Cape Horn, South America.
I have just finished crossing the drake back to South America. It was a much bumpier ride than on the way over, but it's turns out I'm secretly part viking because I didn't take any medication and I didn't get sick. Does the quanine in tonic water keep away seasickness in addition to malaria? I conducted preliminary research.
The drake on the return was rough, and after days of getting on and off the ship, it was a harder to just sit on the ship without doing anything. Yesterday (2/15) I attended an lecture on sailor supersticions, had some of my good photographs critiqued by Jay, the NatGeo photographer, hung out with astronaut Bill Readdy (who incidentally loves my nephew), watched Madagascar, and played lots of board games.
Yesterday , my nephew and I went outside to the bow after dinner to "ride the waves." He did more of the photography and I did more of the bow riding. There were awesome waves, but of course not while I was out there...the ship bobbed alot, but I didn't get too wet.
Last night we were warned that when we hit the continental shelf it would get a bit bumpy. That was the understatement of the year. I didn't go to bed until late, and just when I was falling asleep, the ship started going wild. I could barely stay in bed. A waterbottle fell off the shelf (which has a rail), it was clanging aroudn the room, I got up to retrieve it, but it was so difficult to stand up, I almost crawled to retrieve it. I finally did fall asleep (after being in bed for hours) and when I woke up this morning, they announced it was so rough and choppy they actually diverted course (which is prob when I fell asleep).
This morning (2/16) I awoke just off of Cape Horn (roughest water in world + most shipwrecks ever) to a beautiful blue sky with land in the distance. Magnificent birds have returned to our ship as we slowly make our way to the Beagle Channel to return to Ushuaia. In fact, there are a few albatross just outside of my window as I type.
It has been a fabulous trip. Antarctica is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined; pictures just don't do it justice. But I also witnessed a fragile ecosystem, and saw birds and penguins struggling to adapt as their climate changes rapidly. If I had to pick one day that just blew the rest out of the water, it was probably cruising through the Weddell Sea, seeing the tabular bergs, their blue hue, and their reflections in clear blue water, the whales, and of course - my polar plunge. By contrast, the day at Dorian was really heartbreaking, watching the baby Gentoos struggle in the unnatural freezing rain.
Showing posts with label Weddel Sea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weddel Sea. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Polar Plunge
Weddel Sea, Eastern Side of Antarctic Peninsula
I took a polar plunge (2/12) and now i'm a polar bear, or penguin, depending on who you ask. Saturday the ship landed at Brown Bluff, in the Artic Channel, where ppl got of to walk on a glacier, take a nice walk with 2 kinds of penguins, and see leopard seals. Some were fortunate enough to see a leopard seal eat a penguin (penguin not so fortunate).
The afternoon was absolutely fantastic. We cruised through the Weddel Sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic Pensinsula. There are thousands of "tabular icebergs," essentially huge table like icebergs that are enormous, many lengths of the ship and double the height. It was a bright, sunny, and clear day for the Antarctic and you could see the glorious blue base of each giant iceberg, the bases often far larger and certainly more detailed and intricate than what floats above the sea. Our captain took us right up to one of these giant icebergs and our bow touched it.
We also got to follow 3 separate pairs of whales - 1 Minke Whale pair and 2 Humpback Whale pairs. Awesome. Most of the time only their blowholes are out and they kind of lurk just beneath the surface. But there would be good chunks of time where they would come out and play look at our ship, and swim in tandem. Because the water was so clear you could even see them swim beneath the water. Occasionally they would come out of the water so they could flap their back tail and do a deep dive for food. Really awesome sight to see. Basically the weather was so cooperative and the scenery could not have been better.
Lisa, our fearless leader, announced that at 430 anyone who wanted to, could take a polar plunge off the side of the ship. About 20 of us idiots decided to. It was amazing. So refreshing. I stepped off the side of a dingy tied to the boat and jumped. My initial reaction was not about how cold the water was, but how salty! Then I thought it was cold. I quickly climed up a ladder, back into the dingy where Lisa gave me a towel and then scurried into the hull of the ship. Here's where the insanity part comes into play: i went again. This time there were only 5 of us who were crazy enough to do this. It was colder the second time around. Basically, you lose your first breath, but then it's all fine and you just get out. After the second plunge, we raced to the sauna to warm back up. Only my toes were cold after the second plunge...but they were very cold. Good times. If I get another chance, I would do it all again.
As soon as someone gives me a picture of my plunge, I'll post it here. Ditto for the tabular bergs and whales.
I took a polar plunge (2/12) and now i'm a polar bear, or penguin, depending on who you ask. Saturday the ship landed at Brown Bluff, in the Artic Channel, where ppl got of to walk on a glacier, take a nice walk with 2 kinds of penguins, and see leopard seals. Some were fortunate enough to see a leopard seal eat a penguin (penguin not so fortunate).
The afternoon was absolutely fantastic. We cruised through the Weddel Sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic Pensinsula. There are thousands of "tabular icebergs," essentially huge table like icebergs that are enormous, many lengths of the ship and double the height. It was a bright, sunny, and clear day for the Antarctic and you could see the glorious blue base of each giant iceberg, the bases often far larger and certainly more detailed and intricate than what floats above the sea. Our captain took us right up to one of these giant icebergs and our bow touched it.
We also got to follow 3 separate pairs of whales - 1 Minke Whale pair and 2 Humpback Whale pairs. Awesome. Most of the time only their blowholes are out and they kind of lurk just beneath the surface. But there would be good chunks of time where they would come out and play look at our ship, and swim in tandem. Because the water was so clear you could even see them swim beneath the water. Occasionally they would come out of the water so they could flap their back tail and do a deep dive for food. Really awesome sight to see. Basically the weather was so cooperative and the scenery could not have been better.
Lisa, our fearless leader, announced that at 430 anyone who wanted to, could take a polar plunge off the side of the ship. About 20 of us idiots decided to. It was amazing. So refreshing. I stepped off the side of a dingy tied to the boat and jumped. My initial reaction was not about how cold the water was, but how salty! Then I thought it was cold. I quickly climed up a ladder, back into the dingy where Lisa gave me a towel and then scurried into the hull of the ship. Here's where the insanity part comes into play: i went again. This time there were only 5 of us who were crazy enough to do this. It was colder the second time around. Basically, you lose your first breath, but then it's all fine and you just get out. After the second plunge, we raced to the sauna to warm back up. Only my toes were cold after the second plunge...but they were very cold. Good times. If I get another chance, I would do it all again.
As soon as someone gives me a picture of my plunge, I'll post it here. Ditto for the tabular bergs and whales.
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