Part 2 of my Antarctica Expedition with HX Expeditions
- Coleen Bolton
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
Stepping Foot on Antarctica
I woke up early this morning noticing that the ship was barely moving so I figured we must be getting close to where we would be staying for the day. I popped out onto my balcony and was just awestruck by the view. There was a huge jagged black mountain that seemed to jump right out of the water. It was such a stark difference from the white of the ice and the clouds. I looked again and there were more, they were like giants popping up. I guess in my head I was picturing Antarctica as being mostly flat and snow covered. We are visiting at the end of summer so I guess what I hadn't thought of is that some snow would have melted. I was very excited to be getting off the ship today and getting to mingle with the penguins.
It turned out the Plan A actually worked out so we were at Pleneau Island. We had 2 outings today - zodiac ride and landing. The groups will rotate the order of who gets to do what and when each day. This is what I would say is the one drawback to the slightly bigger ship since more guests means that there will be times when you are waiting around for your turn to be off the ship. There can only be 100 guests on land at a time and only so many out of the zodiacs as well. I kind of didn't mind having some time between outings since I could warm up and recharge a bit.
My group had our zodiac ride scheduled first today. Since this was my first time going off the ship in Antarctica and I didn't want to be cold on the zodiac I didn't take any chances and I put on all the layers. I started with a baselayer of fleece lined leggings and a long sleeve baselayer top. On top of those I put the fleece lined waterproof pants and a thermal lined flannel shirt. I put on 3 pairs of socks - a silk pair, a wool pair, and the cute fuzzy alpaca socks I picked up in Buenos Aires. I also had a package of the hot hands/feet things so I added them to my boots. My feet were totally toasty warm. I wore my parka with the waterproof HX jacket overtop. I topped off the outfit with a soft fuzzy fleece balaclava to keep my face and ears warm and I also pulled my hood up over it. My hands were the hardest to figure out since I knew I wanted to take photos with my phone but warm gloves are so bulky. I had a silk glove liner and then waterproof winter gloves. The outer gloves did have the fingertips that would work on my phone screen so that helped but it was still just hard to manage the phone with the bulky gloves. One thing that I am really glad I grabbed at the last minute was a lanyard attachment for my phone. It made it so much easier to have my phone around my neck so I wasn't worried about dropping it while bumping around on the zodiac. It also made it easy to know where it was all the time. One last thing we had to add to the ensemble every time we went off the ship and that was the life vest. They are nice and compact so you didn't even really notice you were wearing them which is nice since you had to keep them on walking walking around on land too.
I have been on zodiac rides many times on different cruises and they are always one of my favorite ways to explore. This first zodiac ride seemed so short but that was probably just because it was the first one and everything was so exciting. We got close to a Crabeater Seal laying on an iceberg and I swear she waved at us. We saw the penguins swimming by us on their way to shore. They look so cool swimming in their groups popping in and out of the water like they were synchronized swimmers.
Back onboard I realized that I really wasn't that cold and wondered if I needed all the layers. I figured I would keep them on for going on land and see how that compared. Our first landing was in a spot where most of the snow had melted so we were walking on a rocky area which was a bit wet and slippery in some spots. I was so excited to be walking around with penguins I didn't notice much else. The penguins here were Gentoo Penguins. Most of the chicks were now teenagers so they were curious. They were so funny and cute to watch. It was also just crazy to think I was walking on Antarctica. For me it was one of those things that I just had to keep asking myself is this really happening. It was such an amazing day and we get to wake up tomorrow and do it all again in a new spot.
Next stop was Damoy Point. There were quite a few things going on today but for me I just had a landing. I wasn't crazy enough to do the polar plunge (yes people actually did it) and I didn't sign up for snowshoeing or camping lottery so that is why I had just the one thing. It was plenty for me as I again enjoyed walking around with the penguins so much that I was happy to just do that. It was also funny to laugh at the polar plungers, some of which let out some funny sounds as they jumped in. For anyone that is thinking they might want to plunge, one tip would be to bring some type of water shoes since you had to walk into the water from the shore and some people said their feet got too cold and painful before they could even get out deep enough to plunge underwater. Since the campers would be staying onshore here tonight the ship wasn't going anywhere so it was a nice quiet night.
Our 3rd stop was Neko Harbor. This stop was one where we were actually stepping foot on continental Antarctica instead of just one of the islands so that was cool to know. Since we couldn't leave our previous stop until the campers were back on board we had some scenic cruising during the morning to get to Neko Harbor. Ironically I was sitting in a lecture that was just getting started to talk about the seals of Antarctica when the captain came on to say that off to the starboard side of the ship there was a Leopard Seal having breakfast. This apparently doesn't happen that often so the ship slowed enough that we could all go out and watch. The lecture hall has easy access to the outer deck so we all popped out to take a look. It was a little gruesome but that is the circle of life. It did fit in well with the lecture though. Even though we were arriving later in the day we still had time for both a zodiac and landing. My zodiac ride felt like I was in an episode of Nat Geo. We set out looking for some whales but instead came across another Leopard Seal eating. This time we were a lot closer than when watching from the ship earlier. Even our guide was amazed at seeing this so close. It made me kind of glad I hadn't gotten picked to kayak today. The landing today was a bit of a steep walk but it was totally worth the climb because once on top the view was gorgeous! Even better, the sun had peeked out a bit. I was glad I didn't put on as many layers today.
After another amazing day it was sort of a bummer to back on the ship and get a bit of bad news. Due to a storm heading our way we were going to have to change plans a bit. So tomorrow we would only have a half day stop before starting to make our way back to Ushuaia. I understood why and I also know that with every expedition, and even most cruises in general, you have to be prepared that things can change and safety of all guests is most important.
Our last day of excursions gave us 2 zodiac rides instead of any landings. This way we got to see 2 different spots in one day. I thought that was a great compromise. The first zodiac out was a bit rough with windy so we all got a bit wet. Our last zodiac ride was in Fournier Bay and it was the best way to end our time in Antarctica. We were surrounded by Humpbacks and a few other whales. I was watching from my balcony as they seemed to keep coming up to our ship to check us out. Just sitting out there and listening to the sound of their blows as they would surface and then their happy singing sounds was just surreal for me. Then getting to float around them on the zodiac and it started snowing I absolutely felt like I was in a dream. I was so worried I would wake up and realize none of this actually happened.
Our journey back through the Drake was a bit rough but not as bad as I thought it would be based on the approaching storm and the warnings the crew was giving us. I guess I am just someone that doesn't get affected because I was fine and never took anything for the motion.
There were some fun lectures, games, and crafts during the day and one night there was a crew talent show that was so much fun and they were so talented. I love when the crew get to share a bit of themselves with us. Watching the floating ice was almost like an art gallery.
The wind from the storm slowed us down so even though we cut the plan short a day to head back we only got back to Ushuaia the night before we were supposed to. I looked at it like a bonus that we had a little time to explore Ushuaia which I didn't get to do in the beginning of the trip. We went into town and found the best pizza and did some shopping so it was a great. The next morning we said farewell to the ship and started the long day of travel back home. We had a charter flight that was included in the cruise that got us from Ushuaia to Buenos Aries and then I was flying out the same day to head home. My flights got changed due to the fire in London but it wasn't too bad I just had to connect through Dallas instead of Miami and got home around the same time. I hadn't really calculated in the charter flight to my planning when I booked my flights so while it wasn't terrible to do all that flying in one day I think if I would do it again I would stay another night in Buenos Aires or somewhere else along the way home to break up all the flying.
I find myself drawn to cooler climate locations to explore and it is kind of funny since I am normally complaining I am cold. There is just something about these far off locations that I find so inviting and impressive. I was expecting Antarctica to be similar to Alaska but I quickly realized Antarctica is Alaska on steroids.
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