ACE Antarctic Blog
by Peter Ruck, Baldwins Travel
For many years I had dreamed of visiting Antarctica, an untamed continent of heroic explorer fame and have now realised that dream! I decided to take my wife during our 35th wedding anniversary year on a Swan Hellenic Antarctic Peninsular cruise in December – it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Hurtigruten and Silversea were considered but we had quite tight travel dates.
We flew on BA via Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires for a 2 night pre-cruise stop, taking in a tour of the city, the Tigra Delta and a tango dinner show while staying at the centrally situated Sofitel Hotel. Bearing in mind the cost of an air fare, transfers, excursion and pre-post stays (£300 per room, rack), the add-on was extremely good value for money. A number of passengers had decided to ‘do it themselves’ – which caused problems for them on their return, following delays/cancellation of flights from Ushuaia and disruption of flights to and from Europe because of the European snowy weather conditions! After our brief stay we flew down to Ushuaia where we transferred to an alpine type lodge in the Tierra Del Fuego Parks area for lunch and a minimal-fuss check-in to collect our boarding/cabin key cards. Shortly thereafter boarding Minerva, starting our cruise adventure along the Beagle Channel with the sun shining over the Chilean Alps and awaiting what Drake Passage may throw at us. Although Minerva can accommodate around 350 guests, the Antarctic Cruises have a maximum 200 following guidelines laid down by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators treaty. Only 100 of those passengers are allowed off ship at any one time using the 10 Zodiac boats available on board. The cabins are adequate with full en-suite facilities – just about room to house the complimentary parkas, landing life preservers and Wellington boots disinfected and returned at the end of the cruise.
As it turned out, Drake was a bit of a lumpy Force 4, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. 2 days later we had made such good headway that we had the bonus of an early extra landing on the Antarctic Continent. The good weather continued through most of the next 5 days where we experienced totally stunning scenery – in Half Moon Bay, Deception Island and Paradise Bay. We had sightings of Minke, Humpback and a large pod of Orca (Killer) Whale. To be standing on those pristine, blindingly white ice beaches was both exhilarating and humbling! Viewing penguins at such close quarters – yes, you’re supposed to stay 15 feet away from them – but nobody bothered to tell the penguins! There is an aroma of very strong marmite – but I’ve encountered worse.
We encountered hundreds of Gentoos some with very newly hatched chicks, cute Chinstrap and Adelie penguins plus one poor King penguin who was obviously lost.
One could spend ages just watching all their antics. (see pics below)
We viewed Elephant seal pups, cute Weddell Seals and the occasional evil-looking Leopard seal. You have to be watchful when walking on land – that long rock could well be a seal!
It wasn’t all bright skies and sunshine glinting off the waters and glaciers. We entered the Lemaire Channel, so called Kodak Alley, in a Force 12 hurricane, but fortunately due to its steep sides, the wind didn’t affect the ship too much – the Captain just had to keep an eye on the icebergs, and if you were on deck it was hard to hold a camera steady – but we made it through without incident. The icebergs – wind and ice carved statues and glittering crystal, some coloured such a deep azure blue where over the centuries air has been compressed out of the ice returning it to its natural hue. There were also huge 27 kilometre length tabular bergs that had broken away from the ice shelf – incredible. The whole experience was really amazing.
We were treated to some interesting and landing-enhancing lectures from very professional marine biologists, geologists and ornithologists. We visited a US research station, Palmer Station, where they have just discovered a marine sponge that gives off a toxic substance that can kill skin cancerous cells without harming surrounding live cells. Having named it ‘Palmeroid’ they need to replicate it in the laboratory (you can’t just wipe out the sponges harvesting this toxin) and then trial it – may take 7 or more years and millions of dollars – but one day! Just goes to show the important research being carried out down there. After an unforgettable 6 days of cruising and landings we commenced our return through Drake Passage (or Drake Lake) – it was flat calm with a long distant view of Cape Horn – often some of the most notorious waters in our oceans!
The continent (my 7th now) was absolutely stunning. Although swimming in an icy cold caldera does raise questions of my sanity. It was supposed to be fed by geo-thermal springs but they must have been turned off for the Summer! At least the vat of hot coffee or chocolate together with your favourite tipple of rum or cognac etc welcomed us back on board each time.
I don’t know why Minerva only has 3+ stars in the Berlitz guide. The crew were very professional, the staff so friendly and the service excellent. All were very safety conscious, helpful and informative.
My next task to improve on this or at least equal it – something I believe will be hard to do.
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