Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Antarctica! (Pics & very long recap)
The recap is a bit long, so if you're just interested in the pictures, here is a small subset of the pictures (I took around 2500!) from the trip:
Antarctica has been on the edge of my travel radar for a while, since I loved the Arctic (Svalbard) and it would be my 7th and final continent. So over the summer when I saw that G Adventures had some expedition cruises listed for around $5000, I decided to go ahead and book one. The company doesn't charge extra for single travelers if you're willing to share a cabin, so I was originally looking at a spot in a triple in December for $5000. Unfortunately, I hesitated for too long, and it sold out, but I was able to book into a double in early November for $5500 for 13 days.
This was actually the Expedition's (G Adventures' ship) first Antarctic sailing of the season, so everyone on board, including a lot of the staff, was very excited. Going early in the season, the ship wasn't fully booked, which meant we had around 100 passengers, even though the ship can carry 125. This also meant the prices were lower, so we had more younger passengers than usual and plenty of solo travelers. I would guess that on our trip, around 25% of the guests were under 40, and at least a third were traveling solo, creating a very lively and social atmosphere on board! A lot of people had booked in April, when there was a sale for $1000 off (so they paid around $4500), and half a dozen people had booked last minute in Ushuaia, Argentina and paid just $3500!
The first night was spent in a hotel in Ushuaia to give everyone some flexibility in making sure we got to the ship on time. Flights within Argentina are notorious for delays, bumping passengers, and bumping luggage, and even with the one extra day, we had one guest (and two staff members) who had to survive the trip on borrowed clothing, because their bags didn't arrive in time.
Since the whole trip was 13 days, with the one night in Ushuaia we had 11 nights (10 days) actually on the ship. It takes around two days at each end to cross the Drake Passage (generally 36-48 hours depending on conditions), leaving 6 full days in Antarctica.
The ship is very small (less than 4,000 tons) compared to most traditional cruise ships (small cruise ships start around 30,000 tons). We were expecting it to be fairly basic and were surprised by the size of the cabins and the style of the facilities. Meals were served in a proper dining room with wait staff (a buffet for breakfast & lunch and a 3-course sit-down dinner). The lounge was large enough to seat all the guests for lectures and activities, and there was a small library and a bar. Unlike some of the more expensive expedition cruises, there were no cabins with balconies (but every room had at least a porthole) and no hot tub. There was, however, a co-ed sauna attached to the mud room, where you prep for landings and store your gear.
Having been on a few traditional cruises, it was interesting to be able to access a lot more of the ship than I'm used to. You're expected to be observant, watch your step, and hold the railings when necessary, but you're also allowed out on most of the decks, assuming you leave the equipment alone. The ship also has an open bridge policy, so you can visit the bridge any time to watch the operations or look for wildlife (except during critical maneuvers).
Sailing from Ushuaia, we were very lucky to have extremely calm conditions for our southbound crossing of the dreaded Drake Passage. It was a 2 on the Beaufort scale, which was a little disappointing to those of us who wanted the feather in our cap of having "survived" the crossing. The ship was barely rocking, but a few people were still feeling a tinge seasick, since there are no stabilizers like on a traditional cruise ship.
The worst seas we experienced our whole trip were around a 6, and luckily it was in the middle of the night. We woke up when our books and toiletries started falling onto the floor! (On the sailing right after ours, they registered an 8 during their southbound crossing, and the passengers weren't even allowed to leave their cabins because it was too dangerous to be walking around, so they had to have their meals delivered to the rooms!)
The days of the crossing were filled with wildlife and historical lectures by the expedition staff, including the Expedition Leader (who consults with the captain and decides where we will try to go each day given the ice and weather conditions), the bird expert, the marine mammal expert, the geologist, and the historian. The staff also included additional zodiac drivers, a kayak guide, and a camping guide. During the days at sea, it was surprisingly interesting to learn how the sea birds manage to spend most of their lives on the open oceans and to see all the albatross and petrels gliding around the ship.
Thanks to the calm seas, we made very good time and reached the South Shetland Islands just after noon on our second sea day. We had our mandatory safety and environmental briefings, and that afternoon we got to make our first landing! I set foot on land in Antarctica! Huge life goal accomplished!
I also got to cross off item #1 on my Hope-To-See List: Penguins! I was relatively sure this was a safe bet, but it was still a huge relief that I wouldn't be disappointed! Going into this trip, I really didn't do any research about what I'd be seeing or doing, because it all depends on the weather and conditions. This is true for any Antarctic trip, but even more so for us, since we were sailing so early in the season! I didn't want to get my hopes up for anything in particular, because I didn't want to be let down at all. And everyone who shared this attitude was thrilled with our trip!
So from here on out, I offer the disclaimer that this is a recap of our trip. Having read accounts of the two trips after ours, they missed out on some of the highlights from our trip, but they each had their own! If you ever do an expedition to Antarctica, I encourage you to go into it with no expectations. There are dates and itineraries you can choose to better your chances of seeing whales, penguin chicks, tabular icebergs, the Antarctic Circle, whatever, but there are never any guarantees, so getting your hopes up can only lead to disappointment.
The other big job of the Expedition Leader is managing expectations, and she was clearly used to disappointed guests. We had to leave the South Shetlands right away because of a storm, and our second day was particularly windy, so we weren't able to make any landings. When she made an announcement early in the afternoon that conditions weren't looking good, a friend went and asked if it was definitely a no-go. She started to apologize that they had tried whatever they could, but the conditions were just too bad, but our friend stopped her and said, "Oh, we completely understand! We just wanted to know if we could start drinking, since we were planning to wait until after going ashore!" The Expedition Leader was so relieved and thought it was such a great attitude that she actually retold the story the next morning at the staff meeting!
The canceled landings were softened a lot by the rest of the day, because we were sailing at the very northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Almost all expeditions explore the western side of the peninsula, because it's more sheltered. On the east side is the Weddell Sea, which has high winds, a lot of sea ice (the southernmost parts are still frozen even late in the summer), and generally troublesome conditions. But it also has spectacular tabular icebergs!
The ice shelves on the western side of the peninsula stretch out into the ocean as the glaciers flow down from the land, and eventually giant (or "unbelievably massive" in cases like the Larsen B ice shelf in Feb 2002) break off into the water. These create huge, flat icebergs that are found only in Antarctica. The ones we cruised alongside were over 8 stories tall and 10 times the length of our ship! This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, since most expeditions don't visit this area, and according to the staff, only one of their trips last summer got to see them.
Overnight we sailed back around to the western side of the peninsula, and the next morning we woke up to a sea full of ice and a ship covered in snow (thanks to a heavy snowfall over night). We went out on the bow deck to watch the ship sail through the small chunks of frozen sea water (and to enjoy a few snowball fights)! As we got closer to our destination, Danco Island, the captain realized that the landing site was still iced in, so they decided to let us sail into the pack ice to experience the scenery and look for wildlife. Gradually the small pieces of sea ice were replaced with bigger and bigger chunks, but with its strengthened hull, the ship could plow right into the ice until it broke and push it out of the way. However, this only works as long as 10% of the surface is open water, since it needs space to push the ice into (compared to a true icebreaker that breaks through the solid ice from above, rather than from the side). When we reached the solid fast ice, we had to stop and turn back.
Back at the edge of the brash ice (the smallest chunks of sea ice) we loaded into the zodiac landing boats to cruise around for a close-up look at (and taste of) the sea ice as well as some of the beautiful blue icebergs. Yes, ice is blue.
In the afternoon, we managed to do another landing -- this time on the actual Antarctic Peninsula itself. For some people, landing on an island didn't count, so this was a huge highlight for them, since we were landing on the "actual" continent. For the rest of us, it was a chance to admire a beautiful glacier, watch a Gentoo Penguin colony, or just play in the snow!
A lot of people are curious about how landings actually work. It's fairly straightforward in that there are doors on either side of the mudroom (one on each side of the ship), and they position the gangway at one of them. This is basically a metal staircase and small platform that hang from the side of the ship. You walk down the stairs, and the able-bodied seamen on the gangway steady the zodiac and hold your arm as you step in. Then you quickly take your seat, and when the zodiac is loaded with 8-10 people, off you go. On the way to landing sites, the ride can be a bit bumpy (like being in a speedboat on a crowded lake), and sometimes the waves splash into the boat, which is why you need waterproof outer layers, pack covers, etc. When you reach the landing site, they pull up within a few meters of the shore, and one at a time people swing their legs over the side of the zodiac into the water (about mid-calf) and walk the meter or two to the water's edge.
This early in the season, most of the landing sites were still very snowy, and in some places the snow was quite deep, so an advance team usually went through and packed down a path. They also set up flags to indicate where you could walk, since there are restrictions about how close you can get to the wildlife (generally 15 ft, but if a penguin decides to come up to you, it can come as close as it likes). Our shore landings were between 1? and 3? hours, and you were free to spend the time however you liked, returning to the ship whenever you wanted before the "last zodiac" time. The wildlife experts were always around somewhere to answer questions or provide commentary.
We spent our next morning doing a zodiac cruise in Paradise Bay with spectacularly beautiful scenery all around us. The ice structures are all so unique that I can understand why some of the staff say they enjoy the ice even more than the wildlife.
In the afternoon, we hit my #2 Hope-to-See, which was Port Lockroy, a museum and post office run by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. Right after lunch I wrote the Antarctica postcards that I bought in Ushuaia (I figured there would be a better selection and fewer crowds if I purchased them in advance), and at Port Lockroy I bought the stamps to go on them. The Port Lockroy post office is an official government post office and the only place in the world (outside of collectors' shops) where you can buy stamps issued under the British Antarctic Territory. Since the mail has to go out on passing ships, mail sent from Port Lockroy takes "from 3 weeks to 3 months." The post office also sells souvenirs, and has a collection of rooms that are restored to show what the station was like in the 50s.
Since not everyone could fit in the building at once, the Port Lockroy landing was paired with nearby Jougla Point, and zodiacs shuttled passengers between the two, swapping at the halfway point. We saw another Gentoo Penguin colony, a very lazy Weddell Seal, and a few Blue-Eyed Shags. Like at our first landing we saw a few penguin pairs already incubating an egg and some others trying to make one. 
That night we had an outdoor barbecue on the aft deck of the ship before the camping expedition took off for the night. For a small extra fee, you could book an excursion to spend the night on shore (tents and sleeping bags provided), and I was very, very disappointed not to be going with them. Unfortunately my travel agent told me that I had to book the excursion once I joined the tour, which was completely incorrect. Not only did they all have a lot of fun and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was back-dropped by an amazing sunset!
We spent the next morning cruising through the Neumeyer Channel, and I took some solace in missing out on camping, because the weather was clear and the scenery was gorgeous! The campers were up all night (sliding down the hill, playing in the snow, shivering in the cold, and then breaking camp before breakfast), so most of them slept all morning. The decks were quiet and empty, creating a very tranquil place to admire the passing scenery and reflect quietly on the vastness, emptiness, and beauty of this unspoiled wonderland.
Thanks to the clear weather, you could see up to the polar plateau, which leads all the way to the south pole, assuming you could make the steep ascent! Even though the Antarctic peninsula is fairly narrow, the ridge down the middle tops 5000 ft! In the photo below, the plateau is the white field in the background that towers behind the rocky peak closer to shore:
One of the reasons that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic is that much of the continent is actually at quite high altitudes. There are mountains that top 16,000 ft, and the South Pole itself is actually 9300 ft above sea level (though 9000 ft of that is solid ice)!
Lucky for us, summer temperatures around the peninsula are relatively mild, and the daytime temperatures were around 30-35?F. By early December, they're up in the 35-40? range. However, the wind chill is definitely a problem, so a windproof jacket was essential.
Our afternoon landing was at Mikkelson Harbor, where we got to see another Gentoo Penguin colony and an Argentine emergency shelter. Even though we'd seen thousands of Gentoos by this point, the clear weather, dramatic mountain backdrops, and varied terrain meant fantastic photo ops, and everyone found themselves taking even more photos of the penguins.
The next morning we woke up early to watch the ship sail into Deception Island, an active volcano. A small portion of the crater wall collapsed, flooding the caldera, and creating a safe harbor for early whaling vessels. The black sand beach, littered with debris from the abandoned whaling station, looked even more desolate given the blustery weather: overcast skies, high winds, and horizontal snow.
Our spirits were buoyed slightly by a couple of adorable Weddell Seals rolling around and scratching their itches on the rocks.
But this didn't change the fact that in spite of the weather, this was the morning that many of us would be opting to participate in the Polar Plunge. Not your typical day at the beach! After a brisk walk up to see the view from Neptune's Window (the partially collapsed crater wall in the photo above), we returned to the landing site, stripped down to our swimsuits (or underwear for those who opted in at the last minute... or even less for a few others!) and splashed into the water!
Years ago, expeditions used to dig little grottos in the sand above volcanic vents, so the water was more tolerable. Due to potential environmental impacts, this practice is now discouraged. Also, for the most part the thermal vents have shifted further inland. This meant that the water temperature was a brisk 34?F!
Unfortunately, at the encouragement of a male friend to "just dive in" I ended up plunging in when it was still too shallow and came up with a bikini top full of sticky black sand! I ended up braving a second plunge to rinse out as much as I could before putting my clothes on for the zodiac ride back to the ship (where we were met with spiked hot cocoa and the sauna)!
Our afternoon landing was at Half Moon Island, where we had 3? hours to roam around the island, and enjoy the Chinstrap Penguins, Weddell Seals, and a lone Macaroni Penguin that has made the island its home. Even though we'd seen a lot of the wildlife before, this was one of my favorite landings because the site was so big, and there was plenty of time and space to wander with almost no one else around. 
On the morning of our last day before heading north we had hoped to visit a Brazilian research base, but the winds were too strong to lower the zodiacs. Instead we visited a nearby inlet and did a final zodiac cruise near the glacier. We also got the chance to climb out of the zodiac and stand on one of the more stable icebergs!
The afternoon was our final landing at the Polish Arctowski research station. This was very exciting, because going into the trip I didn't think it was possible to visit the research bases. In exchange for a few crates of potatoes and some new and different company, they welcomed us at their base with snacks and hot drinks! They even had a little gift shop, and we stamped our passports with the station's official stamp.
The other highlight of our last landing was a pair of mating elephant seals on the beach! They are enormous! The males are drastically larger than the females and typically weigh 5000-9000 lbs (compare that to walruses, that weigh around 4000 lbs).
Heading north, we had another easy crossing (this time it was a 4 on the Beaufort scale), and everyone was a little disappointed to be heading home. We disembarked early the last morning, and it was a bittersweet day in Ushuaia because we kept bumping into people from our trip (including a lot of the staff who were taking advantage of their few hours in port to make phone calls, send emails, etc). Gradually our group of new friends grew smaller and smaller as people headed off to the airport.
Re: Antarctica! (Pics & very long recap)
Carnaval in Rio!
But I'm seriously considering Greenland next September, based on some of the staff's descriptions.
Green Fashionista Blog Updated 2/25
Planning bio with lots of DIY
Married Bio with For Sale
PHENOMENAL!!!
I love how you wrote about 'expectations' - I think so many travellers in general are disappointed because they have such terrible or unrealistic expectations of things.
And SO cool you have done all the continents
Wow, that's quite a post! Thanks for taking the time to share all that. What an amazing experience--I'm both impressed and jealous!
Hmm, I might have to make use of our Brazilian visas and go back to Rio for Carnaval sometime in the next ten years
Read My Travel Blog
Visit my ETSY Shop - C'est La Vie Fine Art Photography
Read My Health Blog
Unfortunately, my blog was hacked recently, and it took a while to patch the security issues, so it's terribly out of date. I plan to set up a new travel-specific blog in the near future, where I will write a series of Antarctica posts, including more logistical details (gear suggestions, etc). I can post links when they're up if you'd like.
I went with G Adventures -- a Canadian tour company that used to be called "GAP Adventures" until the clothing company sued them, and they figured it would be easier to change the name than deal with the legal battle. Here's the link to the info on their Arctic & Antarctic cruises:
http://www.gadventures.com/ms-expedition-cruises/
And I happen to have a good tip that there will be a pretty good sale on their Antarctica trips as the finale of their "12 days of" Christmas sale on Dec 23:
http://www.gadventures.com/holiday-sale
(I think it will be 25% off, but the actual deal and details won't show up until the appropriate day, so check back on the 23rd!)
Some of the other expedition cruise companies are:
- Lindblad Expeditions / National Geographic (Highly recommended by other people in the industry)
- Quark Expeditions (They actually offered 2-for-1 deals on some last-minute trips earlier this fall)
- Hurtigruten (The same company that does the famous Norwegian coastal voyage also has a polar expedition ship)
- Abercrombie & Kent (In case you want to travel in the lap of luxury on your way to the end of the earth)
- Orion Expeditions (Another luxury expedition company)
- Collette Tours (I don't know much about them, but they book space on the Hurtigruten ship, and I've heard they sometimes cost less)
- General Tours (One of the companies that books space on the Argentinian ship MV Ushuaia)
One thing to keep in mind is that many landing sites limit traffic to 100 passengers at a time, so on some of the largest ships (175-200+) you can only spend half as much time on shore.
And I won't mention the travel agency I used, since I'm definitely not happy with them!
drool.
so happy for you!