Ushuaia, Argentina and Antarctica Feb 1- 7

 

If I remember correctly in our last posting I left us at sea having been driven out of the Straights of Magellan by Krill after leaving Punta Arenas, Chile.  Our next port of call was Ushuaia which we cruised to by entering the Beagle Channel.  The Channel owes it’s name to the HMS Beagle which sailed the channel on hydrographic surveys notably with a young naturalist named Charles Darwin on board.  The Beagle Channel was the first place we saw glaciers.

Side note.  You can enlarge a picture by double clicking on it.

This glacier has a huge fresh water fall from melting ice.  Note the lighter color of the water around the base.  This is caused by the difference between fresh water and the salt water of the Pacific not mixing.  As the water flows down the channel the salt water dilutes the fresh and the waters mix.

A clearer look at the water line.  You will see this again when we are in the Amazon and two rivers meet with different chemical compositions.

We saw several glaciers as we sailed south.  This is an example of a retreating glacier up the valley it formed.

Another glacier flow.  Note how these glaciers form in valleys between the mountain tops.  In Antarctica you will see that the ice sheet forms over the mountains, sometimes as much as 2 miles over.  You will not see these types of formations.

Do you remember the last time you saw Noreen sitting in shorts in the desert under a giant palm tree?  Well, here is Noreen in our current weather in Ushuaia.

Ushuaia also claims to be the southern most city in the world and I agree.  While there a settlements further south no other major cities exist.  There are farming and fishing industries however Artic tourism is a key industry.  These ships take passengers on two week explorations of the Antarctic region with landings and animal encounters. They are about 1/2 the size of our ship or smaller.  Note the zodiac boats for transportation.  This is the primary way to get around in Antarctica for short distances, ~3 miles or less.  You’ll see them again when the Palmer Research Station people come aboard our ship.

For a city this far south and off the main path there is a lot of vehicle traffic and town commerce.

Of course a taxi stand

Even in the “City at the End of the World” Noreen managed to find a friendly face.

This is how Noreen looks when she is cold and ready to go back to the ship and I am dawdling.

The airport was directly across the bay from our ship.

Fishing boats loading to go to sea.

And the Navy is always present in our ports.

Now the plot thickens.  We developed a fault in the ship fire detection system.  The part was in Norway and the technician in France.  They met in Buenos Aires and flew down to Ushuaia on February 1^st.  (It really is becoming a small world).  But Mother Nature stepped in (again) and the winds were to high to land at the Ushuaia airport and they had to return to BA.  So now we were a day late.  We were scheduled to leave that evening but didn’t leave until late in the afternoon of February 2^nd.  That meant that by the time we exited the Beagle Channel and turned south we would pass Cape Horn and enter the Drake Passage at night. The Drake Passage is named after Sir Francis Drake who rediscovered it in 1577.  This passage, only 500 miles wide is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the other continents.  The waters of the passage are known to be the roughest in the world.. For us it was a rough passage but not as bad as it could have been.  The rule was one hand for you and one hand for the ship, meaning always be holding on to something as you moved about.

On that night the waves and wind twisted the ship in such a manner that the stresses caused these windows in the dinning room to shatter.  It is safety glass so it just spider lined out.  There are several others around the dinning room that look the same.

Plates and glasses are not placed on the table until needed.  They are stored on the floor.

And the sick sacs were out in strategic locations.

About 1:30 PM on February 3^rd we passed through the Antarctic Conversion Zone where there is a significant and quick drop in air and sea temperature.   It started to snow soon after.  The water was so cold that the snow didn’t melt on it.  This is a line of snow sitting on the water.

Then there is was, “ICEBERGE, RIGHT AHEAD!!”  Well actually about 3 miles off to port but I had to use that famous line from Titanic once.  Our first iceberg. About as big as our ship.

Noreen with the start of Antarctic land mass on the morning of February 4^th. For the two days we were here our closest point to the Antarctic Circle was about 90 miles.

As we got further south it got colder.  This is our “outdoor gal” watching penguins and bergs from the warmth of our room over our balcony.

Chinstrap Penguins feeding as we pass.

Brown Research Station run by Argentina

Leopard seal resting on the an ice flow.

More penguins feeding. They travel in groups and swim underwater with occasional jumps.  I have about 100 shots of nothing but water trying to catch them in the air.  I have no idea what people did when they used 35mm film.

For those with a map on February 3, 4 & 5, we sailed through the Bismarck Straights, through the Lemarie Channel into Paradise Bay.  Then into the Garland Straight, past Wiencke Island and into Andvord Bay.  Then back to Palmer Station by way of the Neumayer Channel.  Then is was along the Bransfield Strait, Weddell Sea, Hope Bay and Elephant Island.  I think that is about right.

This is a  shot of the ships position at 11:30 AM on the 4^th.  The arrow is a bit north of Paradise Bay.

Some views.   The shoreline, little bumps on the rock are penguins.

With this growler (berg the size of a piano) you can see the additional mass under water, usually ~80%.

Shoreline covered in ice fog that came and went all day.

Best shot I got of a whale.  There were several that swan by the ship but I could never get a fluke or profile.

Chilean Research Station

The Chilean Research station is located in a penguin colony.

Wind and waves shape icebergs.

Inhospitable terrain.  The next two pictures were taken within a short timeframe.  Note the rapid change in weather.

 

This is the zodiac from Palmer Station coming to pick-up the scientists who came aboard to give us information briefings (and get fresh vegetables and fruit as a reward).  We had the pleasure of having lunch with Cat, a young PhD candidate from Brown University in Marine Microbiology.  A very interesting discussion. Yes, that is an iceberg just wandering past in the background. 

Speaking of icebergs, we sailed into the Weddell Sea, birthplace of the largest icebergs.  This iceberg is 1.2 miles long and 100’s of feet high.  Think about the underwater mass.

We sailed into a channel and had to turn around in the ships length due to ice blockage.  This panorama shows the opening we entered through and had to leave by.

We then sailed into an ice field and had to slow way down.  From our balcony.

The morning of February 5^th found snow on the decks.  Many of the Pilipino and Indonesian crew had never seen snow.  Using their experience and skill, they made a snow fish not a snowman.  I’m trying to get a picture of it.

 

We headed north toward Elephant Island.  The island is famous for the place that Shackleton left most of his crew after being stranded and sailed to South Georgia Island for help.  My fellow BLC colleagues may remember the Boeing love affair with Shackleton’s leadership style we had in the early 2000s.  We were scheduled to arrive about 2200 hrs. (10:00 PM) while it was still light (long days short nights down here).  However, we sailed into fog and icebergs again and had to slow down.  Thus we didn’t arrive until after dark.  A disappointment as I was looking forward to seeing this place I have spoken about in the past.  Maybe on our next trip down here……

I could post another couple hundred pictures.  We hope you enjoyed this brief highlight trip through Antarctica.  We’ll see you again in the Falkland Islands.