Antarticia Expedition

Antarctica is described as the coldest, windiest, driest and highest continent in the world but also one of the most picturesque. Antarctica is approximately twice the size of Australia and records temperature of up to -50 degrees C. The continent consists of mountains of ice and snow measuring approximately 7200 feet in thickness. If all the ice and snow would melt in Antarctica the level of the ocean would increase approximately 200 ft.

Our expedition began with a flight from Orlando to Miami and then to Buenos Aires. It was cold when we left Florida and hot and humid when we arrived in Buenos Aires. The cruise package included a 2 day pre cruise stay at the Sheraton downtown on the water, a beautiful setting. During the 2 day stay we took a city tour with stops at the "Pink Palace", the seat of government for the country. The capital building is coated with pink paint reminiscent of the way Buenos Aires looked in the 19th century when building were painted with cattle blood and limestone to preserve the exterior of the building. The smell had to be horrible in the summertime. Another of the many stops was at the tomb of Evita Peron, a national hero in Argentina and the story line for the Stage play "Don't Cry for me Argentina."
Day 2 we took a tour to visit a Gaucho Ranch in the country where we able to ride horses or take buggy rides. The tour included a sumptuous lunch consisting of barbecued chicken, beef, pork and blood sausage along with salad and good Argentinean wine. After the wonderful lunch they presented a show with Tango dancers and a burello show. The next presentation was of Gaucho Cowboys showing their skills at herding cattle and followed by skilled cowboys riding and capturing a small ring mounted on a stand with a 12" rod.
After 2 days in Buenos Aires we flew by chartered 747 to Ushuaia, Argentina to board our cruise ship "Marco Polo." The Marco Polo is a ship built in East German in the
60's for the Soviet Union as a cruise ship to sail in their ice laden waters. After the fall of the Soviet Union the ship was stored and later was purchased by a cruise line (Orient) and upgraded. The ship is small, 22, 000 tons, and is noted for its excellent service and food. Unfortunately the ship has been sold and will not be sailing under the Orient flag.
We spent the first night and day crossing The Drake Passage. During the day a series of seminars were given by noted lecturers on the following topics; "Ecology of Antarctica, Seabirds of the Southern Ocean, Antarctica Sea Mammals, and The History of Exploration of the Antarctica Peninsula. As you can see our sea day was very busy.
Day 4 we arrived in the morning at Deception Island which is a horseshoe shaped volcanic island about 8miles in diameter. The island was formed by a volcano and is still considered alive. The volcano erupted in 1967 and 1969 destroying a British and Chilean research station. The last eruption was in 1970 and damaged some remaining whaling stations. The island is home to many birds and chin strap penguins. The yellow, black, and red volcanic rocks form sheer cliffs and are snow capped for a most spectacular sight.
After leaving Deception island we sailed for Cuverville Island arriving there in the late afternoon. During the day lectures were given on The Geology of Antarctica and The Penguins of Antarctica. After arriving at Cuverville Island, the Zodiacs were placed in the water and each passenger had an opportunity to cruise around the island.
Culverville island is very small but is striking for its dramatic cliffs rising from the water. This island is the home to a large number of Antarctic birds and also the home to the largest colony of Gentoo penguins, around 5,000 pairs. During our cruise around the island we were able to see the many penguins, in and out of the water. A penguin is very agile in the water and can swim at speeds of up to 8 miles per hour. We also saw leopard seals up close and personal as one swan along side the zodiac. During the previous zodiac cruise one of the leopard seals attack the Zodiac and bit the rubber portion of the boat damaging the exterior. We were also able to cruise very close to some very large icebergs.

Day 5 we stopped at Paradise Harbor noted for its snow covered peaks and surrounding glaciers mirrored in the quiet waters where we did a zodiac landing. Paradise Harbor was first explored by The Belgian Antarctic Expedition in 1897-99. This site is presently the home to the Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalea Videla Station. This site is manned during the summer by Chilean research personnel. The island is the home to Gentoo penguins and Kelp Gulls and Skuas. The Skua is an enemy of penguins. They work in pairs to lure a penguin off its nest and the other Skua swoops in and picks up a penguin egg to eat or picks up the young hatch penguin to eat. This happened to us while we were on the island, a skua kill a young penguin and then proceeded to eat it beside the path we walked on. Not a very pleasant site, but that is the environment of the wild. We were able to walk within 2 feet of penguins and they were not afraid of us. One of the first things you are aware of is the smell of penguin droppings call guva. You can't help stepping in it. As we left the island the staff from the ship scrubbed our boots before we entered the zodiacs for our return trip to the ship.
Day 6 we stopped at Port Lockroy on the west side of Wiencke Island. This island is noted for its large population of whales. It is estimated that over 3000 great whales were cut up for their oil. In 1944 Britian's Royal Navy built a string of look out posts to provide meteorological information and to keep a watch for German ships(none came). We landed in our zodiac at Jougla Point where we observed another rookery of Gentoo penguins estimated at over 2200 pairs. We also observed a set of whale bones which were quite large. Eggs had begun to hatch and we saw many young hatchlings. Most penguins produce one egg, however a few produce 2 eggs and we seen several nest with 2 young hatchlings. The bay is surrounded by 80 to 100 ft ice cliffs which were very picturesque.
After everyone was aboard we started to sail to the Lemaire Channel noted for its sheer icy cliffs and snow capped mountains. During our approach to the channel we passed some large icebergs. During the sailing to the channel we also observed number of Aero (killer) whales and a number of sperm whales. However as we approached the channel the captain made an announcement because of the amount of icebergs in the channel we would not be able to sail into the channel. This marked our closest point to the South Pole at 93 miles from the South Pole.
We then sailed to Half Moon Island arriving the next day and our final Zodiac landing. The first recorded visit to Half Moon Island was in 1820 by the famous American sealer Nathaniel Palmer. This island was a haven for sealers and many thousand of Antarctic Fur Seals were killed in this area. In 1956 the Argentina government built a research center on this island. Half Moon Island offered us the opportunity to see the "Chinstrap Penguin" The Chinstrap penguin differs from the Gentoo in that its breast is completely white up to its beak, however there is a little strip of black under its chin like a strap holding on a hat and therefore the name chinstrap. The chinstrap penguin is much nosier than the Gentoo Penguins we observed at the other islands. The population of chinstrap penguins on this island is over 3400 pairs. It was interesting to note all the moss that was growing on this island.
Some notes about penguins that are of interest.
When penguins mate they remain together till the young penguin can take care of itself. When one of the penguins leaves the nest to feed and gather food for the baby penguin, the other penguin remains with the nest to protect the young from vulture birds such as the skua. The adult penguin gathers food from the ocean such as fish and krill and stores it in a sack. When it returns to the nest it regurgitates the food from the sack through its beak and into the mouth of the young penguin. If one of the mate abandons the nest the young penguin will die. Some penguin pairs remain together for years.
The penguin eggs take about 30 days to hatch and from baby penguin to almost full grown takes about 90 days, a phenomenal growth rate. But they must grow up fast to survive the harsh winter. The penguins main enemies after they are grown are killer whales and leopard seals.
After leaving Half Moon Island it was time to head back to Ushuaia, Argentina via the Drake Passage toward teh West which allows us to sail around the Cape of Good Horn. Usually teh waters are very rough, however we were fortunate to have faily smooth sailing. Old folk lure from the pirates says you can wear an ear ring in your left ear after sailing around the Cape. However I did not add an ear ring to my left ear.
Arriving back in Ushuaia we were all ready to fly back to Buenos Aires when we found out there was a strike at the airport and our flight could not leave. The strike was finally settled and we were able to fly out arriving too late to catch our flight back to the US. The cruise line reserved a room for us at the Sheraton at there expense until 2 days later when they could schedule our flight back to the US.

This cruise is definitely a cruise of a lifetime. The scenery, wildlife, galciers were spectactular. I would highly reccommend this cruise, however you must be physically fit. Climbing in and out of the zodiacs is not easy.