Trips

        Around 4pm we boarded the Corinthian II, a small cruise ship, for our journey to Antarctica.  Our stateroom is large and nice.  We met our expedition crew while enjoying a "welcome drink" of champagne.  This was followed by the embarkation briefing and mandatory safety drill and then we unpacked and "Drake Proofed" our cabin (nothing left out to fly around the room). 

        We left the port at about 6 PM, exited the bay, and entered the 67-mile long Beagle Channel with Argentina to our north and several Chilean islands to the south.  By midnight we should be in the rough seas of the Drake Passage.  Our beds are equipped with "seat belts" to prevent us from rolling out if it gets really rough. We are so far south that it is light out almost all night.
        Dinner was a pleasant five-course meal.  Marge had sea bass and I had chicken Parmesan.  The presentation of each course was typical for cruise ship dining. 

Pictures marked with an * were taken by members of the Corinthian II Expedition Staff.

Embarking the MV Corinthian II*	Sailing away from Ushuaia
Sailing away from Ushuaia	Reeling in the lines
Corinthian II heading into the Beagle Channel	Lighthouse
Mon., 12/24/12 - Christmas Eve - The Drake Passage         We made it to all three meals today but spent most of the day supine on our beds with "seat belts" loosely around us.  The ship was rocking and rolling but we are told that this is a "mild to moderate" Drake - the waves are only ten feet high. The waves could be 50 feet high, as sometimes happens here in the Drake Passage - we are grateful they aren't!         The Pacific meets the Atlantic and tonight we will also enter the Antarctic Convergence, where cold Antarctic water meets the warmer, more saline Atlantic and Pacific oceans.         We skipped the two morning lectures, preferring to lie down. We both are wearing Scopolamine patches and seasickness bracelets, but the ship’s motion is not to be ignored.  It is about 500 miles across the Drake and it took us about 40 hours to make the crossing.        At 11:15 we went to the lounge to celebrate Christmas Eve.  They served traditional Argentine holiday bread and warm cider.
Nautical charts showing our passage from Ushuaia to Antarctica*
Nautical charts showing our passage - more detail of the southern part of the trip*
Tues., 12/25/12 - Merry Christmas in The Drake Passage         After breakfast we attended two briefings.  The first was Antarctic Visitor Guidelines, required by the IAATO (International Assoc. of Antarctic Tour Operators).  We are not to chew gum, carry any food, allow tissues to litter, etc.  Then we were instructed how to put on the zodiac lifejackets (and we all practiced) and how to get in and out of the zodiacs.          Next we brought out our Wellington boots to be sterilized in antibacterial and virus solutions. Then we stored them in our small locker on the aft deck.  Marge and I also had our knapsacks vacuumed to prevent any contamination to be taken to shore.  I also had my hiking poles sterilized.         At 4:30 our Christmas present arrived - we could see land! - the South Shetland Islands, just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. We also saw several whales spouting but none were very near us.          We sailed between Nelson and Robert Islands through the Nelson strait and then northwest up the English Strait between Robert and Livingston islands.
South Shetland Islands - first sight of land	South Shetland Islands - first sight of land
Skuas*	The boots*
Bridge of the Corinthian II	We anchored for the night at Aitcho Island.        We are thankful that the ocean has calmed down and we can be up and around.  Tonight was the Captain's cocktail party and dinner. We had a six-course dinner with a choice of 2 lobster tails, prime rib, or turkey with stuffing.  We are so glad that our nausea has gone away so we could enjoy this meal – that was the reason they didn’t have the Captain’s dinner until the third night out.
Captain's Dinner aboard the Corinthian II	Captain's Dinner aboard the Corinthian II

Wed., 12/26/12 - South Shetland Islands

           Today we made our first zodiac landing on Aitcho Island.

 

Detail for Aitcho Island and Port Foster in Telephon Bay*
Aitcho Island - first landing - Spectacular!	Corinthian II from Aitcho Island
Zodiac landing on Aitcho Island	Once on shore, we saw thousands of chinstrap and gentoo penguins, many were sitting on their eggs.  Their nests are made of pebbles and the males go around collecting pebbles in their beaks and presenting them to the females like a gift of fine jewelry.  It is so cute to watch!  Sometimes stones are swiped from a neighbor's nest and then the raucous bellowing between two males begins.         Chinstrap penguins are especially cute.  They are smaller than the gentoos, about 30 inches tall and weigh around 11 pounds.  They have a line of black feathers under their "chins."        We were lucky to see one Macaroni penguin near the shore.  They are not usually on Aitcho Island so he was probably lost.  They have a cute topnotch of yellow feathers.        We stood and roamed around watching the penguins do their thing.  I love to watch them walk, hop, fall, and slide on their bellies on the snow to get around on land.  We also could watch many penguins in the water catching krill, which is their entire diet.  Penguins are efficient swimmers and also skip over the surface of the water much like dolphins.  In my opinion, watching penguins is one of the best reasons to come to Antarctica!
Chinstrap penguin	Chinstrap and gentoo penguins
Macaroni penguin (center)*	Macaroni and chinstrap penguins
Chinstrap proudly carring a rock to the nest	Gentoo penguins - an egg can be seen in the center nest -see below
Gentoos on nests
Gentoo - walking is neither easy no graceful	Gentoos
After lunch we sailed into Deception Bay through Neptune's Bellows.  The bay was once a volcanic caldera.  It is eight miles in diameter.  We anchored at the far side in Telephone Bay (named after a sunken ship, not a phone) at Port Foster and rode the zodiacs to a black volcanic sandy beach.        We walked on pebble, sand, and some icy snow to a ridge overlooking a side vent of a volcano.  This area had its last eruption in 1970.  Many of us took the longer steep hike up over a ridge for more magnificent views.	Sailing from Aitchoo Island to Deception Bay through Neptune's Bellows
Hiking up the ridge at Port Foster	Volcanic deposits at Port Foster
Corinthian II at anchor in Telephone Bay at Port Foster	Gentoo penguins
Gentoo penguin contributing to the guano of the area	Ship-shaped iceberg
Back on the ship we were served mochas with Frangelica to warm us up.  It was around 40° with only a light breeze on land.  It was actually quite warm hiking up the ridge and several people shed their red parkas - or at least unzipped a couple layers.        When all four of our OAT passenger groups disembark to the zodiacs, we do so by group and rotate the group order.  We meet in the lounge, put on our final layers, and have someone check the special life vests that are mandatory.  We then proceed six or eight at a time to the outside deck to change into our Wellington boots, and then go down one more deck and step into a zodiac.  When we return, we slosh our boots in a wash and then step into an antibacterial solution so we don't contaminate the next landing site.  The procedure is efficient and one hundred people get on and off the ship rather quickly.  The zodiac trips to shore are usually very short, less than 5 minutes.

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