Sea Turtle Saviors and Fulfilled Penguin Dreams

Throughout this journey, there are events which either subtly or more strongly assault your intellect. You know coming here that this is all about nature. But most of us are insulated from the realities of nature – the closest we come is a National Geographic special, or perhaps the zoo or what we encounter on hikes near our home. We rarely are brought face-to-face with life and death struggles, and how much animals will sacrifice to maintain the species. In Galapagos, it’s everywhere, and in unexpected ways. Each experience changes you, whether you cheer the triumph, feel for the struggle between endemic and foreign species, or feel your heart pain when the battle is lost.

Today is a triumphant day.

The morning activities were both centered around Bachas Beach, with the option to also head inland on a flamingo search at the brackish ponds. This beach is a turtle nesting site, which ended up to be the focus of the excursion, as the naturalists found a female who was stuck in her struggle to return to the water after her night of laying eggs. While it is prohibited to interfere with animals in the Galapagos, as nature needs to play out in her own way, the naturalists here felt it wasn’t interfering to bring this female out of where she was stuck, so she could then make her own way back to the ocean.

They combined their strength to gently lift and turn her, bringing her to an area where she could, if she wasn’t already too weak, drag herself to the sea. To everyone’s relief and excitement, she immediately started her journey back to the sea. It was a moment of exultation and celebration. She was weak, but she now had a chance!




The afternoon choices were very different, though they all ended with beach/snorkeling time. Those who were fit and eager climbed “to the top” at Bartolome Island, up 358 wooden steps to the top of the island for an incredible view. Not so eager to do the climb? There was a fantastic zodiac option where we circled the island, observing the Galapagos Penguins on the shore, mantas jumping in the distance, and searched for sharks in the shallows. It was an absolutely beautiful boat ride, full of sightings. I think we counted almost all the penguins known to be in the area! What a treat!

After the first half of our excursions, everyone met at the beach to sun, play in the water… or if you were a snorkeler, to go over to Pinnacle Rock to find the penguins. We weren’t disappointed! Because it was late afternoon, the penguins were in and out of the water, hunting and diving, and they were zooming past those who made the swim over to see them.

The personal thrill for me is beyond words. Ever since seeing the penguins in the water from the beach during my Antarctic cruise, I’ve been dreaming of being in the water with them. I feared I’d have to learn how to dry suit dive and brave the Antarctic waters in order to accomplish that, but here was my dream coming true. When I learned there was a chance to snorkel with them I was excited, but the actuality far exceeded my hopes. Not only was I able to see them, they came zooming by me VERY close, and repeatedly. The light was low, the water was murky, but I got some shots which, while technically leaving much to be desired, will continue to make me smile for years to come.

This was Pinnacle Rock itself, with several penguins resting atop it. Sorry for the odd coloring – I had a red filter on my lens to enhance the underwater colors, and it was difficult to get the color correction right for the above-water shots – and it didn’t help at all that we were facing into the setting sun.


Yes, there are several penguins on the rocks. You can make out the one on the left fairly easily, but there were three more in the shadows as well.

Not only were the penguins zooming by, but there was a pelican hunting at the surface as well. Look closely here – you can see the pelican’s beak and feet along with a penguin just coming into the frame in the lower right corner. Both were less than 12” away from my lens.


Because the conditions were so extreme (very dark underwater because of the murk and low light, very bright above with the setting sun), a split shot was not able to be perfectly (or even close to acceptably) exposed. But as bad as these shots are technically, look at what you can see topside and underwater (look closely – there be penguins there!)

A penguin just zooming by – gotta love continuous shooting!





To get a sense of the speed of these penguins, my camera is capable of shooting 3 frames per second. So that series above took less than two seconds for him to completely swim by with me panning as he swam. They’re quick little critters!

For the photographers reading this, yes, I could have used strobes in these shots. But I opted not to, in order to be able to take the faster, continuous images, and also because of all the particulate in the water. Had I been on scuba rather than snorkel, I might have used dual strobes to capture the color better. But at these depths, in these conditions with the fast-moving subjects, I decided this was the better option for me.

Why were the penguins and pelicans here? For the fish of course!





Yup, more penguins in the bottom two shots there.

On the way back to the beach, a couple sharks were also sighted – just small white tips, but exciting none-the-less.

What a day! But it wasn’t over. Tonight, we celebrate a somewhat-traditional Crossing the Line ceremony (though toned down a bit from the more ribald antics common on naval ships). During this cruise, we actually cross the line 4 times, but this particular crossing was timed so we could enjoy and celebrate it after dinner. So much fun! I’ve gone over the equator many times, but never before onboard ship, and was looking forward to the ceremony – it didn’t disappoint! King Neptune, of course, was in evidence, along with his queen, and the antics ensued. At the end, we all got our certificate so we can now say we’ve been inducted into the Society by King Neptune.

This was one of the few nights when most passengers stayed up after dinner. Usually, it got almost immediately quiet after dinner, with a few of the teens staying up, and a few adults heading for a nightcap. Definitely not a ship for night owls, as even I was usually in bed long before 11PM. But it was nice almost every evening to have one after dinner drink either in the lounge or up on the top deck. While the upper deck “Blue Finch Bar” never opened at night, even though it was mentioned in the daily program, the bartenders from the main lounge were more than happy to bring up the drinks to us. The bar was a bit understaffed this cruise, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.

Overall onboard there were several new crew, as some of the more experienced crew were rotating on and off, and since they’re all local, there were occasionally a few glitches with service, but never once could you fault their attitude or desire to take care of you.

Antarctica Pictures Posted!

As promised, I've posted the expanded set of pictures from the Star Princess South America/Antarctica sailing in January on my website. Of course, this isn't all the pictures, but they're the ones in my mind which are the best and tell the stories I most enjoyed. Most of them you haven't seen before.

Thought I should probably get these up for you before I start tantalizing you with pictures from the Galapagos in a couple weeks.

You can find them at Amber Waves Photography. Hope you enjoy them!

This will be my last blog until I return on March 25. See you then!

No Good Stories, Only Good Weather and Good Penguins

There's so much I wish I could tell you. I wish I could tell you about 80 foot waves over the bow in Drake Passage and around Cape Horn... but I can't. You'd ask for the pictures, and my pictures of Cape Horn show mostly flat calm. I had to work to find some breaking waves even at the juncture of the Atlantic and the Pacific.

I wish I could tell you about the blustery weather in Ushuaia with cold wind, whipped seas in Beagle Channel and a bucking ride in a catamaran. But again, I know you'd see my pictures which would prove me wrong.

So instead, my blog for Drake Passage and Cape Horn is going to be about the amazing calm we experienced. While the days have been a bit grey, we've had sun each day, and the seas have been positively calm. Slight rolling a bit last night, but I've felt far worse on a clear day in the Caribbean.

Felt a bit of history as we rounded Cape Horn. There's a beautiful sculpture of an albatross there on the headland which symbolizes all those hearty mariners of yonder year who died on crossings in far less favorable conditions than what we experienced. This is a small Chilean base which is truly just an outpost. Notice the Chilean flag. No, I wasn't actually in Texas.

The pilot boat was actually a small boat from the Chilean Navy:

As we approached the crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we saw the beautiful Twin Towers, two rock formations which, in the winds of up to 200mph which do occur here (just not during this sailing), could be extremely treacherous. They mark the delineation between the two oceans:

Absolute gorgeousness in Ushuaia, the Southernmost City in the World, and our Catamaran ride in Beagle Channel. HIGHLY recommended. You've probably been wondering where all the other winged birds are, as I've only concentrated heretofore on the flippered birds (PENGUINS!). Today, I promise you'll get more birds. We have sighted several varieties of Albatross and Petrels on the sailing, but not being a birder, I'm not the best to bring those images to you.

Instead, today, when we arrived in Ushuaia, we boarded a large catamaran right at the pier (arranged privately, though Princess offers a similar excursion at a bit higher price on a larger boat) and headed out into the Beagle Channel for some scenic cruising.

First up was a colony of Black and White Cormorants (which, upon first sighting after days of penguin watching, look remarkably like penguins... until they start to fly off):


On the other side of the island were some seals resting (and youngsters sparring).

Next we went to a small island with Black Cormorants:

I've only ever seen cormorants underwater when they're diving for fish. Seeing their colonies was a treat! Especially with the interactions between them.

Next was a lighthouse rock grouping, with cormorants, South American Terns (very similar to Arctic Terns) and Seals. This is the farthest south lighthouse in the South American continent:

The seal colony was presided over by a large Beachmaster (the dominant male):

There were three other males who were obviously trying to work their way up so they could master the harem. Couldn't help but think that this rock, with all these wannabe Beachmasters was the Ushuaian version of MIT - Masters in Training. ::: cue moans and groans now :::

Finally, on the way back, we got several lovely pictures of Ushuaia itself. It's quite the modern city, though most of the buildings have a frontier town feeling. There was, however, one large, white modern building in the center:

Ooops, sorry, that's the Star Princess stern.

You must forgive my humor this afternoon. We had a lovely King Crab orgy with fabulous Argentinian wine for lunch and the wine has loosened my fingers a bit. The fine Sauvignon Blanc wine is from this Patagonian Region, and at the restaurant came to about $11 per bottle, and at the wine store was only about $7. While Chilean wine gets most of the attention, or the Argentinean Malbecs (red wine), don't overlook the Argentine whites, too. Wonderful, wonderful wine which complimented the crab soup and crab entree (which was actually an appetizer, but was more than plenty with the soup). All crab, all the time. All told, including wine, the meal came to about $30/person. Yes, for crab and we were all stuffed. Didn't I tell you the prices are wonderful down here?

Afterwards, a bit of shopping around town (had to get some wine and chocolate to make hot chocolate with later), then back to the ship.

The day ended up to be quite warm and lovely. The sun broke through around 1PM, and we were in the 60s for temperature, with virtually no wind. Truly couldn't ask for better. The local residents were out in force, enjoying a day so beautiful they said they only get a handful this good per year. Had it not been a weekend, they said they'd have taken off anyway to enjoy the day.

Sailing away from Ushuaia, we cruised up through the Beagle Channel, which is a narrow channel lined with glaciers. Incredible beauty surrounded us. Whilst at dinner, we spied one glacier with a large waterfall running from beneath it. Unfortunately, since it was during dinner, no pictures of that one. Suffice to say this channel alone was as beautiful as any of the scenery in Alaska or the Norwegian Fjords.

The next morning arrived a bit gray, with diminishing light showers, but with terrific anticipation, as it meant more... PENGUINS! We arrived in Punta Arenas on time at 7:00AM, and you know I was on the first tender ashore.

There are two different options from Punta Arenas to see the penguins. The first is Otway Sound, a colony of about 10,000 Magellanic penguins. It's about a one hour drive from the port, and is easily accessible, even possible for those in wheelchairs (you can even rent one on site). The second choice is the one I'd originally opted to take, Magdalena Island, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to an unexpected dry dock of the ferry. That is about a 90 minute ferry ride to another island, with a lighthouse, also covered by a Magellanic penguin colony. It is also available privately by riding on rigid inflatables (zodiacs), but because of the uncertainty of the weather, and the tendency toward winds and rough rides in the channel, we decided not to risk the zodiac ride. Turned out to be a good decision.

Once ashore, there is a nice, comfortable terminal from where you can catch a taxi or other tour offerings. A taxi to Otway Sound is about $110 (US) and the taxis can easily hold 3 people, or 4 if you're good friends and not too large. I highly recommend this option. It's quick, easy, and you can negotiate as much time at the colony as you wish. There will be an additional charge for extra time, but if you're like me, and more time with the penguins is better, then the standard 1 hour to navigate the over 1 mile circuit just isn't enough.

Our driver, Jose, spoke limited English, but between his fair English and my very limited Spanish, we made ourselves understood. He offered to stop if we wanted some water or snacks, but we headed straight to the colony.

Driving through part of Punta Arenas, it's clear this city is a true city, clean and modern but on a scale appropriate to being still on the edge of the frontier. It was an extremely important city for shipping prior to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1912, and has rebuilt itself in recent times primarily based on natural resources and tourism.

If you're able to be on the first tender ashore (legitimately by being Elite with Princess as I was, or by just knowing where and when to go), you can have an experience like I did of being at the colony totally alone for a period of time. We arrived about 30 minutes before the first of Princess' tour busses, and had the area totally to ourselves for that time. I meandered down the path, enjoying the quiet and calm, and had the small birds, rabbits and of course PENGUINS all to myself. Once the groups arrived, there was no more sign of some of the smaller, more skitterish birds (they looked like chickadees), or the rabbits.

Just because you're expecting penguin pictures, here's one of the small bird:

If you don't want to be out and about quite so early, and your time in port allows, the other excellent option would be to still take a taxi, but look to see when the Princess excursions leave. The main groups are early in the morning. If you wait until about 30-45 minutes after the last of the main groups arrive, by the time you get to the colony, they'll be finishing up their limited time and be leaving, and you'll have the paths and overlooks more to yourself without the crowds.

Be prepared, as this site is reportedly always windy, sometimes extremely so, which makes the mile-long walk along the wooden walkway chilly and a bit more challenging than you'd think otherwise. Of course, being that we had near miraculous and unprecedented weather this entire cruise, it was mild during this visit. Overcast for the most part, though getting sunny later in the day, the winds were light. But a windbreaker and perhaps a sweater are welcome here. Don't forget even when overcast, there is still a high likelihood of sunburn due to the thin ozone, so use that SPF. I didn't find gloves necessary here, but did wear a hat.

As I mentioned before, the Magellanic penguins nest in burrows they dig out of the ground or in the hillsides. They actually dig using their beaks and flippers. In the distance, saw one expanding his nest and he was throwing up quite the cloud of dirt!

This site has a lot of greenery, so you have to look closely sometimes to see the penguins nesting in their burrows. Where's Penguiney?:

Every morning or afternoon, one parent makes the trek down the well-worn tracks to the sea to go fishing, coming back in the afternoon or evening. Am I the only one who is humming "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to fish we go" when looking at this picture?

The Magellanic penguins are also closely related to the Jackass penguins found in South Africa. At least listening to them call I have to believe so. If I get a chance, I'll ask our naturalist, as he is a true penguin expert, having discovered the 4th known Emperor colony back in the 1940s. But back to the sound they make. It's a braying very close to a donkey's, not only in the tone, but also the style. Funny to listen to and watch. You can see one getting ready to bray as they start panting a bit, opening their beaks, then they throw back their head and let loose. They definitely use their diaphragms like any good singer, taking deep breaths you can see, and supporting their call fully. Let me tell you, they really get into it. Not entirely sure what they're signifying when they call, be it hunger, territory or just letting loose, but it doesn't seem to be calling back and forth between them. It's a bit more solitary than that, and others around don't seem to take much attention:

Though at times, you'd have 2 or more in a group who decided to call together:

Penguins are highly social birds. They seem to prefer to walk together from their nesting areas to the beach and water, they play with each other on the water, they are curious about one another, and groom one another, both to rid themselves of tics, but also to help each other moult off the old feathers. Several times in watching the beach group, it looked like a rugby scrum was forming, with the penguins forming a tight group that moved back and forth together:

Other times, there were small groups which seemed to be in intense conversation with their heads together. You have to wonder what strategy they're discussing:

These two seemed to be happy just standing flipper in flipper:

They also at times seem curious about us, though they hesitated to cross under bridges while people were on them, and we were encouraged not to stand on the bridges for that reason:

Interestingly, even though social, they're also territorial. These 5 kings of the rock did not want to allow any other penguins to join them up on their perch:

I believe most of the penguins on the beach were juveniles who were awaiting the return of their parents. While some had most of their adult feathering, and could go into the water, these weren't swimming out, but only swimming around the shallows a bit. Others were obviously in full moult from their juvenile fluff to adult feathers:

Many were extremely patient while waiting, not moving in the least the entire time I watched:

Or simply finding a comfy bed on the kelp washed up on the beach in which to take a nap:

Other times, they were playing with one another, sometimes hide-and-seek in a hollow log, other times splashing one another in the water:

These juveniles could go into the water, but since their feathers weren't fully in, going out to sea to fish for themselves wasn't possible, as they don't have enough protection and waterproofing yet. But they sure did like the water!

Several times there were what appeared to be one adult and a juvenile together near their burrow:

Just like the other species we've observed, there's a close bond between parent and child:

Okay, enough about penguins. Hope I've not taxed your patience about them too much.

Around Punta Arenas, there are a number of other options which are also available if you aren't a penguin fanatic as I am. There are the wild llamas which can be seen (they're smaller and more sturdy than the ones you're used to). There's a beautiful glacier which you can hike by riding a chair lift, overlooking the Straits of Magellan. The town itself offers museums, focusing on the history of Patagonia, the local Indians and Magellan, and the Town Square is quite scenic, featuring a large statue of Magellan, but surrounded by images of the native Indians he found here. It's said if you rub the toe of the statue, it will ensure you return. Actually, the tale is if you kiss the toe you'll return, but rubbing seems to be more sanitarily correct these days.

Surrounding the square, and in many other areas, are a wealth of local handicrafts, many made on site using traditional methods. I saw many people coming back to the ship laden with bags from town.

Because of the changeable weather and often 200 kph winds here, be aware the tender ride can get a bit tricky. While smaller ships can dock in town, the Star Princess must tender a bit off. Middle of the afternoon, there were storm force 10 winds for a time, and the seas were buckling and a few passengers had a pretty bumpy ride. They did cease tender operations for a bit before resuming, and we had quite a tricky time getting the last two tenders aboard, needing the assistance of a tug boat to turn us around so they could be raised. But we were safely away after about an hours' delay, sailing out of the Straits toward Argentina.

We have three wonderful sea days ahead, before our next port in Montevideo on the 25th. Today dawned absolutely clear and calm, and it's been a wonderful day onboard the ship with excellent presentation lectures and the typical activities onboard. I tend to work on this blog and pictures in the area where the computer classes have been held, and she's been excellent with a broad range of topics, from basic to more advanced such as PowerPoint presentations.

I will post again before we arrive in Montevideo, giving more information about the ship itself, background on the quality of the lecturers, and other information. Again, email me if you have something you'd like me to address.

By the way, I've gotten several questions about my photographic equipment. I'm using a Canon DSLR camera (400D), and the lenses I've used for the images I've posted are a Sigma 10-20mm wide angle, Sigma 18-200mm OS zoom, and a Canon 100-400mm L super telephoto. I will admit that I've taken literally thousands of images on this trip, with only a few represented here. In areas where I was trying to get the jumping penguins in the water, I was lucky to get 1 in 4 images which even had penguins in the shot, but as I was using continual shooting, it gave me much better likelihood of getting the shot I wanted. In Otway Sound, I took 1497 images (no, that's not a typo) during the 3 hours I was there, and have a very high "keeper" rate with a lot of really fun stories told through them.

There will be many other images posted after I return and have time to go through and convert them from RAW and post them to my photographic web site,

http://www.amberwavesphotography.com./Give me probably a month or so to get them all up, but I'll try to post a few each week as I work on them.

If anyone has questions about any of these pictures, how I got them, or want advise on camera equipment for this type of trip, or even where to rent lenses they may not have (I rented the 100-400mm for example), drop me an email. I'm happy to help!

And of course, all the images are copyrighted. Please do not use them outside this blog/review without permission or attribution.

Watch for my next post tomorrow or Thursday!

The Splendor is Overwhelming

My apologies for the gap in posting. Simply put, the beauty and splendor of Antarctica was overwhelming and exhausting. Awakening early so as to not miss a moment of the magnificence, not going to bed until after sunset (which was between 11PM to midnight), it quite wore me out. But it was so worth it!

First, a few pictures from the morning of the last post. The colors of the sunrise against the bergs:

First Light:


Morning brightens:

Amazing sky:
But then the weather and ice close in - so much ice:


The wind whips up:


The mist and the ice:


A visit to Esperanza Station will have to wait for another time, as the ice and wind simply would not let us through.

We then proceeded to Arctowski Station, a Polish Research Center in a beautiful sound:

Some of the scientists come out to speak to us (and enjoy some fresh food and company onboard for a bit of time):

This base is a year-round operation, though not all the researchers stay through winter. Right now, there are 3 women who have come for the summer, but who will depart before winter closes in. 5 of the men stay year round, monitoring the large Gentoo and Adelie penguin colonies nearby, and conducting other research as well.

While the men were onboard, a helicopter from the Chilean Research Base arrives. While the visit was routine (Arctowski Station is the central repair center for the area), it didn't take much imagination to picture the Chileans arriving while the men were onboard our ship in order to take over the Polish base and capture the women.

Chile invades Poland!:


After the scientists departed, we headed out of the sound and proceed out to our next destination the next morning - Gerlache Strait and Neumeyer Channel. Throughout the evening, as we ate dinner on our way, the mountains and water were cast in a bright, clear light. I now understand what people truly mean by "ice blue" - it's the clearest, coldest blue imaginable in the sky with the mountains of snow and ice beneath. Photos aren't nearly enough to describe the feeling the play of light and color evoked.

The next day arrived clear and beautiful again as we sailed along the Gerlache Strait toward Neumeyer Channel. On one side was a huge island, the other was the Antarctic Peninsula, so close that you felt as if you could touch it. Figuratively, I did reach out so my finger seemed to reach it, and while we never made a technical landing, I feel I was truly in Antarctica.

The weather we're having is some of the best our naturalist, Dr. Bernard Stonehouse, has seen in Antarctica. Not just a day, but a string of days of calm, clear weather blessed us.

This day we will go to the farthest point south on our cruise - just shy of 65 degrees south (the Antarctic Circle is at 70 degrees south).

Morning in Gerlache Channel:


Magnificent vistas and scenes were everywhere:

The seas were so calm (officially "smooth with wavelets") the only wves were caused by our wake:


We were entertained not just by the beauty of the day and the scenery, but also visited by Minke, Humpback and Orca whales (we'd seen Minkes and Humbpacks previously, but this was our only visit by Orcas) and of course our favorite penguins cavorted on the ice for our amusement.

Gentoo Penguins on a "Penguin Berg":


As we approached Neumeyer Channel, the ice increased. Our Ice Pilot (also known as the Ice Captain) was magnificent, charting our course through the ice safely. He guided the ship expertly through, maneuvering with fine adjustments so we were always safe. His skill was impressive and we all felt safe in his hands.

These are examples of the ice as we reached the southern end of Gerlache Strait:

Then we turned north to sail back through Neumeyer Channel and the amazing vistas of these mountains:


We weren't alone here - the small expedition ship Corinthian II joined us:


All afternoon and evening we sailed north along the Antarctic Peninsula, finally leaving the tip at about 11:00PM, still light as sunset wasn't until after midnight (and it truly never got dark overnight), and sailed toward Deception Island.

Dawn this morning crept in, masked by fog and low clouds as we approached Deception Island, an island cloaked not just by glaciers, but also in the ash from its active volcano. The island in truth is
one huge caldera with a lagoon in the center. If you have visited Santorini, just picture that island transported to Antarctica, covered in ice and ash, and you have Deception Island.

The islad is home to an enormous colony (upwards of 100,000) of Chinstrap Penguins. Once again, my morning was spent enjoying "breakfast" with my new friends, Pen and Penny Guin (sorry, couldn't resist). As they came to and fro from the colony, they thrilled us with their antics around the ship. You could see dozens jumping all around.

At one point, a group of the penguins seemed to make a game of keeping up with the ship. Dr. Stonehouse (who provided running commentary whenever we were viewing new places to increase our understanding of what we were seeing) informed us we were moving along at 5.5 knots, and the penguins had no trouble keeping up. Was just pure fun to watch these fast "Chinnies"!


Two other ships joined us - Le Diamant and Polish sailing ship Europa.


While the weather today was not as stunningly beautiful as what we'd experienced the previous two days, it in no way diminished the amazement of all we saw.

This is the entrance to the caldera. Smaller expedition ships can go through the entrance, but because of a shipwreck, large ships like the Star Princess cannot. If you've ever seen pictures of visitors to Antarctica cavorting in the water, this is where they do it. There are places in the caldera where the water is warmed by the volcano underneath, making it possible to go "swimming" in Antarctica.


We finally left Deception Island around noon, heading north across the Drake Channel toward Cape Horn. At first the seas were flat calm and foggy - we had Drake "Lake"! As evening progressed, the seas got a bit more rolling, but never classified as more than "moderate." After so many long days of adventure, spending hours upon hours outside in awe, the gentle rolling all night (and no early
events to worry about) made for a very nice night's sleep.

We passed 60 degrees south around midnight, signaling our official departure from Antarctica.

Arrival at Cape Horn should be around 5PM tonight. Hopefully the skies will lift enough so we will be able to see the famous albatross sculpture which is dedicated to the souls of the sailors lost in these treacherous waters, in honor of their wandering souls, just like the albatross.

Have to say I've been extremely impressed with the videographers on this sailing. Typically, I view the cruise video as an "I was there" video, filled primarily with waving faces of the passengers so they can show their friends back home they were actually on the ship, and then complimented with a few port pictures, often with stock footage. Not so on this sailing. The two videographers have
wonderfully captured the beauty we've seen in port so far in the Falkland Islands, but also as we've sailed along. There is footage of the whales, penguins, and stunning lengths of the scenery we've
seen, magnificently capturing the light and essence of our adventure. Further kudos go to them for the innovative step of allowing the finalized DVD to be seen in its entirety, including the waving faces of the passengers intermixed with the scenery, or to view the scenes themselves, separated, without the passengers. Marvelous! That fills the preferences of everyone! I've ordered three - one for me, one as a gift, and one which will be available for those of you who might want to see it as
you contemplate a future visit to Antarctica.

Tomorrow we touch land again for the first time in a week, sailing into and docking in Ushuaia, Argentina. It promises to be another day of wonderful critters as I plan to sail around Beagle Channel on a catamaran, then enjoy king crab (a local specialty) for lunch, followed by their signature hot chocolate. I may not be able to post tomorrow, or the following day when we're in Punta Arenas, Chile, but will try to do at least a quick post without pictures, and bring you all the highlights with pictures no later than the 22nd. Keep watching!

By the way, I've been having difficulty with my email. If you've written me, about anything, and have not received an answer, please write again. It appears some of my mail has been eaten by the
ions. You might also want to cc me at amber@amberwavestravel.com (that's the address for my dive travel division) in addition to my amber@cruiseresource.com address. That seems to be getting through better.

Thank you all for reading!

It's Really Antarctica!

After a night of slow-speed sailing south, crossing the Drake Channel
(the first of two crossings this sailing) with large roller waves and
additional rocking caused by the wind, but overall pretty calm,
morning broke to us not just in the Antarctic Treaty Zone, but in
Antarctica itself! Of course, this far south morning comes early
this time of year, with sunrise around 4:20AM.

We were approaching Elephant Island, known by whalers for the
Elephant Seals it has harbored in the past. Perhaps more famously,
it is the island where Earnest Shackleton's men wintered over while
he went for help after his expedition was stranded.

As we get closer, we see mountains emerging from the mist, then the
first tabular icebergs, then "bergy bits" floating near the ship, and
finally Valentine Cove on Elephant Island and large icebergs near the ship!

Tabular icebergs are named for the table-tops they resemble. Broken
off not from glaciers but from the ice pack farther south as it
breaks up and brought north by the prevailing currents:

(For some reason I cannot upload these tonight - I'll try to get them up tomorrow - but tomorrow is supposed to be packed with other icebergs and may just post new ones instead.)

Bergy bits (I know that sounds funny, but it's their actual,
technical name) are the small pieces of ice which are constantly
eroding from the various ice bergs.



Ice bergs such as this are broken off of the face of tidal glaciers
which reach to the ocean.


A couple views of Elephant Island and Valentine Cove:

The ice bergs are constantly eroding, by wind and waves, even
creating caves such as in this one:
Does this all look barren? Did I forget to mention...
PENGUINS?! Shame on me! Yes, right from the ship we were able to
observe Chinstrap Penguins, both resting on the surface, but also
jumping, either being chased by seals (which could not be seen at
this height) or just fishing:
From the time the sun rose, we were surrounded by birds, including
several varieties of albatross, but also by flocks of Antarctic Petrels and many others. You'll have to forgive me as I'm not much of a birder (unless their wings are actually flippers), but bird lovers will be in paradise here.

Running commentary from the bridge was given by the naturalist,
historian and ice captain, pointing out whales seen spouting near and
far, interesting features of various ice bergs, the island or other
bits we might want to observe. We sailed extremely slowly for good
views, spending about 3 hours around Elephant Island
itself. Temperatures are just below freezing, and as we left
Elephant Island, the mists rolled back in and we had a bit of a snow
storm. I was out starting at about 6:30AM and didn't come in until
about 10. Not too cold, but when you have your fingers out of your
mittens to take pictures, and are gripping a metal camera, having
chemical hand warmers in the mitten fingers makes it much more
comfortable (I use glove/mittens which have half-fingered gloves
inside a mitten top, and the top can be folded back so I can use the
fingers individually for photography.)

Good ear muffs are a bonus, as is some sort of hood. Mine is fleece
with a scarf attached, and kept my head nice and warm. A coat with
wind breaking properties is perfect, and all I had on my feet were
fleece-lined Crocs.

We're on our way now to Esperanza Station and the Antarctic Straits
on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula, and should have more pictures
tomorrow if I have time to post. This area is known as "Iceberg Alley". I'll continue to keep you
updated! While we are not permitted to make landings from a ship of
this side, the scenery here is amazing, and it's a wonderful way to
see this incredible region.

Fabulous Falkland Islands!

Unexpected. Yes, that’s the word for it. Totally unexpected.

Yesterday, we were in Stanley (formerly known as Port Stanley), Falkland Islands. Situated over a hundred miles off the SE coast of Argentina, most people know it only for the 1982 Falklands War, in which 12,000 Argentine soldiers and 8,000 British troops fought fierce battles over control of this series of islands. Argentina claimed them, and had thought of them as their own (though in reality they started the war mainly as a way to rally the country behind their military dictator), Great Britain had controlled them for over 100 years. The British won, but at a definite cost in lives.

Okay, so that’s what you already know about the Falklands. So why do cruise ships (try to) visit her? One word: Penguins! These islands are home to large colonies of four different species of penguins, the Kings, Gentoos, Rockhopper and Magellenics, and visited by others such as the Macaroni. The colonies are accessible in a variety of ways, from bus, water and rough overland journeys, but the key is they’re accessible without necessitating a more extreme type of expedition cruise landing on Antarctica itself.

Reason I say that cruise ships try to reach these islands is because at this latitude, weather is highly unpredictable. Ships over about 300 passengers have to tender passengers ashore, and winds on this island can be fierce, preventing sometimes even entry of the ship into the outer harbor, and often completely preventing tendering into shore. The two days before we arrived, both Celebrity Infinity and Norwegian Dream were turned back by weather. Fortunately, third day’s the charm and we had a day I hadn’t even dared hope for. I was crossing my fingers simply to be able to get ashore. Instead, we had clear, warm (almost 60 degrees) and gorgeous after a bit of fog in the morning. A Visitors’ Bureau type of day. Simply amazing! (You’ll hear that phrase out of me a few times this blog, never fear).

If you want simple penguins, for the Magellans and Gentoos, you can take the “Penguin” bus for about $12 round trip from the town a short distance to a colony. Easy, you get LOTS of penguins, and you can spend as much time as you want, catching a later bus back. To see the other varieties, you will have to go a bit farther afield. Want a marine montage? That’s available too with a boat ride where you will see penguins and may see whales, dolphins, lots of birds, sea lions, etc. Into war history? There are several excellent tours of that here, too.

The island is ruggedly beautiful. Once you get outside the landscaped yards in town, there is nary a tree or bush to be found. Anywhere. None. There is one trial nursery for trees, but no natural greenery reaching above about 12” above ground. Sounds barren, doesn’t it? Nope! The landscape is filled with rolling hills and low mountains. The topography is carved by glaciers, and rivers of stones have been left behind. This is a raw landscape, softened by plants such as their famed Diddle-Dee berry bushes (with beautiful, bright red berries), flowers, grasses and the like growing out of the peat bog. I’m sure in spring the hillsides are a riot of color. But everything is tempered by the wind. The ground and climate are good for growing, and most of the residents have kitchen gardens with vegetables. The islands grow most of their own food, but also get fresh fruit and such from Chile (nothing from Argentina, for obvious reasons – the bad feelings run deeply among the residents).

The population is about 3,000, with 1,500 of those living in Stanley itself. Currency is the Falklands Pound, which is tied to the British Pound in value. Euros are also accepted, but dollars have a horrible exchange rate here. Sheep farming is widespread, and you’ll find sheep everywhere on the island. There is a dairy, brand new high school, and well-educated residents with the government paying to send its graduates to college in England. Most of the income of the islands is derived from fishing leases they grant and tightly control. They have rich waters, but not a fishing heritage, so they wisely opted to have others make use of that resource while they retained control and oversight.

The other main reason you’ve rarely heard of the Falkland Islands is that only about 60,000 visitors arrive every year, mostly from cruise ships. And they provide a large source of income to the residents. When you consider only about 20,000 people visit Antarctica a year, you realize that this is almost as remote and fresh as a destination. Not many people will have a Falklands stamp in their passport. And it’s well worth it.

But you’re probably tired of all that now and wondering when I’ll get to the pictures, right? Okay! Let’s talk about where I went and what I saw.

Out of the many penguin excursion options, my research led me to decide that I wanted to go to Volunteer Point to see the King Penguins. These penguins are second in size only to the Emperor Penguins (of March of the Penguin fame), and of very similar coloring and habits, other than the fact the Kings nest on top of the ground instead of on top of the ice. But in most other ways, including the parents switching off rearing duties while the other goes to feed, incubating their eggs on their feet, keeping their hatchlings on their feet, and even their youngsters being a different color than the adults, they’re a dead ringer for the Emperors (and my guess is they’re very closely related).

I was extremely tempted by the Rockhopper Penguins, as they’re the smallest of the crested penguins (think the ones with the yellow ear feathers like you saw on the Robin Williams character in Happy Feet) and darned cute, but unfortunately it was one or the other. So I went with the Kings.

After researching online, I found Patrick Watts, a highly recommended private vendor and set up the tour. It is about a 2.5 hour drive each way, with about 2 hours at the penguin colony. The ride is mostly over extremely rough terrain. The Princess tour to the same destination has the disclaimer that it is not suitable for pregnant women or those with back or neck injuries, and I’d echo that strongly. You’re driving in 4x4 vehicles in a convoy over peat bog, and bog is not an understatement. Vehicles routinely sink into bog areas and have to be pulled out. You’re bouncing around as you follow the “track” (that term is loose, believe me, as they have to find new routes as the old ones get too torn up to be stable). But every bump and bounce is well worth it.

As we traveled out to the Point, Patrick provided running commentary about the history, the flora and fauna and other tidbits of the islands. I spoke with others in our group and they were thrilled with their driver guides as well. That, and anticipation, made the drive out pass quickly. But finally we were there and had our first penguin sighting – a Magellan out walking by his burrow.

Magellenic penguins dig burrows (holes) in the ground in which to nest, like this one: (You’ll have tons of Magellenic pictures when we reach Punta Arenas, so this is the only one for today)

When you arrive, there are two Wardens who live on the site and who monitor your access to the penguins to ensure you don’t harass or intrude into their rookeries. The King and Gentoo rookeries, where the parents are incubating their eggs on their feet, are surrounded by white stones beyond which you can’t pass. But of course the non-incubating parents are free to come and go and get quite close to you. If you move slowly, and don’t frighten them, they can come right up to you. And the white stones are fairly close to the incubating parents and their young as well.

The Gentoo and King rookeries are separated by a bit of space, but easily walkable about 5 minutes apart. The Gentoos have a white “headband” over their head and look like this:

The Gentoo chicks started hatching about a month ago, so some of them are at a larger, adorable state this time of year, though many parents still were incubating eggs. As you can see, there is a strong, loving bond between parent and child:

But of course, the Kings are the main attraction here. This is an idea of the size of just the rookery itself. There are approximately 1,500 King Penguins who call Volunteer Point home (the brown one in front is a chick from last season who has not yet molted into his adult feathers):

King Penguins Egg Sitting:

Here’s a very newly hatched (probably less than 48 hours old) chick still protected on its parents feet (I have to admit, when newly hatched, they look a bit like a pterodactyl – gray and wrinkly!):

And a closeup of just the chick so you can see it better:

Another one who is more shy and who didn’t want to show his face, no matter how long I waited:

The setting is absolutely beautiful, with the waves crashing on the beach and the Kings deciding if they want to head out to the water and brave the dangers there:

The various penguin species intermingle comfortably. They even mingle with the sheep! If, unlike me you can drag yourself away from the Kings, it’s easy to get some fabulous shots of the Magellenics right up next to sheep – even harassing them a bit:

That’s all the time I have to post pictures today. After the cruise when I get caught up, I’ll post here in the blog my photo site so you can see all the pics.

After another 2+ hour long trip back (made bearable again by the excitement and amazement of what you saw and how close you were – it was an amazing interaction), you have a bit of time around Stanley if you wish before heading back to the ship. Since I’d taken almost 400 shots, and worn myself out in the sun, it was straight back to the ship for me so I could see what I’d gotten and to relax a bit before dinner.

Today’s a day at sea, foggy and coolish as we head into the Antarctic Treaty zone. We’re just traversing that now, and have additional restrictions placed on the ship: No smoking outside, the pools are shut down, and outside activities (games, etc.) severely restricted. All to make sure there’s no accidental contamination of the waters and environment. Tomorrow, we reach Elephant Island and the Antarctic Peninsula! I hope to report tomorrow, but it will all depend on what we’re seeing – of course getting the images and experiencing it comes first, but will report back again as soon as I can!

This was one of the most amazing days I can imagine. It ranks up there with diving with sea lion pups as my most incredible critter interactions. This is simply something you must do at some point in your lifetime.