Tag: teaching music

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)!

Today was all about transit. We are on our way to Antarctica from Ushuaia. So far, it’s been about like the Pacific Ocean was for my NOAA Teacher at Sea experience- not super smooth, but definitely not as bad as I imagined it would be. It’s very nice to have a ship that has stabilizers, and isn’t built like a bathtub (how the NOAA corpsmen said the NOAA ship I was on handled!). Some people onboard have been getting seasick, but it hasn’t been a problem at all for me. I did take my Dramamine beforehand, but I don’t think I actually needed it. Better safe than sorry, though!

The theme for the day was briefings. We got instructed on how to load the zodiac boats for our Antarctic landings, and how to prevent introducing biological material into Antarctica unintentionally. We also learned about the sea birds of the area and how to tell a story of the place that we are visiting through the pictures we will take.

Jacqueline and I did some bird watching off the back deck, and we saw fin whales as well!

The weather today was sometimes sunny, but for the most part it was cloudy. We just had our briefing on tomorrow’s tentative plan, and it sounds like we’re coming in early, thanks to making great time through the seas today. We will see land tomorrow morning, and be on it by 8:15 am! Then there’s a storm coming in, so we’re going to transit to a new spot and have another landing after dinner (taking advantage of the long southern summer sunlight). This means tomorrow I should have pictures from Antarctica in this blog!!!!! We have already made it into what they call Biological Antarctica, which is where the ocean water drops drastically in temperature and the marine life takes on Antarctic qualities (like surviving mostly on krill).

The waves and winds are getting higher again now (30 knots) and we just finished dinner, so we’re going to get our layers ready and get to bed for the early wake-up call! I can’t wait to see Antarctica with my own eyes after 9 months of reading, studying, and watching every documentary I could get my hands on about this continent!!!

Today we had an early wake-up call this morning so we could get ready to head south. After eating breakfast, we got on a bus to take us to the airport for our charter flight to Ushuaia. It was weird thinking that this was my last day on land for a bit.

When we got to the airport, we went through security. It was a little different than back home- they did not mind that we had water in our water bottles, but were much pickier about lithium ion batteries and electronics.

Once it was time for our plane to leave, we left the terminal in a bus to load the plane on the tarmac. It was beautiful weather and I tried to soak up the warmth for as long as I could! On the plane, it was just those of us going to the ship, so we could spread out. Landing in Ushuaia was the absolute most beautiful trip to an airport I’d ever had. You come in with the Andes Mountains on either side of the plane and you follow the water in. The water is that gorgeous aquamarine color of the Caribbean when the sun hits it. There was snow on the Andes, and the wind hits you coming off both sides of the mountains, so it is a wobbly landing for the last few minutes.

After we landed and collected our checked bags, we got on a bus for a city tour. It was fun to see all of the beautiful buildings and learn more about the town. We were told things were getting compressed time-wise because our ship to Antarctica is leaving earlier tonight, as a storm is due in.

After the tour, we all boarded a catamaran for lunch and a tour. The city tour guide told us that they can see 3 seasons in one day in Ushuaia, and we got a feel for that. It was sunny and warm when we boarded, but quickly turned to rain, followed by wind, and then we even saw a few snow flakes. We got to see some birds nesting, and the beautiful Lapatai Bay. The area is surrounded by the country of Chile – Ushuaia is on an island south of mainland Argentina, and is bordered on all sides by the country of Chile. The people of Ushuaia cannot get to Argentina by vehicle without driving through Chile first. I found that really interesting, and they said it makes living here expensive, as all goods have to go through Chile to make it here.

After the catamaran cruise, we boarded our ship, and they got underway almost immediately. Jacqueline and I met with one of the naturalists on the ship and she gave us a quick tour of the ship, along with helping us get sized for our parkas, pants, and boots. This ship is gorgeous. I’ve never been on a ship quite like this. Stay tuned for a ship tour in a future blog. It’s truly going to be a great place to reflect on all of the epic adventures we’re about to have- so many beautiful spots to sit and look out windows!

So, we are officially underway. We are told that there are some 40-knot winds coming, and because we’ll be close to land at that time still, the waves are going to be “messy.” They recommended taking motion sickness medicine, and promised it would get better farther into the journey south. They also said that what we are about to experience (3-4 meter seas), and that is a ‘good’ crossing for the Drake Passage- it’s not what they call the “Drake Lake” (super smooth), but it’s also not the “Drake Shake” (nasty crossing). Seems like the best we can hope for!

I have made it to Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is the start of my expedition! I went from Milwaukee, WI to Dallas-Fort Worth, met up with my wonderful friend and Limitless Space Institute Educator roomie for life Lauren, and then got on another plane from Dallas to Buenos Aires. That flight was a long 9 1/2 hour flight, but there were several incredible views as we came in over the Pacific Ocean into Chile during the earlier morning time period. The Andes are beautiful, and now I want to go to Chile, too!!

Once in Buenos Aires, I did the customs/immigration thing uneventfully, and waited for the shuttle to our hotel. The international airport in Buenos Aires had a lot of American restaurants- MacDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, and an Outback Steakhouse. Good thing I don’t need to eat at the airport, as I’d much prefer to eat local foods!

I don’t think I could ever drive in Argentina – our guide said that they have inherited the Italian influence in their driving with lots of traffic, and I noticed many lanes with people driving in between the lanes from time to time, too!

After checking into the hotel and dropping off my bags, we embarked on a city tour of Buenos Aires. We got to see the underground tunnels of El Zanjon De Granados, the government buildings (including where Eva Perron addressed the people from a balcony), and walked through the cemetery that houses Eva Perron’s mausoleum.

We learned that Buenos Aires has a longer name – Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre, and was shortened to Buenos Aires over time. This means “Fair Winds,” because sailors wanted fair winds for their journey to and from Buenos Aires. Seems like a very fitting place to start an expedition to Antarctica! Let’s hope we have fair winds, too!

After that, it was time for our welcome reception, with the briefing for tomorrow. Then my roommate Jacqueline and I walked around the area by our hotel. It is along the river, and had a lot going on! I can cross off seeing the Argentine Tango in Argentina from my list, as we got to see a street performance! I found a bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava, and it reminded me of the Milwaukee Art Museum!

We have a 5:50 am wake-up call for our flight to Ushuaia tomorrow, so it’s time for bed!