Landfall Paradise Bay, still raining a bit and cold and damp but we are going as it is the last one.
Gentoo penguins have taken up a nice life amidst the semi-abandoned Argentine base there but even they seem a little deflated by the weather. There was a smaller climb organized and I made it to the top this time, slide all the way down! Mom sensibly gave up on me and headed back to the ship early, so we missed our last Zodiac ride together, but that is how accustomed you get to things so fast, it didn't even seem like anything until we were back on the ship. For the last tour there was some impressive scenery the normal glaciers flowing down to the shore and amazing icebergs but also a multitude of seabirds and a waterfall from the melt-ice that actually had small tough plants growing around it with mosses and lichen everywhere. Strange to see those greens and browns after so much white and blue.
Here's Mom:
Palmer Station is the smallest of the three US stations on Antarctica, our visit was fascinating and being able to talk to the staff was a great deal of fun. They allow only 50 visitors at a time, so we were divided into four groups, we were in the second group. We got a tour of the facilities and they served brownies and coffee at the end.
Today was our last day in Antarctica and we were supposed to take Zodiac cruise in morning, but the wind was so bad that they could not lower the Zodiacs, it was up to hurricane strength. In the afternoon we went ashore again, for the last time. Paradise cove didn't stand up to it's name, it was cold, windy and rainy, I came back early. Even with the bad weather it was a good day, Paradise Cove is on Antarctica, not an island, so I have been on the white continent, twice. We are heading north now to warmer weather, but first we will go through the dreaded Drakes Passage, then three planes to get home. What I won't miss having to wear all the heavy clothes and boots. I have done what I have set out to do, the seventh continent, before my 70th birthday. I proved to myself that I can do things that I never thought I could do and that I know my limitations. Being 70 is not bad, in fact I am very happy at being 70, it's fun, I can do what I want, when I want and how I want. One of the best part's of the trip is having my daughter with me, I would have done it alone, but having Lisabeth here, made it perfect.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
It's just that there are some things women don't do. They don't become Pope or President or go down to the Antarctic.
Harry Darlington, chief pilot on Finn Ronne's 1946-8 Antarctic Research Expedition
so this morning the captain aims not to play bumper boat with some icebergs
Day 8, a full week onboard ship, odd it feels like it's been longer than that and then the feeling reverses and it all feels like its happened in a few days, all the memories tumbling over themselves like the broken ends of glaciers.
This morning is the Lemaire Channel which we were told we would hit (OK bad choice of words, not hit, arrive at) at around 6 and is known as Kodak Alley or Fuji Fjord. So of course I had to see it! I willed myself to wake at 5:30, half an hour before the call. And it worked, it certainly doesn't hurt that it wasn't dark when I opened my eyes at 5:20. Got up and dressed in the light making it through the crack between the blackout curtains without waking MOM. Still in glasses with my knit brimmed hat on my head to cover a BAD case of bedhead, grabbed my loaded backpack and came upstairs.
Completely overcast, and WINDY, choppy sea but not the bad rolls and bumps, just mild sea-sawwing. But out on the pool deck, breathtaking views literally because you when you move to the port side watch out wind gusts that could knock you back. I took the the pics of the looming tor with my hand holding my hat and my arm steadying the camera.
Still there were about 16 of us braving the bow of the ship watching it cruise into the channel, a channel that is known for it's icebergs. It was amazing to see them coming up at us, it sure looked like there wouldn't be room to get between them but the captain threaded his way through gracefully. The wind was so bad 70 knots we heard later! it was wiping up some wild williwaws which is like a spray of white foam that gets riped from the top of the water by the wind.
The channel is only 7-miles long but feels longer with the Booth Island and mainland Antarctica mountains looming over it. We couldn't see much with the fast moving clouds but every so often a break would show the tops which climbed to 2000 or more feet and were covered with snow and riding down between the peaks, massive glaciers.
When even I had finally had enough of the fierce unrelenting wind and wanted to head back in, I had to walk backwards to the closest door on the starboard side of the ship. Hard going. I was sure we wouldn't have the Zodiac tour which was slated for a few hours. But they announced that it was on, so I got decked in every single layer I brought. They did try to launch the Zodiac but as it was thrown around and almost tipped the driver in before it even hit the water, they had to give up on it.
It was wild going back also, this time almost everyone was up and out although most staying to the sheltered areas. Mom had come up without her coat, but as I was dressed for the Zodiac ride I wandered about in just my layers (with my hood up) and was actually OK, so way to go capilene!
It really is a staggeringly beautiful place. If it was more convienent it would be the equivelent of the Grand Canyon in people flocking to it. But it is still at the end of the world and probably only gets a dozen or so ships a year.
Now at 11:45 sitting in Wheeler lounge in our spot, with Kate and Gary and the other Brit Canadians and another Brit couple and Uri, an Isreali man one of the group who have been celebrating Hanukah. They are all reading, Gary is editing his photo's. And at 12 will be the recap, but the weather is still rough with bad, bad gusts... 78 knot winds. So maybe no landfall this afternoon either. But the view through the window is of a glaciers broken face with too much mist or clouds to see the peak or the land it must be hanging off of. A normal sight here on the Minerva but extraordinary nonetheless.
Pictures to come when I get them downloaded.
This morning is the Lemaire Channel which we were told we would hit (OK bad choice of words, not hit, arrive at) at around 6 and is known as Kodak Alley or Fuji Fjord. So of course I had to see it! I willed myself to wake at 5:30, half an hour before the call. And it worked, it certainly doesn't hurt that it wasn't dark when I opened my eyes at 5:20. Got up and dressed in the light making it through the crack between the blackout curtains without waking MOM. Still in glasses with my knit brimmed hat on my head to cover a BAD case of bedhead, grabbed my loaded backpack and came upstairs.
Completely overcast, and WINDY, choppy sea but not the bad rolls and bumps, just mild sea-sawwing. But out on the pool deck, breathtaking views literally because you when you move to the port side watch out wind gusts that could knock you back. I took the the pics of the looming tor with my hand holding my hat and my arm steadying the camera.
Still there were about 16 of us braving the bow of the ship watching it cruise into the channel, a channel that is known for it's icebergs. It was amazing to see them coming up at us, it sure looked like there wouldn't be room to get between them but the captain threaded his way through gracefully. The wind was so bad 70 knots we heard later! it was wiping up some wild williwaws which is like a spray of white foam that gets riped from the top of the water by the wind.
The channel is only 7-miles long but feels longer with the Booth Island and mainland Antarctica mountains looming over it. We couldn't see much with the fast moving clouds but every so often a break would show the tops which climbed to 2000 or more feet and were covered with snow and riding down between the peaks, massive glaciers.
When even I had finally had enough of the fierce unrelenting wind and wanted to head back in, I had to walk backwards to the closest door on the starboard side of the ship. Hard going. I was sure we wouldn't have the Zodiac tour which was slated for a few hours. But they announced that it was on, so I got decked in every single layer I brought. They did try to launch the Zodiac but as it was thrown around and almost tipped the driver in before it even hit the water, they had to give up on it.
It was wild going back also, this time almost everyone was up and out although most staying to the sheltered areas. Mom had come up without her coat, but as I was dressed for the Zodiac ride I wandered about in just my layers (with my hood up) and was actually OK, so way to go capilene!
It really is a staggeringly beautiful place. If it was more convienent it would be the equivelent of the Grand Canyon in people flocking to it. But it is still at the end of the world and probably only gets a dozen or so ships a year.
Now at 11:45 sitting in Wheeler lounge in our spot, with Kate and Gary and the other Brit Canadians and another Brit couple and Uri, an Isreali man one of the group who have been celebrating Hanukah. They are all reading, Gary is editing his photo's. And at 12 will be the recap, but the weather is still rough with bad, bad gusts... 78 knot winds. So maybe no landfall this afternoon either. But the view through the window is of a glaciers broken face with too much mist or clouds to see the peak or the land it must be hanging off of. A normal sight here on the Minerva but extraordinary nonetheless.
Pictures to come when I get them downloaded.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Palmer Station
So how much fun was that! For me so much. I hope it was for the other folks on the ship. It was a kind of a limited, rushed view of the most public parts of the station. But we got to see down some corridors and in through some windows to the very complicated labs, I wouldn't want me, tourist in any of those if I were a scientist either. We did get to hang out in their general living/dining area and there were scientists and support staff milling around and chatting with us. I spoke to Tracey Baldwin, who is one of the administrators who keeps everything rolling down here, for about half an hour. Hard job, long hours, but she loves being down here and is thrilled at her work. I haven't seen many people recently with as positive an attitude about her job and co-workers as she had. Now maybe it was just a show, but really since you have to go out of your way to be here in a BIG way, why would anyone do it who didn't want it. And that was the uniform sense you got off everyone, scientists and support a like they want and love to be here and doing this work, be it complicated science, waste management or cooking.
It was an incredible atmosphere to be in, if only for a little while and if only as an outsider. Plus they made us brownies and we were able to stamp things with the Palmer Station logo. I stamped my KSR Antarctica book, for which you may all now laugh. But I LOVE this book and I am glad I got to re-read it for the umpteenth time while down here. Far more importantly, the Minerva got all our passports stamped for Antarctica at the station. Can't wait to see it.
The hour passed way too quickly and then back to the ship but I am still buzzing over this. So much of what I have read I have seen bits and pieces of now, the reading has become so much richer for it. I really admire those who come down here and do this work. I think it is important. Important both in what we get out of it in terms of scientific understanding, but also important to see and know that this too can be a road to fulfillment and personal happiness for a person, that there are so many roads to that. Which can be hard to remember in the cacophony and craziness of urban life.
The presentation of the .....
Hyperspectral Radiometer
At 10:30 we had the briefing from the Palmer Station staff. First a bit about the history of Palmer Station, which has been involved in research since 1965, so they have been situated to see and record and report the increasingly rapid changes in the Peninsula area. Then they moved on to the different types of science and research that is supported by the station which only has 40 or so people in the summer and 14 in the winter. The area's of interest is broad and encompasses the range of life particular to this area of the Antrarctic, from the strange physiology of Antarctic fish -- which we were told de-evolved (isn't evolution a ongoing trip even if you loss something) to the toxic chemicals that sponges use to defend themselves, to of course the behavior and life-cycle of the penguins as well as being a support station for a range of atmospheric studies.They somehow are one of a chain of stations that work together to track lightning strikes around the world, so if there is a strike in Brooklyn they would know it. Wacky!
Also at Palmer is the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) which is focused on monitoring changes in the environment as seen in this very fragile ecosystem. Dr. Alex Kahl, a Research Biologist with LTER was very pleased and slightly overwhelmed I think, to receive the Hyperspectral Radiometer from a fellow NSF grant scientist who is also a member of the A&K expedition staff Dr. Jim McClintock (who is studying the use of the toxins the sponges make as a cancer drug to very hopeful results) and a passenger representing each of the nations traveling on the Minerva giving A&K's philanthropic gift a truly global sense.
So what does a Hyperspectral Radiometer do and why do they need one? This radiometer is going to fill in the gaps produced by the much less sensitive measuring devices that they have to read the amounts of energy that phytoplankton is getting from sunlight. Even with the cruder instruments they are seeing marked changes, this will let them be able to see clearly exactly which phytoplankton react to which or how much light. And why should we care? Well phytoplankton use the energy to remove CO2 from the air, and then it get's sequestered in the seabed so locked away and out of the cycle of atmospeheric CO2, and also a particular type needs dense sea-ice to flurish, which we all know is going away especially this far north but a particular type of krill likes it, and a particular type of penguin likes that type of krill and that penguin doesn't like to be farther south, so their numbers are falling off sharply.
So if we can't figure this out for ourselves we should for the Adelie penguin!
Then Dr. Kahl and a few of the other Palmer folk stuck around to talk more and answer questions. Of course the guy I ended up talking to was the computer guy. Very complicated systems down here, to deal with the satellites and getting all the results from all the teams and their variety of instruments backed up and uploaded to their various universities. But he still goes out and helps on the mobile science labs they have on their Zodiacs and whatever other odd jobs need to be done, it's why he is down here instead of at some desk-job in the states.
And all this while Copenhagen is going on. Maybe the next summit on Climate Change should be down here, and they all need to stay on a slumping glaciers until they get some real decisions made.
All in all a very, very cool morning and we still have the visit coming up!
picture from A&K site.
At 10:30 we had the briefing from the Palmer Station staff. First a bit about the history of Palmer Station, which has been involved in research since 1965, so they have been situated to see and record and report the increasingly rapid changes in the Peninsula area. Then they moved on to the different types of science and research that is supported by the station which only has 40 or so people in the summer and 14 in the winter. The area's of interest is broad and encompasses the range of life particular to this area of the Antrarctic, from the strange physiology of Antarctic fish -- which we were told de-evolved (isn't evolution a ongoing trip even if you loss something) to the toxic chemicals that sponges use to defend themselves, to of course the behavior and life-cycle of the penguins as well as being a support station for a range of atmospheric studies.They somehow are one of a chain of stations that work together to track lightning strikes around the world, so if there is a strike in Brooklyn they would know it. Wacky!
Also at Palmer is the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) which is focused on monitoring changes in the environment as seen in this very fragile ecosystem. Dr. Alex Kahl, a Research Biologist with LTER was very pleased and slightly overwhelmed I think, to receive the Hyperspectral Radiometer from a fellow NSF grant scientist who is also a member of the A&K expedition staff Dr. Jim McClintock (who is studying the use of the toxins the sponges make as a cancer drug to very hopeful results) and a passenger representing each of the nations traveling on the Minerva giving A&K's philanthropic gift a truly global sense.
So what does a Hyperspectral Radiometer do and why do they need one? This radiometer is going to fill in the gaps produced by the much less sensitive measuring devices that they have to read the amounts of energy that phytoplankton is getting from sunlight. Even with the cruder instruments they are seeing marked changes, this will let them be able to see clearly exactly which phytoplankton react to which or how much light. And why should we care? Well phytoplankton use the energy to remove CO2 from the air, and then it get's sequestered in the seabed so locked away and out of the cycle of atmospeheric CO2, and also a particular type needs dense sea-ice to flurish, which we all know is going away especially this far north but a particular type of krill likes it, and a particular type of penguin likes that type of krill and that penguin doesn't like to be farther south, so their numbers are falling off sharply.
So if we can't figure this out for ourselves we should for the Adelie penguin!
Then Dr. Kahl and a few of the other Palmer folk stuck around to talk more and answer questions. Of course the guy I ended up talking to was the computer guy. Very complicated systems down here, to deal with the satellites and getting all the results from all the teams and their variety of instruments backed up and uploaded to their various universities. But he still goes out and helps on the mobile science labs they have on their Zodiacs and whatever other odd jobs need to be done, it's why he is down here instead of at some desk-job in the states.
And all this while Copenhagen is going on. Maybe the next summit on Climate Change should be down here, and they all need to stay on a slumping glaciers until they get some real decisions made.
All in all a very, very cool morning and we still have the visit coming up!
Antarctica Continent of Science
Information courtesy of: National Science Foundation
The Antarctic Treaty
The Governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America,
Recognizing that it is in the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord;
Acknowledging the substantial contributions to scientific knowledge resulting from international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica;
Convinced that the establishment of a firm foundation for the continuation and development of such cooperation on the basis of freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica as applied during the International Geophysical Year accords with the interests of science and the progress of all mankind;
Convinced also that a treaty ensuring the use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only and the continuance of international harmony in Antarctica will further the purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations;
Have agreed as follows:
Article I [Antarctica for peaceful purposes only]
1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, as well as the testing of any type of weapons.
2. The present Treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes.
Article II [freedom of scientific investigation to continue]
Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end, as applied during the International Geophysical Year, shall continue, subject to the provisions of the present Treaty.
Article III [plans and results to be exchanged]
1. In order to promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in Article II of the present Treaty, the Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable:
(a) information regarding plans for scientific programs in Antarctica shall be exchanged to permit maximum economy and efficiency of operations;
(b) scientific personnel shall be exchanged in Antarctica between expeditions and stations;
(c) scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available.
2. In implementing this Article, every encouragement shall be given to the establishment of cooperative working relations with those Specialized Agencies of the United Nations and other international organizations having a scientific or technical interest in Antarctica.
Article IV [territorial claims]
1. Nothing contained in the present Treaty shall be interpreted as:
(a) a renunciation by any Contracting Party of previously asserted rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;
(b) a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting Party of any basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica which it may have whether as a result of its activities or those of its nationals in Antarctica, or otherwise;
(c) prejudicing the position of any Contracting Party as regards its recognition or nonrecognition of any other State's right of or claim or basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.
2. No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.
Article V [nuclear explosions prohibited]
1. Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radioactive waste material shall be prohibited.
2. In the event of the conclusion of international agreements concerning the use of nuclear energy, including nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste material, to which all of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX are parties, the rules established under such agreements shall apply in Antarctica.
Article VI [area covered by Treaty]
The provisions of the present Treaty shall apply to the area south of 60o South latitude, including all ice shelves, but nothing in the present Treaty shall prejudice or in any way affect the rights, or the exercise of the rights, of any State under international law with regard to the high seas within that area.
Article VII [free access for observation and inspection]
1. In order to promote the objectives and ensure the observation of the provisions of the present Treaty, each Contracting Party whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings referred to in Article IX of the Treaty shall have the right to designate observers to carry out any inspection provided for by the present Article. Observers shall be nationals of the Contracting Parties which designate them. The names of the observers shall be communicated to every other Contracting Party having the right to designate observers, and like notice shall be given of the termination of their appointment.
2. Each observer designated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall have complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas of Antarctica.
3. All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations and equipment within those areas, and all ships and aircraft at points of discharging or embarking cargoes or personnel in Antarctica, shall be open at all times to inspection by any observers designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. Aerial observation may be carried out at any time over any or all areas of Antarctica by any of the Contracting Parties having the right to designate observers.
5. Each Contracting Party shall, at the time when the present Treaty enters into force for it, inform the other Contracting Parties, and thereafter shall give them notice in advance, of
(a) all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on the part of its ships of nationals, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized in or proceeding from its territory;
(b) all stations in Antarctica occupied by its nationals; and
(c) any military personnel or equipment intended to be introduced by it into Antarctica subject to the conditions prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article I of the present Treaty.
Article VIII [personnel under jurisdiction of their own states]
1. In order to facilitate the exercise of their functions under the present Treaty, and without prejudice to the respective positions of the Contracting Parties relating to jurisdiction over all other persons in Antarctica, observers designated under paragraph 1 of Article VII and scientific personnel exchanged under subparagraph 1(b) of Article III of the Treaty, and members of the staffs accompanying any such persons, shall be subject only to the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party of which they are nationals in respect to all acts or omissions occurring while they are in Antarctica for the purpose of exercising their functions.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, and pending the adoption of measures in pursuance of subparagraph 1(e) of Article IX, the Contracting Parties concerned in any case of dispute with regard to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica shall immediately consult together with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
Article IX [Treaty states to meet periodically]
1. Representatives of the Contracting Parties named in the preamble to the present Treaty shall meet at the City of Canberra within two months after date of entry into force of the Treaty, and thereafter at suitable intervals and places, for the purpose of exchanging information, consulting together on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and formulating and considering, and recommending to their Governments, measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Treaty including measures regarding:
(a) use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only;
(b) facilitation of scientific research in Antarctica;
(c) facilitation of international scientific cooperation in Antarctica;
(d) facilitation of the exercise of the rights of inspection provided for in Article VII of the Treaty;
(e) questions relating to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica;
(f) preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica.
2. Each Contracting Party which has become a party to the present Treaty by accession under Article XIII shall be entitled to appoint representatives to participate in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article, during such time as the Contracting Party demonstrates its interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial scientific research activity there, such as the establishment of a scientific station or the dispatch of a scientific expedition.
3. Reports from the observers referred to in Article VII of the present Treaty shall be transmitted to the representatives of the Contracting Parties participating in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article.
4. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall become effective when approved by all the Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to participate in the meetings held to consider those measures.
5. Any or all of the rights established in the present Treaty may be exercised as from the date of entry into force of the Treaty whether or not any measures facilitating the exercise of such rights have been proposed, considered or approved as provided in this Article.
Article X [discourages activities contrary to Treaty]
Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to exert appropriate efforts, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, to the end that no one engages in any activity in Antarctica contrary to the principles or purposes of the present Treaty.
Article XI [settlement of disputes]
1. If any dispute arises between two or more of the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Treaty, those Contracting Parties shall consult among themselves with a view to having the dispute resolved by negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means of their own choice.
2. Any dispute of this character not so resolved shall, with the consent, in each case, of all parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice for settlement; but failure to reach agreement on reference to the International Court shall not absolve parties to the dispute from the responsibility of continuing to seek to resolve it by any of the various peaceful means referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article XII [review of Treaty possible after 30 years]
1. (a) The present Treaty may be modified or amended at any time by unanimous agreement of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX. Any such modification or amendment shall enter into force when the depositary Government has received notice from all such Contracting Parties that they have ratified it.
(b) Such modification or amendment shall thereafter enter into force as to any other Contracting Party when notice of ratification by it has been received by the depositary Government. Any such Contracting Party from which no notice of ratification is received within a period of two years from the date of entry into force of the modification or amendment in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the present Treaty on the date of the expiration of such period.
2. (a) If after the expiration of thirty years from the date of entry into force of the present Treaty, any of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX so requests by a communication addressed to the depositary Government, a Conference of all the Contracting Parties shall be held as soon as practicable to review the operation of the Treaty.
(b) Any modification or amendment to the present Treaty which is approved at such a Conference by a majority of the Contracting Parties there represented, including a majority of those whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX, shall be communicated by the depositary Government to all the Contracting Parties immediately after the termination of the Conference and shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present Article.
(c) If any such modification or amendment has not entered into force in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article within a period of two years after the date of its communication to all the Contracting Parties, any Contracting Party may at any time after the expiration of that period give notice to the depositary Government of its withdrawal from the present Treaty; and such withdrawal shall take effect two years after the receipt of the notice by the depositary Government.
Article XIII [ratification and accession]
1. The present Treaty shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States. It shall be open for accession by any State which is a Member of the United Nations, or by any other State which may be invited to accede to the Treaty with the consent of all the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX of the Treaty.
2. Ratification of or accession to the present Treaty shall be effected by each State in accordance with its constitutional processes.
3. Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the United States of America, hereby designated as the depositary Government.
4. The depositary Government shall inform all signatory and acceding States of the date of each deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession, and the date of entry into force of the Treaty and of any modification or amendment thereto.
5. Upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by all the signatory States, the present Treaty shall enter into force for those States and for States which have deposited instruments of accession. Thereafter the Treaty shall enter into force for any acceding State upon the deposit of its instrument of accession.
6. The present Treaty shall be registered by the depositary Government pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article XIV [United States is repository]
The present Treaty, done in the English, French, Russian, and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America, which shall transmit duly certified copies thereof to the Governments of the signatory and acceding States.
In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized, have signed the present Treaty.
Done at Washington the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine.
For Argentina: Adolfo Seilingo, F. Bello
For Australia: Howard Beale
For Belgium: Obert de Thieusies
For Chile: Marcial Mora M., L. Gajardo V., Julio Escudero
For the French Republic: Pierre Charpentier
For Japan: Koichiro Asakai, T. Shimoda
For New Zealand: G.D.L. White
For Norway: Paul Koht
For the Union of South Africa: Wentzel C. du Plessis
For the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: V. Kuznetsov
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Harold Caccia
For the United States of America: Herman Phleger, Paul C. Daniels
FROM the Wikipedia entry on The Antarctic Treaty:
The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961.The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58 and willing to accept a US invitation to the conference at which the treaty was negotiated.
The Antarctic Treaty
The Governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America,
Recognizing that it is in the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord;
Acknowledging the substantial contributions to scientific knowledge resulting from international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica;
Convinced that the establishment of a firm foundation for the continuation and development of such cooperation on the basis of freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica as applied during the International Geophysical Year accords with the interests of science and the progress of all mankind;
Convinced also that a treaty ensuring the use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only and the continuance of international harmony in Antarctica will further the purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations;
Have agreed as follows:
Article I [Antarctica for peaceful purposes only]
1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, as well as the testing of any type of weapons.
2. The present Treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes.
Article II [freedom of scientific investigation to continue]
Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end, as applied during the International Geophysical Year, shall continue, subject to the provisions of the present Treaty.
Article III [plans and results to be exchanged]
1. In order to promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in Article II of the present Treaty, the Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable:
(a) information regarding plans for scientific programs in Antarctica shall be exchanged to permit maximum economy and efficiency of operations;
(b) scientific personnel shall be exchanged in Antarctica between expeditions and stations;
(c) scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available.
2. In implementing this Article, every encouragement shall be given to the establishment of cooperative working relations with those Specialized Agencies of the United Nations and other international organizations having a scientific or technical interest in Antarctica.
Article IV [territorial claims]
1. Nothing contained in the present Treaty shall be interpreted as:
(a) a renunciation by any Contracting Party of previously asserted rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;
(b) a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting Party of any basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica which it may have whether as a result of its activities or those of its nationals in Antarctica, or otherwise;
(c) prejudicing the position of any Contracting Party as regards its recognition or nonrecognition of any other State's right of or claim or basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.
2. No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.
Article V [nuclear explosions prohibited]
1. Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radioactive waste material shall be prohibited.
2. In the event of the conclusion of international agreements concerning the use of nuclear energy, including nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste material, to which all of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX are parties, the rules established under such agreements shall apply in Antarctica.
Article VI [area covered by Treaty]
The provisions of the present Treaty shall apply to the area south of 60o South latitude, including all ice shelves, but nothing in the present Treaty shall prejudice or in any way affect the rights, or the exercise of the rights, of any State under international law with regard to the high seas within that area.
Article VII [free access for observation and inspection]
1. In order to promote the objectives and ensure the observation of the provisions of the present Treaty, each Contracting Party whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings referred to in Article IX of the Treaty shall have the right to designate observers to carry out any inspection provided for by the present Article. Observers shall be nationals of the Contracting Parties which designate them. The names of the observers shall be communicated to every other Contracting Party having the right to designate observers, and like notice shall be given of the termination of their appointment.
2. Each observer designated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall have complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas of Antarctica.
3. All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations and equipment within those areas, and all ships and aircraft at points of discharging or embarking cargoes or personnel in Antarctica, shall be open at all times to inspection by any observers designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. Aerial observation may be carried out at any time over any or all areas of Antarctica by any of the Contracting Parties having the right to designate observers.
5. Each Contracting Party shall, at the time when the present Treaty enters into force for it, inform the other Contracting Parties, and thereafter shall give them notice in advance, of
(a) all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on the part of its ships of nationals, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized in or proceeding from its territory;
(b) all stations in Antarctica occupied by its nationals; and
(c) any military personnel or equipment intended to be introduced by it into Antarctica subject to the conditions prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article I of the present Treaty.
Article VIII [personnel under jurisdiction of their own states]
1. In order to facilitate the exercise of their functions under the present Treaty, and without prejudice to the respective positions of the Contracting Parties relating to jurisdiction over all other persons in Antarctica, observers designated under paragraph 1 of Article VII and scientific personnel exchanged under subparagraph 1(b) of Article III of the Treaty, and members of the staffs accompanying any such persons, shall be subject only to the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party of which they are nationals in respect to all acts or omissions occurring while they are in Antarctica for the purpose of exercising their functions.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, and pending the adoption of measures in pursuance of subparagraph 1(e) of Article IX, the Contracting Parties concerned in any case of dispute with regard to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica shall immediately consult together with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
Article IX [Treaty states to meet periodically]
1. Representatives of the Contracting Parties named in the preamble to the present Treaty shall meet at the City of Canberra within two months after date of entry into force of the Treaty, and thereafter at suitable intervals and places, for the purpose of exchanging information, consulting together on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and formulating and considering, and recommending to their Governments, measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Treaty including measures regarding:
(a) use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only;
(b) facilitation of scientific research in Antarctica;
(c) facilitation of international scientific cooperation in Antarctica;
(d) facilitation of the exercise of the rights of inspection provided for in Article VII of the Treaty;
(e) questions relating to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica;
(f) preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica.
2. Each Contracting Party which has become a party to the present Treaty by accession under Article XIII shall be entitled to appoint representatives to participate in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article, during such time as the Contracting Party demonstrates its interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial scientific research activity there, such as the establishment of a scientific station or the dispatch of a scientific expedition.
3. Reports from the observers referred to in Article VII of the present Treaty shall be transmitted to the representatives of the Contracting Parties participating in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article.
4. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall become effective when approved by all the Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to participate in the meetings held to consider those measures.
5. Any or all of the rights established in the present Treaty may be exercised as from the date of entry into force of the Treaty whether or not any measures facilitating the exercise of such rights have been proposed, considered or approved as provided in this Article.
Article X [discourages activities contrary to Treaty]
Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to exert appropriate efforts, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, to the end that no one engages in any activity in Antarctica contrary to the principles or purposes of the present Treaty.
Article XI [settlement of disputes]
1. If any dispute arises between two or more of the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Treaty, those Contracting Parties shall consult among themselves with a view to having the dispute resolved by negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means of their own choice.
2. Any dispute of this character not so resolved shall, with the consent, in each case, of all parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice for settlement; but failure to reach agreement on reference to the International Court shall not absolve parties to the dispute from the responsibility of continuing to seek to resolve it by any of the various peaceful means referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article XII [review of Treaty possible after 30 years]
1. (a) The present Treaty may be modified or amended at any time by unanimous agreement of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX. Any such modification or amendment shall enter into force when the depositary Government has received notice from all such Contracting Parties that they have ratified it.
(b) Such modification or amendment shall thereafter enter into force as to any other Contracting Party when notice of ratification by it has been received by the depositary Government. Any such Contracting Party from which no notice of ratification is received within a period of two years from the date of entry into force of the modification or amendment in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the present Treaty on the date of the expiration of such period.
2. (a) If after the expiration of thirty years from the date of entry into force of the present Treaty, any of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX so requests by a communication addressed to the depositary Government, a Conference of all the Contracting Parties shall be held as soon as practicable to review the operation of the Treaty.
(b) Any modification or amendment to the present Treaty which is approved at such a Conference by a majority of the Contracting Parties there represented, including a majority of those whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX, shall be communicated by the depositary Government to all the Contracting Parties immediately after the termination of the Conference and shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present Article.
(c) If any such modification or amendment has not entered into force in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article within a period of two years after the date of its communication to all the Contracting Parties, any Contracting Party may at any time after the expiration of that period give notice to the depositary Government of its withdrawal from the present Treaty; and such withdrawal shall take effect two years after the receipt of the notice by the depositary Government.
Article XIII [ratification and accession]
1. The present Treaty shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States. It shall be open for accession by any State which is a Member of the United Nations, or by any other State which may be invited to accede to the Treaty with the consent of all the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX of the Treaty.
2. Ratification of or accession to the present Treaty shall be effected by each State in accordance with its constitutional processes.
3. Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the United States of America, hereby designated as the depositary Government.
4. The depositary Government shall inform all signatory and acceding States of the date of each deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession, and the date of entry into force of the Treaty and of any modification or amendment thereto.
5. Upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by all the signatory States, the present Treaty shall enter into force for those States and for States which have deposited instruments of accession. Thereafter the Treaty shall enter into force for any acceding State upon the deposit of its instrument of accession.
6. The present Treaty shall be registered by the depositary Government pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article XIV [United States is repository]
The present Treaty, done in the English, French, Russian, and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America, which shall transmit duly certified copies thereof to the Governments of the signatory and acceding States.
In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized, have signed the present Treaty.
Done at Washington the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine.
For Argentina: Adolfo Seilingo, F. Bello
For Australia: Howard Beale
For Belgium: Obert de Thieusies
For Chile: Marcial Mora M., L. Gajardo V., Julio Escudero
For the French Republic: Pierre Charpentier
For Japan: Koichiro Asakai, T. Shimoda
For New Zealand: G.D.L. White
For Norway: Paul Koht
For the Union of South Africa: Wentzel C. du Plessis
For the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: V. Kuznetsov
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Harold Caccia
For the United States of America: Herman Phleger, Paul C. Daniels
FROM the Wikipedia entry on The Antarctic Treaty:
The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961.The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58 and willing to accept a US invitation to the conference at which the treaty was negotiated.
even Zodiac's can start to feel normal..
At least until a big wave comes! The ride this morning was very smooth around Torgersen Island and I had my video camera out for the second time and didn't feel like I had to keep a death grip on the ropes and actually moved about to get the shots. In the camera it looks interesting, how it will be once I download who knows but it was fun to shoot and might give people an idea of what it's like.
It was elephant seals (huge) and even more spectacular icebergs. At one point the driver fished out a piece of ice and passed it to us. So compressed it is completely without airbubbles so completely clear. Amazing.
It was elephant seals (huge) and even more spectacular icebergs. At one point the driver fished out a piece of ice and passed it to us. So compressed it is completely without airbubbles so completely clear. Amazing.
Day 7, the day that is the reason I'm here.
But then I saw that there was actually going to be a stop at a working base where A&K was presenting the researchers with a piece of equipment paid for by their philanthropic efforts, now that was something exciting to me. I've read a lot of books either set in Antarctica mostly down at McMurdo which is the main American base down here, or written by people who have worked for the various agencies and outpost over the last 20 years. So while the natural aspects of the place and the history of exploration are both interesting to me, in many ways getting a glimpse at the people working on the science now is what I wanted to see most. Even more than penguins maybe. (At least that's what I thought before I got down here, now... no still the science over the penguins, sorry guys!)
So that's for today. First a zodiac ride around the area, then some of the people from Palmer Station which I can see from the window as I write this, will be over to give a talk about why they are here and what they do, and to recieve the equipment and then we all get to visit in small highly organized groups.
So what sounds like a very exciting and busy day ahead.
More later, must start the bundling up.
I am hopeful that Antarctica in its symbolic robe of white will shine forth as a continent of peace, as nations working together there in the cause of science set an example of international co-operation
Monday, December 14, 2009
When they say arduous in Antarctica, they mean it
So the second excursion of the day was to Cuverville Island to make landfall admist glaciers and craggy cliffs, high peaks and lots of ice in the water. There was a brisk wind that blew up small sharp little waves that the Zodiacs bumped through on the quick trip to shore and a tiny bit of blue sky was gamely trying to elbow it's way through heavy, fast moving white clouds. And colder with the wind then other landfalls, so Mom decided to stay in perhaps to actually take the high tea they offer every afternoon. But I was off and on this particular trip there was to be an "arduous hike" up a snow-covered 815 ft hill for those who wanted a challenge, and more penguin rookeries down at the shore for those who didn't.
Hmm.
Well, when my Zodiac got in there were already people heading up the mountain, and mountain it was. And let's remember we are all wearing wellies. And most don't have ski-poles or walking sticks, I certainly didn't. And it was snow sometimes calf -deep and there must have been some sun earlier because there were some slick melted patches on the surface before you broke through.
So, with people giving me grief cause older folks were heading up I started the climb. Now I will just say this. I didn't mind the up so much, although there were places I had to use my hands and only felt comfortable with my weight really far forward. But that was OK, it's the sideways that I don't like at all. The narrow two step wide switchback, not fun. People kept saying that the worst that would happen is you slide down, but I could envision something that started in a slide and ended up with broken bones and having to be airlifted out of where ever the closest base was. So I took my time, an increasingly breathless, overheated time and made it to the first platau. And you know what, I was done and happy to be. Partially cause, even though I knew I could do it, manage the rest of the way up and there was still a lot of up to go, I wouldn't enjoy any of it. Climbing up a deep snowy path is NOT the same as going up subway stairs, that's for sure!
And I wouldn't have felt much satisfaction of accomplishment at having done it. And where I did get to was spectacular. Truly the most amazing vista yet.
So I pulled off my coat and sat on a nice big rock and had the place to myself with just a few penguins stopping by checking me out, waving to me in the most friendly manner and then going on their way. I had it to myself for about 15 amazing minutes.
And then it was down again, but the first few people did slide part of the way and it's OK to slide when you mean to slide, so slide I did. Down fresh snow in waterproof pants, a pretty fun way to get down a mountain.
And then as I hadn't needed the time to get to the top, there was a short zodiac tour of the amazing icebergs in the bay.
And look how clear the water is:
It looks like you could reach in and touch the bottom right? Nope at this point the bottom must have been 4 or 5 feet down if not more.
And then we were being driven through the icebergs that I had seen from my rock. Amazing, even the smallest looming over the Zodiacs. The wind sculpts the ice, which comes in all forms so of different density's and shades and react differently to the wind and weather because of that. It was strange tour, we wandered through these natural ever- changing works of art. It was breathtaking, and of a much nicer sort than that slog up the slope.
Hmm.
Well, when my Zodiac got in there were already people heading up the mountain, and mountain it was. And let's remember we are all wearing wellies. And most don't have ski-poles or walking sticks, I certainly didn't. And it was snow sometimes calf -deep and there must have been some sun earlier because there were some slick melted patches on the surface before you broke through.
So, with people giving me grief cause older folks were heading up I started the climb. Now I will just say this. I didn't mind the up so much, although there were places I had to use my hands and only felt comfortable with my weight really far forward. But that was OK, it's the sideways that I don't like at all. The narrow two step wide switchback, not fun. People kept saying that the worst that would happen is you slide down, but I could envision something that started in a slide and ended up with broken bones and having to be airlifted out of where ever the closest base was. So I took my time, an increasingly breathless, overheated time and made it to the first platau. And you know what, I was done and happy to be. Partially cause, even though I knew I could do it, manage the rest of the way up and there was still a lot of up to go, I wouldn't enjoy any of it. Climbing up a deep snowy path is NOT the same as going up subway stairs, that's for sure!
And I wouldn't have felt much satisfaction of accomplishment at having done it. And where I did get to was spectacular. Truly the most amazing vista yet.
So I pulled off my coat and sat on a nice big rock and had the place to myself with just a few penguins stopping by checking me out, waving to me in the most friendly manner and then going on their way. I had it to myself for about 15 amazing minutes.
And then it was down again, but the first few people did slide part of the way and it's OK to slide when you mean to slide, so slide I did. Down fresh snow in waterproof pants, a pretty fun way to get down a mountain.
And then as I hadn't needed the time to get to the top, there was a short zodiac tour of the amazing icebergs in the bay.
And look how clear the water is:
It looks like you could reach in and touch the bottom right? Nope at this point the bottom must have been 4 or 5 feet down if not more.
And then we were being driven through the icebergs that I had seen from my rock. Amazing, even the smallest looming over the Zodiacs. The wind sculpts the ice, which comes in all forms so of different density's and shades and react differently to the wind and weather because of that. It was strange tour, we wandered through these natural ever- changing works of art. It was breathtaking, and of a much nicer sort than that slog up the slope.
the collective noun for penguin
Group dynamics are funny in a situation like this. There are about 200 passengers, about 20 Expedition Staff (and we were told about the same number of ship staff as passengers). That's a good size number of people but it is constant and continual and you do start to recognize and get to know many of them, compounded as it is by the activities that you are sharing and then have to talk about and go over, in this closed system where there is no where else to go anyway
Anyway, so there are many people I recognize to say hello to and chat about where we just were and what the landings or lectures or lunch had been like. And many more know who I am because a. I was one of the crazies that went swimming, and b. I (as a nice British lady keeps exclaiming every time I go past her) I am the girl who wanders around outside in just her sweater! Well truth to be told, I am usually in a fleece vest too. Anyway, it has worked out that within the larger group Mom and I have developed a cohort, and we have a spot. There is a section of the Wheeler Lounge that we have claimed as our own and others seem to be leaving it be. Partly because there is usually a sweater or computer lying around but mostly because one of us is always there. The group is the core four of me, Mom, Kate and Gary (who are Canadian by way of Britain) but then there are 4 or 5 others that joins us occasionally but regularly. So it is nice.
Anyway, it was in one of these hang-out sessions watching the transit from Enterprise to Cuverville Island where we would, if the weather got better, have another landfall late in the afternoon that the question of what the collective noun for penguins was posed. And we can all guess who asked. So sitting there chatting and guessing, and Gary said --look it up, and my laptop was right there. So even in Antarctica, you can google your way to the answer you are wondering about. I had suggested a Tuxedo of penguins, or a come-here, come-here -- to reflect the way they are always waving you over with their stubby little wings but the ones listed were so BORING. Huddle, colony, creche and parcel. Really? When there is a waltz of piglets or an an implausibility of platypi, or an ostentation of peacocks, or a pomp of Pekingese, even an Aurora of polar bears. And this is just the P's. Please. The Penguins deserve better. So, suggestions, what would a good collective noun for these funny fellows be?
And by the way, there should also be a collective noun for people who meet and befriend each other within the larger milling masses of an enclosed group. Now the possibilities for that are interesting....
Needed: the next level of expression beyond superlatives
I have run out superlatives, how many times can you say WOW, FANTASTIC, MARVELOUS, etc. etc. This has been the most amazing trip, it is really the trip of a lifetime. The Penguins make you laugh, some look so silly waddling down to the water and others will stand there and wave at you. When you board the ship they take your passport and when they give it back it has a stamp in it for Antarctica, so it will be official.
Yesterday (I think it was yesterday) we landed on an island to take a hike to see some penguins and seals and it was so warm that we had to take our parkas off . We were told it was 45 degrees out, warmer then New York. That was in the morning, by afternoon we had moved on to Deception Island which is an active volcano, the last time it blew was 1970, it is very different from the others because the beaches are made from the volcanic ash. It was beautiful and a little strange, it was once a station and there are deserted buildings and parts of large tanks and ships left to rot on the beach. It is so dry here that it will take a very long time for the wooden boats to disappear. Before we came back to the boat some of the passenger's went "swimming". Lis decided to go for a swim and she ran in, jumped around and ran back out, cold. She is a very brave daughter. We have two outings a day, where you have to do your layer dressing, so today I decided to skip the afternoon trip, needed some time off to rest and catch up with things. In the morning we had done a Zodiac tour for about an hour, in the snow. Now I believe that anyone who gets up early, puts on all those layers, climbs down a wet set of metal steps, gets on a rubber boat to ride around for a hour in the snow, is certifiable. That includes me, but it was worth it, the scenery magnificent. It is very strange to know we will be home in a week, the time has gone very fast and I will be sorry when it is over. Tomorrow is Palmer Station, one of the US research stations, that will be fascinating.
the misty morning of the ghost ship
The first few days were natural untouched majestic overwhelming scenery, the last couple while still majestic have shown the heavy shove of man on this part of the world from mid 1800 to the mid 1900.
Today, Day 6, red dots had to be the early risers, I got up with the first alert and had breakfast and brought back coffee and pasteries for Mom (what a good daughter I am!) and we were both suited up and on the Zodiacs by 8 for an hour long tour around the edge of the glaciers and of course icebergs, in a intermittent misty, light snow. There are a lot of terms that are used when the experts talk about ice and glaciers and icebergs, this is the continent of science you know!
I'm not remembering the correct one, but the edges of the glaciers are breaking off faster than people have ever seen, slumping down into the ocean, calving big bergs. Which we heard happen and dealt with the wave it created and why we stayed so far away from them.
But the destination for the morning was the Gouvernøren a scuttled whaling ship that caught fire and went down. In the mist it loomed up, the rusty shape an unexpected earth tone in the dark water, the glow off the ice behind it , even on this dim day, a backlight that served to blur the edges until you were right up on top of it. The Zodiac drivers took us around slowly, we could see in the port holes and watch the terns that roost inside it. Strange and sad. The area seems to be rotting away. The ice, the ship, the remnants of their camp that you could see on the ridges. A very different sense than any of the other places we had been, even the ruins of the station at Whalers Bay yesterday.
Today, Day 6, red dots had to be the early risers, I got up with the first alert and had breakfast and brought back coffee and pasteries for Mom (what a good daughter I am!) and we were both suited up and on the Zodiacs by 8 for an hour long tour around the edge of the glaciers and of course icebergs, in a intermittent misty, light snow. There are a lot of terms that are used when the experts talk about ice and glaciers and icebergs, this is the continent of science you know!
I'm not remembering the correct one, but the edges of the glaciers are breaking off faster than people have ever seen, slumping down into the ocean, calving big bergs. Which we heard happen and dealt with the wave it created and why we stayed so far away from them.
But the destination for the morning was the Gouvernøren a scuttled whaling ship that caught fire and went down. In the mist it loomed up, the rusty shape an unexpected earth tone in the dark water, the glow off the ice behind it , even on this dim day, a backlight that served to blur the edges until you were right up on top of it. The Zodiac drivers took us around slowly, we could see in the port holes and watch the terns that roost inside it. Strange and sad. The area seems to be rotting away. The ice, the ship, the remnants of their camp that you could see on the ridges. A very different sense than any of the other places we had been, even the ruins of the station at Whalers Bay yesterday.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
where we are...
The ship has been moving between and south through the Shetlands and down into the Peninsula.
Tomorrow Enterprise Harbour and Cuverville Island.
A fine afternoon for a swim!
OK, the first thing you need to know is that Deception Island, a very interesting place with much fascinating history and geologic facts about it, is for these purposes mostly interesting because it is a volcanic caldera that is inactive but not extinct so it sometimes produces hot sands and steam rising from the sea. Water hot enough to scorch the paint off the whaler ships that are part of the fascinating history.
Sometimes proves to be the most relevant word in the above paragraph.
And even though for the red group the second disembarkation of the day was sunny through a light haze of clouds and not too windy, although that picked up during our hour and a half on land, but a pleasant day non the less; for the volcano things were cool, which sounds like it should be a good thing unless you are thinking of taking a dip in the supposedly thermal waters.
Which I and about a dozen others were.
Getting off the Zodiacs we were told that there was no activity of the steam or heat variety but that the towels would be there for anyone who still wanted to take a quick (or I guess not so quick) dip. I stuck my hand in the water, it was cold. But just cold, not freezing. Really cold and absolutely no -way, freezing cold water are different. Not much, but different. Different enough that if I wasn't going to be the only one than I would do it. But first there were things to see! So I focused on that rather than thinking about what I was getting myself into.
Deception Island had been first a sealers station and then a whaling station, with hundreds of whales being processed for their blubber at one time. So there are skeletons scattered all up and down the beaches. Skeletons of the whales but also of the structures that supported their destruction. Wooden building last a long time down here, with so little humidity and no bugs to eat away at them. And iron buildings even longer.
It was an eerie place and even the few penguins we saw seemed subdued. More of the other water birds, the flying ones for some reason. I should ask one of the naturalists.
As the time was winding down I headed over to where the Zodiacs were parked to see if anyone was going to attempt the dip. It looked like no one was stripping down to their suits so I thought it was off, which I was OK about. But then I heard the commotion and knew it was on, the swimmers were shucking off their layers in the lee of one of the derelict buildings, as out of the wind (which had perked up of course!) as you could get. So that was it, had to do it!
Life-vest, coat, sweater, thermal top, boots, jeans, heavy socks, thermal bottoms, sock liners. Down to my swimsuit and on with a heavy pair of wool socks to protect my feet. Some of the people had already been in and out, but out of my line of sight. But I could hear the crowd laughing and shouting out encouraging words. And the swimmers gasps and luckily laughter not shrieks. So it was my turn. I ran through the crowd, knowing a bunch of people by now and got encouraged by name. Splashed out to about my upper thighs. Cold but OK. People didn't believe me when I said that, but it was. I, of course, ask how far we are suppose to go. What other people did, the consensus was to get the whole body wet, so I ran out a bit farther to my hips and plopped down. That went over big with the crowd! At that point, even adrenaline doesn't completely shut down common sense and I got up and ran out of there. Mom of course had been taking pictures but someone shouted "you have to go back in, she missed the shot!" I said, "Someone had to have gotten it", and kept going for the towels. At that point so pumped and sharing a sense of ridiculous victory with my fellow swimmers, I clowned around in the towel for more photos. Sigh. But I wasn't cold. Couldn't feel it, and not because I couldn't feel anything, just that I was really caught up in the moment. So much so that even in the moment it had a bit of that fractured, kaleidoscope feeling. Two of the other people who had done it were these college boys who were taking the trip because their Professor was involved with the science side of things and I had been speaking to them on-board so we were boat buddies a bit, and joked around about hitting the pool once we got back on board.
Getting dressed was actually the hardest part, feet in particular. Taking off a wet and rapidly stiffening (I was not going to think that it was freezing) sock is no easy feat. (Yes bad puns are an after effect of freezing your brain) and putting a dry one on a damp foot isn't much better. So I went back to the boat with one wet socked foot jammed in my boot and one half-on dry socked foot. Layered back up and swimmers were given priority seating on the Zodiac. Mom thinks I'm certifiable and she is one to know considering where she used to work. But it was a blast.
And back on the boat, I went straight to the pool got all the damp and kind of icy clothing off and jumped in the nice warm water, much to the amusement of the green dots and others who were enjoying the sun on the pool deck in their parkas. Hung out in the pool for about half an hour talking to the College Boys and drinking whiskey. A fine way to spend time, whatever the latitude!
I'm told I'll actually be getting a certificate.
And there are pictures but not on my camera so no download yet. I will post them as soon as I get them. But here is a before shot taken about 1o minutes before my penguin moment.
Sometimes proves to be the most relevant word in the above paragraph.
And even though for the red group the second disembarkation of the day was sunny through a light haze of clouds and not too windy, although that picked up during our hour and a half on land, but a pleasant day non the less; for the volcano things were cool, which sounds like it should be a good thing unless you are thinking of taking a dip in the supposedly thermal waters.
Which I and about a dozen others were.
Getting off the Zodiacs we were told that there was no activity of the steam or heat variety but that the towels would be there for anyone who still wanted to take a quick (or I guess not so quick) dip. I stuck my hand in the water, it was cold. But just cold, not freezing. Really cold and absolutely no -way, freezing cold water are different. Not much, but different. Different enough that if I wasn't going to be the only one than I would do it. But first there were things to see! So I focused on that rather than thinking about what I was getting myself into.
Deception Island had been first a sealers station and then a whaling station, with hundreds of whales being processed for their blubber at one time. So there are skeletons scattered all up and down the beaches. Skeletons of the whales but also of the structures that supported their destruction. Wooden building last a long time down here, with so little humidity and no bugs to eat away at them. And iron buildings even longer.
It was an eerie place and even the few penguins we saw seemed subdued. More of the other water birds, the flying ones for some reason. I should ask one of the naturalists.
As the time was winding down I headed over to where the Zodiacs were parked to see if anyone was going to attempt the dip. It looked like no one was stripping down to their suits so I thought it was off, which I was OK about. But then I heard the commotion and knew it was on, the swimmers were shucking off their layers in the lee of one of the derelict buildings, as out of the wind (which had perked up of course!) as you could get. So that was it, had to do it!
Life-vest, coat, sweater, thermal top, boots, jeans, heavy socks, thermal bottoms, sock liners. Down to my swimsuit and on with a heavy pair of wool socks to protect my feet. Some of the people had already been in and out, but out of my line of sight. But I could hear the crowd laughing and shouting out encouraging words. And the swimmers gasps and luckily laughter not shrieks. So it was my turn. I ran through the crowd, knowing a bunch of people by now and got encouraged by name. Splashed out to about my upper thighs. Cold but OK. People didn't believe me when I said that, but it was. I, of course, ask how far we are suppose to go. What other people did, the consensus was to get the whole body wet, so I ran out a bit farther to my hips and plopped down. That went over big with the crowd! At that point, even adrenaline doesn't completely shut down common sense and I got up and ran out of there. Mom of course had been taking pictures but someone shouted "you have to go back in, she missed the shot!" I said, "Someone had to have gotten it", and kept going for the towels. At that point so pumped and sharing a sense of ridiculous victory with my fellow swimmers, I clowned around in the towel for more photos. Sigh. But I wasn't cold. Couldn't feel it, and not because I couldn't feel anything, just that I was really caught up in the moment. So much so that even in the moment it had a bit of that fractured, kaleidoscope feeling. Two of the other people who had done it were these college boys who were taking the trip because their Professor was involved with the science side of things and I had been speaking to them on-board so we were boat buddies a bit, and joked around about hitting the pool once we got back on board.
Getting dressed was actually the hardest part, feet in particular. Taking off a wet and rapidly stiffening (I was not going to think that it was freezing) sock is no easy feat. (Yes bad puns are an after effect of freezing your brain) and putting a dry one on a damp foot isn't much better. So I went back to the boat with one wet socked foot jammed in my boot and one half-on dry socked foot. Layered back up and swimmers were given priority seating on the Zodiac. Mom thinks I'm certifiable and she is one to know considering where she used to work. But it was a blast.
And back on the boat, I went straight to the pool got all the damp and kind of icy clothing off and jumped in the nice warm water, much to the amusement of the green dots and others who were enjoying the sun on the pool deck in their parkas. Hung out in the pool for about half an hour talking to the College Boys and drinking whiskey. A fine way to spend time, whatever the latitude!
I'm told I'll actually be getting a certificate.
And there are pictures but not on my camera so no download yet. I will post them as soon as I get them. But here is a before shot taken about 1o minutes before my penguin moment.
A morning ramble and Chinstrap penguins.
Day 5, a morning of brilliant blue skies and strong gusts of wind that whipped a white foam up on big breakers that barreled through smaller silver tipped waves. The mind just can't take in the sight of white mile long icebergs. It stalls, though in an odd way: you just stare and stare. The strangely shaped ones are better somehow.
As we moved into our more sheltered anchor point in Half Moon Island across from Livingston Island I was able to watch the disembarkation of the Green group. There are green dots and red dots on the swipe cards that we have to present going on and off ship (they really don't want to leave anyone behind!) it's become a bit of a light-spirited rivalry between the groups because no one wants the 7am call for disembarkation, although no one wants to miss out either. But to get to two different locations in the course of a day early starts are needed, and of course there is no problem with it being dark out!
But us reds got to relax and have a lovely breakfast enjoying the scenery until it was our turn to make landfall and of course, it was an amazing trip!
The unused Argentinian outpost Cámara Base was too far to get to and off limits anyway, but it was already a bit startling to keep catching a glimpse of a man-made structure. Basically the time again spent scrambling about to see and be in the midst of the wildlife and the landscape, which is so different with every change of angle and elevation.
And in the midst of the wildlife we were! In the original orientation we were told to stay 15 feet away from the penguins, but as Larry the expedition leader said, they could never manage to get the penguins to understand that, so we are just to stand still . So I was watching a bunch of Chinstrap penguins get out of the water and head up the hill, and realized they were heading right for me. So I stood as still as you can be when you are madly taking pictures and watched them get up to me and then stand there trying to figure out the best way to get around this big red thing standing in their way. SO CUTE! So funny, why are they so funny? Funny and charming and delightful, you don't believe me do you? You think it is the exhaustion talking but they really are!
See for yourself:
Now imagine standing there in front of them as they stalk away on their little ankle to hip feet, and stalk they do -- in a humph, even as they are doing it in a kind of scooting motion.
Anyway, after that it was over to the other side of the island to take in a seal. And with no wind it was warm enough that Mom and I and some others took off our coats and left them in a heap (penguin theft of red parkas not being much of a problem these days) before we had to climb up and over a low shoulder to get to them. And even without our coats we were warm. Warm in Antarctica, I know it's the summer but still. There we met up with a lovely couple that Mom and I are becoming friends with Kate and Gary Loyd-Rees (actually when Mom and I went to the Tango, we were mixed up with them, Laiken/Lloyd and that's how we met and we are both red dots so we have been hanging out on the ship too) notice four people, four cameras -- and that's a light bit of hauling.
So fabulous landing all around.
This afternoon is Deception Bay and I might be doing something a bit over the top. But it is over the top to be here so we shall see......
As we moved into our more sheltered anchor point in Half Moon Island across from Livingston Island I was able to watch the disembarkation of the Green group. There are green dots and red dots on the swipe cards that we have to present going on and off ship (they really don't want to leave anyone behind!) it's become a bit of a light-spirited rivalry between the groups because no one wants the 7am call for disembarkation, although no one wants to miss out either. But to get to two different locations in the course of a day early starts are needed, and of course there is no problem with it being dark out!
But us reds got to relax and have a lovely breakfast enjoying the scenery until it was our turn to make landfall and of course, it was an amazing trip!
The unused Argentinian outpost Cámara Base was too far to get to and off limits anyway, but it was already a bit startling to keep catching a glimpse of a man-made structure. Basically the time again spent scrambling about to see and be in the midst of the wildlife and the landscape, which is so different with every change of angle and elevation.
And in the midst of the wildlife we were! In the original orientation we were told to stay 15 feet away from the penguins, but as Larry the expedition leader said, they could never manage to get the penguins to understand that, so we are just to stand still . So I was watching a bunch of Chinstrap penguins get out of the water and head up the hill, and realized they were heading right for me. So I stood as still as you can be when you are madly taking pictures and watched them get up to me and then stand there trying to figure out the best way to get around this big red thing standing in their way. SO CUTE! So funny, why are they so funny? Funny and charming and delightful, you don't believe me do you? You think it is the exhaustion talking but they really are!
See for yourself:
Now imagine standing there in front of them as they stalk away on their little ankle to hip feet, and stalk they do -- in a humph, even as they are doing it in a kind of scooting motion.
Anyway, after that it was over to the other side of the island to take in a seal. And with no wind it was warm enough that Mom and I and some others took off our coats and left them in a heap (penguin theft of red parkas not being much of a problem these days) before we had to climb up and over a low shoulder to get to them. And even without our coats we were warm. Warm in Antarctica, I know it's the summer but still. There we met up with a lovely couple that Mom and I are becoming friends with Kate and Gary Loyd-Rees (actually when Mom and I went to the Tango, we were mixed up with them, Laiken/Lloyd and that's how we met and we are both red dots so we have been hanging out on the ship too) notice four people, four cameras -- and that's a light bit of hauling.
So fabulous landing all around.
This afternoon is Deception Bay and I might be doing something a bit over the top. But it is over the top to be here so we shall see......
“I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor”
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
sat link and blogger not perfect together....
written on 12/18 I'm fudging the time a bit for reasons stated below....
Not that I am complaining because really most times I've wanted to get on-line I have been able to at least check my yahoo and gmail and get something short posted to facebook but blogger has been not happy. And really it's been hard find the time to write let alone the focus to actually process what I have been experiencing to try to distill it to something better than -- big! ice! PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!
I have been writing bits here and there at least because it is QUITE time consuming being on this trip. When you weren't getting ready to get off the ship, you were on an amazing landing or zodiac rides and then getting all the layers off and sometimes drying off and warming up, then there is always a next meal, and then the next prep to get off and the next, warm up - dry off - change and always people to chat with and drinks to imbibe. And all that in a state of slight out of body-ness because, you are always on the boat and the ocean has a way of making itself known.
But now that we are moving back up north with all good speed our connection has gotten more robust or we've switched to a different satellite or something because I was able to get through to the blogger site to fix (I hope the upload problems) so here are some catch up posts....
Not that I am complaining because really most times I've wanted to get on-line I have been able to at least check my yahoo and gmail and get something short posted to facebook but blogger has been not happy. And really it's been hard find the time to write let alone the focus to actually process what I have been experiencing to try to distill it to something better than -- big! ice! PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!PENGUIN!!
I have been writing bits here and there at least because it is QUITE time consuming being on this trip. When you weren't getting ready to get off the ship, you were on an amazing landing or zodiac rides and then getting all the layers off and sometimes drying off and warming up, then there is always a next meal, and then the next prep to get off and the next, warm up - dry off - change and always people to chat with and drinks to imbibe. And all that in a state of slight out of body-ness because, you are always on the boat and the ocean has a way of making itself known.
But now that we are moving back up north with all good speed our connection has gotten more robust or we've switched to a different satellite or something because I was able to get through to the blogger site to fix (I hope the upload problems) so here are some catch up posts....
Saturday, December 12, 2009
the end of the 4th day on Minerva...
I'm trying to figure out how to count the days of this part of the trip and I am going to say that the afternoon we boarded Minerva counts as the first day, even though we spent the morning leaving Buenos Aires and on the flight to Patagonia and then the early afternoon touring Ushuaia. The days are so, so long that even with boarding around 5 we had a good 6 hours of activities and sights and SUNLIGHT before we toppled into bed (literally as the ship was going a good speed in the start of the rough water.)
The other difficulty is that already there is an over-saturation of experience and things are both incredibly vivid and blurring together.
So Saturday, Day 4, FUN and WOW and ICE is about all my tired and overloaded brain can come up with. Very much "fire bad, trees pretty" for those of you who get the reference.
This is the first full day past the Drake Passage crossing, which I think I handled pretty well with no meds, as I have said more tired than nauseous and as I speak to more people that seems to be a pretty common complaint. But while still a bit fatigued, today was so much better -- there is still a definite awareness of the ships movement but not the big, bumpy pitches, so today I was very HERE and very mindful of all that was around me.
And there is just so much. So much space and light. And they are keeping us very busy here on the ship. Excursions and reports and of course meals!
Today we made landfall at Brown Bluff, glacier and penguins and seals (well one seal) oh my! Basically we take a zodiac from the ship to the shore (details on that later) and then get to walk along paths marked by red flags, they are very, very vigilant and particular about where we are allowed to walk, but there is still too much to see! Today were Gentoo and Adelie penguins, and they are just are so cute it's crazy. I wonder if I will get used to seeing them and not be captivated, the way EVERYONE is even the most grizzled old ex-marine codgers that are doing the trip (there seem to be a few ex-military guys who I've spoken to) get the most bemused look when the penguins march by, and march they do!
So it was wander over snow and slushy ice and rocks for an hour and a half than back on the zodiac to the ship, where there is a warm drink waiting and then to the room to strip off all the needful layers (more on that later) and then up for lunch (more on THAT later.)
This afternoon was a Zodiac tour (they name the Zodiacs and ours for the tour was the Edmund Hillary, we had been on the Ernest Shackleton to go to shore earlier, see a pattern?) with one of the naturalist /Zodiac drivers that are part of the expedition team, Russ. He was taking us through the icebergs and up to the edge (but not too close) of the glaciers, giving a little talk on the different types of ice. This isn't an ice-cube maker down here churning out identical bits, there are many types of ice that each form and behave differently -- he even reached into the water to grab a piece to show us more closely! They say those who work in Antarctica are a different breed and we saw it there for sure!
We got back to the boat damp but not too chilled thanks to all the layers we were wearing, and thanks to MOM for the foresight in getting us to the Patagonia and EMS sales at the end of last winter! It was worth having that big bag of clothes jammed in the corner of my bedroom for the last eight months to be able to really enjoy the ride.
Dinner was fabulous, writing this and than I to bed. The waves to rock me to sleep.
more and I am sure, much more, later.....
The other difficulty is that already there is an over-saturation of experience and things are both incredibly vivid and blurring together.
So Saturday, Day 4, FUN and WOW and ICE is about all my tired and overloaded brain can come up with. Very much "fire bad, trees pretty" for those of you who get the reference.
This is the first full day past the Drake Passage crossing, which I think I handled pretty well with no meds, as I have said more tired than nauseous and as I speak to more people that seems to be a pretty common complaint. But while still a bit fatigued, today was so much better -- there is still a definite awareness of the ships movement but not the big, bumpy pitches, so today I was very HERE and very mindful of all that was around me.
And there is just so much. So much space and light. And they are keeping us very busy here on the ship. Excursions and reports and of course meals!
Today we made landfall at Brown Bluff, glacier and penguins and seals (well one seal) oh my! Basically we take a zodiac from the ship to the shore (details on that later) and then get to walk along paths marked by red flags, they are very, very vigilant and particular about where we are allowed to walk, but there is still too much to see! Today were Gentoo and Adelie penguins, and they are just are so cute it's crazy. I wonder if I will get used to seeing them and not be captivated, the way EVERYONE is even the most grizzled old ex-marine codgers that are doing the trip (there seem to be a few ex-military guys who I've spoken to) get the most bemused look when the penguins march by, and march they do!
So it was wander over snow and slushy ice and rocks for an hour and a half than back on the zodiac to the ship, where there is a warm drink waiting and then to the room to strip off all the needful layers (more on that later) and then up for lunch (more on THAT later.)
This afternoon was a Zodiac tour (they name the Zodiacs and ours for the tour was the Edmund Hillary, we had been on the Ernest Shackleton to go to shore earlier, see a pattern?) with one of the naturalist /Zodiac drivers that are part of the expedition team, Russ. He was taking us through the icebergs and up to the edge (but not too close) of the glaciers, giving a little talk on the different types of ice. This isn't an ice-cube maker down here churning out identical bits, there are many types of ice that each form and behave differently -- he even reached into the water to grab a piece to show us more closely! They say those who work in Antarctica are a different breed and we saw it there for sure!
We got back to the boat damp but not too chilled thanks to all the layers we were wearing, and thanks to MOM for the foresight in getting us to the Patagonia and EMS sales at the end of last winter! It was worth having that big bag of clothes jammed in the corner of my bedroom for the last eight months to be able to really enjoy the ride.
Dinner was fabulous, writing this and than I to bed. The waves to rock me to sleep.
more and I am sure, much more, later.....
Number 7 accomplished!
Here's Mom:
It has been the most amazing 3 days, the crossing of Drake's Passage wasn't very bad, I used my patch and it worked well. We got through the passage fast, did it in a day and a half, instead two days. So Friday afternoon we got a surprise stop at Aitcho Island, where we were able to land. The zodiac's are fun, you go down the steps and step onto the side, then step down into the boat, then sit down on the side and slide along to the next person. You grab the ropes and hold on tight and off you go, across to the beach. There were groups of Chinstrap Penguins and one King Penguin standing all alone. The smaller Chinstrap's would run up to the King, stop look at him, then turn around and run back to the group. There was a great deal of snow and walking was hard in places, but I was able to move around on the flat. Back on the boat it was time for dinner and bed, it is still light when we go to bed, very strange.
This morning the wake up call was 6:30, for our group to do the day's landing. We went to Brown's Bluff, which is the mainland. So I did it all seven continents, before I am 70. The place was amazing, Gentoo and Adelie Penguins and one lone seal asleep on the beach. This is the most amazing and fascinating place on earth. We are seeing icebergs everywhere and they go from just bits, called Bergy Bits, to some so large that they look like floating football fields. We are having an absolutely amazing time. We will be off somewhere later today, still to be announced.
More later.
“Christopher Robin was sitting outside his door, putting on his Big Boots. As soon as he saw the Big Boots, Pooh knew that an Adventure was going to happen...
A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Friday, December 11, 2009
Celebrated Hannukah tonight...
There was a Menorah set up in the Cinema (an electric one, no candles on board) but the staff had laid out challah and wine AND potato pancakes and jelly donuts. There are 10 of us who gathered to celebrate. And the Irish Catholic Chaplin came by too.
So much for skipping Hannukah this year.
So much for skipping Hannukah this year.
And then this odd little fellow in a tuxedo came up to greet our boat madly waving....
So we made landfall today Barrientos Island which is part of the Aitcho Island group in the North entrance to the English Strait. Fast travel across the DP got us here early and we were able to start going ashore ahead of schedule.
It is extraordinary in so many ways.
The penguins really due wander around paying absolutely no attention to the lumbering red giants who are there to pay them homage.
The water really is the rich deep blue of velvet laced with silver where the sun hits.
The wind really is a force strong and loud and PRESENT.
And the ice is really, truly is sublime.
All the cliches will be out in full force I fear. I will try to bring more to this writing than that but so many writers have been staggered by this place, I am sure I will be no different.
The uploading of photo's has been a problem, but I will keep trying to get the Flickr page loaded and then the link up.
We are on the first excursion tomorrow have to be ready by 8am, so I am off to bed early as it is. After that I will try to put up a longer post about what it has been like on ship and more about where exactly we are.
Right now we are at 62°38.63' S, 058°53.09' W around the South Shetland Islands
Crossed the Antarctic Convergence...
Which is also called the Polar Front and the temperature drops significantly. The difference between being outside this morning to now is intense. Now it feels cold. The wind has a refrigerator quality, something about how it holds moisture I think.
Still going through some deep swells but already not as rough as we leave the Drake Passage.
But we've encoutered our first ICEBERG, seen through the window while we were beinprepped on what to expect and how to behave when we start going ashore. Which might be as soon as this afternoon!
Still going through some deep swells but already not as rough as we leave the Drake Passage.
But we've encoutered our first ICEBERG, seen through the window while we were beinprepped on what to expect and how to behave when we start going ashore. Which might be as soon as this afternoon!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The seas through which we had to pass to reach the pack-ice must be the
most stormy in the world. Dante tells us that those who have committed
carnal sin are tossed about ceaselessly by the most furious winds in the
second circle of Hell. The corresponding hell on earth is found in the
southern oceans, which encircle the world without break, tempest-tossed
by the gales which follow one another round and round the world from West
to East. You will find albatross there--great Wanderers, and Sooties,
and Mollymawks--sailing as lightly before these furious winds as ever do
Paolo and Francesca. Round the world they go. I doubt whether they land
more than once a year, and then they come to the islands of these seas to
breed.
Aspley Cherry-Garrard
how did it get to be 11 again...
A long day of lectures, getting settled on the ship and my body getting accustomed to the ocean travel. I'm doing OK so far, feel off but not quite queasy. Tired though, a combination I think of the craziness of the past few weeks and the tilt and sway of the ship. I slept well last night and napped between things today.
It's been ranging in roughness from a two to a three with waves coming up and over the sides of the lower decks. And every now and then a sudden plunge: we all need to stay alert as we make our drunken seeming way through the corridors.
But I've been getting outside as much as I can and the light is astounding. It's amazing with nothing in sight there is so much to look at.
And just now on my last walk -- it was snowing...
Ok to bed, managed to work out recharging the computer so tomorrow will finally be a longer post with some pictures.
Here's Mom (written earlier this evening)
As Lis said we are here, it still isn't quite real, we are going to Antarctica. We were on deck for the final cast off, it was after 8 and it was still very light. All through dinner I kept looking out the window expecting it to start getting dark, but all you could see was beautiful clear sunlight. So tired after dinner, went to cabin, dug out my PJ's and put my seasick patch on, I would rather not get sick. About four in the morning I woke up to the boat rolling very hard and that has continued all day, with some pretty steep rolls where the window almost meets the sea. It is a real hoot trying to walk on a rocking and rolling boat. One of the staff members said that on a scale of 1 to 5 this was a 2, so we will see how we hold up if it goes to a 4 or a 5. We got our Wellies this morning and our parkas were in our room when we arrived, they are very nice and waterproof, we will stand out on a New York subway, since they are bright red, better to be seen against the white of Antarctica. Have to stop now to get dressed for the Captain's cocktail party and dinner.
It's been ranging in roughness from a two to a three with waves coming up and over the sides of the lower decks. And every now and then a sudden plunge: we all need to stay alert as we make our drunken seeming way through the corridors.
But I've been getting outside as much as I can and the light is astounding. It's amazing with nothing in sight there is so much to look at.
And just now on my last walk -- it was snowing...
Ok to bed, managed to work out recharging the computer so tomorrow will finally be a longer post with some pictures.
Here's Mom (written earlier this evening)
As Lis said we are here, it still isn't quite real, we are going to Antarctica. We were on deck for the final cast off, it was after 8 and it was still very light. All through dinner I kept looking out the window expecting it to start getting dark, but all you could see was beautiful clear sunlight. So tired after dinner, went to cabin, dug out my PJ's and put my seasick patch on, I would rather not get sick. About four in the morning I woke up to the boat rolling very hard and that has continued all day, with some pretty steep rolls where the window almost meets the sea. It is a real hoot trying to walk on a rocking and rolling boat. One of the staff members said that on a scale of 1 to 5 this was a 2, so we will see how we hold up if it goes to a 4 or a 5. We got our Wellies this morning and our parkas were in our room when we arrived, they are very nice and waterproof, we will stand out on a New York subway, since they are bright red, better to be seen against the white of Antarctica. Have to stop now to get dressed for the Captain's cocktail party and dinner.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
11 pm and twilight
So the end of a long full day has us cruising down the channel to the Drake Passage. We will be beyond Cape Horn at around 4 am but too far from land to see it. Which is good in a way cause I would probably get myself up to experience the passing.
I was just out on deck and in the bow the wind is rising and cold but I only have my merino wool sweater and vest on, no jacket and gloves yet. Expect that to happen tomorrow.
But it is all amazing.
Need to figure out the power outlets and adapters and such. Will upload pics tomorrow.
I am to sleep.
I was just out on deck and in the bow the wind is rising and cold but I only have my merino wool sweater and vest on, no jacket and gloves yet. Expect that to happen tomorrow.
But it is all amazing.
Need to figure out the power outlets and adapters and such. Will upload pics tomorrow.
I am to sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)