Antarctica, Day 6, 28 February 2025, the South Orkney Islands

We awoke to cold gray skies, and soon it began to snow. Barney is feeling better but plans to stay in today, though perhaps go up for breakfast. We are approaching Monroe Island in the South Orkney Islands, where we’ll go on the Zodiacs to see some wildlife. We learned that these islands are called the South Orkneys because they mirror the latitude of the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland, and similarly with the South Shetlands Islands. I was on the second round of Zodiacs, and the first group went out when it was snowing and hailing, so they got soaking wet and quite cold. By the time I went out (Barney stayed in and took it easy as he continue to recover), the snow and hail had stopped. I suited up and boarded, and the Zodiacs was already bouncing all over. We cruised around the cove and saw huge arrays of chinstrap penguins on the rocky hillsides, which were dusted with fresh snow. Leopard seals were on the prowl, we saw many fur seals and even the less common Weddell seals. Many birds went overhead - giant petrels, Wilson’s petrels, lots of skuas with their blue eye rims, and snowy sheathbills. Some of the petrels flew quite close over the Zodiac, so fast I stopped trying to photograph them and just enjoyed seeing their massive wingspans of at least 5-6 feet. At one iceberg we saw about a dozen petrels mostly floating, and then spotted a leopard seal which had been eating a penguin. It turns out that the leopard seals do not want to eat the feathers and bones which do not have calories for them, so they leave the carcasses to float an then the petrels go at them. It was quite a site, the old circle of life, though somehow we all d feel sorry for the penguins.

Over lunch we went by some enormous tabular icebergs, some were huge and quite closet to the ship. This afternoon we are headed toward Signey Island, and we may have a landing as well as Zodiacs.

The afternoon was gray and cold, about 26° so quite a few people opted out, including Barney who was still recovering. After a short Zodiac ride, we came ashore on a rocky beach, hiked up the fairly fresh snow to an overlook, there were a whole set of young male fur seals play-fighting with each other, and a few young male (but still enormous) elephant seals just laying on the beach. I was a bit winded going up the hill and then remembered to think of it like cross-country skiing up a hill, just be consistent and have a good rhythm and breathe. We then went to another overlook, saw more elephant seals just piled on top of each other, and more active fur seals, and a huge view of the cove and the channel out to the open ocean. We went upstairs to meet our Aussie friends, and soon the was a call to see two blue whales, so Barney went up to do some photos. We had a lovely dinner, and now seem to be invited to southwestern France to Mike’s house under renovation, for the summer of 2027, which should be fun.

I have to attend a Fairyland Finance Committee meeting (4:00pm in California) and Barney is up at the photo feedback session, which should be fun. Tomorrow we will be at sea en route to South Georgia Island.

Antarctica, Day 5, 27 February 2025, At Sea

 Today we are at sea all day cruising away from the Peninsula toward South Georgia Island eventually. But we learn this morning that we will be stopping at the South Orkney Islands, about halfway between the tip of the Peninsula and South Georgia, and still considered part of Antarctica. On the way we passed Elephant Island, where Shackleton left most of his men while he and a few others sailed to South Georgia to get help.

I got up early and did the morning stretch in the yoga studio, whihc was packed. I was not a flexible as I normally am, and definitely having trouble with poses requiring kneeling, but it was good to stretch out. I ordered breakfast for Barney and went to eat a quick meal, then back to shower. Today there will be four lectures, which fortunately we can listen to on the screen in the room. Barney is still feverish, sore, coughing, and feeling wiped out. We watched a presentation on the Antarctica Treaty which was very informative, and one on Antarctica seals, of which we’ve seen several species so far. Brought him more of the nice ginger lemongrass tea which seems to be soothing for him. For some reason I still have a bit of a cough and some wheezing, not sure why. We will both take it easy today.

At lunch I met the couple across the hall, she is fro Boston, he from England, and we had a nice chat about skiing, as they are both downhill and cross-country, told us about skiing in Switzerland from when they lived in England. They now live not far from Wellesley, and ski at the nearby Mt. Washington, where the ski area of Massachusetts and Vermont start up through Maine. They are staying in the igloo tonight, I hope they have clear skies to see the stars.

After lunch I decided to do some walking while Barney slept. On deck 8 there is a 1/8 mile circuit, and it was about 38 degrees or so, not too cold, so I did eight laps around which was really nice. Several other women were doing the same, at different paces. Afterwards, I sat in the sun at one of the outdoor tables on a blanket and read my book about Alexander von Humboldt, which seems so appropriate here in Antarctica. It was really lovely, hardly any wind even though we were sailing along. At one point, a British fellow came over and asked if he could take a photo of me, as the sky was very dramatic behind me, and of course I said yes and he airdropped me the photo afterwards. It will be a nice memory. I was now about 1/3 of the way through the book, so went back to check n Barney and bring more tea. He was fast asleep and I woke him up to take his meds. He is still a bit feverish. We watched the lecture on the final Shackleton expedition, which was really great with some photos we had not seen before. We ordered his dinner, and I went up to the recap. At dinner we sat with one of the naturalists, Anna from Sweden who is a diver, and heard some interesting tales of her work below the ship. There was quite a conversation about bungee jumping, and she had done one which went 250 meters, almost unimaginable. Bungee jumping is something I have zero desire to do ever, but everyone else at the table had done it. Back to the room with more tea for Barney, a bit more reading and email, and then to bed as we sailed along.

Antarctica Day 4, 26 February 2025

 Well it just keeps getting better. Up early, to breakfast, suit up, and we’re the first ones out in the Zodiacs at Ciera Cove, south of Trinity Island n the Peninsula. Amazing ice floes in unbelievable shapes about. Earlier we saw a military ship which was confirmed as Argentine Navy going to a nearby outpost, probably taking folks back as the summer is ending. We saw a whole group of Gentoo penguins arrayed on a hillside, from a distance just black specks, then we got closer and we could hear and eventually smell them. A whole group was down at the shore, others were climbing up or down the rocky path to the upper, safer area. Some of the ones on the shore dove in swam around near us, they “porpoised” several times where they go quickly in and out of the water at the surface. They swam toward us, then away, Thena back again, then toward another location. we continued on, saw some icebergs with an amazing deep blue color in the crevices, maybe this is the real ultramarine. We then saw a leopard seal, alone on an ice floe that was curved like a hammock, who moved, stretched, raised her flippers, looked at us quite a bit as we went silent and stayed still, as they are sensitive to movement. The guide confirmed that this was a young female, as they are often solitary. She kept a close watch onus as we circled around at a distance. Once she yawned widely and we could see her fearsome teeth, capable of eating a penguin. The bullet-shaped, lizard-like head was so apparent. As we were called back to the ship, we saw a Minke whale a ways away, who then swam near us. The whale came by the side of the Zodiac and spouted, circled, and then went under the boat. Our guide, Georgia, had her GoPro under the water and was able to film the whale going by. I think I saw her eye under the water as she went by the side of the boat … it was thrilled to again be so close to these huge mammals.

Back to the ship, and tie for laundry. I manage to rig up a second clothesline and did underwear and socks in the sink and the shower. We’ll how long these take to dry! Another nice lunch, and then time to get ready for the afternoon activities. I ordered lunch up to the room for Barney.

Barney started feeling not at all well, so we went down to the doctor. He has a virus which is going around the ship, body aches, fever, congestion, coughing, temperature shifts, etc., but apparently not bacterial so no antibiotics, just Advil and Tylenol. His forehead was so hot, just burning up. I let him snuggled under the covers and went on the afternoon Zodiac and landing at …….  After a short ride, we landed on a rocky cove, and climbed the snowy hill, much easier than the icy hill of the day before. There were huge numbers of chinstrap penguins, in three different areas. I only went partway up the hill, some others went all the way to the top but they were slipping a sliding, and since I was solo I did not want to risk it. The penguins were a delight to watch … waddling around in that adorable way, jumping up and down the hillside, and then two of them seemed to have a dispute and were slapping each other with their flippers! These are all getting ready to go to sea soon (this is the last trip of the season) and most are born this past season, so they seem happy to stay on land for a while. There are big area of reddish guano on the rocky stops of the hills where the snow has already blown away. Some of the penguins did head for the water and we watched them swim out ahead of us for a bit.

Back to the room, Barney was asleep and still very hot to the touch. I brought him some tea and we chatted for a bit. The daily menus are published on a page on the iPad attached to the wall so we can figure out his room service order for meals. I went up to the recap and met up with the Aussies and two American brothers, enjoyed a nice dinner with them, then back to the room with more tea for Barney. Very glad I got to be out and about today, but sad that he missed a full day in Antarctica. We have turned north and are headed back toward the tip of the peninsula.

Antartica Day 3, 25 February 2025

 We arose early to get ready for the 8:00am call for Zodiacs. After a quick breakfast and suiting up, we got ready to kayak! The water was very clam, like glad, perfect day, sunny, and no wind. We kayaked around the part f the island, saw two shipwrecks and the remains of a hut, lots of underwater kelp and small fish, and penguins n Shags and Petrels galore. The kayaks were very stable so a lot of fun to guide through the ice field. We tracked a sea lion for a bit and got some good photos of him.

Back to the ship for the Polar Plunge! Barney was brave enough to do this, and I took photos. He tried to dive in and realized this wold put hi far beyond the Zodiac crews so ended up half-diving, and then quickly back up to the platform. He said it was amazingly cold, he could not even hold the cup of hot chocolate and the shot of vodka they offered afterwards, his hands were shaking so much. After getting back to the cabin and putting on some warm clothes we went off to lunch. Afterwards, I was trying a few arias to see if there was something I could do a cappella for the staff wedding, I settled on “Venus’ Birds” which I thought I could sing in my post-bronchitis state.

Time for our actual continental landing! We went to the …. Portal, and hiked up a the snow a bit, seeing some spectacular ice floes and mountains. We had an incredible 360 degree view over the snow fields, and we were glad to have the walking sticks to help navigate as it got rather slippery.  There were some incredible icebergs, including one that looked like the tower in a European cathedral, and we saw seals sunning themselves. We descended the peak, and then our Zodiac ride happened, and oh what a ride!  We saw two humpback whales in the distance, blowing and diving. They came closer, so we had to stop and stay put per the rules. The one humpback was very curious about us, swam very close and dived, swam around and even under our Zodiac. Three times he blew through his blowhole and we actually got whale spray on us! At one point he swam next to out Zodiac, turned on his side, and we could see how beautiful, intelligent eye looking at us. It was breathtaking. Hard to take good photos when such excitement is happening, but I will never forgot the look in his eye, just checking us out and playing with us. What an extraordinary experience!

We came back, warmed up, and while I prepared for a prospective client zoom meeting, Barney headed up to the bar to met with the Aussie gang. I joined them for dinner, and we had a great time … these are folks who really know how to enjoy life. What a day - kayaking, the polar plunge, the continental landing, the whale. It could not get better.

Antarctica, Day 2, 24 February 2025

Up early today at 6:30am for a quick breakfast and then getting ready for the early excursion which I feel well enough to go to (with my mask on of course). About 8:30 we went up to the bridge (which is open), and spotted a pod of orcas up ahead. There were probably 50 people on the bridge and we were all looking forward to see them. It was a pod of about 10, diving and surfacing, everyone was thrilled. This moved the start of the excursion back about an hour, as they stayed with us a while.

The original plan, Devils’s Island in the morning and James Ross Island in the afternoon, was changed because of the weather, especially the winds.we are headed toward the Bernardo O’Higgins base (Chilean). This was my first time suiting up and doing the while boot and waterproof pants and double jacket and hat and mittens routine. Our Zodiac driver, Typhanie, steered us toward a group of chinstrap penguins, covered most of a hilly snowy area. They are now in the middle or toward the end of their catastrophic molt, waiting for their full set of feathers so they can return to the sea to feed. Some had quite a bit of fluff on their backs, one had a Mohawk on the top of his head. Many were sunning themselves so we saw their black backs as they absorbed the sun’s warmth. We turned about 90° toward another small island, saw a group of Gentoo penguins, also molting, and a group of male sea lions, in that typical head up sea lion pose. The mating season is over, and during that time they do not eat as they are busy protecting their harem and their territory. Now they are feeding and regaining weight. We also saw some shags, a white bird called the Snowy Sheathbill, and some long-necked cormorants. At some point, I just want to watch them, as I know my photography is limited with the iPhone. Barney took some great photos. 

After a nice lunch, it was time for the afternoon excursion, which I decided to forego per the doctor’s suggestion and rest a bit, and Barney went with the group. I settled in the Library which has a lovely view off the bow, and started reading my new book. I also played the piano a bit, the accompaniment to “ Must the Winter Come So Soon?” from Vanessa, which I will want to sing at least once on this trip. Later I went back and took a very long nap.

Barney went on the Zodiac and hiking trip to Astrolabe Island. It was cold, windy, and snowing and the fog had come in, almost impossible to see the landing spot. The guide made a high speed transit across the bay to see a leopard seal, which was also going away from the wind. They saw some chinstrap penguins in a rookery, and then landed on a very rocky beach. Barney has to use the walking sticks and hike carefully. He walked toward a sleeping fur seal (keeping his distance and taking photos), then walked toward the other end of the beach where the fur seals were playing with each other, nipping and biting and chest-butting, most seemed to be yearlings. At one point, Barney and a few others were near the water, heard a sound from a seal who wanted to get out of the water where Barney and others were standing, then the seal went down the beach to another spot and went onto the beach, between where Barney needed to go to the Zodiac. Finally the guides had the group move en masse to the Zodiac, finally the seal moved, and they got back to the Zodiac and back to the ship.

We had dinner with the fun Aussie folks, such great conversationalists! We extended an invite to John and Owen to stay with us in the Bay Area some time. John told us the story of how he and Reuben met, and I told him the story of how Barney and I met, and we marveled at the ways that people can connect in the most unexpected ways. We have met some wonderful folks on this trip!

Antarctica, Day 1, 23 February 2025

 We woke up this morning to see  our first icebergs in the distance … very exciting, we did not know this would be our view for the next several days! Around noon we left the Drake Passage after a fairly calm crossing, and they announced that there would be an exclusion later this afternoon.

I am still sick, and went to see the doctor again this afternoon, as coughing is worse. Time for some heavy artillery, good old Prednisone. I hope this will help, as I am still isolating and taking meals in our room. Barney is out and about having fun, and he went on the zodiac this afternoon, where they saw a whale, some penguins, and some seals. From our balcony I saw a seal slip into the water from a “bergy bit” the name for small icebergs. Then the ship started crashing through floating ice, with the ship shuddering with every impact … it was awesome. I was out on our balcony and could see the bow of the ship hit the bergy bit. At one point we came upon a bergy bit with an Emperor Penguin on it, the ship stopped so we could watch, he seemed to stop, then start, then stop and start again for almost 30 minutes. Eventually he floated away from us and the ship restarted our journey. 

I may be able to go on an excursion tomorrow with my mask on, we’ll see how I feel. What a drag to have the Nelson-Smits Family Vacation Illness Curse rear its ugly head. I am so grateful that there is a doctor on  board, she has been super helpful. I did not even think of bringing antibiotics on board. Barney had dinner with a pharmacist who said we could call him for anything we needed, he had all kinds of prescription medications with him. Going out in the cold helped, shrinking the tracheal passage, just like when Madeleine had croup and we sat out with her all night on the porch where it was cold, to help reduce the inflammation. The cold is definitely helping me.

Meanwhile, Barney went on the afternoon excursion, which was a Zodiac trip but no landing. They saw quite a few of the Adeline penguins, named by a French explorer after his wife Adelie. They also saw a fur seal and maybe a leopard seal. Later on, they saw some humpback whales as they were reboarding the ship.

In the afternoon there was a presentation about ice in its many forms, and the hierarchy from phytoplankton to whales, which Barney attended and I watched online. Barney had dinner with some new friends and then hung out upstairs. I had dinner in the room, watched a Smithsonian video, and finished my Louise Penney book, luckily I have another for later in the trip. 

The excursion is at 8:30am so we’re going to bed early so we can get up at 6:30am.

At sea, from Ushuaia to Antarctica, 22 February 2025

 We slept quite late (for us) to 8:00am, probably in part because of the rolling of the ship on the Drake Passage across open ocean, and partly because I was coughing a lot. After a quick breakfast, I realized I was really not feeling well, with a painful cough and sore throat and swollen glands, not a good sign. I sent Barney off to the lecture on how we would do landings, and another one on whale-watching. Meanwhile I went to the doctor, who said she thought it was a bit of bronchitis and gave me some antibiotics, also tested for Covid which was thankfully negative. By this time I was exhausted and sleepy, and rested until Barney came back at lunchtime. He went off to lunch, I read for a while, and he brought me back some soup. The afternoon was more sleeping and reading for me, while Barney went to the lecture on bird-watching and photography hints and techniques, which he really enjoyed. He also went up to the bridge, which is open most of the time. The doctor called me back to her clinic as I was having some side-effects from the antibiotics, and told me to isolate. So, back to the room, time looking out to the sea, reading, and sleeping. As I write this Barney is off to the captain’s welcome reception and dinner, and air will have some soup in the room and read. Luckily I brought four books with me, and am now halfway through the first of two Louise Penney Inspector Gamache books.  

To Ushuaia on 21 February 2025

 We got up even before our alarms, showered and dressed for the day, which was expected to be Soler and rainy in Ushuaia. At the airport we sat next to a nice couple from Australia who we liked, and throughout the day we reconnected. It was still so warm in Buenos Aires, and the airport seemed oddly not air-conditioned, or at least not fully. Our three-hour flight took us out over the ocean for a long time,  and then back inland to land in Ushuaia. Our bus took us through the town, which reminded me a bit of Scandinavia - brightly-colored houses, multi-story wooden structures with lots of gables and angles, so unlike the stucco and concrete of homes in Buenos Aires.

We embarked on two catamarans for a tour of Ushuaia bay … not sure why I was expecting these to be  catamarans with sails rather than motorized. We did see our ship and a much larger Viking ship in the port, along with the Europa, a tall ship we had toured during a long-ago Tall Ships Festival in SF. Unfortunately there was no opportunity to say hello to the crew. The catamaran had a large seating area where we had a nice salad and soup for lunch. Then outside, where it was indeed mercifully cooler and windy, off to see a former lighthouse now a wildlife area. The rocky island was covered with cormorants and sea lions, the characteristic smell of guano wafting through the air with the barks and squeals of the sea lions all around us. The ship circled that island and another a few times so everyone could get a good view and photos. Of course there was a large bull sea lion vociferously fighting off every other male nearby, always a good show.

Back to the dock, and finally we boarded the ship, got our ID tags, and has a chance to explore the ship briefly. A briefing was held in the Ice Lounge, where the entire 130 people on the ship could gather at one for briefings and presentations. We again sat with the Australian couple and some other Aussies, all very nice, and went to dinner together. They were very funny and engaging, and a I hope we’ll see more of them on the trip. After dinner we explored some other levels, including the outdoors where there are the sleeping igloos and jacuzzis, and the library where a huge map on a screen let us see the exact location of the trip.

Back to our room, which was quite nice, well-designed and comfortable, to unpack a bit and go to bed. For some reason I am coughing a lot, even more than my usual post-eating cough. Maybe I’m just tired.

Buenos Aires 20 February 2025

 till a bit tired from our trip, we slept almost 9 hours. Breakfast was on the very top of the hotel, which it turns out is half hotel, half condos. Stunning views over the whole of the city were really beautiful, and we plotted out our day.

Still determined to add value to our Subte card, we walked to the Plaza de Mayo station, and once again failed. Without value on the card, we could not take the bus which went directly to the museum, alas. So off to the Catedral station, and a quick look around this Baroque-style cathedral, like so many we had seen in Europe. One major attraction was the tomb of Jose de San Martin, who liberated South America from Spanish colonial rule. The side chapel where he was buried was crowded with small tour groups all snapping selfies, and I wondered if they know who he was. Interestingly, there was no place to light a candle anywhere in the church, perhaps fear of fire? In any case, we went back to the Subte station and headed for our destination, which took only one transfer and a nice walk through a park to the Museum.

The Museo Nacional des Belles Artes is the main museum here, with historical collections ranging from pre-Hispanic to Impressionist (there are also two contemporary arts museums). We enjoyed the small but lovely collection of Impressionists and a post-Impressionists, a nice Medieval collection, and a number of works ranging from El Greco to Dutch still lifes to Bougereau, the collection had a lot of French pieces donated by wealthy Argentinians who were Francophiles, in reaction to their earlier Spanish colonial overlords. Our visit was fairly short as we had to back to the hotel, so we only scratched the surface.

At 2:00pm, the Nat Geo folks arranged for a short city tour and visits. We went to El Zanjan, a museum built over the former tunnels which culverted the main creeks in the early colony. The tunnels were about 10 feet high, and each family in what was then a wealthy area built their own tunnel underneath their homes, which kept the sewage and garbage from affecting their lives. Later the wealthy moved and the grand homes became tenements, with 24 families living in what was once the home of a single wealthy family. It was discovered by a man who bought an old building in the 1980s, found it wrecked inside and floors collapsing, revealing the former tunnels beneath. He spent two decades restoring it, and it became a major archaeological site of 18th and 19th century life. The we went to the Recoleta Cemetery, site of the grave of Eva Peron, whose embalmed remains were brought here decades after she died and after her husband returned to Argentina after exile. The narrow alley leading to her family mausoleum was jammed with tourists all taking the requisite photo. I enjoyed walking the other alleys between the monumental tombs, rather like the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, but with no greenery or tombstones, only mausoleums. Many had plaques describing the background of the person who first purchased a plot there.

The day was hot and humid, around 90°, it felt so much like Miami in summer, so we’re grateful to get back to the hotel and the air conditioning. We repacked out suitcases to be picked up that evening. A welcome reception was held in the downstairs of the hotel, and we met several nice shipmates, and learned about the plans for the next day. Probably half of the on board were American, maybe 60%, with the rest being Australian, German, Canadian, and a few other South Americans, so conversations and presentations were all in English.

Rather like the 5am flight to Abu Simbel in Egypt, we had to get up very early the next day for our flight to Ushuaia, so we headed to bed early with multiple alarms set.

The Antarctica Adventure Begins! 18 -19 February 2025, to Argentina

 After almost two years of waiting, we are off to Antarctica. Madeleine drives us to the airport, and our flight leaves on time. We managed to get quite a bit of gear into one checked bag each. A major storm in Texas delays our arrival in Houston … one minute we were flying through blue skies with puffy white clouds underneath, the next minute the sky was dark and the rain was pouring. We waited more than 30 minutes to deplane because no one could go in or out because of the storm. We finally deplaned and raced for our connection to Buenos Aires, go on board, and then we waited about 90 minutes to depart because of the storm.  Once we got through the storm, the flight was fine, we managed to sleep, Premium z plus was definitely worth it for an overnight flight. We got our reserved taxi and headed into town. The outskirts of the city look very much like any other city near the airport, some single family homes, some high rise apartments, and some commercial buildings. Out hotel is the one used by National Geographic, rather fancier than we would normally choose, on reclaimed land in what used to the the river, near a wetlands. 

After we check in, we head to the tourist center to get a transit card, and then to the Catedral station, only to find that 5ere was no way for us to add value with out credit cards and we did not bring Argentine pesos. Luckily the metro accepted Visa cards, so off we went. The Subte (the metro) was clean and air-conditioned, really nice as the temperature in Buenos Aires was about in the low 80s. We had a lovely lunch at Comte Corredor, which has a Michelin star, and renowned for their steaks. We split a huge kale salad, fries, and a flatiron steak … the only one that was in English, and it was plenty for two people. I never did figure out what ojo de bifa meant (eye of steak maybe?) but we enjoyed our lunch, which finished with a lovely flan. We headed toward the Museo Nacional des Artes Decoratives, sited in a huge home of a wealthy family from the late 19th-early 20th century, mostly done in French style. The family had an incredible art collection, from the time when Argentina was one of the wealthiest economies in the world, thanks to amazing natural resources and agriculture. After the museum, we headed back to the hotel to check in with the National Geographic folks, and had a very light dinner of empanadas and another flan and of course, Malbec which is everywhere. We managed to stay up until 9:00pm to stave off jet lag and we’re successful!