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The Multinovskiy
After two weeks of backpacking and camping around Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego
National Park, the anticipation of meeting up with Nancy and Dru and heading to
Antarctica was unbearable. Finally the big day came and we met up with our
friends in the snazzy hotel that was included in our Antarctica trip. After a
day showing them around town, it was time for the eagerly anticipated boarding
of our boat, the Professor Multinovskiy.
First Sightings
A bit of background on the trip itself is in order at this point. Going to
Antarctica is not an easy trip. The only way to visit is on an organized tour
boat. These boats range in size from several hundred passengers to fifty or
less in the case of private charters. All of these boats are governed by the
International Organization of Antarctic Tourism Operators(IOATO), which
regulates their access to and activities on the continent. The basic itinerary
is around 10 days at sea with the first and last two days spent crossing from
South America to the Antarctic Peninsula via the Drake Passage, a band of ocean
notorious for rough waters. Upon arrival in Antarctica, the boat works its way
down the Antarctic peninsula, which is the most accessible point in Antarctica.
The next five days are spent exploring in one of two methods, landing on shore
via zodiac or touring around in a zodiac. The landings focus mostly on
wildlife; visiting penguin colonies, seeing seals and various birds with
occaisional scenic walks. The zodiac cruises focus on seeing icebergs, glaciers
and the wildlife at sea. The landings are the most important part of the trip
and are strictly regulated by IOATO, allowing no more than 100 people on shore
at any landing at any time. It also restricts anchoring locations of boats to
one per landing. These rules help minimize human presence and protect the
environment. With these restrictions, the smaller the boat the better. On the
larger boats, they break people up into groups and rotate them on the landings,
whereas on the small boats, all of the passengers can come on shore at once.
The season is very short, from late November to early March and is limited by
the weather and ice buildup around the continent.
Suffering the Drake
We were fortunate enough to book a trip on a very small Russian research vessel,
the Professor Multinovskiy. This boat holds 48 passengers and has a real
emphasis on the "expedition adventure" side of things providing some people
with the ability to sea kayak and camp overnight in Antarctica. Our departure
date would put us in Antarctica just after the peak of its summer, when most of
the pack ice would have melted but prior to the onset of colder weather.
A Chinstrap
We sailed out on the afternoon of February 1st and spent the evening getting
familiar with the boat and preparing for the dreaded Drake Passage. The first
two days were spent being tossed around the boat in foul weather trying to get
across the passage. Naomi tried hard to overcome her seasickness inclinations
and did better than expected though she didn't venture far beyond the cabin. On
the evening of the third night, we spotted land. The feeling was indescribable.
For us Antarctica is many things: the most elusive continent in the world, the
most exotic travel destination, the apex of stark natural beauty. We were giddy
and when we woke up the next morning, we were in for the best 5 days of the
trip.
Our First 'Bergs
As we cruised through narrow channels into the Erebus and Terror Gulf on the
southern side of the Peninsula, we were treated to our first views of
Antarctica. Everything was white, with the very tips of mountains peaks
sticking out of the glaciers and ice. The sea was filled with massive icebergs
and we began to see our first seals and penguins. Our first landing was on
Devil Island, home to an Adelie penguin colony. Our first experience with a
penguin colony was amazing. The sound of tens of thousands of penguins,
screeching and calling to each other was deafening. The smell of guano was
overpowering and the sight of the entire beach covered in black and white
specks was like no other. The timing of our trip coincides with the molting
stage of most of the baby penguins, so the colonies were full of penguins
shedding their baby feathers and being fed regurgitated krill by their parents.
After some time taking this all in, we loaded up our kayaks and went paddling.
We quickly realized the value of this opportunity to paddle, getting away from
the prescribed landings and seeing what we wanted to see at water level was a
unique experience.
Time to Paddle
From Devil Island, we reboarded the ship and headed further south towards Snow
Hill Island, a place rarely visited because of year round ice conditions, and
after hours of navigating through massive tabular iceburgs,the captain could go
no further and was forced to turn the boat around and head north. Because of
the remoteness and unpredcatable conditions, there is no such thing as a set
itinerary, only a planned one.
The next five days blurred by in a whirl of non-stop activity. With two or three
excurions a day, we were up at 6:30 every morning (5am for Brice's sunrise
photos) and not in bed until 11 pm. We were paddling with a few very
experienced kayakers who made it clear that this was the pinacle of kayaking,
not bad for our first time! The experiences and sights are hard to describe, so
we are going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
Sunset Kayak
One of the highlights was a sunset paddle around a series of calving glaciers
and icebergs inhabited by Gentoo penguins. Departing from the penguin colony we
worked our way along the coast to see the sunset basking the icesheets and
glaciers in a pink glow. With the glacier to our back, we headed out to sea and
a maze of icebergs. As the sun set, it lit the sky and water with shades of red
and the icebergs glowed an irridescent blue. AS the sun began to disappear, we
came across a lone penguin, standing on a one of these otherworldy hunks of
ice, silohetted by a firey sky... magnificent.
Kayaking gave us a very unique perspective on the trip, especially when
interacting with the penguins. At one point outside of the Argetinian Esperanza
Base, we were paddling through very thin surface ice ("grease ice" is the term
used by those who know many, many names for what the rest of us call ice) when
a large group of young penguins chicks descended on us. They were out for their
first swim and just trying to learn but this ice was making it very difficult.
They decided that hopping on the kayaks would be fun and all of the sudden we
were being overrun with frenetic little Adelies trying to catch a free ride. We also had a day where we actually paddled around Humback whales. These massive whales were surfaceing only yards away from us.... unreal!
Penguin Attack
Another highlight was a visit to Gourdin Island, home to three species of
penguins; Adelie, Gentoo, and Chinstrap, as well as seals and nesting birds of
many varieties. We spent hours sitting on the rocks watching penguins feed
their chicks, seals fighting on the beach and skuas (opportunistic scavenger
birds) hunting weaker penguin chicks. The snow was pink and green from the snow
algae that feeds on the guano. The sky was full of floating feathers recently
shed by molting penguins and the cries of the hungry chicks. It was a scene
that perfectly illustrated the cycle of Antarctic life with everything fighting
to survive and grow in the few months of summer that the continent provides.
The last night in Antarctica was spent camping on the ice, something that as
campers we have eagerly awaited. The contingent of campers were taken to a
remote island by zodiac and dropped off around 8 at night. We pitched camp in
the snow and ice above a penguin colony and then spent the evening wandering
the island, unhindered by schedules and departure times. We sat on a rock
overlooking the beach and watched penguins fall asleep with their beaks nuzzled
in their wings and slowly the buzz of the colony dwindled and a hush fell over
the island. As midnight approached the winds picked up and a bit of a squall
came in. We snuggled into our tent, listening to the wind and rain/snow, giddy
with the knowledge that we were alone (relatively speaking) in a tent in
Antarctica. The next morning we awoke to another day in the life of the
penguins and an early morning departure.
The Iceberg Graveyard
The hightlight of our last day, was a cruise through an area known as the
Iceberg Graveyard, a shallow channel filled with grounded iceburgs. Cruising
through this graveyard was like trying to find your way out of an alien maze
with towering hunks of blue ice that have been worn down into bizarre
otherworldy forms. There were impossibly tall columns, massive tunnels, and ice
bridges that fit together in a surreal beauty.
After an incredibly busy, awe-inspiring time on the continent, our time had
drawn to end and it was time to return to the Drake. It is so difficult to
summarize this experience beyond a mundane report of our activities. Antarctica
is incredibly beautiful, full of surprises, pure in its harsh reality, home to
millions of sturdy creatures, and we feel truly honored to have been able to
experience so much of it. We had beautiful weather for most of the time, which
allowed us to paddle more than many other expeditions have in the past. It
rained on us for a few days, which is a bit disconcerting as rain is rare in
this very dry continent and is further evidence of global warming's effects. We
saw hundreds of animals: penguins, seals, whales, dolphins, birds. We learned
so much from the very experienced and knowledgable staff aboard with us. This
has been the highlight of our overall trip and we are sad that it is over,
though the memories will always be treasured. It was also such a treat to
travel with friends from home and share the adventure. And now we will move
from the Frozen Continent and chilly Patagonia to warmer climates in hot and
humid Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls.
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