A Poem That Sums It Up!

Quark had a poem contest and the following poem (read to the cadence of "Twas the Night Before Christmas") won.  Except for a slight exaggeration about the Drake and the offensive smell of penguin poop, it is a perfect description of our trip!
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‘Twas the Week After Christmas, By Kenneth Yount

Twas the week after Christmas and people with means 

Were sailing with Quark to the southern extremes.
We left Ushuaia behind in our wake
And headed out into the troublesome Drake.

We passed Puerto Williams and rounded the Horn
And got shaken and tousled from evening ‘til morn. 
We had a Drake crossing so lively and quick
I knew in a moment I’d really be sick.

So away to my bathroom I flew with a hunch 
Tore open the shutters and threw up my lunch. 
The Drake settled down and we pleasantly felt it 
Then we saw H.O. Island, or rather we smelt it.

As we stood on our deck excitedly snooping
Six thousand penguins were busily pooping.
As our Zodiacs sped there with powerful motors 
We knew that H.O. stood for ‘horrible odors’.

Then onto the icebergs and onto Base Brown
Where we noticed the Argentines must have skipped town. 
We saw humpbacks and penguins and sheathbills and shags 
Colorful glaciers and mountains with crags.

We loved Neko Harbour, its calm crystal waters
And Lockroy, where Britain’s Union Jack flutters.
Petermann, Pleneau, Danco and Orne
Then back ‘cross the Drake and back past Cape Horn.

On board, we ate all the food we could get
From morning ‘til night... And the sun never set .
We were all fed so much that every land lubber

Packed on another ten kilos of blubber.
And fearful that if we wore gray colored clothes 
People would see us and yell ‘there she blows’.

Our Quark staff were awesome, each one was unique 
Like Jaymie who ran the Polar Boutique.
And Niki and Wolfgang and Shelli and Laurie
And John with his wonderful Shackleton story.
Vladimir, Scott and Juani and Flipper
Fabrice and Jean and Oleg the skipper.
Cam, Dave and Alex and Sharon and Simon
And one or two others whose names just aren’t rhymin’.

And all led by Shane, better known as “The Boss” 
Without whom we all would have been at a loss.
His eyes, how they twinkled, his dimples how merry 
His cheeks were like roses his nose like a cherry.
The beard on his chin was as brown as the dirt
And he always wore shorts with his Quark-issue shirt.

He took care of us all from morning ‘til night 
His burdens were heavy so ours could be light .
From first day ‘til last, and all in between 
Then he dropped us back in the Argentine.
But we heard him say (and he thought he was funny) 
“We’ll see you again when you save up more money” .

Wrap Up

Rio has been a bucket list item for decades,  we loved seeing the sights and walking the streets.  In fact, we almost wish we had done Rio before Antarctica.   Rio is a vibrant, full-of-life city with masses of people enjoying life at the beach.  It was a total contrast to Antarctica.  Our only disappointment was that Myra and Donna were not able to hang glide as planned because the winds were blowing in the wrong direction.

Antarctica

We traveled a total of 17,752 miles.  This includes distance to and from the airport, flight miles and excursion miles.

For us, Antarctica was:

• wild yet fearless (people and animals),
• unforgivingly wet and cold yet since we had the luxury to have the right gear - comfortable,
• overwhelmingly quiet yet beautiful sounds of penguins cooing, Antarctic Thunder and ice cracking,
• white everywhere yet color everywhere – the shocking blue of the sky, the Caribbean green at the base of icebergs, the royal blue streaks in the ice and the black penguins, and
• spectacularly beautiful and awe inspiring yet words do not do it justice.

The four of us have tried to find the words to describe the beauty of Antarctica and the experience of this trip.  We have not succeeded.  You really must see and experience it personally.

We loved everything about this magical trip and are so happy to have shared it with such special friends.

 

Our Last Day

We arranged for a late checkout and were able to relax over breakfast, shop a bit for souvenirs (Brazilian “flip-flops” – called “havaianas”) and to swim in the pool.

It was then time to start the tortuous journey home.  With late checkout, we were able to delay leaving for the airport until 4:00.  The unfortunate part was that our flight was not until 11:00 p.m.  Since we were homeless, and had all of our luggage, it sounded like the best thing to do.  We thought we could have a nice dinner at the Airport, relax, work on our blog, catch up on email and prepare for our flight.  We were not prepared for the Rio airport.  There are no nice restaurants, the electricity went out sporadically, internet service, when you could sign on, was slow and spotty (and when we did get on the power would go out), the temperature inside the terminal was 80 or above and it was not designed for people to flow freely or to hear any announcements. 

Finally, we boarded our overnight flight to Houston and proceeded to freeze – the entire 10 ½ hour flight.  Myra took both blankets and pillows and constructed a tent in an attempt to stay warm.  We survived, arrived in Houston on time and went to catch our second flight from Houston to Jacksonville.  We were in a rush to get home for Aunt Pat’s funeral on the Island at 2:00 p.m.  The flight was 25 minutes late but we were able to get home, clean ourselves up a little, change jackets and arrive at the church only 10 minutes late.

Relaxing in Copacabana

We spent our last full day going to the beach and rooftop pool.  The beach was so crowded you could barely weave through the people.  We were offered chairs and umbrellas by the Miramar staff on the beach and enjoyed people watching and walked along the waters edge and put our toes in the water.

The current comes from Antarctica and keeps the water in Rio very cold – refreshing for summer!  However, the water was very dirty (garbage, etc.) so we went back to our rooftop pool.

After dinner we walked to the Copacabana Palace Hotel and had a cocktail outside at their pool bar - a nice way to end our evening.

Ipanema

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, the Miramar on Copacabana Beach.  This is a beautiful hotel with a 12th floor pool that overlooks Copacabana Beach and the harbor.

We walked miles from Copacabana to Ipanema, shopping and enjoying the scenery.  What a difference from Antarctica.  We left a cold, unpopulated, pure and serene continent and arrived in a hot, densely populated city.  Temperatures in Antarctica hovered around 0 degrees Celsius (32 F) while Rio temperatures hovered around 35 degrees Celsius (95 F).  It was quite a contrast!

We would like to share some of our observations about Rio de Janeiro:

• The heat – we were a bit unprepared for how hot it was in Rio – especially after coming   from Antarctica and Ushuaia. 
• Masses – there are so many people and since this is their summer, and it is a weekend, they are all on the beach enjoying life.  They stay all day – people were still leaving the beach at 11:00 p.m.
• Dress Code – On Sundays the street down Copacabana is closed one-way for pedestrians.  People walk the streets in thongs and speedos, with no cover-ups.

Banco Santander sponsored mini gyms along Copacabana on the beach and men would use them to do pull-ups, push-ups, etc.



Security Bars – We were surprised by the security bars surrounding all apartment Buildings.  Crime in the city is clearly an issue, yet, we felt totally safe.

Locked Stores – Some stores were locked and only let you in if you tried the door or knocked.

We had dinner at Guiseppe Grill in Lablon.  The steak was wonderful and made up for the rushed service and mediocre side dishes.

Copacabana, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain

After a short night's sleep and a great breakfast at our hotel, we took a walk down the Copacabana strip.  It was Friday morning and we were very surprised with the large amount of people on the beach.  The Copacabana strip has a very beautiful and distinct sidewalk pattern.

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In the afternoon we had a six-hour tour with a company called "Live Like a Local".  They provide English-speaking guides and take you to Corcavada (Christ the Redeemer), the Lapa Steps in Santa Teresa and Sugar Loaf Mountain. 

Corcavada, which means hunchback in Portuguese, is home to Christ the Redeemer, the huge, mountaintop statue of Jesus who is" keeping a watchful eye over the people of Rio de Janeiro".  The views of Rio from Corcovado are stunning!

The Lapa Steps in Santa Teresa consist of over 2000 tiles on 215 steps placed by the Chilean artist Jorge Selaron as a tribute to the Brazilian people.

Sugar Loaf Mountain is a peak 1,299 feet above the harbor.  It is called Sugar Loaf because of its resemblance to the shape of concentrated, refined loaf sugar.  Access to the panoramic views of the city and harbor are reached via cable cars.

The views looking down from Corcavada and Sugar Loaf are spectacular.  We accomplished, in a six-hour tour, all of the items on our "must see" list and enjoyed it thoroughly.  Rio is truly a beautiful
city.

Our beautiful day ended on a sad note.  When we returned to the hotel we learned that Myra's Aunt Pat had lost her fight with cancer earlier that evening.

Ushuaia to Rio de Janeiro

We arrived in Ushuaia at approximately 8:00 a.m. and departed the ship just after 9:00.  This left us homeless in Ushuaia until late afternoon.  Quark took our luggage to a storage facility and we were free to roam.  We spent the morning shopping, working on the blog, catching up with family after being without internet service for ten days and taking in the sites of Argentina's portion of Patagonia.  One of the things we forgot to mention about Ushuaia was the beautiful flowers which are surprisingly colorful given that the average temperature is 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

We returned to Casimero Bigua for a wonderful lunch and then picked up our luggage and went to the airport for our flight back through Buenos Aires where we changed planes and then flew on to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  We arrived at our hotel at 3:15 a.m. on January 9.

Ode to the Patch

We assume that the anti-seasickness patches worked because we did not get sick.  However, some folks did and the crew was prepared with strategically placed barf bags.

The patches did have side effects.  Most of the people on the ship wore them and complained of "the throat"'.  They had a drying effect to the point where you felt like you had cotton in your mouth and they produced cold-like symptoms.  By the end of our trip, Gerry blamed everything on the patch, including problems sleeping, problems packing, problems..........

The seas during the return journey were rougher than what we experienced going down.  Walking down the halls of the ship usually required one to hold on to something but the seas were never bad enough to interrupt meals - plates and glasses stayed on the table.  This is not always the case when crossing the Drake.

We spent the last two days resting up, returning our boots, paddle board gear, attending wrap-up sessions with the excursion crew and packing.  It was a wonderful two days to rest up from the excursions twice a day, paddle boarding, camping and the polar plunge.  We also were able to go through the polar gear we brought to determine what we could donate and leave behind (for future travelers who embark without luggage) and re-pack for the warm temperatures of Rio de Janeiro.

Danco Island and Orne Bay

We spent the morning touring the waters around Orne Bay before landing on Danco Island.  We saw many penguin colonies and seals on the icebergs.  We took a short walk on the beach of Danko Island where there are numerous colonies.  On the zodiac cruise back to the ship we were treated to a penguin show.  At least 50 jumping penguins followed the boat and swam under it.  Penguins look very different in the water than they do on land.  In the water their wet feathers and bodies are so sleek they look like they are made of porcelain.  Donna put her iPhone in a waterproof bag and lowered it into the water and got some great video of them.  This was our last day in Antarctica so we put our seasickness patches back on.  Tonight we began our two-day journey back across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia.

Paddle Boarding, Lemaire Channel, Peterman Island and the Polar Plunge

We began the day navigating the Lemaire Channel, which has canyon-like walls and at one point is only 4/10 of a mile wide. Hot cocoa was provided on deck while people took pictures of this beautiful channel.  In lieu of a zodiac cruise, Myra paddle boarded in Antarctic waters with beautiful scenery, ice bergs, brash ice and up to 60 penguins following her and going under the board.  Gerry took the land and zodiac excursion to Peterman Island.  Myra paddled for two hours and was able to take a shorter land excursion of Peterman Island.

Peterman Island is home to Adelie penguins, the third type of penguin we encountered.  Adelie penguins have black beaks, blue eyes, black heads and flesh colored feet. They also hatch their eggs earlier than the Gentoo or Chin Strap so we were able to see chicks that were a month old.

In the afternoon we had a beautiful zodiac tour of Pleneau Bay.  In the summer months, icebergs break apart and float into the beautiful enclosed waters.  This bay is affectionately called the Iceberg Gallery or the Iceberg Graveyard.  Pleneau Bay was perfectly still and the icebergs reflected in the water like a mirror.  They were all different shapes and sizes and had numerous penguins and seals relaxing on the ice.  This was our favorite day!

After we returned to the ship, we took the polar plunge.  We put on our bathing suits, climbed down the outside stairs and plunged into 1 degree Celsius water.  It was invigorating, shocking and so cold that it almost knocked the wind out of you – but we did it along with 76 others.

Icy Waters, Spectacular Scenery, a Wedding and Port Lockroy

As we venture further south, the air is colder and the sea is littered with ice.  We boarded the Zodiacs to cruise Neko Harbor and encountered ice that we had to crunch through. The ice chunks we encountered are called Brash Ice and the larger ones, about the size of a standard car are called growlers or Bergies.  There is also sea ice which is thin and flat on the top (caused by the sea freezing) and block ice, the most dangerous because it is totally clear, hard to spot and very dense. During our zodiac tour our guide stopped the boat, turned off the engine, and let us take in the beauty of Neko Harbor - in silence - before exploring our landing site. 

The landing site provided us with beautiful views of the harbor and we observed numerous penguin colonies.  As we were coming back down the hill to our zodiac, two people from our ship were getting married near the coastline.

Sidebar – All of our days once we reached Antarctica had the same format.  We made two excursions a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The excursions consisted of both a 90 minute zodiac cruise and a 90 minute shore landing.

 

For our second outing of the day, we visited Port Lockroy which is a British outpost staffed by four people for four months each year. This the first rime we have seen people other than our shipmates.

It is an historic post that has been refurbished and contains a store, museum and post office.  There is no running water and the people who are posted there depend on the cruise ships to take showers which they only get to have about once a week.  The four people work to maintain the outpost, run the store and museum, count the penguin population and serve as postmaster. These are the people who stamped our passports. The original post was inhabited by the British from 1944 until 1962.

Incredible Beauty

We began our day with a Zodiac tour of Wilhelmina Bay. It was one of the most spectacularly beautiful places we have ever seen.  Traveling In a Zodiac in open waters – even though the temperature was just above freezing – brought us very close to penguins, Weddle seals and icebergs.  You think of Antarctica as being totally white.  We were surprised by the green water surrounding the icebergs, the deep blue ocean, and the royal blue streaks in the glaciers.

After returning to the ship to warm up and eat lunch, the ship travelled to Paradise Bay and we boarded the Zodiacs and headed for Almirante Brown, an Argentinian outpost.   We were greeted by Penguins and there was a 15-20 minute walk up to the top of the hill where you could take wonderful pictures of the bay. 

Tonight, Myra, Ralph and Donna camped on the ice on Leith cove.  There were between 50 and 60  campers who left the ship after dinner at 9:30 p.m. and returned at 6:30 a.m.  Myra chose to camp and Gerry stayed on the ship.  They slept on a foam pad with an egg crate pad on top, inside a sleeping bag liner, inside of a sleeping bag inside of a bivvy sack.  Because you could leave nothing on Antarctica, the staff constructed a latrine that consisted of a plastic-lined bucket placed in an embankment of snow to provide some semblance of privacy.   Some campers were able to sleep but for Myra it was a miserable, cold night.  Although it was cold, it was incredibly beautiful and quiet except for the creaking of the ice and the Antarctic thunder.  Antarctic Thunder is the noise created when glaciers calve – the face of the glacier splits and tumbles into the sea.  It sounds like a very loud gunshot.

Beginning our 2015 in Antarctica

Before setting foot on Antarctica we were advised of the rules set forth by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, IAATO, for all expeditions.  These rules require you to:

• only take food or medicine on shore if needed to sustain life,
• always give way to penguins,
• maintain a distance of 15 feet from wildlife,
• not step on anything green, and
• not take anything away from the land. 

After crossing the Drake, we sailed to Barrientos Island in the Aitcho Islands group of the South Shetland Islands.  Our first excursion to shore was after lunch.  The only way to get to shore is via Zodiac – a rubber boat with an outboard engine.  They hold up to 10 passengers and a driver.

We had to have all external wear, such as trekking poles, camera bags, backpacks, etc., treated to ensure that we were not bringing a foreign substance ashore.  We also had to step into an anti-bacterial solution with our boots on before leaving the ship.

What a wonderful way to start our new year, getting our first look at the Antarctic Peninsula and our first sighting of native life including Gentoo and Chin-strap Penguins and Elephant seals.   Gentoo Penguins have orange beaks and feet and white on their heads.  Chin Straps have markings that look like a chin strap.  They live together harmoniously but do not cross breed.  This is the season for hatching eggs and we saw numerous eggs and chicks being nurtured. 

Penguins have a thing about stones.  They are constantly collecting new stones to ensure that the nests are formed properly and their eggs stay dry.  They either bring them from far away or take the easy route and steal them from neighboring nests - and then must deal with the wrath!

Penguins constantly guard their nests from other penguins who steal their stones and predator birds (the Skua) who take their eggs and chicks.  The Skuas will frequently work in pairs to distract the penguins and then take their eggs or chicks.

The penguins are not afraid of humans (we are not stealing their stones, taking their chicks, or hurting them) and freely walked among us.