane.

The town itself is bounded to the north by the stunning snow topped Martial mountain range and the south by the serene Beagle Channel. A more eclectic mix of housing styles would be hard to find: everything from super modern hotels to small one room dwellings made completely of corrugated iron. It seems that every language of the world can be heard on the main street as people make last minute purchases against the cold. And cold it is - I thought I was prepared but nothing could prepare me for this. I had forgotten how cold it is when there is a slight wind and drizzling rain. I too have had to join the other tourists in the outdoor outfitters buying warmer clothes.

We have spent the last couple of days getting a good look at the area. After the first day spent strolling town and trying to become better equipped for the cold we had a good sleep and headed to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park. What a glorious place. We took a walk along the seashore (approx 8km) through forests where the ground was carpeted in beautiful small white flowers (similar looking to a small orchid), daisies or fallen wood. The whole of the national park only has 4 types of tree, 3 of which were beech trees.

We watched as hawks stooped, wood peckers pecked and ducks ... well you know.

It is the most amazingly still and calm place. We felt like the only people on earth. The beauty of the sound as it stretched over to the mountains is hard to describe - grandeur is the first word that springs to mind.

The light here is proving hard to deal with, 10.30 is dusk although we have had no "sunset" and dawn is somewhere between 3 and 4am. No dawn or dusk shots from me just yet. Might try for tonight.

Dave has venture up Martial Mountain today to check out a local glacier. I took the cab ride but once I saw that the "cable car" to the top was really just a ski lift with no capsule I bailed out and left him to it. There are some things I am just not brave enough for - plus we are going to see plenty of glaciers further into the trip.

I have included 4 photos - The Antarctica Office where info and bookings can be made, The Beagle Channel as we saw it yesterday on our walk, downtown Ushuaia and the ships ready to depart from the main dock for Antarctica.

Our ship to is due to dock tomorrow morning and we are due to set sail in the late afternoon.

Until next time - Buenos Dias mi amigos. 

Buenos noches

Buenos noches from Buenos Aires (good evening).
Having a great time in BA. The temps here remind me so much of home - really hot and steamy. We have had a great start to the trip with an early morning visit to the cemetery at Reccoletto. It is renowned as being one of the most famous in the region with Eva Peron buried amongst the crypts, and I mean crypts. If money bought you an assurance of entrance into the afterlife all of these folks are at Godś right hand.The whole place covers a massive area with whole streets of mausoleums. Cats stand guard over crypts that have more marble than the homes of Italy and the caskets are sitting stacked in full view. The only down side is the massed squadrons  of mosquitoes waiting to suck every last drop of life force and have you join the inhabitants of the bone yard.
The city itself is dotted with beautiful parks with trees that make our moreton bay figs look young. (I am having major issues with this keyboard so please excuse the typos).
We spent the early evening (post siesta) in a lovely street side cafe drinking cerveza (beers) and now are going to experience Buenos Aires style ska and reggae music in our hostel. The night is young and we are well rested (too well).
Off to Ushuaia tomorrow so will take a bit more time to write of our observations then.
Big cheers to those at home.

--
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page" St. Augustine

Oh and many thanks....

Forgot to add a few thanks yous...

Many thanks to Danielle from Bluedog Photography who kindly lent me the external hard drive. Makes life a lot easier than carrying a million different memory cards.

Also a big thanks to the guys from C R Kennedy who provided me with the SLIK tripod, a much lighter alternative than my big manfrotto.

Cheers to all

My bags are packed - I'm ready to go

How is it that no matter how well organised I think I am the day before jetting away is always a mad scramble?!

This morning involved moving out of our temporary home back to a friends place dragging mounds of laundry with us. Thankfully though we travel so light that there was very little that needed to be cleaned before I could start to pack.

I have included photos for those cynics who believe traveling with anything less than a whole wardrobe and 6 pairs of shoes can't be done.

The biggest challenge to the carry-on-luggage-only rule this trip is the camera gear. After much soul searching I have whittled it down to only those things I can't live without (see photo above).

We have made it a "policy" to only take carry-on with us when we travel for a whole bunch of reasons: no queuing up to get what's left of your luggage after the baggage handlers have tossed it onto the carousels, no unexpected surprises when you go through customs (a la Ms Corby) and most of all, no crossing fingers that it will meet you in your destination. Normally we have no accommodation booked when we get somewhere and I can be a bit fussy about my bed (Dave would say too fussy but hey - I like to sleep comfortably) and a lighter bag means less to carry as we tramp all over town playing "Goldilocks, this bed is too hard, this bed is too soft..."

After much internet research before our last adventure I found lots of handy hints for traveling light:

Only take clothes you will actually wear. I used to take 4 prs of jeans and 10 tops but would go home with only my favourites actually worn.

If you aren't sure that you will need it, you probably won't so don't pack it.

There are shops in most places in the world that will sell toothpaste and razors, no need to pack a years supply. Same with big bottles of shampoo etc.

Most places also have some sort of laundry service available, you don't need enough clothes for a fresh set every day.

If you're backpacking as an adult (or flashpacking as they call it now for those that have money to spare) no one really cares that you haven't straightened your hair!

These are just a few that I can think of straight up.

The only down side can be shopping. It can be a lot harder to shop when you only have a small bag but we just factor in postage when we buy things and then send them home (think 5 foot carving of elephants from Thailand).

Well, hopefully my next transmission will be from Buenos Aires where currently the weather is almost the same as here in Brisvegas - hot, wet and muggy, so... catch you on the flip side.