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.