Antarctica Journal 3.14.09
Back at sea. I wasn’t feeling well when I woke up. The seas were not as calm as they were coming down. I felt overheated at breakfast, then felt really cold. With 2 blankets on, I was still cold, so I asked Kathy to let Tamsin (the ship doctor) know. Tamsin checked my temperature and pulse and both were low, so she told me to take a 20-minute hot shower, bundle up and make sure I ate something for lunch. She thought the “thermostating” problem was a seasickness symptom.
The shower was an interesting experience. The water felt hot, warm, cold, hot. The ship was rocking badly, so I kept having to grab the hand rail to keep from falling. I couldn’t stand it (literally and figuratively) for the full 20 minutes, so I got out, bundled up and got back under the covers. I slept fitfully until lunchtime and carried 2 sweaters with me to the dining hall. The doors opened late, because the salad bar buffet crashed and had to be rebuilt. I had some salad and bread and ordered the chicken, but it wasn’t very good. I skipped dessert, too, because it was peach cobbler. Throughout the meal, my temperature changed several times. Sweater on, sweater on, sweater off, sweater on, sweater off, sweater off, sweater on, etc. After the announcements, I went back up and burrowed under the covers again. The ship was seriously rocking with spray coming up to the 5th floor windows at least! Every now and then, the ship would shimmy and shudder. It’s amazing the punishment it takes.
The gift shop opened at 2 for an hour, but I waited until it was nearly time for the 3pm lecture to go. Liz had recommended the Frank Hurley book, so I wanted to pick it up. Michael’s lecture was on the plight of the albatross and other sea birds.1
After his presentation, I stayed in the bar until cookie time (chocolate chunk), then went to the dining hall for Lynn’s presentation on conservation of Antarctic wildlife.2 Seems like the world has tourism to thank for getting the scientists to clean up their acts down here.
Immediately after Lynn’s lecture, I had to go back to the presentation room for our 4th camera class.3 My photos got critiqued first. I got some pretty good comments, but I don’t really believe in correcting photos, so I’ll have to take better pictures first time around next time. After class, I ran up to my room for a Coke to drink with dinner, which was rack of lamb. It was okay, but I had to send it back to be cooked more. After dinner, I started packing, then went to the presentation room to load photos into the photo journal and to copy my race day photos. I also helped some people with their photos.
Pictures from these days are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157616197288476/
1 Plight of the Albatross
• Seabird conservation in fisheries
• 30 km lines
• 10-20,000 hooks/line
• Pategonian toothfish = Chilean seabass
• Albatross attracted to offal and to baited hooks
• ≈ $20/kg
• Trawl fishing also kills birds
• Methods of protection
o Streamers on lines
o Individual weights on hooks
o Dye bait blue
o Fish at night
o Lay line below water, instead of off the deck onto the surface of the water
o Limit fishing season
2 Conservation of Antarctic Wildlife
• Lynn was a conservation geneticist
• Studied how big/small a species had to be to survive
• Conservation linked to election periods
• Species need to be able to adapt to change over time in order to survive
• Blue whales and fin whales are largest species
• Genetic variation diminishes as population size decreases
• Right whales (called that because they were the best whales to hunt) – high blubber content, pale baleen (easier to paint/dye), float when dead and migrate regularly
• Penguins okay, except where in contact with humans - no defenses
3 Camera Class 4
• Review of previous sessions
• Portraiture – background, lighting conditions, photograph in shade, no light stippling
• Fill flash
• Side light increases texture
• Lens – long lens (100mm) – portrait lens
• Posing (male/female – lengthen)
• Group photos – stagger heights, triangles are good, for families – use touching to establish connection
• polarizer
Showing posts with label antarctica travel cruise marathon penguin "gentoo penguin" gentoo seal "leopard seal" whale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antarctica travel cruise marathon penguin "gentoo penguin" gentoo seal "leopard seal" whale. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Antarctica Journal 3.13.09
Antarctica Journal 3.13.09
Last day in Antarctica, but one of the most exciting of the trip. We hit the farthest point south (64’53”, I think) on this voyage. I’m a little disappointed that we aren’t crossing the Antarctic Circle, but I hop to come back some day and will make sure that’s a part of the experience.
I did my usual bridge visit and was happy to learn we’d be entering Neko Harbor. The channel looked too small to allow our ship through, but, as we got closer, Antarctica pulled its usual magic and the channel widened into a huge opening into Neko Harbor. It was beautiful!
I hurried down to breakfast (late) and had eggs Florentine. Rupert told us during his breakfast announcements that the morning examinations would include a landing and a cruise and only the first 5-6 zodiacs would land, while the rest cruised and, then, halfway through the morning, they’d switch. I was delayed at breakfast talking to someone, then kept forgetting stuff, so I ended up being in a cruising zodiac. We had to hear over the radio that a leopard seal had caught a penguin just off shore.
Instead of checking out the animal activity near shore, our driver went out into the bay to look at icebergs and kept us out so long that we only had about an hour on shore when we finally landed. I was really annoyed. I trudged up the beach, narrowly avoiding stepping on a penguin carcass. Penguins were all around us. As I came around to the snow hill, I saw Nadine lying on the snow taking pictures. Two penguins had come right up to her, so I snapped some shots, because she couldn’t. I went up the hill and took some pictures over the bay and back down the hill.
On my way back down the hill, Kevin handed me his camera and asked me to take pictures of him working with his video camera. He let me take some penguin shots, too, but I wished I knew more about photography so I could have taken full advantage of the opportunity. At that point, Michael, the wildlife expert, started herding us back to the shore to go back to the ship for lunch. I held back as much as I could and was the last person to get in the zodiac.
Lunch was pizza or crab louis, neither of which I like (or can eat, in the case of the crab), so I went for the pizza, obviously. The best part of lunch was dessert: ICE CREAM SOCIAL!!!! As we finished eating, the salad bar table was reset as a buffet of toppings: sauces, fruits, nuts, cookies, sprinkles, etc. I had two scoops of chocolate ice-cream with chocolate and caramel sauces (side-by-side), brownie bits, crumbled meringue cookies, crushed chocolate wafers, whipped cream and sprinkles. Yum!! I also got to talk to people who’d seen the leopard seal with the penguin. What an experience!
During lunch, the ship moved from Neko Harbor to Paradise Harbor. Rupert announced that there would be no polar plunge, which upset a lot of people, but I knew they wouldn’t have denied it, if they could have let it happen. For the afternoon excursions, there was no way I was getting in a cruising zodiac first, but, even so, I was on the 3rd zodiac out. I was a little surprised to see Thom and some of his staff getting on the early zodiacs. As our tour guide, I expected him to make sure we were all on shore first, but I haven’t noticed that he operates as a tour guide out here.
As soon as we landed, I saw a signpost with various destinations and their distance from the base in knots. I took a few pictures, with and without the ShakeAway cup, then explored the deserted Argentine base a bit, taking pictures and video of the penguins. In order to slide down the mountain, I had to climb it first. The sun was blazing and I was hot, so I left my parka at the landing and started trudging. I was sweating by the time I got halfway. It was really steep and I was glad that I had footprints to step into and make my way more easily up the hill (I’m not sure which this was – I’m not good at judging distances or steepness, which are both factors in determining whether an elevation is a hill or a mountain).
At the top of the snow, I climbed up onto the bare rocks and ate some chocolate. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t supposed to bring any food onto Antarctica, but I wanted to eat some of Daniel’s chocolate on the continent. People started sliding down the hill and, after a good groove was carved into the snow, I tucked myself into it, lifted my feet and slid down myself. A bunch of us started out towards the outcropping with the Argentine house, but were waved off from a zodiac in the bay. They’d forgotten to tell us that the scientific buildings were okay to explore (from outside), but not the house.
I took some more penguin pics and video, then went to the landing for my zodiac cruise. People from the emptying zodiacs were trying to get their pictures with the signpost, so I offered to take pictures for them. By the time I finished, the last zodiac had left, but it was going back to the ship to drop people off, so Lynn asked it to come back for me. It was, unfortunately, the same driver from the morning, with the same results. No animals, except for a lone minke whale on our way back to dinner. Some of the other zodiacs saw animals, but not ours. Luck of the draw, I guess.
Back on the ship, it was cookie time, so I grabbed a couple for me and a couple for my roommate (chocolate with white-chocolate chunks). Instead of packing, I played with my photos until dinner.
I sat with Liz and Rod. Dinner was prime rib, which was okay. Dessert was a chocolate molten cake, that was more like a chocolate soufflé cake. Delicious!! I spent the rest of the evening in the library before going to bed with a sleeping pill.
Pictures from these days are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157616101404706/
Last day in Antarctica, but one of the most exciting of the trip. We hit the farthest point south (64’53”, I think) on this voyage. I’m a little disappointed that we aren’t crossing the Antarctic Circle, but I hop to come back some day and will make sure that’s a part of the experience.
I did my usual bridge visit and was happy to learn we’d be entering Neko Harbor. The channel looked too small to allow our ship through, but, as we got closer, Antarctica pulled its usual magic and the channel widened into a huge opening into Neko Harbor. It was beautiful!
I hurried down to breakfast (late) and had eggs Florentine. Rupert told us during his breakfast announcements that the morning examinations would include a landing and a cruise and only the first 5-6 zodiacs would land, while the rest cruised and, then, halfway through the morning, they’d switch. I was delayed at breakfast talking to someone, then kept forgetting stuff, so I ended up being in a cruising zodiac. We had to hear over the radio that a leopard seal had caught a penguin just off shore.
Instead of checking out the animal activity near shore, our driver went out into the bay to look at icebergs and kept us out so long that we only had about an hour on shore when we finally landed. I was really annoyed. I trudged up the beach, narrowly avoiding stepping on a penguin carcass. Penguins were all around us. As I came around to the snow hill, I saw Nadine lying on the snow taking pictures. Two penguins had come right up to her, so I snapped some shots, because she couldn’t. I went up the hill and took some pictures over the bay and back down the hill.
On my way back down the hill, Kevin handed me his camera and asked me to take pictures of him working with his video camera. He let me take some penguin shots, too, but I wished I knew more about photography so I could have taken full advantage of the opportunity. At that point, Michael, the wildlife expert, started herding us back to the shore to go back to the ship for lunch. I held back as much as I could and was the last person to get in the zodiac.
Lunch was pizza or crab louis, neither of which I like (or can eat, in the case of the crab), so I went for the pizza, obviously. The best part of lunch was dessert: ICE CREAM SOCIAL!!!! As we finished eating, the salad bar table was reset as a buffet of toppings: sauces, fruits, nuts, cookies, sprinkles, etc. I had two scoops of chocolate ice-cream with chocolate and caramel sauces (side-by-side), brownie bits, crumbled meringue cookies, crushed chocolate wafers, whipped cream and sprinkles. Yum!! I also got to talk to people who’d seen the leopard seal with the penguin. What an experience!
During lunch, the ship moved from Neko Harbor to Paradise Harbor. Rupert announced that there would be no polar plunge, which upset a lot of people, but I knew they wouldn’t have denied it, if they could have let it happen. For the afternoon excursions, there was no way I was getting in a cruising zodiac first, but, even so, I was on the 3rd zodiac out. I was a little surprised to see Thom and some of his staff getting on the early zodiacs. As our tour guide, I expected him to make sure we were all on shore first, but I haven’t noticed that he operates as a tour guide out here.
As soon as we landed, I saw a signpost with various destinations and their distance from the base in knots. I took a few pictures, with and without the ShakeAway cup, then explored the deserted Argentine base a bit, taking pictures and video of the penguins. In order to slide down the mountain, I had to climb it first. The sun was blazing and I was hot, so I left my parka at the landing and started trudging. I was sweating by the time I got halfway. It was really steep and I was glad that I had footprints to step into and make my way more easily up the hill (I’m not sure which this was – I’m not good at judging distances or steepness, which are both factors in determining whether an elevation is a hill or a mountain).
At the top of the snow, I climbed up onto the bare rocks and ate some chocolate. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t supposed to bring any food onto Antarctica, but I wanted to eat some of Daniel’s chocolate on the continent. People started sliding down the hill and, after a good groove was carved into the snow, I tucked myself into it, lifted my feet and slid down myself. A bunch of us started out towards the outcropping with the Argentine house, but were waved off from a zodiac in the bay. They’d forgotten to tell us that the scientific buildings were okay to explore (from outside), but not the house.
I took some more penguin pics and video, then went to the landing for my zodiac cruise. People from the emptying zodiacs were trying to get their pictures with the signpost, so I offered to take pictures for them. By the time I finished, the last zodiac had left, but it was going back to the ship to drop people off, so Lynn asked it to come back for me. It was, unfortunately, the same driver from the morning, with the same results. No animals, except for a lone minke whale on our way back to dinner. Some of the other zodiacs saw animals, but not ours. Luck of the draw, I guess.
Back on the ship, it was cookie time, so I grabbed a couple for me and a couple for my roommate (chocolate with white-chocolate chunks). Instead of packing, I played with my photos until dinner.
I sat with Liz and Rod. Dinner was prime rib, which was okay. Dessert was a chocolate molten cake, that was more like a chocolate soufflé cake. Delicious!! I spent the rest of the evening in the library before going to bed with a sleeping pill.
Pictures from these days are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157616101404706/
Antarctica Journal 3.12.09
Antarctica Journal 3.12.09
I slept until the wake-up call came. I’m getting more and more tired each day. The breakfast special was pancakes, which I ate with peanut butter and a fried egg white.
The morning excursion was a zodiac cruise in Wilhelmina Bay. Scottie was our driver and he took around some interesting bays and to a whaling ship that had been scuttled in 1915 because of a fire. It’s now home to Antarctic terns. We followed some humpback whales around and on several occasions, other zodiacs (or maybe it was the same one each time) would cut in front of us, blocking our view. The last time that happened, a whale came within 5 feet of the other zodiac and we couldn’t see it at all. It was really exciting for them, but frustrating for us, because we were the ones tracking that whale and the other zodiac cruised in at the last minute and took our view. I’m glad they got to see the whale, but would have liked to have seen it up close, too. We did get to see a calving glacier, which made some big noises and some little icebergs.
We got back to the ship at around noon, which gave us time to get ready for the big barbecue. The Vavilov passengers and staff came over to the Ioffe for swordfish, steaks, ribs, wursts, burgers, and various salads and sides. Dessert wasn’t very exciting – some sort of orange bread with a custardy sauce. The best part was taking pictures under the race banner. Towards the end, Thom announced the winners. It would have taken all of 10 minutes to put together a proper list, but he just tried to read them off of the main list, which meant he read the age category winners from 1st to 3rd, instead of the other way around. He also announced them from the middle of the deck, rather than by the race banner, so we didn’t get to see the winners, because they all went to the banner at the stern to be photographed.
It wasn’t clear whether or not we’d be going back out in the zodiacs, but, happily, Rupert announced that, after an hour of gift shop access, we’d be heading back into the bay. I bought some little flat things (no princessy t-shirts for my nieces – I hope they won’t care that I don’t have anything for them) and considered buying more to get a free hat (they were having a “spend $100 and get a free hat” promotion), but decided against it.
At the appointed hour, I suited up and climbed into Lynn’s zodiac. I asked her about ice worms, but she said they don’t appear in Antarctica. Before we’d gone very far, Rupert pulled up with a single passenger and asked if anyone wanted to come over. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to climb between zodiacs in the middle of Wilhelmina Bay in the Antarctic, so I hopped over. I am proud to say that I did not fall on my face or my butt or any other part of me.
Changing zodiacs turned out to be a good call. Rupert was an excellent guide. We watched a leopard seal and some whales, then “parked” behind a glacier, out of view of the ship and tucked into brash ice with icebergs all around us and just drifted. Rupert is a Ph.D. candidate, studying sea ice, so he explained some thing about ice. Then, we heard it. A whale was snorting from deep in the bay. We saw it blow a couple of times, but it was too late to approach it. We started back for the ship, stopping twice to whale-watch. By then, we were seriously late. So Rupert opened up the engine and we flew across the mirror-like bay. It was exhilarating!
Dinner was served at 8 pm, because of the big BBQ lunch. I had the sole, because I wanted to fish at least once, but I liked the wild rice side better than the sole. Dessert was strawberry tart, so I skipped it. After next-day instructions from Rupert, I headed down to the presentation room to review my photos and load any good ones into the file for the photo class. Elizabeth was there and showed me her race photos and then Kevin showed us some of his photos.
I was exhausted, as usual, so I went to bed early.
Pictures from these days are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157615673228801/
I slept until the wake-up call came. I’m getting more and more tired each day. The breakfast special was pancakes, which I ate with peanut butter and a fried egg white.
The morning excursion was a zodiac cruise in Wilhelmina Bay. Scottie was our driver and he took around some interesting bays and to a whaling ship that had been scuttled in 1915 because of a fire. It’s now home to Antarctic terns. We followed some humpback whales around and on several occasions, other zodiacs (or maybe it was the same one each time) would cut in front of us, blocking our view. The last time that happened, a whale came within 5 feet of the other zodiac and we couldn’t see it at all. It was really exciting for them, but frustrating for us, because we were the ones tracking that whale and the other zodiac cruised in at the last minute and took our view. I’m glad they got to see the whale, but would have liked to have seen it up close, too. We did get to see a calving glacier, which made some big noises and some little icebergs.
We got back to the ship at around noon, which gave us time to get ready for the big barbecue. The Vavilov passengers and staff came over to the Ioffe for swordfish, steaks, ribs, wursts, burgers, and various salads and sides. Dessert wasn’t very exciting – some sort of orange bread with a custardy sauce. The best part was taking pictures under the race banner. Towards the end, Thom announced the winners. It would have taken all of 10 minutes to put together a proper list, but he just tried to read them off of the main list, which meant he read the age category winners from 1st to 3rd, instead of the other way around. He also announced them from the middle of the deck, rather than by the race banner, so we didn’t get to see the winners, because they all went to the banner at the stern to be photographed.
It wasn’t clear whether or not we’d be going back out in the zodiacs, but, happily, Rupert announced that, after an hour of gift shop access, we’d be heading back into the bay. I bought some little flat things (no princessy t-shirts for my nieces – I hope they won’t care that I don’t have anything for them) and considered buying more to get a free hat (they were having a “spend $100 and get a free hat” promotion), but decided against it.
At the appointed hour, I suited up and climbed into Lynn’s zodiac. I asked her about ice worms, but she said they don’t appear in Antarctica. Before we’d gone very far, Rupert pulled up with a single passenger and asked if anyone wanted to come over. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to climb between zodiacs in the middle of Wilhelmina Bay in the Antarctic, so I hopped over. I am proud to say that I did not fall on my face or my butt or any other part of me.
Changing zodiacs turned out to be a good call. Rupert was an excellent guide. We watched a leopard seal and some whales, then “parked” behind a glacier, out of view of the ship and tucked into brash ice with icebergs all around us and just drifted. Rupert is a Ph.D. candidate, studying sea ice, so he explained some thing about ice. Then, we heard it. A whale was snorting from deep in the bay. We saw it blow a couple of times, but it was too late to approach it. We started back for the ship, stopping twice to whale-watch. By then, we were seriously late. So Rupert opened up the engine and we flew across the mirror-like bay. It was exhilarating!
Dinner was served at 8 pm, because of the big BBQ lunch. I had the sole, because I wanted to fish at least once, but I liked the wild rice side better than the sole. Dessert was strawberry tart, so I skipped it. After next-day instructions from Rupert, I headed down to the presentation room to review my photos and load any good ones into the file for the photo class. Elizabeth was there and showed me her race photos and then Kevin showed us some of his photos.
I was exhausted, as usual, so I went to bed early.
Pictures from these days are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157615673228801/
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