The White Continent

Sailing towards the ice

Humpback in still waters

My colleagues at BBQ on the bow

Incoming Blue-eyed Shag

Adelie Penguins with downy chicks

Black-browed Albatross

Macaroni Penguin

Chinstrap Penguin with chicks

Fuzzy babies

Gentoo Penguin going for a swim

Porpoising Gentoo

Iceberg hues

Elephant Seals in Gentoo rookery

Ship anchored in Whaler's Bay, a volcanic caldera

Lunch time for baby

Kayakers in Paradise Harbour

Pancake ice in Wilhelmina Bay

Zodiac cruising

Gentoo 

Penguin highway

Sasha and Pasha, Russian crew

Iceberg and "bergy bits"

El Capitan

Argentine Research Station - Almirante Brown

Hard at work

Curious Gentoo chick

Chinstrap Penguins

...or "Polish Policemen"

Leopard Seal

Scale of iceberg next to zodiac on left

Chad, master of the zodiac

Derek, our naturalist, going up the hook after morning excursion

Chinstraps considering a swim

The Professor Multonovskiy

Neco Harbour with ship behind me

Andrew and Chad, expedition leader and kayak guide

Entering Lemaire Channel (0.8 miles wide)

Gentoo with freshly-hatched chick and egg

I have arrived back in Ushuaia after two incredible back-to-back voyages to the continent of Antarctica with One Ocean Expeditions.  Each voyage involved two days crossing the infamous Drake Passage, five days on the continent with two three-hour zodiac excursions each day and return through the Drake around Cape Horn.   Our Dutch-owned ship, the Professor Multinovskiy, ran with a Russian crew of 21, three chefs, six expedition staff and 44 passengers from 12 countries.  We had gorgeous weather, a night camping on the ice and many close encounters with the natives.  All told, a life-changing experience.

What photographs cannot describe however, is the rolling of the ship, the stench downwind of a penguin colony, the snort of a leopard seal, the grumbling growl of a humpback taking a breath, the gunshot crash of a calving glacier, the rhythmic waves lapping the beach, the gargling display of a chinstrap, the cawing from a cape petrel nest, the comical waddle of a penguin chick chasing it's parent for a meal, the clink of glacier ice in a glass of scotch, the staff jokes across the radios, the sun shining on the deck, the dryness in the air, the acrobatic dives of a feeding Antarctic Tern, the racket from a penguin colony 5000 strong, planing out in a zodiac or the happy exhaustion when falling into a bunk after a full and amazing day on the 7th continent.

Gone to Antarctica

A beautiful sunrise over the Beagle Channel. Today I embark on the Professor Multinovskiy for the Drake Passage and on to the Antarctic.

I stand ready to behold wonders.

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Underneath the fireworks

Christian with our lovely French hosts from the Harrington B&B, Veronique y Olivier

2009 began with champagne and an extravagant fireworks dispay over the Pacific Ocean - apparently the biggest in Latin America. We watched from the cerros (hillsides) of Valporaiso, Chile – Valpo for short. This historical part of the harbor town was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site a few years ago to preserve the colorful houses, intricate alleyways, curving staircases and rickety funiculars climbing up the hills.  

Sign for "ascensor" or funicular elevator, one of 16 in the city used to get up and down the hillsides




The spontaneous decision to come up and over the Andes to Chile has proved a good one. We spent Christmas in Valpo with new American friends, Cooper and Margaret, who are currently living in Buenos Aires.



Coop and Margaret

Then we rented a car and drove down the coast to the beachtown of Pichelemu. A few days kicking it on the sand and watching the surfers was a treat. See my new friend Estrella ("star" in Spanish)

After all the steak in Argentina, the seafood here is heaven. Conger Eel is a specialty, as is anything done Pil-Pil style, meaning cooked in garlic, olive oil and red chile. We did NOT eat the Corvino or Chilean Sea Bass, (also know as Patagonian Toothfish) on offer everywhere, as it continues to be overfished.

Chileans claim pisco as their own national drink– as do the Peruvians. We stayed out of the debate and quietly sipped our pisco sours. But the wine is what we really wanted: more and more lush valleys of grapevines to explore! We toured Montes, Casa LaPostalle, and Casa de Bosque (all imported in the US and great values). Our trek up the hill of Cachagua Valley with a guide from Montes was rewarded by an alfresco lunch and glorious views.

Grapes

Grapes from top of hike in Valle de Apalta

Grapes in Casablanca

And more grapes

Another highlight of our 10 days in Chile has been wandering through two of the three homes of the poet Pablo Neruda. La Sebastiani is in Valporaiso and further down the coast is Isla Negra - his favorite home. Full of collections of boatsprits (bowhead figures from ships), colored glass, ship models, and wonderful eclectic treasures from his travels around the world, his homes embody his spirit. I learned a lot about one of my favorite poets walking through his space. For instance:  Neruda always wrote in green ink and above his different work desks he hung photos of Walt Whitman, Baudelaire and other poets he admired. I will have to come back to Santiago to visit La Chascana,  bought and named for his third wife Matilde (Chascana means "tousled" as she had a wild mane of hair).

A small section of the rambling Isla Negra

La Sebastiani in Valporaiso

Tomorrow I fly to Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to begin work with One Ocean Expeditions.  Stay tuned!