Antarctica

Writing this post means the end to a truly incredible journey. The crash after nearly 3 weeks of unforgettable day after unforgettable day is especially harsh knowing that this isn't the kind of trip that can be easily repeated.

I know everyone wants to see pictures, but I am still having issues uploading photos so unfortunately you will have to wait. The internet down here is pretty brutal. I can't even open gmail on the computer they have at the hostel I am staying at.

I could write a novel about everything I experienced, but here is a brief summary of the trip:

Our ship had about 120 passengers aboard. The large majority were from Britain or Australia which meant I was introduced to custard as an important food group that was served with every meal. The crowd was pretty senior, but fortunately I was able to band together with a great group of people around my age and I even met a couple of people I am traveling onward with. I somehow managed to get upgraded from a four person room to a twin room which meant way more space in the cabin. The food was delicious and I am sure that everyone went home a few pounds heavier as a result. We had a number of wildlife and physical science specialists on board who took us on zodiacs from the ship to landing sites and also made numerous lectures while on the ship.

My biggest worry for the trip was sea sickness as this was my first time on the open seas, getting tossed around in a fairly small ship. It was touch and go a few times and I thought I was in trouble when I wasn't feeling good the first night while the ocean was still relatively calm, but I managed to go the whole trip without puking. We had fantastic weather for the most part and outran a couple of storms that were bearing down on us. The two days of rough stormy seas we did have were sufficient for turning it into a true adventure. You know something is wrong when you have to hold onto the dinner table for dear life as your neighbors dishes end up crashing on top of yours.

Our first stop after two days at sea were the Falkland Islands, a British colony that was invaded by Argentina in 1982. The people here are fiercely protective of their British heritage and signs of the war are evident in the beaches still closed due to threat of landmines, numerous war memorials and the never ending British flags, t shirts, and bumper stickers proclaiming the British claim to the islands. We spent one day in Stanley, the major settlement on the island. I was more seasick on land that day than any day on the ship. The whole day walking around the sidewalks were swaying and heaving in front of me.

The Falklands were also our first chance to see penguin and albatross colonies. The rockhopper penguins that breed here were so much fun to watch as they hop from rock to rock and waddle up penguin "highways" that link the high up nesting grounds to the ocean. Intermingled in the penguins were albatrosses who create mudded nests for their super fluffy chicks. When you are In the middle of the ocean with no land for hundreds of miles the albatrosses are still there following along behind the ship on the air currents. They spend their lives at sea, returning to land only to breed and nest. Once a young chick is fledged it may not touch land again for 7 years. The landscape of the Falklands is amazing as well and we got to go on a couple of small hikes. It is barren of trees. Nothing but windswept rocky cliffs and some beaches with sand so white they look like they could be a tropical destination if it wasn't so cold and windy.

Another two days at sea and we landed at the South Georgia Islands. These islands were stunning and an amazing addition to going to Antarctica. They are uninhabited except for a few British government officials that oversee these islands and about 30 or so people that live there mostly doing research. The hostile landscape of towering mountain peaks and sweeping glaciers is home to abandoned whaling stations and more wildlife than you can possibly fathom. Stepping onto a beach so full of seals that you literally have to watch where you are walking for fear of stepping on one was quite the experience. I became quite adept at fending off fur seals. They may look cute, but they will growl and charge at you like a dog if your presence is unwelcome.

The islands are prime breeding grounds for King penguins, fur seals and the fat and disgusting elephant seal. The stench of that much wildlife all living together is difficult to describe. The best I could come up with is that fur seals smell like a sweaty hockey dressing room filled with rotting fish and finished off with a hint of musk. Penguins have a more tangy fishy aroma. Despite all of the documentaries and photos you have seen showing otherwise penguins are really dirty. They are constantly covered in poop mixed with mud and remains of regurgitated krill. We were also introduced to the death side of so much wildlife. Beaches were constantly littered with bones and carcasses. I saw birds with their heads completely inside rotting seals tearing out guts.

During one of our outings a lady was filming a king penguin and a seal standing near each other. We saw these interactions all of the time. The seal will bark and lunge and then the penguin will squawk and lunge back. Except in this case the seal must have been really mad because it grabbed the penguin by the head and in three seconds flung it around snapping its neck and detaching its head. Then it just stalked off and let the birds swoop in to finish the penguin off and tear it to shreds. I happened to walk by while the birds were fighting over the penguin and only saw the seal video later. All of our expert guides said they had never seen a seal go after a penguin like that on land before.

These islands are also where Shackleton was finally able to reach help for his men stranded on Elephant Island. We got to hike part of the walk he took over a mountain pass to the whaling station at Stromness. We also had a whiskey toast at his grave site in Grytviken, another abandoned whaling station. If you don't know the Shackleton story look it up. It is an incredible story of survival in some of the harshest conditions you could imagine.

After four days of animal overload we spent another two days at sea heading to Antarctica. We made two extremely rare landings on Elephant island. Normally the weather in this area doesn't allow for landings. We got to set foot on the spot where Shakleton's men survived while waiting for rescue. We also visited the first beach they landed on, but moved from after one miserable night spent there. It is amazing when you see the conditions they endured. There are tiny beach areas and then mountains that shoot straight up covered in glaciers and snow. This was technically our first Antarctic landing, but it didn't really feel like Antarctica until made it further south into the land of snow, ice and ice bergs.

Our next couple of landings were to Antarctic islands. More penguin colonies except this time Adelies and a trip to a Polish research base where about 15 people work. Next we explored some Gentoo penguin colonies and for the first time saw very new chicks being cared for in the rock nests that the adult penguins build. I have enough baby penguin pictures to last a lifetime now. It really is amazing to watch the regurgitation feeding process and the adult penguins sheltering the young from the wind and cold.

Stepping foot on the Antarctic mainland is my favorite moment from the entire trip. We had a gorgeous day with the sun shining and the winds nonexistent. We hiked through the snow up a small ridge to look out over a bay that was glassy calm. Icebergs littered the water and we watched a massive piece of ice calve off a glacier sending waves radiating through the entire bay and setting off a thunderstorm of sound. The crazy thing is that by the time you hear the calving the ice has almost always already fallen. One of the most incredible views I have ever seen. The excitement of truly setting foot on Antarctica was pretty overwhelming. It's a day that is permanently etched in the memorable moments file of my brain.

That day we also spent a cold night camping on a tiny island just off the mainland. It was a mostly sleepless night listening to the wind howl and glaciers calve. The sun never really truly set. I think it went to dusk around 3am and by 4am it was already getting light out again.

Even just being on the ship maneuvering through channels filled with giant floating icebergs and glaciers sweeping down on either side was exciting. One iceberg we passed was over 100m long. Cruising on a zodiac up close to the bergs was even more exciting.

Our last day in Antarctica was unfortunately ruined by a nasty storm. That meant missing the chance to take a swim in the ocean and hike on some volcanoes. It was a crappy way to end, but all part of the deal spending time in such an unforgiving environment.

Tomorrow my journey continues on an 18 hour bus ride into the heart of Patagonia where the hiking is plentiful and I can get some much needed exercise. I will report out again in a few days.