DAY FOUR (Part 1) - 02 16 2013 - Andvord Bay (64°50’S 62°33’W)

We woke up the next morning having entered Andvord Bay, deep in the Antarctic Peninsula. The Bay is located at the following coordinates 64°50’S 62°33’W. The Bay is quite stunning, surrounded by mountains and alpine glaciers.  The mountains rose up sharply on either side of our ship before disappearing in the fog that was gently floating above.  The gloominess made it difficult to photograph.  Hopefully, the pictures below can give you an idea of the enormity and breadth of the bay.

The bay itself was filled with icebergs.  This was our first real iceberg sighting.  Needless to say, it was amazing.  The icebergs came in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors.  I'm sure you've heard the saying "that's just the tip of the iceberg."  This saying comes from the fact that the icebergs that we see on the surface typically only show 10% of their entire area.  The remaining 90% is underwater!  The largest icebergs are tracked by the U.S. National Ice Center.  Click here to see what they are currently tracking.

The color of the icebergs is also amazing, some being white, grey or even blue.  The color is a result of the way in which the iceberg captures and diffuses light.  Some icebergs, created from older glaciers, have been under enormous pressure for eons.  This compression eliminates air and reflective surfaces within the ice.  So when the light hits these older icebergs, the longer visible wavelengths of light (red or green) are absorbed due to the lack of reflective surface.  The blue wavelengths are able to escape, thereby turning the iceberg "blue".  I'm sure the process is much much more complicated...

We also got a glimpse of our first Minke Whale!  It surfaced just a few yards from the ship, it's large back surfacing for a few seconds before sinking beneath the frigid waters. It continued to pop up here and there before we lost track of it.

Our First Glimpse of a Minke Whale

Minke Whales are the smallest and most abundant of the baleen whales.  Generally, they grow to about 25 - 30 feet and weigh 6 -7 tons.  We learned in one of the classes aboard the ship that the baleen is a filter system inside of the whale's mouth.  It looks like the teeth of a comb.  When the whale feeds, it opens it's mouth underwater to take in Krill (it's primary food source).  It then pushes the water out, but the baleen keeps the Krill inside it's mouth.  FYI - Krill is somewhat similar to shrimp and is a food source of a wide variety of antarctic wildlife, including whales, seals and penguins.  

At the end of Andvord Bay lay our destination, Neko Harbour.  The ship anchored a few hundred yards from shore and we began gathering all of our stuff to take ashore.

DAY THREE - 02 15 2013 - HALF MOON ISLAND (62° 34' S 59° 52' W)

We are traveling through the last leg of the Drake Passage. The trip so far has been surprisingly smooth. The Captain indicated that we were quite lucky in this regard. After breakfast, we attended a mandatory IAATO briefing held by our expedition leader, Karin Strand. "IAATO" stands for the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. The briefing is required under IAATO protocols, the Antarctic Treaty regulations and Norwegian law. Karin indicated that Antarctica is governed by a treaty that is currently signed by 40 countries. No one country can claim Antarctica as their own. We reviewed the guidelines regarding excursions ashore.

Our lunches and dinners are primarily buffet style. The food is pretty good and consists of a variety of meat, fish, poultry and vegetarian items. The chef even made Indian food for my parents at their request. Overall, the staff has been fantastic. After lunch, we reached our first landing site, HALF MOON ISLAND!
Upon entering the area around Half Moon Island, we all ran outside to take pictures of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. It was amazing how incredibly huge they were. It is quite awe inspiring.



Taking a picture of people
taking pictures

Mountains surrounding Half Moon Bay

Ice Shelf

For those of you interested in following us via coordinates, Half Moon Island is located at 62° 34' S 59° 52' W.  The island is approx. 1.2 miles long and sits in the shadows of the surrounding mountains and glaciers of nearby Livingston Island. 

The island is home to a large Chinstrap Penguin rookery (i.e. breeding grounds).  In addition,  the island houses the Teniente Camara station which is an Argentinian research facility.  It has been sporadically staffed in the last few years due to the downturn in the economy in Argentina.  After climbing a short hill, yo u have magnificent views of Livingston Island.  Humpback whales have also been reported to frequent the area.  It wouldn't be unusual to sport a humpback whale breaching in the water between the two islands.

Once the ship was anchored, we got the call to come to Deck 2 for the shore landing.  Getting ready was a bit of an ordeal as we had to put on our inner-layer of thermal underwear (tops and bottoms), fleece pants, fleece shirt, waterproof outer-layer of pants and our blue water/wind proof jackets.  In addition, we had to put on our muck boots, our life jackets, inner and outer gloves, hats and balaclava.  Finally, I packed my camera bag and placed it in the waterproof bag.  It took a good 30 minutes just to get all of our gear on.  Hopefully practice makes perfect and we can get our gear on in less time...

My mom in the water coming ashore

Once we got our gear on, we jumped into the modified Zodiacs and headed to Half Moon Island.  As we approached the shore, we jumped off the Zodiacs into the water and waded to shore (aka a "wet landing".)  Lucky for us, the muckboots and the waterproof pants were true to form and they didn't let in a single drop of water.

Ready for our hike!

As soon as we landed, we spotted our first Chinstrap Penguin.  They looked like tiny little soldiers.  The way they walked on land was so awkward as if they were constantly off balance.  It was cute. 

The most surprising thing about the penguins is how dirty they get.  It's not the nice white and black little guys we are used to seeing.  Most of the penguins were covered in a combination of mud and poop (by the smell, mostly poop), especially in the rookeries where they cared for their young.  The only time they were clean was when they popped out of the ocean after a nice swim.  As we walked around, we realized how handy the muck books were while walking through the mud and stuff. 

A flock of Chinstrap Penguins

The Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis Antarcticus) derives its name from the narrow black band under their heads which makes it appear as if they are wearing black helmets, making them one of the most recognizable types of penguin. Their diet consists of krill, shrimp & fish, for which they swim up to 50 miles offshore daily. The Chinstrap Penguin is able to withstand swimming in freezing waters due to its tightly packed feathers, which provide a waterproof coat.  Thick blubber deposits also provide insulation and blood vessels in the flippers and legs to save heat. 

Wearing a helmet

Puneet shooting a Chinstrap (with his camera)

Can I fly?

We learned that the Chinstrap Penguins are among the most numerous penguins in Antarctica.  There is an estimated 8 - 15 million located in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Peninsula.  They can also be found on large icebergs in the open ocean.  The colony we saw had approximately 3,500 Chinstrap Penguins.

Brown Skua - predator of penguins

The natural predator of Chinstrap Penguins is the Leopard Seal and the Brown Skua (left).  We saw  a Brown Skua gnawing on a Chinstrap Penguins or at least what used to be one (below).  The brown Skua (stecorarius Antarcticus) is a large seabird that breeds in the sub-antarctic.  Generally, it is 20-25 inches in length, 50-63 inches in wingspan and has a body mass of 2.6 - 4.7 pounds.  

Brown Skua picking at the carcass of a penguin (gross!)

We also had the privilege of seeing an Elephant Seal near the landing area (left)  It was just lying around and relaxing.  Turns out there was quite a few seals that day.  We also saw some Fur Seals hanging about (right)

We were instructed to not go closer than 5 meters to the Fur Seals as they will charge you. I got a bit too close to one, he definitely noticed and reared his head.  If he was to charge, I was supposed to make loud noises, clap my hands and take a few steps forward.  I was surprised to find out that the seals can run faster than us and would likely bite if we didn't stand our ground.  Luckily, we didn't have to test out that theory...




We spent 1.5 hours at this landing site walking around and taking pictures of the penguins.  The weather was not very cooperative as it rained throughout the time we spent on Half Moon Island.  As a result, a planned hike to the Teniente Camara Station was cancelled.  After we were done, we headed back to the ship.

Yes, that's a camera on my head

The Fram

The day ended with a Fashion Show put on by the expedition team.  Although it all looked glamorous... it also was very expensive.  Luckily, we packed everything we needed.

We knew we had a LONG DAY tomorrow, so we hit the hay. Sue and I weren't sure whether the rocking of the boat or us simply being exhausted that had us sleeping in minutes. Probably both.

DAY TWO - 02 14 2013 - The Drake Passage

We woke up today travelling through the dreaded Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.  The Drake Passage is approximately 500 miles between the continents and it is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world.   It can be the roughest waters in the world with 10 - 20 foot swells. Experienced sailors consider it an accomplishment to travel through the Drake Passage. Although we all expected to get sea sick (despite taking Dramamine), Sue was particularly worried because she gets motion sickness very easily. In fact, I had to practically drag her on this trip. 

Map of the Drake Passage

Every once in awhile the ocean calms down, making the Drake Passage easier to traverse. This is called the "Drake Lake" effect. Sue's payers must have come true, because we sailed through the Drake Passage with only minor turbulence.  In fact, we rather enjoyed the Drake Passage as it provided us with time to learn about Antarctica and get to know our fellow passengers.
If you want to see how bad the Drake Passage can be then click HERE

Not so choppy waters

Still no choppy waters... the Drake Lake!

One of the mandatory activities was to take preventive measures to ensure that we didn't bring any invasive species into Antarctica. This required us to vacuum all our backpacks and outdoor clothing (jackets, pants, gloves, hats, etc.)

Vacuuming any foreign species 

We also attended many classes during the day, including photography classes, a biodiversity class, and classes on penguins and whales.

We also learned of the various currents and convergences of the oceans which helps create and sustain the abundant wildlife in Antarctica.  Apparently, warmer waters of the north meet the colder, denser, less saline waters of the south and as the colder water sinks beneath the warmer, a mixing occurs that brings nutrients to the surface.  This is called the "Antarctic Convergence".  Found between 40 degrees S and 60 degrees S, the convergence is an ever changing frontier. It is the biological limit of the Antarctic ecosystem and anywhere south of the convergence is known as the Antarctic Ocean. While there is often a low fog in the area and an increase in wildlife, other than using a thermometer, there is no way to know when you are crossing it; the seas do not get rougher and the water colour does not change. The waters of Antarctica circle the continent in the world's biggest ocean current at an estimated rate of 150 million cubic meters per second (600 times that of the Amazon River). Once carried far into the northern oceans, the dense polar water has a cooling effect on tropical and temperate waters and is important to the ocean's balance.

 
During our voyage, we had some "companions" travel with us across the Drake Passage. There were quite a few birds that traveled with the ship. Of particular interest to me was the Wandering Albatross.  Wandering is the best word to describe these birds as they spend most of their life in flight, landing only to breed and feed.  In fact, one bird was recorded travelling over 6000km in twelve days.  The Wandering Albatross has the longest wingspan of any living bird, ranging from 8ft to 12 ft across!  As a result, it can remain in the air without beating its wings for a number of hours.   Trying to take pictures of these magnificent birds while they circled our ship in the Drake Passage, with a zoom lens was difficult.  Here are a few shots that I hope you'll enjoy:

Albatross following the ship

 As you can see, the wingspan on these birds is enormous. Generally, they would glide alongside the ship for sometime before careening off for a bit.  Sure enough, they would be back after a few minutes.  This is simply a sampling of the many pictures I took of the Wandering Albatross.  Of course, more often than not the pictures came out blurry.

 After a long day, we got to relax and have a nice dinner.  We went to bed early as we knew we had a big day ahead of us, especially since we were going to have our first landing to visit with penguins!

DAY ONE - 02 13 2013 - Preparing to Embark

Our trip from the port in Ushuaia could not have started better - with sunny a sky, nice clouds and no wind.  We are hoping that the Drake Passage is this kind to us!

The fire drill. Yikes!

Day One was fairly uneventful.  We didn't board the ship until 16:00 hours (or 4:00 pm).  Apparently, they only use military time aboard the Fram.  We received an itinerary as soon as we got settled into our rooms. Today, all that was planned for us was a fire drill, an informal dinner buffet and a welcome meeting.  The rest of the time we could do with as we please.  We discovered that the ship had a gym, Internet access (via satellite), a few lounge areas, a bar, a ping pong table (should be interesting) and lots of places to go outside to view the scenery.  We also received our wind and waterproof jackets for the various excursions and tried on our muck boots for the wet landings (we'll talk about those later). 

Lounging in the lounge with our
cool new jackets!

During the welcome meeting, we were introduced to the ship's captain, Arild Harvik and his officers.  We were also introduced to our expedition and science team who would, during our first two days traversing the dreaded Drake Passage, present various topics and lectures regarding Antarctica.  They will also be leading us on all of the shore landings. Our expedition and science team came from various countries and consisted of the following incredible people:

1. Karin Strand of Norway, Expedition Leader. 
2. Corinna Skindo of Norway, Assistant Expedition Leader. 
3. Frederike Bronny of Germany, Geo Sciences and Biology.  Frederike is an academically qualified geographer. 
4. Andrew Wenzel of Canada, Naturalist and Photography, specializing in whales. 
5. Tomas Zadrozny of Poland, Antarctic Biologist.  Tomas also discovered a new island and channel in Antarctica in February 2003.
6. Manuel Marin of Chile, Ornithologist, specializing in neotropical birds.
7. Francis Wiese of USA (Alaska), Marine Ecologist.  Francis is also the Science Director for the North Pacific Research Board where he designs and implements marine ecosystems and climate change related research studies in the North Pacific, Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
8. Rudolf Thomann of Germany, Botanist.
9. Nick Cobbing of Norway (formerly UK), photographer, specializing in arctic photography.  Nick has been published in National Geographic, Mare and Science Illustrated. He is best known for photo stories about glaciers, sea ice and ocean acidification.  He has also contributed to the BBC Frozen Planet series.  You can see some of his work at www.nickcobbing.co.uk
10. Julia Douglas of USA (Hawaii), student majoring in Botany and Literature.

After meeting our expedition and science team, we were split into 7 groups of 32.  Our group is GROUP 3.  It is a very interesting group with people from USA, Sweden, Holland, and Australia.  During our flight to Ushuaia, we met a journalist who was also going on our trip to Antarctica, Matthijs Meeuwsen.  Matthijs is a freelance journalist from Holland who was sent on this adventure to write an article.  We also met Daniel Andreas Ohlsson of Sweden, who is a photo-journalist.  He is also here on an assignment, having just returned from the North Pole! We were glad to see that they are both in our group.

After the meeting, we socialized with the expedition team and other guests before going to bed.  We knew that when we woke up the next morning we would be in the dreaded Drake Passage heading to Antarctica.