I really want to tell everyone what I did today, but I’m having a hard time finding the words! This experience feels like the kind you watch on TV, rather than experience live. I never would have thought that I would step foot on the continent of Antarctica, but yet that’s exactly what I did today…twice!
We started out with a morning landing right after breakfast. This stop was an island (Barrientos) in the South Shetland Islands. Looking back on it, it was great to have the first one out of the way, because there is a rather involved process to leave the ship. First, there are several layers of clothes to put on. The temperature was nice, 31 degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind was gusting to 47 knots. All of my northern US friends know about the delights of wind chill, so you can imagine how cold that felt. Once we have on all of our layers, we then go down to the bottom level of the ship, called Base Camp, where we check out of the ship and put on our waterproof pants, big boots, and life vests. After you are sufficiently dressed for the weather and have all of your camera straps and life vest straps all twisted up around your neck while trying to prevent your hat from sliding down while you put the hood of your jacket on, it is time to clean your boots before loading into a zodiac (black rubber boat with a motor).
The ship’s crew does a great job of getting us all ready and loaded, but the rest of us were struggling a little- dropping gloves, misplacing buffs, getting tangled in camera straps, etc. For my teacher friends, it’s like the first day of helping elementary students get ready for a snowy recess. For those of you who don’t live that life, just imagine 20-30 adults flinging winter outerwear everywhere!
I know the students I teach are very interested in how I layer up, and I’ll probably take a video later of the process, but today I wore a silk base layer (top and bottom), a turtle neck, tshirt, 2 pairs of socks, and waterproof pants underneath the outerwear they provide us (waterproof snow pants, double layer coat). I also wore a hat, fleece buff, and gloves. It was perfect.
Ok, so back to our first landing. I got in the zodiac, and we went through a bay area. As soon as we got to the landing, there were clusters of nesting penguins everywhere. There were coned off areas for us to walk around and explore, and we got to observe Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins nesting. The Chinstrap Penguins are called that because they have a black line that looks like a smile. They are the most rowdy of the penguins, at least so far.
Gentoos were much calmer…until a sneaky Gentoo would attempt to steal a stone from another penguin’s nest. Then, a ruckus would come. And for those of you who are really curious, I have recordings of both penguins’ sounds. I just can’t add them here on the mobile blog app.
On our return zodiac trip to our ship, we got to see a Weddell seal and an elephant seal on the beach.
Once back aboard, it was time for the ship to transit to the next stop. We got a briefing on how to take great smartphone pictures, the history of ice, and the importance of krill. My roommate Jacqueline and I also hit the outside hot tub, as the students requested this for my Antarctic bucket list. It was very cold getting into the jacuzzi, and ridiculously cold after getting out, but the time inside was great, as it is an infinity tub, meaning the whole outer side of the tub was clear, offering us great views while we submerged as much of our bodies as possible! We then hit the sauna to dry off.
During the afternoon hours, we went through an area known as Iceberg Alley, and this was incredible. My pictures do not do it justice, but there were icebergs of every size and shape, gleaming bright white in the sun. It was incredibly awe-inspiring.
After we had dinner tonight, we got to go out to our next landing spot. Jacqueline and I thought we were getting better at gearing up, but don’t ask us how many times we almost left our room without something important. 😂
This landing was on the Antarctic Peninsula, in a spot referred to as Brown Bluff. It featured Gentoo and Adelie Penguins, and I guess you could say I saw a penguin or two…
The landing wasn’t a long one, due to some penguin mortality that we needed to stay away from (we have to be incredibly careful of the risk of spreading aviary flu), so we took some pictures and then got a sunset zodiac cruise around the massive penguin colony and gorgeous icebergs! It was incredible to set foot on Antarctica today, but the zodiac cruise was my favorite! The sky was gorgeous, penguins were porpoising in and out of the water on either side of us, and the color of the icebergs made the moment.
I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow!!! There’s hope that the ship gets to break through some sea ice (don’t worry; it’s made to do this!)!!!
Addendum: we are already navigating through some ice – I’ve made a video, but my internet connectivity isn’t strong enough for me to upload. I also recorded those sounds! Also, it’s almost midnight, and this is still what the sky looks like (sunset was at 10:30 or so)!
Car Full of Harmony 
Published by