More expedition -ing this morning. First a 9 AM tour of this harbor in one of Viking’s two Special Operations Boats (SOB) followed by a 10:30 AM zodiac landing.

The wind here today is light, partly because of our position. We’re positioned on the lee side – the eastern side – of Astrolabe and the Antarctic peninsula and hence sheltered from the westerlies typical of Antarctica. Temperature is hovering around 32 F. Cloudy skis.

The SOB was designed to give the military fast and rugged water transport. They say it can be dropped from a helicopter. Our version seats 10 passengers, a driver and tour guide. We motored along the shore and around ice bergs, seeing penguins almost everywhere. The ride was quite comfortable and the scenery really something to write home about.

The second trip was at 10:30. Since it requires the same clothing mix as we wore for the SOB (all three layers as yesterday), we didn’t have to undress and redress.

The zodiac ride was as smooth as riding in your father’s Buick Electra. Not a single face full of water. Again we traveled in close to see penguins and seals. Next we landed on the island and got out to observe the chinstrap penguins. Waddell seals occupied one side of the beach and fur seals the other. The penguins, and if there was one there was a zillion., were perched on the side of a mountain slope.

Why up the side of a mountain? Beats me. Someone suggested they we’re nesting but that’s supposed to be something done in the spring – November-ish. Hatchlings wouldn’t have time to develop wintertime feathers. Maybe they’re afraid of the seals down on the beach.

One things for sure, they’re easy to spot. If the incessant squawking doesn’t lead you in the right direction the stink will.

Penguins are fun to watch as they waddle from one place to another. How such an ungracefully creature can scale a mountain is a mystery for me.

The beach where we landed was made up of smallish rocks, 2 to 4 inches in diameter and polished by eons of wave action, I presume. The rocks made exiting and entering the zodiacs something of a challenge.

We made it back to our cabin for the undressing ritual, which takes half an hour going and coming. Judy wrestled together two loads of laundry. That gave us 40 minutes to grab a burger before it was dryer time.

Speaking of layered clothing, I think we’re overdoing it a bit. Putting on all those layers makes us old fogies feel like real expeditioners, like Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. Hey, it’s just 32 out. Most of us have probably shoveled snow in this kind of weather with just jeans and a mid weight jacket. Carter and Griffin would do it in shorts. But hey, playing dress up is fun at any age.

We’re goofing off in our room until the Daily Briefing to find out where we’re going tomorrow. Right now we don’t have a clue. The decision will be driven by weather, I’ll bet. More later.

At the daily briefing we learned that tomorrow’s destination is Recess Cove where we are scheduled to make a landing on the true continent of Antarctica, not some hangers-on island. We paid good money for bragging rights, after all.

Dinner was in the Dining Room. The evening lecture was on Cataceans of the southern Ocean – whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Sorry for the multitude of pictures. One of our guides said, “People come to Antarctica for the penguins. They return for the ice.” The ice, both on land in the form of glaciers and the ice bergs floating everywhere are stunning works of art. I can’t resist!

Leaving home, we had two worries keeping us up nights and wondering if we’d done the right thing in going on this trip. Now that we’ve crossed the dreaded Drake Passage, and now that we’ve clambered into and out of the zodiac boat without bodily damage or badly bruised egos, both of our worries have been put to rest. The rest of the trip should be a piece of cake.

We arrived at Discovery Bay, Antarctica pretty much on schedule – 1 PM. (BTW, I misspoke in my Feb 2 blog. Astrolabe is tomorrow, not today.)

Starting midmorning we saw a parade of ice bergs, many bigger than a house and some not big enough to cool your favorite imbibition.Click, click, click went the camera.

 The expedition du jour (del día since we’re in the part of Antarctica claimed by Argentina) was a ride in a zodiac to get up close and personal with the shore line. We donned all our expedition gear: a base layer, a middle layer,  topped of with waterproof jacket and pants plus boots that come halfway up the calf. Not bad considering air temps in the low thirties. There was a fair wind blowing and of course wind from the zodiac’s movement. The big deal was that when the zodiac hit a wave, which was often, we were treated to a face full of Antarctic sea water.

Actually, our zodiac driver told us that the wind and wave conditions were at the edge of their go-no go point. In fact, some zodiac trips were called back early and other trips after ours were canceled. We didn’t see many signs of wild life, but our expedition leader told us, “don’t worry, you’ll see lots and lots of penguins soon enough.

I won’t try to describe what we saw; I’ll let the pictures do the talking. The ice formation, both on the island and  Discovery Bay, are spectacular.

We did dinner in the restaurant, attended a lecture from the guest historian who talked about the evolution of sailing craft, leading up to today’s expedition ships, including the Octanis. Then a BBC movie about Antarctica wild life. Now you know why I finked out on the blog last night. The other problem is that I’m taking way too many pictures.

Tomorrow, Astrolabe Island and two expeditions, one the Special Operations Boat and the second a zodiac landing on the island.

It’s getting late and we have to hit the Special Operations Boat at 9 AM so text and pix will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Sorry ‘bout that1

 

On any other cruise trip I’d call this a Day at Sea and I’d be bellyaching about boredom. We might not be coming to a port today but the bellyaching I have to report has to do with the seas of the Drake Passage, not boredom.

Actually, the seas, while not calm (they call it the Drake Lake when seas are calm) but it isn’t as bad as it could be. Our captain reports seas are running 4 to 6 meters, or roughly 12 to 19 feet. Winds in the 30s, too strong to open the walking deck. But the skies have been partly cloudy with lots of sunshine so we’re not in the middle of a storm. Temps in the low 40s.

As for my belly aching, it hasn’t been all that bad. It started getting rough during the night but we both slept well. The motion has continued at about the same intensity all day. At first I though I’d be fine. We attended a mandatory 8 AM briefing about protocols for shore visits. Summary: don’t do anything to damage the environment, either by changing the landscape or by introducing foreign substances and especially disease. The environment here is unique and quite susceptible. Avian flu is a particular worry. Watching the screen, I felt the beginnings of queasiness and so chewed a Bonine.

A bowl of oatmeal for breakfast made me think again, but I retreated to the cabin and watched the horizon for an hour and felt better, either by the calming influence of the ocean or the Bonine.

I did quite well at 10 AM when we went down to A Deck to be fitted for boots and shore pants and for a mandatory cleaning of any exterior garments we intend to wear ashore. It was actually a fun process, giving us a chance to meet some of the expedition crew who will accompany us in the zodiacs when we land.

Immediately afterwards was a tour of the ship, starting on Deck 1 and moving up. I made it half way through Deck 2 and retreated once again. This time, after Judy returned, I put on a patch, the one with prescription scopomine. A little more horizon watching and I was ready for lunch. Rather than do the cafeteria feed at the World Café, we went to a Norwegian café called Mamsen’s. A bowl of Lentil soup hit the spot, along with a Norwegian cake of some variety.

One of the side effects of the patch is drowsiness, a warning I took to heart immediately after lunch. I’d spotted a pleasant spot in the Living Room on Deck 4 so we went there at 1 PM. I told Judy I’d be there until our next event at 3 PM. Two hours and two naps later, I was feeling fine, ready for a third nap, but totally void of mal de Mer.

At 3 we attended a lecture by the Octanis’s Chief Scientist who explained the eight or so scientific studies being conducted on this ship and the sister ship Polaris. They study all sorts of natural phenomena here and the Great Lakes and everywhere in between. The research is done in conjunction with scientific organizations and Universities.

As an example, Viking had established a PCR lab on board for Covid testing back when testing was mandatory of Viking cruises. No longer needed for Covid testing, they’ve converted the equipment to be a full DNA sequencing lab to do marine research. A PhD student is doing dissertation work using the lab. The scientific studies are funded by Viking, and of course by extension, by passengers. The data they collect in the remote Antarctic region especially useful since it would not be economically viable to use  a research trip ship to gather the data.

Now it’s 5:30 PM and time for the welcoming party (“Let me introduce your Captain . . . “), followed by dinner at 6 and a lecture “Introduction to Antarctica.” Let’s hope my patch doesn’t fall off.

Judy’s doing just fine without chemical assistance, thanks for asking.

The welcoming session turns out to be more interesting than most. In addition to introducing the ship’s executives, All 24 expedition team members were individually introduced. An interesting group with widely varied spheres of knowledge and interest.

Dinner was fine (we both had lobster and scallops) and after, the 8 PM lecture that Judy tells me, was about the natural history of Antarctica. I’d read the book and elected instead to enjoy the drowsy side effect of my seasickness patch, which continues to work well. Judy kept poking me in the ribs, embarrassed to have me napping in public, but that was a minor disturbance.

And, lo and behold, upon returning to our room, we  found certificates from the captain attesting to our successful transit of the Drake Passage. Let’s not count our chickens . . .  We’ve got several more hours before we hit dry land, or what passes as dry land down here.

Not many exciting pictures today. Just a few shots of what the ship is like.

Tomorrow, we’re supposed to be at Astrolabe Island at the northern reach of the Australian Peninsula. We’re scheduled for a zodiac ride, but not landing, at 4 PM.

Note from Judy:

My stomach has been fine with the use of the wrist bands on the acupuncture spot that I assume is for nausea.  My problem is that I act like a drunken sailor and it is not from  alcohol!  I hold the railing or wall to steady myself.  I also took three naps: one after breakfast and two in the afternoon but stayed awake for the lecture.  The reason for my naps is that I love sleeping when the boat is rocking.  My father always told me to just imagine rocking yourself to sleep and it really works for me, at least so far.  I have had lots of memories today of my parents as I fall asleep and when I am unsteady on my feet My Mother as she had the same problem.  I am looking forward to tomorrow and a little anxious about leaving the ship but hopefully all will go well. 

Oh, the wages of sin and depravation! After two-thirds of a bottle of Trabiche Malbec that accompanied the three-course Argentinian beef dinner, followed by a beer during the tango show and 12:30 AM lights out, the 6 AM alarm was a most painful event. But do I regret it? No, not even the double dip of dulce de leche that preceded the night’s excesses. The meal was great and the show met our every expectation.

We came to the show with something of a critic’s eye, having experienced a tango show at this same venue five years ago. “Will it be better or worse? Will we recognize the dancers and musicians? Were we wrong to come here again, bypassing other similar shows in town?” The short answers are: better, different and correct.

For one thing, the venue is quite intimate. Having sprung for the VIP option, we were seated in virtually the same position as last time, this time however one row back rather than stage side so our photos have backs of heads every now and then. But that didn’t detract from the pleasure of the art.

The show had four main sections. First, tango dancing that I would term playful and smiling. Later, the more traditional tango dancing was emotional yet serious. The general idea was competition between ladies and gentlemen for dance partners. Attendant jealousies displayed. A singer interspersed songs during the dance routines. Fun.

A man and woman duo divided the two tango sections. There’s probably a term for it, but I would call it rhythmic dancing. Not tap dancing, although there was lots of rhythmic foot stomping going on. They accompanied each other on large drums and then danced together with the drums. The highlight, though, was their use of long cords with weights of some sort fastened to the ends. The dancers would swing the cords in large arcs, timing it so that the weights hit the floor in time to the impossibly fast rhythms established by the dancer’s feet stomps and/or the accompanying drums. Amazing.

The second tango performance was more similar to what I expected. Sensuous, dramatic and serious expression of emotion and, I suppose, love or at least attraction between man and woman. Classical tango moves that gives El Viejo Almacén its reputation as the home of classical tango art. Emotional.

The tango dancing we saw was certainly required high degrees of athleticism. The moves can only be accomplished by use of highly developed and highly controlled muscles. The same dancers do the same performance seven days a week. The dancers are fit, but show no signs of high musculature development. And the dancing isn’t a display of athleticism. Each move, no matter how complex or difficult, is performed with seeming ease, as if doing that twirl or toss or impossible pose is the most natural thing in the world.

The final act was an appearance by Hugo Marcel. I mean THE Hugo Marcel xxxxxx. Surely you’ve heard of him? Me neither. But the Argentinian crowd went wild when he hit the stage. I’d call him an old fashioned Argentinian crooner and it was fun to imagine his career as a popular idol in Argentina. He’d start telling a story of unrequited love (it was all in Spanish) and, when the emotion became more than he could bear, he broke into song, the only way he could explain the full scope of his feelings. Insightful.

Now, as I type, we’re half way through our 3:20 flight to Ushuaia. We’ll go to the boat and, hopefully, jump ship to reacquaint ourselves with Ushuaia, the southern most city in South America. Full report to follow.

Ushuaia has grown quite a bit since 2019 – population is now 80,000. While summer guests and workers leave in the fall, Ushuaia enjoys a strong winter skiing season with visitors from South America and as far away as Europe.

Our ship was docked close to the place where we stayed last time. After getting our carryon stuff in our cabin and checked in with the life saver drill, we headed ashore and walked a short  distance up the hill to the Main Street of town and from there a few blocks to our old hotel. Main Street hasn’t changed much and it was nice to revisit the pleasant memories from times past. A hit on the dulce de leche helped too. A beautiful day, temps near 60 with a moderate breeze and great views of the surrounding mountains.

That’s the good news. We’ve learned that, due to weather, our itinerary has been turned on its head. We’re heading tonight across the Drake Passage toward Antarctica. Then, we’ll proceed to South Georgia and finally Falkland Islands, the exact opposite route as had been planned. The main reason is that bad weather is forecast for the Falkland’s for the next few days, weather that would make the trip over miserable and preclude any shore landings while there.

Not to say that the Drake crossing is going to be a piece of cake. The captain informed us a few minutes ago that, once clear of the Beagle Passage where we’re sailing at the moment, around midnight, we’ll experience winds gusting to 55 – 60 knots and ocean swells of 12 – 15 feet every 9 seconds or so. Once in Antarctica the winds are forecast to be much more reasonable, especially in the lee (eastern side) of the Antarctica Peninsula. We’ll let South Georgia and Falklands do what they will do in a week or so.

The Octanis is a beautiful ship. This is its eighth voyage so it’s brand new. Everything is well thought out and well executed. But the proof of the pudding will be how well she handles rough water. Stay tuned!