Antarctic Cruise Day 36 / 40 - Yankee Harbor, Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica - A full Antarctica experience

Antarctic Cruise Day 36 / 40 - Yankee Harbor, Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica - A fitting final landing

Trip day: 36 / 40

Port days: 17
Sea days: 18
Countries: 5
Continents: 4
Ports/Landings: 13

Last night, they announced our plan for today - sail about five miles to the northeast to Greenwich Island.  We would be landing in Yankee Harbor where there frequently are seals as well as Gentoo colonies.  We awoke to temps in the low 30s F - bikini weather in Antarctica.  Unfortunately, it was accompanied by a low overcast caused by the warm air arriving over the colder water.  To round out the fun, we also had 20+MPH winds and driving snow.  Yea, Antarctica!

Undeterred, we suited up.  Base layer on top and bottom, thin fleece pants over that, waterproof pants over that, boot socks and the muck boots, fleece vest (electrically heated but we didn’t need the heat today), puffer jacket, parka, hat, glove liners and gloves (me) or mittens (Arlona).  We headed to the Zodiac.

Our arrival area had a lot of drift ice all around.  Hmm…I wonder if that will become an issue later… (this might just be a little foreshadowing).  The climb out was again a wet one, then onto the ice, and up the steps carved by the expedition team.

Up on land, we had a driving wind, pelting us with small rain/ice pellets.  If you look closely, you can see my glasses were already covered.

You can see the drift ice in the water (cue ominous music)

You can see the penguins in the distance behind us (cue cuteness sounds)

A pair of brown skuas were flying around.  These are predators that hunt penguin chicks.  It is all part of the circle of life as they have to eat too.  These are large, strong birds with up to a five-foot wingspan, and are impressive to see relatively close-up.

The expedition team typically creates a walkway area for the guests that keeps us safe and creates an appropriate gap between us and the wildlife.  Today was a little different with a much more open “wandering” area.  The penguins, of course, ignored it and also wandered in and out, making for a little closer contact as they walked by.  It was pretty nice having the Gentoos wander so close to us.

They were unfazed by the crappy weather and went about their critical business, holding meetings, and scurrying about.

This looked like a committee about to form

Those patches are covered in penguins…and penguin poo

♫ It’s just a jump to the left… ♫

♫ And a step to the ri...iii...iii…iii…ight ♫

♫ Put your hands on your hips… ♫ - wait – I don’t have hips, or hands for that matter

No Time Warp for me

As we were walking back to the landing area, we spotted a lone penguin hopping up onto the island.  It was a chinstrap penguin!  It seemed to find a Gentoo buddy and they headed off together.

Our ship kept changing from a “ghost ship” to a more visible version, and the driving snow came and went.

We boarded our Zodiac and tried to head back to Polaris.  Remember that drift ice I mentioned?  Well, it completely surrounded our Zodiac and we were seriously stuck.  

Our Zodiac pilot tried but was unable to free us.  

Lucky for us, one passenger insisted that she be allowed to help as this happened to her a couple of days ago and she knew what to do.  The pilot eventually let her help. She pushed large chunks of ice away from the back of the ship with a paddle, clearing a few feet at a time.  This allowed the pilot to back up a bit before more ice blocked the way.  This pattern continued for a few minutes and then we were free from the ice.  She got a round of applause from the other passengers and a relieved "Thank you" from the pilot.

We were constantly pelted with water and snow as we pounded the waves back to Polaris.  Everyone was dripping wet when we got back.  We decided to cancel our Special Operations Boat ride later this afternoon, but it was a moot issue as all operations were canceled.  Weather was coming in and the captain canceled operations for safety reasons.

Speaking of canceled - I forgot to mention that the submarine operations were canceled due to a “technical issue” a couple days ago.  They attempted to run one sub today, but that got canceled as well.  We were lucky to get on when we did.

After returning to the ship, we got out of our wet gear.  Arlona tossed everything into the laundry as it was all covered with salt water.  We will be making use of the drying closet as the puffer and parka instructions are to dry for ten minutes and then hang dry.  We don’t have that kind of time!

This marks the end of our Antarctica time so it is time to return our borrowed gear – the muck boots and the waterproof pants.  Our cabin steward will grab the pants from the room later on, but they asked everyone to place the boots in the hall.  It looks a little creepy – perfect for Halloween - boo...ts.

Today is Halloween, so the World Café had a definite look to it.

That right one obviously ate somewhere other than the wonderful World Café 

The desserts were all decked out for the holiday as well.

After lunch, I checked Windy – a great source for looking at forecasted winds, precipitation, and other critical weather factors.  Here’s what I saw for this afternoon, and basically for the next couple of days.

The red line shows our approximate path from the South Shetland Islands to Ushuaia. We will be looking at 30-50 MPH winds from the west for our entire transit of the Drake Passage.  No more Drake Lake – we’re facing the Drake Shake for the next 36 hours or so.

We will be in the Drake Passage tonight and all day tomorrow. On Wednesday, we will arrive back in South America.  The plan is to sail around Cape Horn, but that will be dictated by the winds.  Right now, it looks like there might be a window where we will only have 15MPH winds or so around the Cape, so timing will be everything.

We got ready for our evening on Polaris.

Our evening started in The Aula with the captain thanking all the passengers and crew for a fantastic experience in Antarctica.  Nearly half of the crew was available to appear and it was awesome.  There has been a Viking film crew here and they showed some incredible drone footage.  I wish we could get a copy as it was beautiful.

We enjoyed dinner with friends, Keith and Marilyn, who we shared our first meal with on the ship about a month ago.  I wrapped up dinner with another scrumptious creation from gelato queen, Tshona.  They have a cold plate where they can spread out the gelato and add your choice of mix-ins.  She has been taking good care of me for the entire journey. The pretzel on top looks like a heart because each creation is made with love!

We stopped by our room to pick up computers and found this on the bed.

Now, we can display evidence of our cocktail competition victory.  Woo!

As we moved to the Explorers’ Bar, the Drake Shake started in earnest with the occasional wave/swell breaking over the windows in the upper level of the Explorers’ Bar on deck #5!  With the Drake Shake in full swing, we enjoyed the ride and a cocktail from the exceptional beverage team.

Tomorrow will be a rocking and rolling day as we continue through the Drake Passage.

Antarctic Cruise Day 35 / 40 - Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica - Chinstraps, and Gentoos, and seals, oh my!

Antarctic Cruise Day 35 / 40 - Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica - Heading back north

Trip day: 35 / 40

Port days: 16
Sea days: 18
Countries: 5
Continents: 4
Ports/Landings: 12

OK – I’m doing this because I’ve been asked this and answered it at least a dozen times so far on this cruise.

• I use a Sony RX10 IV camera with a built-in 24-600mm f4.0 zoom lens.
• I write my blog on a Windows laptop.

<done>

Welcome to the South Shetland Islands.

We are sort of on our way back north at this point.  We hit our most southern point in the cruise a couple days back in Paradise Bay where we were at latitude -64.833 or 64°50' S, or roughly 2/3 of the way from the equator to the south pole. We couldn't crack the Antarctic circle at 66°30′ S as there is too much ice this early in the season.  So now, we're north in the South Shetland Islands, about 75 miles north of the Antarctic peninsula. So where is this?

That's South America at the top and Antarctica at the bottom - that small red dot is Paradise Bay - our southernmost stop - the red rectangle is the Shetland Islands

This is the Shetland Islands - the red square is the general area where we are

This shows Half Moon Island as well as Livingston & Greenwich

And this is where we are, in the bay off Half Moon Island

Here's a look from the ship at our landing area for the day.

You can just make out the chinstrap penguins standing on top of the rock

Our landing zone in the distance

We hopped on our Zodiac and headed for the island. It was another wet landing, meaning you get out into the water.  Of course, it is shallow, and our waterproof boots did their job admirably.

Next up was a walk up the snowy bank to start seeing the vast number of chinstrap penguins that call this place home.

All those chinstraps are a teaser – more are coming

There were also a fair number of kelp gulls hanging around

Another Argentinean research base camp

The expedition team did a great job making where we could and could not go

That’s Livingston across the bay – we’ll be in there in the SOB later on

Yet another seal just laying there

It did wave at us

There was one more way off in the distance as well

One of our SOBs giving us a sneak peek and where our ride will take us

Arlona, leaving another angel behind

I know, you're getting bored with all this and want to see the chinstraps.  Wait no more!

This was a bit of a penguin highway from the top to the sea

Penguins always have the right of way

Look at them all lined up at the top

There was another colony off in the distance

I think this translated roughly to, ♫ O sole Mio ♫

The tenors joined in as well

The patrons were not impressed

When they close their eyes, only a small black line remains

You plop down right there – good job

Down by the landing area, there is an old wooden boat. Currently, it is almost completely buried in snow.

There is something strange about those penguins

They’re Gentoos!

We were surprised as we expected only chinstraps on this island

But…wait a minute – take another look

On the left…

Those are chinstraps – except…for that one on the far left – that’s a Gentoo – it looks like they must get along just fine

All too soon, our visit was over and it was time for our Zodiac ride back to the ship.  Our next activity was a Special Operations Boat (SOB) ride.

We waited out on the Finse Terrace for our ride to arrive.

Here it comes, now

Who is that on the boat?

It is the ship’s travel consultant, Fernando, living his best life!

We went to The Aula waiting area until we were called down to The Hangar where we boarded the SOB.  Then, it was time to go!  Today, in more open water, they were able to open it up a little more.  The pilot said he wouldn’t be able to hit top speed at 40+ knots, but we sure were zipping along for a bit.

We toured all around Half Moon Island.  Here are some of the sights along the way.

The back side of Half Moon Island

Look close on top of the rock

It is the chinstraps

We came upon a large group of curious Gentoos that put on quite a nice show for us - the pilot stopped so we could watch

The water is so clear, you can easily see them underwater

There are at least ten under the water here

We passed three lounging seals.

Was it waving at the gull?

We rounded the last corner and spotted Polaris

We lined up for the final approach to Polaris – we had to hold as the other SOB was backing out full of guests for the next tour

As we sailed, we were treated to a show from a pair of fin whales who swam in front of and around the ship for most of an hour.  It was too much fun to watch to go back to the room and get my camera.  I just enjoyed it.

We haven’t watched the daily briefing yet, so I don’t have the details for tomorrow.  All I know is that we're staying in this general area. You’ll just have to read the blog tomorrow to see what we wind up doing.