Almirante Brown Base

This was an Argentinean Research Base.

This was near where we got out of the Polar Cirkel boat.  The signpost shows the distances to places like Tokyo, Madrid and New York.

As you can see the penguins don't care at all about their human visitors.

The rest here are just some of the never ending scenics.

 It is true that Pictures and Words really can't describe it.

Cuverville Island

Many MANY penguins!

MS Fram seen from Cuverville Island.

One of my little friends came right up and posed for many pictures.

Twins? or Mr. & Mrs?

They are just too funny, I couldn't stop taking pictures!

On the way back to the ship our Polar Cirkel boat took us for a quick trip through some of the icebergs. Amazing shapes.

More coming soon!

Pictures - penguins

Taken from the Polar Cirkel boat as we approached Cuverville Island.  People are restricted from approaching more than 15 feet close to the penguins.

Gentoo Penguin

If you stay in one place, the penguins will come right up to you... they don't have to obey the 15 foot rule!
















More coming soon!

First batch of pictures

Mountains surrounding Ushuaia - from the airport.

Houses in Ushuaia

MS Fram at the dock

Our Cabin

Ushuaia as we were leaving port

The lifeboat drill was a bit different as it involved the use of survival suits as well as lifevests.

Penguins coming next!

We're home!

Wow, what a trip.  We got home last night about 7:00 and I was in bed by 7:30... after 10 hours of sleep I feel human again.  We had no real problems getting home, I just really hate airports and airplanes these days. Then... it was colder in Denver than it had been on the landings in Antarctica - our days there were about 20 degrees F and it was 9 when we arrived at the airport last night. At least there was only a couple inches of snow so we didn't have to dig the car out.

We all agreed that the trip was well worth it, words and even photographs can't really describe what we actually saw.  I will post a number of photographs over the next couple days so check back a few more times. 

Random Thoughts on the trip

Random Thoughts




We are headed back up the Drake to Ushuaia. Last night about 10:30 we again hit rough seas - at midnight everything went crashing off the tops of all the furniture. I guess we were lucky in that we only had one broken glass. We picked up the big pieces and then just made sure we wore shoes until the room was vacuumed this morning. They said in the morning announcement that the winds were hurricane force and the waves over 15 Meters. I finally got to sleep somewhere after 1:30 but Jim said he didn’t get much sleep at all. Most people seem to be napping today - there isn’t much else to do and we’ll do our packing later this evening. We will be off the ship about 8:00 in the morning and then we will have a little time in the town for shopping and then our flight to Buenos Aires is at noon.

The battery on this little netbook won’t take a charge so I have to plug in to use it… I’ll have to get a new battery before the next trip as finding a plug in the internet café to use the wireless is not easy. I will upload more pictures after we get home and it is a bit easier.

The ship is very nice; but it is small - there is only one stairway and two elevators. The dining room seats about 100 people so for the sit-down dinners there are two seatings but all the buffets are open. A couple times it has been a bit difficult to find a seat, but we really haven’t ever had to wait. The crew is all Indonesians and they all do everything, clean cabins, serve food and drinks, and wait tables. There is no theatre size room at all, but there are two lecture rooms that seat about 50 people. The only other public room is the large observation lounge and it always has lots of people in it as the views are good. The bar is also in this room and each evening there was some sort of entertainment done by the staff and crew… no ‘entertainers’ onboard.

It has been a very good cruise, but is very different from the more mainstream cruises we are all used to. I have no problem recommending Fram for anyone wanting to do an adventure cruise either to Antarctica or Greenland or any of the other itineraries. We have really enjoyed the days in the Drake as just time to nap and read. We received our Certificates (in Norwegian) for landing on the Continent of Antarctica. Yesterday we did a bridge tour. The Captain gave a nice presentation explaining all of the different monitor screens and answering many questions. The one young boy onboard asked if he could blow the horn and the Captain let him push the button… I thought that was extremely nice - certainly something you wouldn‘t get in the Caribbean.

The food has been good at all meals and there has been a fairly wide variety of both hot and old items… and good deserts. There is one meat and one fish entrée at every buffet, many salad-type items. Last night was the Captain’s Farewell dinner and it was nicely done even including the “Baked Antarctica” Parade.

The actual landings took a lot of energy even though they weren’t difficult, but doing two each day left me really ready for bed at night.

We have enjoyed watching the birds that fly along with the ship in both directions. Yesterday it seemed that there were several hundred of them.

Deception Island and Half Moon Island

We had just started moving around the cabin this morning when they announced that we were going to enter Neptune’s Bellows, the entrance to Deception Island. It is a very narrow entrance made more difficult by a large submerged rock near the middle; there is only about 100M clear passage. Large ships cannot enter. We anchored soon after at Whaler’s bay; which was used for whale processing in the early 1900’s. Many of the structures are still standing and we were greeted by our little penguin friends. The black sand beach was filled with small icebergs of many shapes that had washed up. This is an active volcanic caldera and there is warm water running down the beach into the bay - this is the location where a number of the passengers went ice swimming (they received a certificate). The two pictures here show us older folks in our group all dressed in our warm clothes and the two younger ones that braved the 32 degree water.

Through the afternoon we cruised through many icebergs large and small but I thought this tabular iceberg was the most impressive - this was shot out our cabin window, but you get the idea. It was estimated at 1200 ft long and 110 ft high above water. The rectangular shape was really interesting. Most of the others were the more common varying shapes and shades of blues like you usually see in pictures.

Late afternoon we anchored at Half Moon Island which was the landing we missed on the first day when the weather was very bad. It was beautiful; I’m really glad they could fit it in at the end. Right where we got out of the small boats there were two large seals lying in the snow having a nap. The expedition staff put orange traffic cones to keep people back 15 ft. They are pretty impressive creatures. I headed up to the closest penguin area and Jim took the much longer hike to some other areas. The hour seemed to go by pretty quickly - maybe it was because we knew this was our last landing. I you look closely at the picture, you can see the egg. We have taken hundreds of photos… I have enough penguin pictures to keep me happy for a long time. (at least until our Grand Voyage leaving in January where we will also have some places to see penguins)

That’s it for now. In the next entry I’ll tell more about the ship and the voyage.

Another beautiful day

We started the day cruising through the Lemaire Channel which is so beautiful it is call the Kodak Crack. I almost hate to say that I stayed in the cabin and enjoyed my coffee and sweet rolls and watched out the window as I knew we would be returning the same way later in the day.

Our first landing was Peterman Island where we had a number of choices in where we could go. Jim went one direction to climb a hill that overlooked a bay full of icebergs; I chose another direction and headed off to the closest penguins. I ended up on a wonderful tiny peninsula with a colony of both Gentoo and Adelie penguins and a couple pairs of nesting cormorants. I sat down on the snow just off our path and was rewarded with several hundred great photos. I probably could have sat there happily all day, but our time on each landing is limited to an hour so we headed back to the landing and caught the next boat back to the ship. Now we were really ready for lunch so after shedding our outer clothes we went to the dining room to eat. After lunch we passed through the Lemaire Channel and we got a number of photos. There were two of our Polar Circle boats in the water filled with some international journalists that wanted to film Fram with the great scenery. For us it meant that we could include the small boats in some of our photos to give a little size perspective.

Late afternoon we arrived at Almirante Brown, an abandoned Argentine base. There are still some buildings standing here but it is no longer operated. I headed off to the nearest penguin colony and Jim went of with the rest of the people to climb a large steep hill. Most of the people made it up the hill and got to slide down ‘on their bottoms’. It looked like so much fun, but I didn’t think my old bones would handle it. There was one final small hill at the bottom and I got this picture of Jim.

Then back to the ship for a late dinner -it was about 9:00 which is very late for us to eat. After we finished we ended up back on the deck taking photos until almost 11:00. The water was perfectly calm and the reflections of the snow-covered mountains and icebergs were too good to pass - especially with the late sunlight. Finally we hit the bed at a little after 11... And slept like babies until 8:00 this morning… More later. Two landings a day is very tiring, but I wouldn’t miss any of them.

Penguins and Whales

Penguins, penguins, penguins… and whales too


Our first landing was canceled due to the high winds and weather. We were all very disappointed but it was easy to see why the decision was made; when the weather here is nasty it is really nasty. Early yesterday morning we reached Cuverville Island. The winds were calm and the landing was on! Our small group is all in Group 3 so we didn’t have long to wait. We had already been issued special life vests for the small boats so when our group was called we headed to Deck 2 to select our rubber boots and board the Polar Cirkle boats. This time it took a little longer as we had to find the size boot that fit but soon we boarded our little boat and were off for the island - only about a 5 minute ride. How exciting, we could see the rookeries all along the shore (and smell them too). Getting into and out of the small boats is very easy and there are plenty of expedition crew to help. I headed to the closest rookery as I was having difficulty walking through the snow… I sent Jim on to some of the ones further on. I settled myself at the 15 ft distance and sat on the snow. As the staff had told us, if you sit still the penguins will come right up to you - they weren’t kidding. None of the penguins actually came close enough to sniff or nibble my feet but they came within about 3 feet. I shot many many pics… it’s hard to stop shooting! They are so cute; this was just what I came for. We had 70 minutes at this landing so with about 15 minutes left Jim came back and we decided to go down on the stone beach and get some pictures there before returning. Between us we shot over 1000 photos - I’m sure glad we are digital these days. It’s awfully easy to just put the camera on continuous and just keep shooting. In the old days you were much more selective in making your shots.

We returned from the landing and emptied our camera cards onto the portable hard drives and put the batteries in the chargers - off to lunch. After lunch we were standing out on the deck on the starboard side without cameras… all of a sudden the Captain stopped the ship and they announced Orcas to Port. Jim ran and got the cameras and we joined the crowds along the portside railings on deck 5. There was a family of 5 orcas trying to get a Crabeater seal that was on a small ice floe. It was amazing to watch them work together to cause a large wave that would sweep the seal off the ice and then they would dive after it. Each time the seal made it back up onto the ice you could hear everyone cheer. Then the whales would circle around for a while and make another run at it. We watched for over an hour until they finally caught their meal. It was an amazing experience. Many of the expedition staff said that they had been coming here for 8 and 9 years and had never seen anything like it. In the ship’s blog they estimated that over 50,000 photos were taken… I think Jim and I shot about a thousand ourselves. Even though I came for the penguins this was an experience I’ll never forget.

Late in the afternoon we reached Port Lockroy - we were the second group called this time as they rotate the order. First we were taken to a small island across from the buildings and had a chance for more penguin pictures… we now have tons of Gentoo penguin shots. Then we moved over to the small island; this is a British territory and they maintain a small staff in the summer. There is a museum and gift shop… the most southern shopping possible. We sent ourselves a postcard and bought a small stuffed penguin and then headed back to the ship.

This really was a perfect day, the weather was good all day. It was very tiring… wearing the heavy clothes, lifejackets and carrying the camera gear while walking on uneven terrain was very tiring… I was almost too tired to enjoy dinner. I’m glad we were an early boat!

More later.

Drake Passage

Drake Passage




Our trip through the Drake Passage has been quite an adventure - they are saying that is was quite calm. We have been rolling and bumping for over 24 hours and many of the passengers are ill and many are carrying the sea-sick bags around ‘just in case’. They have the bags on every possible location, tables, railings… We are very lucky that neither of us have that problem, but Alice and Richard are suffering from mal de mar.

This morning we woke up to blowing snow and ice - the windows on the port side of the ship are completely covered with ice - needless to say, this isn’t the nice weather I was hoping for. At 9:00 we had to attend the safety and environmental lecture. This was mandatory for anyone planning to do any of the landings. It was quite well done and covered pretty much anything we would need to know. We were issued our life vests for the landings and had our packs vacuumed so that we take nothing ‘foreign’ onto the land. We will get boots just prior to each landing.

If the weather permits we will have our first landing late this afternoon at Halfmoon Island… we are all prepared, but so far the weather doesn’t look too promising. The temp is about 37 degrees and it is force 8 - gale force winds - big waves and swells. Everyone is just crossing their fingers that we will be able to do it as this is the only location where we will see the chinstrap penguins.

We saw the first icebergs about 30 minutes ago; first a smaller one and then a bigger one. We were in the dining room eating lunch and could watch them through the windows - everyone was clapping. Ok, we are all nuts - 200 of us onboard!

All announcements are done in English and then German and some of them are repeated in French and Chinese as there are a large number of them aboard too. It is quite a mixed and interesting passenger load. As I said many times, this is not a luxury cruise. Dinner last night was a sit-down dinner; no choice of food. They do post the menu early in the day and offer a second entrée, but if you want that one you have to let them know by 2:00. The food has all been good - nothing to complain about at all. Dinner tonight will be buffet again to allow for the landings. There are nice choices on the buffet and always a fish and a meat and a pasta for the entrees, with lots of veggies both hot and cold, nice desserts etc.

Well, I guess that’s all for now, wish us luck with the weather today for our first landing.

Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and we are sailing!

We awakened at 4:45 to have a quick breakfast and then head to the airport for our flight. After we were on the bus our guide announced that LAN was having a ‘little strike’ and there would be a ‘little’ delay at the airport. When we arrived there were many strikers picketing in front of the checkin lanes for LAN and the TV cameras were all there. We were taken upstairs to an area where we did manage to find a table and chairs for all six of us and there we sat and sat and waited. At about 11:00 they announced that our flight would leave at 12:05 so we all proceeded through security to the gates. Our flight did leave not long after that time and we arrived in Ushuaia about 4:30. We had only planned to wander in the town prior to boarding so it wasn’t a problem for us, but the people that had booked the excursion to the National Park were disappointed that it wouldn’t take place.

Boarding and checking in on the ship took place quite quickly and we came to our cabin. All 6 of us are in Mini-suites which are nice and comfortable with a large window that looks out over the side across a public deck space. As with most cabin windows that are at a public space you cannot see into the cabin except when the cabins lights are on so we will need to remember to close them at night. We had many things to do prior to dinner; register a credit card, turn in our medical forms and get our Antarctic jackets. Dinner was buffet style and everything was very good; it seemed everyone was very hungry after all our delays during the day. They canceled our lifeboat/safety drill until 11:30 the next day - by international law they have 24 hours in which to hold the drill. We had a short Welcome cocktail party with the Captain and Expedition staff and then by 10:00 pm we were back in the cabin and ready for bed.

The Captain had said that it would be very smooth for about 6 hours and then it would get a bit bumpy as we would enter the Drake Passage. We woke up sometime in the early morning hours are realized that the ship was slightly rolling, but hardly any bumping and slept until about 6:30 this morning. Life is just fine… no butlers or room service on this ship, but there is an electric kettle and instant coffee and tea available in the room so I’m perfectly happy. After a couple cups of coffee, we wandered around the ship a little and then headed for breakfast.

Note: the battery in my laptop will not charge, so I have to plug in to use it… and I only saw one plug in the reception area where the wireless connection is located. I’ll try to post as often as possible and hopefully be able to add pictures when we get a little more organized.

Buenos Aires

Well, we made it out of Miami almost on time even with the huge rainstorms that had swept through all day.  The flight was almost nine hours - that's a killer for my pelvis/back.  We are now in the Pan Americano hotel in downtown Buenos Aires.  Beautiful hotel - and very crowded.  We have a nice large room so I'm going to spend some time resting my back and then we will go walk around the city a bit and get some dinner.

On arrival at the hotel we - there were about a dozen Fram passengers on that flight - did a quick checkin at the hotel reception desk and then went to a meeting room to check in for Fram... That took forever - why don't people read their documents ahead of time???  Anyway after waiting for our turn for over an hour, we checked in in about 10 minutes.  Our Fram bag tags are pieces of red ribbon.... this is NOT a cruise like we are used to doing.  We are all getting excited, but are already tired of traveling and we have a 3 hour flight tomorrow morning at 8:30 to get to Usuaia.  That means breakfast is at 5:00 - we leave the hotel at 6:30. 

My next post should be from the ship.

Miami

We are at the Best Western Oceanside Resort in Bal Harbour, FL.  It is a cute older motel-type resort.  Rooms are huge and include full kitchens.  We walked along the beach and had dinner with Alice and Richard last night then it was time for me to 'get flat' and give my back a rest.  I am really dreading the 8 1/2 hour flight Wed. evening from MIA to Buenos Aires. 

It is raining very hard this morning - good thing we aren't staying for a beach vacation!  I'll post again at my next internet connection.

Almost time to leave

We leave for Miami tomorrow morning. It’s been fun watching the Fram webcam over the last few weeks getting a preview of our adventure.


Yesterday was packing day for us and we did manage to get everything into two large bags and come in under the requirement of 50lbs each… it was close. We are allowed a carry-on each, but for us that will be our camera bags.

As if heading for Antarctica isn’t enough excitement for a while, last Thursday we were invited by our consortium, the Ensemble Travel Group, to be the onboard Hosts for the South America Grand Voyage that leaves January 13th. This is a 70-day cruise all the way around S America that includes the Panama Canal, a week in the Amazon, the Chilean Fjords and cruising Antarctica. We leave January 12 and will return March 24, 2010. We will visit 32 ports in13 countries. Cruise Details for 70-DAY GRAND SOUTH AMERICA EXPLORER . So we have really been in crunch mode getting everything arranged for both trips!

Getting Ready

We are less than two weeks from our departure from Denver. The stack of stuff to be packed keeps growing. We are limited to one bag (each) of 50 lbs or less and a carry-on. Our carry-ons will be our camera bags so we will need to pack extra carefully.

We are reading the daily blog from Fram and watching the webcam. Yesterday they passed an enormous iceberg estimated to be 17 by 12 nautical miles in size! Icebergs this size are all catalogued and are give names - this one is called B15I. They also watched a number of whales.

I’ve received a couple emails asking me to include some additional information on the ship. You can read all about her here: http://www.hurtigruten.us/MSFram.asp and I’ve added a picture of the deck plans. We are all in Mini-suites – forward on Deck 5.

You can get a better idea of the small size of the ship with these pictures (Thanks toCarmello of CruiseCritic). The large (3000+ passengers) Carnival Splendor is docked across the pier from Fram.

Background information

We are heading on another adventure soon – this one to Antarctica. People are asking me why and my answer is “because it’s there”. This will be our 7th continent and the one most people don’t get to. As an added boost for me, this actually gives us all 7 continents in one year. As some of you know, we did a World Cruise earlier this year which hit all 6 of the other continents. I’ve always wanted to visit Antarctica to see and photograph the penguins and icebergs. We will be traveling with our friends Alice & Dick Bardsley and their son Rich & his friend Alice Goedl.

We looked at a number of options for the trip and decided on Hurtigruten’s MS Fram. MS Fram is named after explorer Fridtjof Nansen´s most famous polar ship. She is the newest (2007), most luxurious vessel in their fleet and is specially designed for cruising Arctic and Antarctic waters. The technical standard is state-of-the-art and she handles icy conditions with no problem. MS Fram has 128 cabins, which feature two lower berths or a twin-size bed, and several suites. The panoramic lounges and wide deck spaces give every guest the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic view on this masterpiece of an Arctic/Antarctic cruise ship. With all berths filled, she can hold 318 passengers, but for Antarctic cruises she will carry only about 200. This is to allow all passengers to do the landings in their Polar Cirkel boats. There are very strict regulations in the Antarctic as to how many people can land at one time. Vessels carrying over 300 passengers are not allowed to make any landings; they can only cruise by the areas we will be able to explore. The Polar Cirkel boats are similar to Zodiacs but have rigid sides and seating and handrails at the front for use in embarking and disembarking the boat.

Our adventure will start November 24, 2009. We fly to Miami and overnight there; on the 25th we board our LAN flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina where we also overnight. On Nov. 27th we fly to Ushuaia, Chile to board the ship. After 9 days at sea we will do the reverse itinerary arriving back in Denver late on December 7th.

I will post a few more times prior to the trip and then I hope I am able to post daily. Stay tuned!