Hello Everyone,
I hope everything is treating you well back home. I hear it is raining in L.A. so I hope you are all staying out of it. : ) I am doing well, one day away from getting back to Valparaiso Chile to end this cruise. It was a pretty good one with a great Antarctica trip and I know you all want to know about it. If you read my previous blog you will remember that I mentioned some goals that the ship was trying to conquer. To the great surprise of everyone aboard we were able to complete all the goals that we wanted to do as well as other interesting events. Here is a quick break down of all three days and the major events.
Day 1 (1-14-09):
The first day we started out sailing near Elephant Island. It stared out foggy and we were not able to get a good view of the island. As the day went on though, the sun came out and was actually very nice. Our main goal of the day was to circumnavigate Paulet Island located towards the north tip on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship has only been able to do this once before due to the heavy ice flows from the Weddel Sea to the south. On our first trip we couldn’t even see the island due to the heavy amounts of ice. On this day though we were able to make it around the whole island making it only the second full circumnavigation by a Holland American ship. Passengers were able to see lots and lots of Adele penguin colonies (there are 100,000 pairs on the island) and the scenery was breathtaking. The other major event this day was the katabatic winds reaching 80 knots. While sailing away from Paulet Island the ship was listing side to side very sharply. This caused things on shelves in our cabins to fall off and made us kind of nervous at times. I had never seen the ship list to one side so much. Soon after Kristen and I decided to go to dinner and on our way up stopped in the gym to talk to the fitness instructor, Stacey, who stated due to the high winds she was not surprised that a lounge chair hadn’t gone over into the water. Kristen and I walked out on to the Lido deck and went to the large glass windows along with a group of passengers. Due to the listing on the ship we were basically looking straight down into the water and not out across the horizon like normal. All of a sudden a huge lounge chair and its bright yellow cushion came flying up over the ship and exploded upon impact into the rough seas. Now as I mentioned before, this is a huge problem in Antarctica. Having things go overboard is not an option, and this is the worst that could happen besides a person or oil spill going overboard. Kristen and I then ran into the spa to warn the manager who was already on the phone with the bridge. We all ran to the back of the spa to see about the other chairs. Two were still there but looked as if they were going to fly as well. To prevent this, another fitness instructor, Maria and I, decided to go out and get them……not such a fun idea we decided later. Kristen and 2 other spa personnel held open the door against the 80 knot winds as the instructor and I clawed out onto the deck almost getting pushed down…well I was pushed down almost immediately. We spent the next three chilling minutes prying the chair loose and slowly pulling it back in. I had one hand on the chair, the other on the railing and she had all her weight pushing the chair. Finally we got it in to the safety of the spa and then security came in to get the other chair. Pretty fun way to spend an afternoon in Antarctica, but now I can say I played in 80 knot winds. That was pretty much it for the day.
Day 2 (1-15-09):
Today was overcast with the sun making an appearance here and there. I started off the day taking pictures from inside the ship of penguins that floated by on an iceberg right near the ship. We cruised through Neumayer Channel, Gerlache Straight; passed by the Chilean research station Gonzalez Videla and the Argentine station Almirante Brown. One highlight for me was finally getting to see an Orca whale. It was only for a second and was just the head of one but I still got to see it. People saw many Orca’s and humpback whales throughout the three days. The rest of the day we continued to sail passing many icebergs and majestic mountains.
Day 3 (1-16-09):
Today was probably the most beautiful day we have seen thus far in the two trips to Antarctica. It was bright and sunny out with thin clouds making for the best picture conditions. It was moderately cold but on the rear of the ship the temperature always feels better due to no head wind in your face. The bow is always colder due to the wind. Today was another milestone for the ship. Today we again picked up some scientists and support crew from the U.S. research base Palmer Station located on Anvers Island, on the west side of The Peninsula. From there we sailed to the Lemaire Channel, which is the “Holy Grail,” of the trip. Last trip we were only able to get into the channel a little bit and had to turn around due to the density of ice in the water. Remember, when dealing with Antarctic conditions, things change on a moments notice and can affect a whole trip. Today we were lucky to be able to get all the way through the channel, only completed once by any Holland American ship. Another slap on the back for us. Being bright and sunny out and just the right amount of ice in the water caused the scenery to explode. I could not take enough pictures and it made you just stand there looking out over the water and thinking to yourself, “Is this real?” The furthest south we got was Latitude 65 degrees 09.6’ South. This was 80.4 nautical miles from the Antarctica Circle and 1,460.4 nautical miles from the South Pole. During this time we also saw numerous humpback whales swimming in mostly pairs around the ship. We also got great pictures of penguin colonies as they climbed up the hillsides. Most of these birds are well adapted to this but you always get the clown of the pack who wants to have his own show. We saw this from many different penguins that would roll around or throw themselves on the snow. Before disembarking the crew from Palmer we were able to get down and talk to them and ask them a few questions. They are amazing people who we all admire for their work and enthusiasm for working in such a beautiful yet distant place. The percussionist in the band, Kristen and I decided that we wouldn’t mind working down here for a few months. I guess that’s what’s next to come. If you are interested in jobs in Antarctica check out http://www.rayjobs.com/. From here we headed back north towards Cape Horn and our present location of Chile.
Antarctica is a wonderful place and can bring many great memories. A lot of these I have in pictures now and will be glad to share them with you. Again, if you have any questions and/or comments please let me know. I hope all is well back home and I cannot wait to see you all when I get home. Cheers.
Danny
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
New Years, Penguins and Antarctica!!!
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe 2009. I know it has been a week or 2 since I have updated this blog so I would like to update you a little. New Years on the ship was nice…quick but nice. We turned our lounge into the balloon drop center with one of the bands playing and dancing. Of course free drinks were passed out and everyone was having a lot of fun. The highlight for me was at midnight when I had to come out with Father Time, played by Chris our Travel Guide, as Baby New Year. Yes this means I had to run around in a diaper and take pictures with passengers. We then had everyone follow us up to the Crows Nest, the “disco” on the top of the ship, to celebrate the rest of the night. Again Chris and I had to take pictures with passengers and mingle. There was also a crew party that was happening on the mooring deck. The mooring deck is in the front of the ship where they keep the huge anchors and all the huge ropes to tie off the ship when in port or when we are anchored off shore. It surprisingly is a great place to host a party. That was about it for New Years. I hope everyone had a great time at their own functions.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS = LOTS OF PENGUINS!!!
Currently we are heading back down south to Antarctica for our second trip into the White Continent. Today we made our last stop before getting there in Stanley, The Falkland Islands. The island is located 400 miles off the eastern tip of South America in the South Atlantic Ocean. The group of islands is under control of the British Government, after defeating Argentinean forces in 1982. Still to this day there are land mines that are placed around the islands from this confrontation. The islands have become a major tourist attraction for cruise ship and expedition companies as they make their way around South America and/or en-route to the Antarctica Peninsula. Major wildlife include of course, penguins, sea lions, dolphins, whales, and many types of birds. Kristen and I set off to find such wildlife, and was happily surprised at what we saw. After taking a short $10.00 shuttle ride to Gypsy Cove located west of the main city center we found what we came to look for…Penguins. The species was that of Magellanic penguins which look like what you would think a penguin would look like. They are not very tall, maybe standing approximately 1-3 feet tall and was made up of black and white in color. As we approached the cove we could see two large groups of them on the pristine white sand beach. Some were out by themselves including one little guy who started to climb up the hill towards us. This offered us a great chance to shoot some photos of him. The path we were on was flanked by short brush that the penguins made their “burrows” in, some as deep as 2 meters. You could usually spot a mother or farther and their chick in a burrow if you looked closely. Further up the trial came to a look out deck and below that stood about a dozen more penguins spread out over the hill side. Some were walking around, taking care of chicks, or just doing nothing. They seemed pretty content with themselves. : ) A little further up the trial we spotted a huge Sea Lion that was lying on the beach and then a smaller one just up from him at the base of the hill which led up to the first lookout deck. We then headed back before a nice couple from our ship stopped us and showed us another parent and their chick. This was amazing because the two of them were no more then 3 feet from us at the top of their burrow. The chicks are brown in color and have think fur which I guessed is to keep them warm till they can produce their own set of feathers. It was very cute as the chick was making lots of noise probably because it was hungry or upset. The parent kept trying to stop this by pushing its beak down on the younger one…pretty typical from what I remember as a child when I would get to loud and my parents would try to shut me up. At this time we also spotted 2 dolphins swimming near the shore. We then decided to get back to the shuttle but not before we came across our last penguin who was laying outside his or her burrow. This one was no more then a foot away from us and could have been easily grabbed by anyone. He or she just lay there as we took its picture seeming to enjoy the attention. What an easy life!!! We then returned to the ship. We had a great day and got to see up close something I never thought I would ever see in person….real life penguins.
PLAN A TO ANTARCTICA!!!!
Like I mentioned before we are on our way now to the Antarctic Peninsula. This will be our second trip to this continent and the only difference is we will do things in reverse order of our first trip. Here is a quick run down of Plan A. Now remember, on our last trip we got to Plan G…maybe Plan M…not sure but things change on a moments notice due to weather, ice and time constraints. Our ice pilot assured the passengers at his first lecture that this trip is an “Ice avoidance trip,” and not one of an “ice breaking trip.” Our ship can withstand some hits here and there, but should not be running into icebergs. This is the biggest ship to ever travel through Antarctica. Day 1 plans a trip into the Antarctic Sound, also know as Iceberg Alley. This is located towards the north part of the Peninsula. Last time we did not make it all the way through to Paulette Island where we are trying to get to. This is because of pack ice and is to dense to travel through. Also on the agenda is Esperanza Station for penguins, and Deception Island. Being that this time there will be about 2 hours of complete darkness there is a chance of seeing the Auroris Australis (Please excuse the spelling). This is like the northern lights up in the North Pole, just in the South Pole. Day 2 we are planning to go to the Danco Coast, Gerlache Straight, and Newmeyer Channel. Again these places offer views of penguins, and lots and lots of icebergs. The scenery is amazing. Day 3 we plan on going to Palmer Station, which is a U.S. research station in Antarctica. We have some of the researchers board and do lectures. We will also debark 2 or 3 scientists that have been passengers since Buenos Aires. Talk about a nice way to get to your job. The Holy Grail of the trip will also be on this day as we try to get through Lemaire Channel which is beautiful. Last trip we got down pretty far but then had to turn around due to pack ice. From here we will head back up to Cape Horn and travel north on the west side of S.A. to Valparaiso, Chile. Don’t worry, I will update this when we are done and let you know what actually happened with the trip.
I hope everyone is well back home and I miss you all very much. Again if you have any questions or comments let me know. If I don’t now the answer I can get the answer ASAP. Love you all and can’t wait to see you all in a few months.
Cheers, Danny
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe 2009. I know it has been a week or 2 since I have updated this blog so I would like to update you a little. New Years on the ship was nice…quick but nice. We turned our lounge into the balloon drop center with one of the bands playing and dancing. Of course free drinks were passed out and everyone was having a lot of fun. The highlight for me was at midnight when I had to come out with Father Time, played by Chris our Travel Guide, as Baby New Year. Yes this means I had to run around in a diaper and take pictures with passengers. We then had everyone follow us up to the Crows Nest, the “disco” on the top of the ship, to celebrate the rest of the night. Again Chris and I had to take pictures with passengers and mingle. There was also a crew party that was happening on the mooring deck. The mooring deck is in the front of the ship where they keep the huge anchors and all the huge ropes to tie off the ship when in port or when we are anchored off shore. It surprisingly is a great place to host a party. That was about it for New Years. I hope everyone had a great time at their own functions.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS = LOTS OF PENGUINS!!!
Currently we are heading back down south to Antarctica for our second trip into the White Continent. Today we made our last stop before getting there in Stanley, The Falkland Islands. The island is located 400 miles off the eastern tip of South America in the South Atlantic Ocean. The group of islands is under control of the British Government, after defeating Argentinean forces in 1982. Still to this day there are land mines that are placed around the islands from this confrontation. The islands have become a major tourist attraction for cruise ship and expedition companies as they make their way around South America and/or en-route to the Antarctica Peninsula. Major wildlife include of course, penguins, sea lions, dolphins, whales, and many types of birds. Kristen and I set off to find such wildlife, and was happily surprised at what we saw. After taking a short $10.00 shuttle ride to Gypsy Cove located west of the main city center we found what we came to look for…Penguins. The species was that of Magellanic penguins which look like what you would think a penguin would look like. They are not very tall, maybe standing approximately 1-3 feet tall and was made up of black and white in color. As we approached the cove we could see two large groups of them on the pristine white sand beach. Some were out by themselves including one little guy who started to climb up the hill towards us. This offered us a great chance to shoot some photos of him. The path we were on was flanked by short brush that the penguins made their “burrows” in, some as deep as 2 meters. You could usually spot a mother or farther and their chick in a burrow if you looked closely. Further up the trial came to a look out deck and below that stood about a dozen more penguins spread out over the hill side. Some were walking around, taking care of chicks, or just doing nothing. They seemed pretty content with themselves. : ) A little further up the trial we spotted a huge Sea Lion that was lying on the beach and then a smaller one just up from him at the base of the hill which led up to the first lookout deck. We then headed back before a nice couple from our ship stopped us and showed us another parent and their chick. This was amazing because the two of them were no more then 3 feet from us at the top of their burrow. The chicks are brown in color and have think fur which I guessed is to keep them warm till they can produce their own set of feathers. It was very cute as the chick was making lots of noise probably because it was hungry or upset. The parent kept trying to stop this by pushing its beak down on the younger one…pretty typical from what I remember as a child when I would get to loud and my parents would try to shut me up. At this time we also spotted 2 dolphins swimming near the shore. We then decided to get back to the shuttle but not before we came across our last penguin who was laying outside his or her burrow. This one was no more then a foot away from us and could have been easily grabbed by anyone. He or she just lay there as we took its picture seeming to enjoy the attention. What an easy life!!! We then returned to the ship. We had a great day and got to see up close something I never thought I would ever see in person….real life penguins.
PLAN A TO ANTARCTICA!!!!
Like I mentioned before we are on our way now to the Antarctic Peninsula. This will be our second trip to this continent and the only difference is we will do things in reverse order of our first trip. Here is a quick run down of Plan A. Now remember, on our last trip we got to Plan G…maybe Plan M…not sure but things change on a moments notice due to weather, ice and time constraints. Our ice pilot assured the passengers at his first lecture that this trip is an “Ice avoidance trip,” and not one of an “ice breaking trip.” Our ship can withstand some hits here and there, but should not be running into icebergs. This is the biggest ship to ever travel through Antarctica. Day 1 plans a trip into the Antarctic Sound, also know as Iceberg Alley. This is located towards the north part of the Peninsula. Last time we did not make it all the way through to Paulette Island where we are trying to get to. This is because of pack ice and is to dense to travel through. Also on the agenda is Esperanza Station for penguins, and Deception Island. Being that this time there will be about 2 hours of complete darkness there is a chance of seeing the Auroris Australis (Please excuse the spelling). This is like the northern lights up in the North Pole, just in the South Pole. Day 2 we are planning to go to the Danco Coast, Gerlache Straight, and Newmeyer Channel. Again these places offer views of penguins, and lots and lots of icebergs. The scenery is amazing. Day 3 we plan on going to Palmer Station, which is a U.S. research station in Antarctica. We have some of the researchers board and do lectures. We will also debark 2 or 3 scientists that have been passengers since Buenos Aires. Talk about a nice way to get to your job. The Holy Grail of the trip will also be on this day as we try to get through Lemaire Channel which is beautiful. Last trip we got down pretty far but then had to turn around due to pack ice. From here we will head back up to Cape Horn and travel north on the west side of S.A. to Valparaiso, Chile. Don’t worry, I will update this when we are done and let you know what actually happened with the trip.
I hope everyone is well back home and I miss you all very much. Again if you have any questions or comments let me know. If I don’t now the answer I can get the answer ASAP. Love you all and can’t wait to see you all in a few months.
Cheers, Danny
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