Antarctica Day 2 :: The Danco Coast

We woke up today to the most gorgeous of scenes. The water was like pure glass reflecting the mountains above and blue skies. Despite being nice and sunny today was considerably more cold than day 1, but that didn't stop us all from spending the day out on the decks taking in the scenery around us. 

Good Morning, Antarctica

Sunrise on The Danco Coast, Antarctica

Mirror Waters, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguins & Seals on an Iceberg, Antarctica

A Day in the Life of Seals, Antarctica

Seal Porpoising and Mountains, The Danco Coast, Antarctica

Reflections, Antarctica

Pillar Iceberg, Antarctica

Antarctica

Antarctica

Blue Iceberg, Antarctica

Turquoise Blue Icebergs (not an exaggeration), Antarctica 

Iceberg, Antarctica

Icebergs Abound, Antarctica

Chilean Research Centre and Penguin Colony, Antarctica 

Chilean Research Centre and Penguin Colony, Antarctica 

Gentoo Penguins on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguins, Antarctica

Antarctica

Humpback Whales, Antarctica

Probably the most beautiful of days in my entire life. Simply speechless... :) Hope you enjoyed my photos! I'll post Day 3 - but the weather was cloudy, foggy and we didn't see very much. 

Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica :: Day 1

Antarctica Day 1 :: We got to the Palmer Station around 9am and we picked up some of the American researchers who are studying in Antarctica. They stayed on board with us all day until we dropped them off in the evening. They gave a few presentations in the Showroom at Sea about their work at the Station and a few of their findings.

There are no words to describe the next three days that follow in Antarctica. I took close to two thousand photos and none of them come close to the beauty and majesty of The Frozen Continent. 

One thing I was very surprised to discover is the overwhelming amount of wildlife down there. It was impossible to look out at the sea and not see some kind of wildlife. Penguins, Seals, Birds, Whales... everywhere we looked we'd see something swimming in the waters or flying in the air. 

My classes, for the most part, were suspended and we spent the next three days dressed in boots, jackets, hats and gloves standing out in the cold with our cameras desperately trying not to miss anything. At times I would put my camera down and simply stare out at the scene before me. The solitude, quietness, serenity and beauty of Antarctica is was a challenge to capture in true form on camera. I will cease my words for now and let my photos do the rest of the talking:

Palmer Station Researchers, Antarctica

Palmer Station Researchers Embarking MS Prinsendam, Antarctica

View from Deck 7 Aft, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Penguin and Seals, Antarctica

Seals on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Seals, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

MS Prinsendam Traversing Ice, Antarctica

Seal on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Our ship actually bumped into this seal's iceberg, waking him up from a nap. He was dazed and confused and finally slipped into the water as we sailed past him.

Gentoo Penguin, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin Porpoising, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin Underwater, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

You can see there was quite a lot of ice in the channel and we were lucky to be able to push through it and actually traverse the entire channel. Most ships have to turn around and go back out the same way they come in.

Whale Tail, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica

On our way back to the Palmer Station to disembark the researchers, I was out on deck and happened to see some whales and got this last photo of a Whale Tail reflecting the sunlight. This was the first time I have seen a whale's tail and couldn't have been happier. Perfect ending to a very special day.

Punta Arenas and Penguins!

Hello Friends! 

I am going to skip over a few port days in order to show you my Penguin and Antarctica Photos right away. This post is about Punta Arenas, the most southern city in Chile. It also happens to be the first port I was assigned to. HAL flew me down to here in April 2013 where I was awaiting to join the Veendam. Unfortunately, the ship couldn't come into port so I had to fly to Puerto Montt to embark. Anyway, needless to say, I have spent a number of days in this port and I wasn't even going to get off the ship. But I figured a walk would do me good... So I grabbed my camera and coat and boarded the tender. 

As I'm sitting in the tender it starts raining and I think to myself that I should have left the camera behind. So I stuff it in my coat and wander around the town, receiving odd looks from strangers because of my bulky jacket lol. 

I wandered down the boardwalk beside the sea and noticed there were a lot of black and white birds, PENGUINS??!! no. just Cormorants... But they did look a lot like penguins from far away.  I took a number of photos of them playing in the water and decided to walk back to the ship and take a nap. 

On the way back to the ship I ran into three of my fellow crew members and they asked me if I wanted to come with them to see the penguins. "YES!!" I immediately responded. So the four of us got in a cab and drove an hour away to a Nature Reserve. We got out of the car and were faced with the bitterest of wind chills. The walk was about half a kilometer to get to the beach where the penguins were swimming in the water. 

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins Drying Off :: Penta Arenas, Chile 

These penguins are called Magellanic Penguins, which is fitting, seeing as they are found in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan.

Penguin in a Log :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Some of the penguins even had their eggs here on the beach. In the photo below you can see a spotted egg which she is sitting on. I imagine the penguin in the photo above is also sitting on an egg in the log. 

Female Sitting on an Egg :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Kissing and Holding 'Hands' :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

I wasn't expecting to see penguins in this type of environment. I always thought penguins lived on icebergs and hardly ever came on land. But in fact they only hunt in the water, the rest of their lives are spent on land. Some of their burrows were quite far from the water and they have little pathways from their houses to the beach. 

 

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

 While they are walking through the taller foliage you'll see them keep peeking their heads up to see what's around them. Every few feet they will do this. Pop up and take a glance around, then keep going.

Peeking Out :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 We never saw a penguin by himself. They always walk in pairs or groups from their burrows to the beach.

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguin Friends :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 Oh... and we also saw FLAMINGOS at the same time?!! I thought these were tropical birds and yet here they are, in the same nature reserve as the penguins. Go figure!

What started out as a pretty sad uneventful day in Punta Arenas turned out to be the best experience so far on the cruise... that is of course because we haven't been to Antarctica yet!! Stay tuned for those pics up next!!!