2023 Return to Antarctica - Day 9 Plan A, B, C and Ice Ice Baby

This morning we rounded the head of the Antarctic peninsula and headed south towards Plan A, Brown Bluff. The site hosts two penguin colonies: an Adélie colony of 40,000 penguins, and a Gentoo encampment with a mere 3,000 penguins. Their sites were still snow covered, but we didn’t get close enough to see how much activity was going on there due to swells and an abundance of ice at the landing area

As the landing was thwarted by high winds and ice we headed further south. It was a beautiful day, with impressive icebergs and a passage through last winter’s sea ice

With the warming temperatures of Antarctic spring, the ice had just broken up the in last few days. We navigated through a giant jigsaw puzzle of flat ice floating on gentle swells. These pieces are big, 20-40 feet across. Our timing was fortunate; it will disperse and disappear over the next several days. 

Our next landing site Snow Hill Island (Plan B) was also nixed, so the ship turned and headed back towards the Antarctic peninsula. Plan C was a possible ice landing.

An announcement from the expedition leader, Fred, (he said he used the emergency override so it played in all of the cabins) sent most everyone scurrying to the outer decks to see an Emperor penguin. It’s unusual to see them here; it was the second one Fred had seen in five years of Antarctic sailings. This one had gone into the water by the time we got outside, perhaps frightened by the ship. Then it launched back onto the ice floe with a belly slide and popped up for the photo op. 

We were satisfied with the day at that point, but the best was yet to come. We were in frozen Goose Bay, facing about six miles of sea ice. The expedition team went out on a zodiac to measure the thickness of the ice. Our ship is capable of breaking through sea ice up to 1.5 meters and their measurements showed it was <1 meter. An attempted ice landing was on! 

The ship proceeded to ram its way into the ice sheet - twice. Crew and passengers (equally excited) watched from the bow. Huge sections fractured off from the port side. Adélie penguins on these sections were unperturbed, just going along for the ride. 

The expedition crew assessed stability on the starboard side, and proceeded to drag a gangway from the ship to the ice. Mark’s room had a great view of the goings-on

The ice stretched on for about 6 miles to land. Large icebergs have been trapped in the ice since it froze 6 or 7 months ago.

The first group of about 50 people went ashore for 1/2 hour. I wish I had a photo; a group of about 40 Adélie penguins rushed over to inspect them. Some waddled briskly; several propelled themselves on their bellies. They were so fast! After a few minutes, they rushed back towards the open waters. It was adorable.

And then we got our turn. On one hand, the ship looks immense (though a fraction of the size of a typical cruise ship). On the other, we felt small and inconsequential against the scope of our surroundings. 

Hurtigruten encourages the crew to share in experiences when they travel. Our waiters and cabin steward all got off the ship. They were as excited to share an ice landing as we were. It’s not something that happens every sailing, or even every season. 

There was a little excitement getting back on the ship as the slab of ice that supported the gangway separated from the main icepack. 

The crew tried winching the pieces back together and even brought in a zodiac to push and keep them from separating further. 

We were herded back towards the ship and crossed the gap one at a time. By the time we got back to our rooms, only the crew was left ashore. 

Unfortunately, the other half of the passengers could not go on the ice. The crew tried a different landing approach using zodiacs, but the wind was gusting up to 70 knots. It must have been very disappointing to be suited up and not get onto the ice.

As unique as the camping experience was the ice landing has been the defining event of the trip thus far, truly a unique and beautiful day! 

2023 Return to Antarctica - Day 8 Deception Island

Today was our favorite stop so far. Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands is actually the flooded cone of an active volcano. A year-round Argentine base operated there until the eruptions of 1967-70. Since then, it’s operated as a summer base. Volcanic activity is monitored year round, which we appreciate as we crossed the 15 km caldera today.

The entrance is through a narrow channel called Neptune’s Bellows. It was named over 200 years ago by American sealers, after the ferocious winds which funnel through the opening into the caldera.

We landed first at Whalers’ Bay, just to the right of the entrance. A black cinder beach lined the shore, which made for an easy wet landing. A few Gentoo penguins porpoised along the edge, occasionally popping on land to check us out with an air of studied indifference.

(Except for this guy.)

Long a whaling processing center, rusting artifacts stand as hulking reminders of the whaling industry. 

Cape petrols

A notch in the caldera wall called Neptune’s Window offered views both in and outside the crater.

Mark had been considering taking the Polar Plunge since we first learned about it. The water here in the caldera is a little warmer than in the open ocean, due to the continuing geothermal activity far below. But the term “warmer” is relative. Instead of around 30 degrees (sea water freezes at a lower temperature), it’s more like a balmy 34 degrees. He watched a couple of other brave souls venture in, and decided to go for it. 

He went fully underwater. When asked how the water was, he said, “Salty.”  A braver soul than me. 

We cruised about 15 km to Telefon Bay at the northern edge of the caldera. This was the area that erupted 55 years ago, so the newest part of Deception Island. We climbed to the top of a lookout. It was windy, with 40 mph gusts; my hiking poles kept blowing straight out. The views were worth it.

From the top. You can see orange-jacketed people from our ship climbing up the slope. In the snow, middle left, are people headed along the shore in the opposite direction.

And the view from below, back towards people at the top of our climb

Except for wind, we had an exceptional day for landings. No sleet or snow, some clear skies, even a little sun. A storm rolled in as we sailed away. 

2023 Back to Antarctica - Day 7 How Cold Can It Get Anyway? / Brown Station

We set off for our camping adventure at Damoy Point around 9 last night. Everyone was issued a large dry bag containing a sleeping bag and camping mat as we headed for the zodiacs. Plastic toboggans holding the tents and foam insulating mats were already stashed on shore for us to drag to our tent sites.

It was windy and sleeting, but everyone managed to get their tents up. Mark did the lion’s share for us. Putting up a tent in heavy waterproof gloves was a fun challenge. The expedition team, in a fraction of the time it took us to get set up, had assembled an Amundsen tent, a replica of those used by his polar expedition 112 years ago. They gathered us around their tent, where they (sadistically?) pointed out that our ship was sailing away along with our zodiacs. Clearly, there was no changing our minds at this point.

We took a hike to a nearby Gentoo penguin colony before circling back to our tents. No one made us hot chocolate or s’mores.

The Amundsen tent is at the far right.

It was chilly, but cozier in the tent than I’d expected. We took off our wet outer layers, crawled in the sleeping bags, and waited for morning. It sleeted against the tent most of the night, and was super noisy from the wind, but we were comfortable. Surprisingly we both got some sleep.



The orientation meeting had stressed severe bathroom limitations, and I think everyone was a little worried about that. At least one person skipped dinner just in case. However, the staff did dig out and equip a private latrine area for emergencies. 

The snow was pretty deep!

Our wake-up call was 5 AM, but everyone was up and starting to pack up their tents before then. The penguins had wandered off. Sometimes they visit the tents to check out the interlopers, but no such luck for our group. The ship had returned and set up a champagne breakfast for us on board. It’s probably been thirty years since I last slept in a tent - what a memorable way to try it again!

We cruised into Paradise Bay towards our next stop. The scenery along the perimeter of the Bay was stunning. Glaciers spilled down the valleys, ending in 100 ft tidal walls. 

The snow load looked heavy and immense, on the verge of collapse. It felt like an avalanche would occur at any time. 

We were headed to Almirante Brown Antarctic Station (aka Brown Station), an Argentinian research base established in 1951.

The original encampment was burnt down by a disgruntled doctor after he was ordered to stay for the winter. I guess he showed them why volunteers are better than conscripts! The base was rebuilt, but demoted to a summer-only station. It fell into disuse earlier in this century, but since 2007 has again been used in the summer. It operates one of the most complete biology labs on the Antarctic peninsula. 

The camp hasn’t opened yet for the season and the only current residents are a colony of Gentoo penguins who were on hand to greet and amuse us. 

There seems to be a correlation between research bases and penguins. They co-exist easily, although by late summer I’m sure the stench is overwhelming. Penguins return to their same nesting spots year after year. Perhaps the scientists recognized that the penguins know safe places to build: no tidal surges, avalanches, presence of open water, etc.

2023 Back to Antarctica - Day 6 Yalour Islands, Squalls and Damoy Point

We awoke at the Yalour Islands, a low-lying archipelago spread out over 1.5 miles. They are surrounded by mountains, spilling glaciers into the sea.

The islands are home to an Adélie penguin colony, and are a summer habitat of orcas who forage (sorry, KP) on the penguins. 

The air and water temperatures were around 30 F. This little disintegrating iceberg still has an affinity for its parts.

Our boat group is the Cape Petrols. Today we were in the latter half of excursion groups, so had a leisurely breakfast before suiting up for our first zodiac scenic cruising.

The Adélie penguins gathered in high places - safer from leopard seals and orcas, but pretty accessible to hungry skuas looking for eggs and chicks. 





When I first saw this photo, I couldn’t figure out what that long stick-like thing is. It looked like a twig, or if someone’s cross-county ski had washed ashore. But on closer inspection:

Not a flying seal, but a snow petrol.

And then the weather turned, quickly and dramatically. The wind picked up and small waves of water and ice crystals started crashing over the bow. I was in the front, and discovered that water can indeed get through two pairs of snow and rain pants. (And I definitely took the wrong pair of gloves this morning.) Only my socks stayed dry. 

So everything got spread out on the bathroom floor, which is heated but only for a set cycle. I hoped everything would dry before (1) the afternoon landing and (2) the overnight camping experience. 

We cruised northeast through the beautiful and narrow Lemaire Channel. Nicknamed “Kodak Gap” for its beauty, the 7 mile channel is flanked by 1,200 meter (nearly 4,000 ft) cliffs heavy with snow. Icebergs and sea ice sometime make the channel impassable. 

And then we passed through the Gerlache Strait, just as beautiful (maybe because the morning storm was fading). 

We anchored off of Damoy Point, site of a Gentoo penguin colony and two historic field huts. The Argentinian one is, I think, still in use. The 1973 British hut is maintained as a historical monument. It’s like a time capsule: appliances, scientific equipment, canned goods, calendars and bunks are all preserved as they were in 1993. Funny how much things are changed in only 30 years!

Mark went ashore early with the snowshoe group, while I (still fussing over my Very Wet clothes) elected to do the standard landing. The expedition team had carved steps up from the landing site, and stomped out a trail. The snow is deep enough that, without the trail, you could sink to your knees or hips, and find it difficult to get back up. 

The gentoo penguins have arrived, but it’s a little early for the mating season (a few precocious ones stood out). They will wait for the snow to melt so they can pick just the right pebbles to construct their nests. They’ve already started working on their penguin highways. One thing about seeing them this early in the season - no fishy odor! They are still amusing, calling out to each other with their distinctive sound. It starts out with a Chewbacca roar and ends with a donkey-like bray or two. 

Mark’s adventure

Damoy Point

Tonight we’ll be sleeping (or at least spending the night in a tent) ashore. I’ll save the details for tomorrow.