Antarctica

One of the most intriguing places we went was to the Antarctic Penninsula and many islands.  It was so beautiful and pristine and so far south!  We got to about 65.6 Longitude.  Not quite to the Antarctic Circle.  The sea ice changed our plans in a few places, so we had to choose different routes.  Our captain and the ice pilot were very careful to keep us safe.  We were not allowed to get off the ship in the Antarctic because there were too many passengers, and they have to outfit the people with special boots and clothing, who get off the small ships so not to contaminate anything.  There are lots of regulations for those who go to the Antarctic.  Our ship had to have special adaptations so it can burn a light grade of diesel instead of the normal heavy grade.  Had to drain the heavy and put in the light while in Montevideo.  We saw hundreds of whales, 1000's of penguins, a few leopard seals, in the Antarctic.  Saw dolphins in other places.  The whales were especially active--mostly humpback and some orcas.  It was fun to see the penguins swimming and playing in the water too.  We had an "expedition team" on board which included David Wilson and Chris Wilson who are brothers and their great uncle was Edward (Ted) Wilson who was an explorer in the Antarctic with Scott and Shackelton.  Ted went on at least 3 expeditions.  He was one who found the Emperor penguin eggs which are still admired in the British Museum.  He died along with Robert Scott and others on the last trip to the South Pole and they discovered that Amundsen from Norway had gotten to the South Pole about 28 days before Scott's group did.  David and Chris gave a lot of entertaining talks about the history of the Antarctic and the explorers, etc.  Very interesting.  Chris was also very knowledgeable  on birds and animals in all the places we were going.  Another man Dave Bresnaham was also part of the team.  He used to work with the US government and was one who went to Antartica to make sure the Antartic Treaty was being followed by all who used the area for research, etc.  He had some interesting stories to tell as well.  He is retired now, but these gentlemen often travel with Holland America cruises as part of the informative entertainment.  We really appreciated listening to them.   One day when we were near the USA Palmer Research Station, about 16 of their researchers and workers came in zodiacs and boarded our ship for the day.  They had a meeting with the passengers and answered lots of questions.  They also enjoyed eating on our ship and getting fresh fruit and veggies, a treat for them.  The USA has 3 research stations.  Palmer is the smallest.  We were in the Antarctic duirng the longest days of the year, so it was basically light 24/7.  We would be out taking photos after midnight.  We loved our captain also.  He was wonderful about keeping the passengers fully informed about how things were going and when we needed to take a slight detour to get to calmer waters, etc.  He was also determined that there would be no illness outbreaks on his ship.  So he constantly stressed the importance of washing hands and using the sanitizing machines that were located everywhere.  It worked, we did not get sick.   It is so quiet and peaceful and awesome and clean in the Antarctic.  We spent about 4 days cruising around those islands and penninsula, etc.  We were also very fortunate not to have rough seas crossing the Drake Passage on the way down which can be extremely rough sometimes where the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans meet in the convergence area around the Antarctic.  On the whole 21 days we had only 3 times when we had some rough seas for a few hours or so.  It was a little difficult to walk about the ship when the swells were up to 27 feet, but it did not feel that bad on a 750 foot ship with stabilziers to help too.  When the waves were high, the swimming pool on the ship was drained and the treadmills in the gym were not available to use, and we were to be very careful if we went out on deck, etc. The temperatures in the Antarctic in the summer time are right around freezing give or take a few degrees.  So it was not extremely cold.  We came home to similar temps.  We thoroughly enjoyed our Antarctic experience.   Enjoy the pictures.