Stranded in Chile

Mother nature decided to cripple Atlanta with 3 inches of snow, a dusting in Columbus, but that shut down the worlds busiest airport.  So we are currently stuck in Chile and with the help of my daughter Jaclyn and Delta will spend an extra day in  this country.  So we decided to visit Valparaiso a port town about 80 km west of Santiago.  This very old seaport is the busiest in all South America and very unique.  We got a room in a boutique hotel with fabulous views of the city.

 We walked around the neighborhood which was so colorful, painted walls and cobblestoned streets.

 We then found a restaurant with amazing food and outdoor views of the city.

 We walked back to the hotel and took a nighttime view of the harbor.  Tomorrow we will have a few hours to explore this city , and then make our way back to the airport and hopefully back to Atlanta.

Antarctica Day 6

Its been about a year that Dean and I planned this expedition to Antarctica.  The attraction was flying over the Drake passage and avoiding the roughest seas on the planet in the Southern Ocean.

For the most part this was a success except for 1 night in a pretty severe storm we had relatively good weather for our trip. We got around on zodiacs that launched from the ship and were very comfortable to travel on.

On our last day in Antarctica we visited the Russian research station at Billinghausen.  There was a Russian orthodox church there up on a hill, quite ornate on the inside.

 

 We then flew back across the Drake passage and arrived safely in Punta Arenas.  We had a great dinner with 3 couples we met on the trip and exchanged Email addresses. Tomorrow we begin our trek home.

I hope to share more photos with anyone who wishes to see them.

Antarctica Day 5

After a delightful barbeque dinner on the top deck last evening everyone was exhausted from the previous days activities so we turned in early.  Mother nature then reinforced why she's in charge. We sailed into a force 10 storm (12 is hurricane winds) and the ship was tossed about all night long and into the morning.

Our morning excursion was therefore cancelled and we just stayed in bed. It was by far the safest place to be because you couldn't barely stand up the was moving through 20-25 ft waves crashing into us.

We did find some shelter and were invited by a Bulgarian research station to come for a visit. The zodiac ride through rough water was unique. Dean got totally soaked by a wave. We spent about an hour touring there facility in 55 mph winds and then headed back to the ship.

Tonight we sail back through the rough water to begin our trip home.  It was an amazing experience , I can't wait to share all my pictures with you all when I get home.

Antarctica Day 4

Spectacular!

Antarctica  Day 4

Wow!  I’m not sure I can put into words what Day 4 was like.  After breakfast we set out on our Zodiacs with some new friends.  We started at Mickkelson harbor where we anchored on the rocks and went ashore. This island was once a whaling station but has not been in use since 1914.

The island was home to Gentoo penguins and lots of ice floating into this harbor.

Our evening zodiac cruise for 3+ hours was just spectacular .  Behemoth icebergs and flow ice were everywhere. We followed penguins in attempts to photograph them. We also saw the infamous Leopard seal and a few Weddell seals. The entire afternoon was just something to remember forever.

Antarctica Day 3

We had an early morning to set out through the Lemaire Channel, a very narrow channel with ice flow and huge mountains on both sides rising out of the sea. It was foggy, snowing and cold but we braved the outside to photo it.


The mountains are thousands of feet high with equal amounts below the surface. Glaciers are formed from snow on top of topography like mountains. The snow melt turns into ice and more and more ice is deposited year after year.  The glaciers are fracturing  and creating amazing icebergs. Icebergs have 90% of there surface below the sea.  We saw some icebergs that were bigger than our ship and some the size of massive buildings.

The color of the iceberg is blue because  pure ice  is absorbing all the colors and the blue shines through.

Cruising around on zodiacs we weaved our way between these behemoth icebergs and snapped hundred of photos.

Later in the day we visited Petermann Island a colony to Gentoo penguins and their chicks. The smell of the penguin guano is something to experience.  The Gentoo have an orange beak to distinguish them.  The penguins were very friendly and came to within several feet of us.

After lunch we cruised again to see icebergs, seals and more penguins this time Adelie penguins on Yalura island.  They were very small and cute.

This evening we will pass back through the Lamaire channel on our way to new destinations.

Antarctica Day 2

Antarctica Day 2

After a rocking night on the Ocean Nova we came to calm seas between the Shetland Islands and the main continent. We had nice breakfast, the food is quite good on board.

We gathered for a zodiac ride on glass like seas for a short 10 minute ride over to Hydrurga Rocks.  The island was filled with chinstrap penguins and there 3 week old chicks.

The were also Weddell seals (very cute) and fur
seals ( not as cute)

We then took the zodiacs out for some whale watching a found a pod of humpbacks to photograph.  It started to snow so we headed back to the ship.

After lunch we had a presentation on penguins from Wendy our on- board bird specialist.

The evening zodiac exploration was to land on the frozen continent.  We came ashore at Portal Point and climbed a steep incline in ice and snow.  The snow got heavier and we headed out on the zodiacs to explore icebergs. After 20 minutes or so I spotted a mother and calf humpback who were quite content to play around us and giving us unbelievable photo opportunities for 30 minutes

Antarctica Day 1

Antarctica Day 1

We awoke early 4:45, had a quick bite and a flight from Punta Arenas to Frei station , the Chilean research facility shared with the Russian research station.  We flew over Tierra del Fuego and in 2 hours spotted the Frozen Continent.

Following a short mile walk to the zodiacs , boarded the Ocean Nova and have begun our journey.

The internet is very slow so I will probably be brief and include a few pics every chance I get. I will not resend  any Emails during the trip so please check the blog as often as you are interested.

I will share all of my experiences and photographs when I get home.

Thanks for joining the expedition with me and Dean.

Punta Arenas Day 2

So its a lot colder on Ohio than it is in Punta Arenas, 40 degrees today here.  Slept in until 6:30, and ate a leisurely local breakfast.  Then Dean and I set out for a little cardio.  We walked to the highest point in town and took a panorama of the city.

 We then walked about 3 miles to the water experiencing the local community.  There seems to be an amazing amount of grafitti written as art everywhere (even on church walls).  It is a way of youth expression and apparently not illegal.  I guess someone could do well selling spray paint.

 The beach was all rock but very photogenic as the sun came out. 

We finished our trek back to the hotel after about 3 hours.  We have met the staff, tried on our boots and fenagled our weight to meet the requirements of the flight tomorrow.  Dean got 10 kg, I took the other  30 kg.  Tonight there is a welcome dinner and we are off tomorrow.

Punta Arenas, Chile

It's a little over 2000 miles from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Chile.  About 3 hours and 25 minutes by plane.  The flight was uneventful with a few interesting images of the Andes which separate Chile from Argentina.

 Old inactive volcano in the Andes.

We arrived safely in Punta Arenas, a city on the southern tip of Chile. To the south is the Strait of Magellan, the only natural connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  The city was originally founded as a penal colony for the Spanish, but now is a bustling tourist stop in the summer as it is the stepping stone to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. Took a walk along the harbor.

These are Cormorants resting on an old broken down pier.


We had a nice dinner, sampled the local brew named for Ernest Shackelton, whose ill fated expedition trapped in the ice and was stranded on Antarctica in 1914-15 , He eventually rescued his entire crew.

Took a few shots of the center of town, the architecture and a statue to Magellan.

Orientation day tomorrow with the expedition, then off to Antarctica!