Category: Antarctica

The Epic Trip to Antarctica with My Brother -- That Almost Wasn't

1/27/2022

I took my brother Bart with me on a cruise to Antarctica with Atlas Ocean Voyages. Before the cruise, we had some time in Ushuaia -- a little more time than expected.

By John Roberts
It's just past midnight, and I'm on a shuttle bus traveling on a winding road in Argentina, not really sure what's next for me.
It's dark out, save for a few lights visible around the harbor. Turns out, I'm stranded at the end of the world.

OK, so it sounds a little dramatic. But it kind of feels like it is.
I know from too many experiences that when it comes to travel, you will be in a better state of mind if you stick to three simple pillars.
Hope for the best.
Plan for the worst.
Be delighted if it all meets somewhere in the middle.
This is even more important to keep in mind as we travel during the time of a pandemic.
Such was the case for my much-anticipated expedition to Antarctica.
Here's a little story about the start of my trip. I was joined by my younger brother Bart, and I'll detail later in this post all the reasons why it was fantastic to share this epic adventure with him.
However, our cruise to the White Continent with Atlas Ocean Voyages faced a real threat of being over before it even started when three cases of COVID were recorded on the sailing just ahead of mine.

The 196-passenger World Navigator, seen during our cruise in Antarctica, is the first expedition ship for Atlas Ocean Voyages. The line plans to launch four more by 2023.

Exploring Ushuaia during our pre-cruise time. This was Bart's first time in South America.

Atlas Ocean Voyages is a new cruise line, started in 2021 with its first luxe expedition ship World Navigator. The cruise line has plans to launch four more ships by 2024.
For Atlas' inaugural Antarctica season, the line brought passengers to Ushuaia, Argentina, to meet World Navigator via a private charter flight originating in Orlando. Bart and I joined the other cruisers in our group at the airport to check in and take our pre-trip COVID tests.
This was followed by a nice reception with snacks, drinks and live music performances. The energy was high as we mingled and met others excited to go on an adventure to Antarctica. This would be my second time there and Bart's first. I was really pumped to be going with him, and I kept telling Bart how much fun we were sure to have.
All was proceeding pretty smoothly so far. We boarded the plane in the evening, settled in our seats, enjoyed a couple celebratory beers and a meal onboard before trying to get a little sleep.

Before I continue our story, I want to recommend an excellent Packing List for a Cruise to Antarctica created by our friends at Sometimes Sailing.

We woke up in the early morning as we touched down in Ushuaia, known as the southernmost city in the world.
With anticipation building and a few hours of touring the city ahead of us, we expected to be on the ship by late afternoon. We knew that the logistics are a little tricky to get the prior cruise passengers off and the ship ready for us, so a city tour of Ushuaia and a lunch break makes sense. However, 16 hours later, things didn't look good.

We are heading to a hotel, a 30-minute bus ride from the port.
I am sure that our trip is off.
We'll get an update in the morning, an Atlas Ocean Voyages' representative says. Bart is still hopeful.

How did we get here?
We arrived to Ushuaia with about 85 passengers. World Navigator can hold up to 196 cruisers but is sailing at a reduced capacity like almost every other ship in the world during the pandemic.
Three buses are used to take our group of visitors around the city during the morning, exploring scenic points along the Beagle Channel and stopping at a restaurant for a hearty lunch. People are having a nice time getting to learn about each other, chatting about where they are from and discussing how they picked Atlas and their excitement about getting to Antarctica finally. It's a huge travel goal for most.
After lunch and a couple more stops around the city, people are starting to wonder when we will be able to board the cruise ship. It's late afternoon when our buses arrive to the Ushuaia sign down by the port and we stop for the photo opportunity, thinking it's a fitting cap to our tour before we get on World Navigator.
However, as the buses pull through the gate at the pier, our ship in view just a hundred yards away, I get the distinct feeling that plans are being shuffled on the fly. We are not boarding just yet. Instead, we are taking a dinner cruise in the channel, using a nearby restaurant catamaran.
OK. Could be fun. It seems that the process of flipping the ship and getting it ready for us is taking a little longer than expected. I am used to these types of delays happening in the age of COVID, of course.
Others are starting to wonder aloud what is going on, though, as we are not receiving clear communication about our schedule of events. We have a dinner and then enjoy a cruise on the channel, spotting a large colony of cormorants and visiting a large group of sea lions gathered on a promontory.
Drinks are flowing and people are having a good time and mostly being patient as the wait drags on. Finally, we get word that there is no certain timeline for our embarkation. It turns out that some crew tested positive for COVID.
The mood turns sour as we start to feel trapped on this catamaran, not knowing whether the trip will take place and what the next steps might be. Bart and I play cards with new friends and calmly wait for more info. Others are getting clearly agitated. Maybe all. The open bar for several hours probably isn't helping.
Finally, we get word that we will be heading to hotels for the night to await further updates in the morning on the fate of our voyage.

Bart and I head to our room at our resort. We open the door and find that the heater has been working overtime in here. We turn it off and crack open the windows to try to get some relief. It's got to be more than 90 degrees in here.
"Of course, this is how this day ends," I say, as we lay down and try to get some sleep.

This view of the Beagle Channel just outside of our hotel is incredible.

We wake up on a Sunday. In the light of day, we're able to see that our hotel, Los Yamanas, is located in a stunning spot just steps from a beach on the Beagle Channel. Bart and I grab breakfast and learn that the early news about our cruise is not good. We're told that the cruise probably is off and arrangements will be made to get us home ASAP.
We spend the day enjoying the resort and going for a hike along the shoreline. The day offers the most incredible weather in late spring down here at the very tip of South America.
After lunch and session at the gym, we finally get a message. It's spectacular news: The cruise will happen!
We are told to meet the transfer bus outside the hotel around 7 p.m. to head to the ship. Bart had remained upbeat and hopeful the whole time, while I was more inclined to think the trip was lost.
I'm so glad his positive-thinking powers worked. The upbeat energy was back, as we checked in with our fellow cruisers in the Atlas Lounge on World Navigator, meeting the crew members and having a cursory tour of the ship.
Well, the story is that the Argentinian authorities were eventually satisfied with the process to get off the crew who had tested positive and to effectively clean the ship, allowing us to sail and lose just one day.
Atlas Ocean Voyages made it up to cruisers by refunding 10 percent from the cost of this trip plus offering a future cruise credit worth 50 percent of the fare paid for this voyage as well as free Internet during our cruise and $100 onboard credit for our sailing. Many of our fellow passengers told me that they considered this a fair deal, and the main thing they were happy with was being able to continue this journey.
It turned out to be an incredible adventure. We lost just half a day, overall, because of calm sea conditions through the infamous Drake Passage. In retrospect, I was happy to be able to spend a day in Ushuaia relaxing and recovering after an exhausting day of travel the day before. It also gave me a chance to soak in the incredible scenery and enjoy an invigorating hike.
I have a full recounting of this Antarctica cruise with Atlas Ocean Voyages on the new World Navigator available by checking out my video features (trip video and balcony stateroom tour below). Thanks for watching these, and please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

We're actually onboard the ship and sailing away from Ushuaia.

In the rest of this post, I'll highlight my favorite parts of this cruise and why it was special to share it with my brother.
Precious Time Together
Bart is my only sibling. He is two years younger and lives in Florida, while I live in Colorado. We don't get to see one another as often as I'd like, so this was an amazing chance to go on an epic trip together. I travel a lot and he hasn't been too many places outside of the United States, so it was also a thrill to see his joy of traveling to such an exotic destination.

Awesome Active Adventures
Our daily activities included rushing out to the balcony or outer decks each day to see what the views were like as we cruised through the Drake Passage and among the islands and channels around the Antarctic Peninsula.
We would strap on our warm-weather gear and boots, hop into a Zodiac for another excursion, and it was all amazing.

A Celebration
The trip also allowed us to celebrate his recent retirement from decades as an educator. The crew on World Navigator helped me surprise Bart with a cake during one of our dinners.

Lots of Late Nights and Laughs
We savored bar time with beer flights and hanging with new friends in the lounges listening to music, watching the 11 p.m. sunsets and playing games. Plus, you can't beat the hot tub time as snow is falling all around us while our ship sails past beautiful mountains, glaciers and icebergs.

Atlas Lounge bartender Roel made our night by prepping us a tasty flight of craft beers.

Spa time! Yes, we made good use of these robes all week.

Penguins and Plunges!
The wildlife is always a highlight of these trips to Antarctica. And the penguins are the stars of the show. We certainly got our fill, seeing gentoos, chinstraps and a few adelies. We also go to see numerous birds, such as albatrosses, petrels, skuas and shags.
Another highlight: the Polar Plunge. We joined dozens of fellow cruisers who took an invigorating dip into the 29-degree waters of the Lemaire Channel.

Prepped to plunge.

Indeed, the trip had a rough start. But what else can we expect during these unusual times. Instead of focusing on what is going wrong, this trip has further reinforced my belief that we should cherish every moment and remain hopeful.
As you can see here, the voyage turned into a truly special experience, almost everything we could have wanted out of a journey to Antarctica.
And even if it had been short-circuited in Ushuaia, I still would have had a good story to tell and some memorable moments with my brother.

Thanks for reading,
JR

See you at the next adventure.

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Our Antarctic Cruise with Abercrombie & Kent on Le Lyrial

2/18/2020

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Part 2: Stunning South Georgia Island and the Highest of High Seas

South Georgia Island is bursting with wildlife. We were stunned by the size of the penguin colonies from the moment we landed ashore at Fortuna Bay.

By John Roberts
This is the second part of a two-part series.
First, a quick recap.
Colleen and I have been excitedly retelling the rich and varied tales of our Antarctica cruise (Part 1) with Abercrombie & Kent. This was our big trip that started right before the new year and stretched into late January, the longest we've been away on any one travel journey.
It was such a jam-packed itinerary that I thought it made sense to break it up into two posts. We first told you about the start of our trip in Buenos Aires, as well as our smooth cruising down to Antarctica where we had three spectacular days mixing and mingling with our new friends onboard and the penguins, whales and seals that call the stunning White Continent their home.
Now, we continue with our sailing to South Georgia, a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
We were thrilled with our time in Antarctica, three days in the most remote place on earth to see penguins (gentoos, chinstraps and Adelies), seals, (Weddells, crabeaters, leopards and elephants) and whales (humpbacks, orcas and fins).
The ice formations, snowcapped mountain peaks and glaciers provide an incredibly scenic backdrop when you sail in this region, as well.
Our A&K expedition guides, however, seemed even more excited to get to South Georgia. They started telling all of us that they even preferred the upcoming destination over Antarctica. "Wait until we get there; you won't believe it," said Augie Ullmann, a naturalist and Zodiac driver who had already taken us out on a couple excursions.

Smile! A young molting king penguin is just as curious about Colleen as she is about him.

So, anticipation was high among our fellow passengers onboard Ponant's luxury expedition ship Le Lyrial as we sailed for two full days toward South Georgia. We were among 170 passengers on the voyage. During this stretch we spent the time getting in workouts at the gym, utilizing the ship's Hammam steam room and attending enrichment talks. Topics included photography tips, as well as a look at the history of the whaling industry and a discussion of the geology of the region.
Colleen and I also took advantage of the chance to get massages.
We arrived to South Georgia Island on a Saturday afternoon. The seas that had been so calm during our transit from Ushuaia to Antarctica started to churn a bit while cruising to South Georgia, with waves reaching up to 26 feet and many passengers retreating to their cabins for most of the day to stay comfortable.
But we got ideal conditions to land ashore at Fortuna Bay on the north coast of the island.
This was the first stop of several jaw-dropping excursions that we took part in during our three days in South Georgia.

Fortuna Bay
We delighted in finding new species here. An incredible 95 percent of the world's 5 million fur seals make their home on South Georgia, and we saw massive colonies of sub-adults and pups all over the rocky beach as soon as we arrived.
It was an overwhelming experience to encounter all these seals while also having our first interactions with the majestic king penguins.
Our expedition leader Suzana Machado D'Oliveira describes the pristine cocktail of wildlife, color and sounds as "primeval." Indeed, you get a sense that you are seeing nature in its purest form here, with birds flying overhead and penguins feeding their young, nesting, molting and sparring -- while seal pups cry out and make their first waddles across the beaches or sneak around amid the thick clumps of tussock grasses.

The king penguins and mountain peaks fill the landscape at Fortuna Bay, out first stop on South Georgia.

Grytviken
The following morning, we awoke and found the ship anchored in the bay at Grytviken, a harbor that was the site of the first Antarctic whaling station. A small town sits along the shores, and we can get everyone ashore here at the same time (cruise lines are restricted to a maximum of 100 people at a time while making landings at other sites throughout the Antarctic region).
We saw more seals and penguins at Grytviken, but one of the main attractions for this destination was the chance to get a little more active. We had a hike up to the top of the hill overlooking the town. This started with a visit to the town's cemetery at the edge of the village. This is where famed adventurer Ernest Shackleton is buried alongside other explorers and whalers who died on South Georgia.
The town features a pretty church, a post office/gift shop and an immersive museum. You also can see the remnants of old rusted whaling vessels heaved up on the shoreline.

The grave site of Sir Ernest Shackleton is a top attraction.

Passengers enjoyed a 1 mile hike that traveled over the top of Grytviken and ended near the church.

Drygalski Fjord
Le Lyrial made its way into this blue-water fjord so we could get a look at the the massive Risting Glacier and a range of active seabirds, including the frisky snow petrels that were darting about just above our small boats as we puttered around the bobbing ice formations in the icy blue waters. Just as we were heading back to the ship, the glacier started calving. Thunderous cracking sounds preceding the heavy chunks of ice that plunged into the waters.
The ice quickly started melting, while making hissing and popping sounds. It was fascinating to witness this phenomena.

The massive face of the Risting Glacier at the head of Drygalski Fjord.

Ponant's Le Lyrial expedition ship carries up to 199 passengers on Antarctica cruises.

Salisbury Plain
It's impossible to describe the sheer numbers of king penguins at Salisbury Plain. The colony stretches from the rocky beach all the way up the valley and across the grass fields, as far as the eyes can see. This is one of the largest king penguin colonies in the world, and we all reveled in the marvelous scene as the birds carried on their activities, largely oblivious to their red-jacketed visitors.
The plain sits between the vast Lucas and Grace Glaciers, completing a picturesque setting.
The lands are further crowded as fur seals roam by the thousands, with juveniles practicing their jousting and pups playing in ponds and puddles. We also saw South Georgia pintail ducks resting in the grass and seabirds lazily tracing arcs overhead.

Salisbury Plain is home to one of the biggest king penguin colonies.

King penguins carpet the ground as an albatross soars overhear against the backdrop of a glacier at Salisbury Plain.

Elsehul
After our morning on Salisbury Plain, Le Lyrial sailed to a cove that was bursting with energy. We sat anchored in Elsehul and set off on Zodiac tours during which we felt transported into a kind of Jurassic world.
Augie took our group out, and we ventured around the perimeter of the cove over the course of our two-hour tour. We were surrounded by wildlife. Seals swam in groups riding the waves that were pulsing at the rocky coastline. Seals also frequently circled our rubber boat.
We crept as close as we could to a rocky outcropping that was occupied by a colony of macaroni penguins. Grey-headed albatrosses soared above, taking off and returning to a huge nesting rock in the middle of the cove.
Augie stealthily dragged a wooden box closer to his feet, popped off the lid and revealed bottles of Champagne smuggled aboard the Zodiac. He passed around glasses, poured out the bubbly, and the 11 of us completed a toast, cheering the amazing experience we have had but a bit sad that this celebration also marked the fast-approaching end of our voyage.
We tried to sit back and just drink it all in -- while we still could.

Cheers, Augie!

It was so much fun to make great memories with new friends.

Bracing Against the Storm
We still had a few more days, though, in this adventure with Abercrombie & Kent. Our itinerary called for us to stop for a day at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, but we were told fairly quickly during our day of sailing away from South Georgia that this was not going to happen because of a storm that was brewing in the region.
If you recall from Part 1 of this story, I described how we had been blessed with the "Drake Lake," a calm passage down to Antarctica. Well, things would be quite different on the way back north.
We had a hint of what the seas in the Southern Ocean can during our trip between Antarctica and South Georgia Island. This stretch would take those 26-foot waves and make them look like ripples.
In fact, we went through a storm that churned up violent seas that would reach 50 feet high and average more than 40 feet for the better part of 24 hours. By the end of the two days of sailing through the violent agitation, Capt. Patrick Marchesseau said that the conditions were the most treacherous that he had sailed through. This statement was coming from a man who had famously survived being taken hostage for a week alongside 30 crewmembers by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in 2008.
Colleen and I didn't get seasick, fortunately. A number of our fellow cruisers did, however, and almost all passengers remained in their cabins during the height of the wave action.
The ship handled the rough seas well. Waters crashed over the bow and drenched all outside areas. Our balcony on Deck 4 came to resemble a small river with all swift water rolling through.
By the end, I felt a little bit of a headache and some dizziness. But we mainly were bored from sitting in our bed for hours, trying not to get thrown to the floor. We watched movies all day (the Godfather coming in at more than three hours was a good choice to kill a chunk of that time) and tried to sleep during the night as best we could.

VIDEO: When seas get rough on an Antarctic voyage (10 seconds)

The crew on Le Lyrial took good care of us, delivering dinner to our cabin because restaurant services had to be suspended. The captain and crew also gave frequent updates and details of the progress so that we always felt safe and informed.
Eventually, the winds and seas calmed and were arrived back in Ushuaia. We were all excited to get off the ship after more than three straight days onboard. Most everyone got off for a walk around the port town or to eat at a restaurant, and we found a nice dining spot, Bodegon Fueguino, where we went with our new friend Rick Sammon, who was onboard as a photo lecturer, for pizza and beers.
The next day, Abercrombie & Kent provided a bus tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park and other points of interest around Ushuaia to cap the memorable journey.
The three weeks was filled with a diverse range of activities, and it was hard to believe we had been traveling for so long. Yet it felt like it passed so quickly.
The trip certainly offered a little bit of everything you would want or expect for an expedition to Antarctica, and traveling with A&K is a great way to do it in style.

Thanks for reading,
JR

Full video recap of our expedition to Antarctica

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Our Expedition Cruise to Antarctica with Abercrombie & Kent

2/3/2020

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This cute Weddell seal was among the first creatures to greet us when we reached Antarctica.

By John Roberts
We like to think of ourselves as adventurous travelers.
That means Antarctica had been on our radar for quite a while, of course.
So, imagine our excitement when the calendar ticked off the days toward 2020 and counted down the time until our voyage to the White Continent with Abercrombie & Kent.
We rang in the new year in style with a special trip of a lifetime, a 21-day journey to Antarctica and South Georgia Island. There are so many ways to cruise in the Antarctic region these days, and we were happy to be traveling with A&K, which pulls out all the stops when it comes to an all-inclusive luxury experience.
An expedition to such a rugged environment goes nicely when paired with the special touches and posh accommodations we had onboard our small cruise ship. Abercrombie & Kent partners with Ponant to offer these voyages. A&K provides the expedition leaders, and Ponant provides the ship that is used as your floating boutique hotel as you sail down from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Southern Ocean and the most remote places on earth.
While the first explorers to the Antarctic sailed in sturdy wooden sail boats being tossed around like corks on the ocean, we were quite pleased to be in the high-seas-worthy and plenty stable Le Lyrial, a ship that carries up to 199 passengers on its Antarctica voyages.
We did have our own period being thrashed about by the high seas, however. That was just part of an overall spectacularly memorable adventure that also had us cuddling up to penguins and seals and gazing at soaring seabirds by the hundreds. The awesome beauty of nature and wildlife was on full display.
This is the first of two posts that recaps our expedition cruise Antarctica and South Georgia Island with Abercrombie & Kent.

Our trip included four days in Buenos Aires, where we went on an organized tour and also had time to explore the city on our own.

BUENOS AIRES AND ANTARCTICA
Our experience started in Buenos Aires with four pre-cruise days to explore the capital of Argentina. Some of the other travelers on our cruise chose the other A&K pre-cruise option to spend time at Iguazu Falls. A group of 30 took that side trip to see the awe-inspiring waterfalls, one of the most iconic sights on the planet.

Abercrombie & Kent offers a city tour that stops at the Plaza de Mayo, home of the presidential residence, "The Pink Palace."

The Rio de la Plata offers a vibrant and emerging waterfront area within the city.

La Recoleta Cemetery is one of the top attractions in Buenos Aires.

The cemetery is adorned with beautiful tombs.

We also got our fill of delicious steaks.

In Buenos Aires, we set out for independent exploration, taking a couple morning runs to see all the highlights and numerous beautiful parks. We made a special point to go to La Recoleta Cemetery, one of the most famous burial places in the world. It has thousands of graves with beautifully carved tombs, and the winding walkways, trees and plants at the site give it the feel of a majestic park.
We also enjoyed meals featuring the renowned Argentinian steaks and empanadas. Not being wine drinkers, I know we missed out on the lovely Malbecs that people rave about, but we got a taste of the local beers to wash down our delicious and astoundingly inexpensive meals. We paid just over $60 at Piegari Carnes -- for a delightful steak dinner with appetizers, sides, breads, drinks and outstanding service.
That was a great way to cap our last night in Buenos Aires.
The next morning, we boarded a charter flight with our fellow cruisers to fly the three-plus hours south to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego at the "End of the World."
It was time to finally start cruising to Antarctica.

During the cruise south toward Antarctica, passengers and expedition leaders frequently gathered outside to look for seabirds such as albatross and petrels.

When the gorgeous ice came into view, we knew we had arrived to Antarctic waters.

Trying on our red parkas, which would be our uniforms throughout the voyage.

The voyage takes more than two days of sailing south, and we would spend three days in Antarctica.
We got settled in and familiarized with the cruise ship. Le Lyrial is a luxury expedition ship from Ponant, and the layout covers seven decks.
While sailing, it's a good time to head to the outer decks and watch all the seabirds -- and whales frequently emerge in the chilly waters. Abercombie & Kent's naturalists join passengers to point out birds, highlight the distinguishing characteristics of each type and answer any questions. We get our cold-weather parkas, pants and boots and make sure they are sized correctly. The red jackets and black pants will come to represent our uniforms for the week, and we stand out as a regiment of curious and eager explorers each day as we march around the ship or along the beaches and paths at our destinations.
The two photo experts sailing with us also offered the best tips for lighting and advice on how to capture great shots of wildlife and nature. The two sea days were also filled with a series of enrichment talks held in the ship's main theater. We enjoyed the free time to get to know our fellow cruisers over cocktails in the main lounge and at dinners at the buffet restaurant and in the main dining room.
Like us, almost every other passenger was excited to make their first visit to the White Continent. For many of them, it marked their seventh and final continent. It was my sixth (still missing Australia) and Colleen's seventh.
The great news: We had smooth sailing through the Drake Passage, which can get notoriously rough and tumble. Some people were actually a little disappointed not to have some nice big waves.
I honestly was a little torn, too. I wanted to see what the big bad Drake is really like, but I also don't like the idea of possibly being seasick for two straight days. Spoiler alert: We would get some legendary swells during a big storm on the way back, but I'll save those details for Part 2 of our trip (a coming post).
As we approached the Antarctic waters on Day 3, we were briefed about the biosecurity measures that are strictly followed to avoid contaminating this pristine destination. We must thoroughly clean our boots, waterproof pants and parkas before heading ashore and upon our return to the ship. This practice continues for each stop of the entire journey and entails walking through a tub of Virkon disinfectant as we pass through the marina area on the water to the skiffs and after we return, as well. We also have to get hosed down regularly with a sprayer to get especially sticky penguin guano (poop) off the soles of our boots.

Gentoos were the most-spotted variety of penguins at our destinations throughout Antarctica.

Our first day in Antarctica brought us ashore on Danco Island, where we were introduced to a gentoo penguin colony. This was our first up-close encounter with the wildlife on this Antarctica trip. The animals are unafraid of humans, so it's a delight to be able to watch them go on about with their fascinating behaviors.
We saw the penguins and seals in a variety of feeding, swimming, playing, squabbling, resting, nesting and mating activities at each destination.
We also stopped at Neko Harbour. This is where we saw the most whale activity of the trip, becoming mesmerized by a large pod of killers. Ashore, we went for a hike past bustling penguin colonies up to a high viewing point over the harbor (see picture immediately below).
The day also turned especially sunny, and a few of us onboard took full advantage of the heated pool on Le Lyrial to have the rare chance to go swimming in Antarctica while gazing at glaciers and snowy mountain peaks.

We had a special day in Neko Harbour. A vigorous hike up a snowy trail yielded these incredible views.

Yes, we were swimming in Antarctica.

The next day, we went on a Zodiac ride in Cierva Cove in the early morning. We saw humpback whales, a leopard seal, crabeater seals, and gentoo and chinstrap penguins. The cove also had some of the most stunning ice formations, including an incredibly pretty sapphire blue formation that shimmered.
In the afternoon, we headed ashore at Mikkelsen Harbor in blustery conditions and marveled at the pile of whale bones on the rocky beach, remnants and reminders of the region's past as a hunting ground for the great creatures.

Cierva Cove was filled with fascinating ice floes and more than a few marine animals.

This crabeater seal is just chilling out.

Mikkelsen Harbor is littered with whale bones on the beach.

We awoke to a blustery morning in Yankee Harbor. This was our final day in Antarctica, and it offered another busy schedule for the morning and afternoon. We hopped into our Zodiacs and rode into a crescent-shaped cove to come ashore with the mists hanging over the mountain peak. A large glacier sits adjacent to Yankee Harbor. The glacier created a huge moraine field that we scale to get a look from a higher vantage point. Our expedition guide Jason explained how the curved gravel spit that frames that harbor was caused by the wave action of the seas.
Thousands of gentoos and chinstraps mingle here as one large colony. We saw parents nesting on eggs and others feeding their cute chicks -- many of the youngsters had feathers left dirty and in wild disarray because of the rugged conditions.

Yankee Harbor offered another picturesque look at Antarctica.

Young seals were always practicing their fighting techniques.

This little chinstrap penguin gets in a good stretch.

Sometimes, you just have to scratch that itch.

In the afternoon, our stop at Aitcho Islands brings us to another vast colony of penguins (gentoos and chinstraps, with the odd Adelie penguin in the mix). They are all spread across a series of rocky formations on the island. Polar skua birds harassed several areas of the colony, looking to steal eggs or young chicks.
At the beach, there were dozens of huge elephant seals resting, occasionally tussling and frequently farting and snorting.
It's simply fascinating to see the symphony of wildlife at play on the island, and it was an eye-opening experience overall during our too-short time on the White Continent.
But it was time to get back to Le Lyrial to clean up, eat up and rest up for a couple days of sailing to South Georgia Island. We were told that the wildlife is even more vibrant there.
It's hard to believe that, isn't it? But we'll fact check that claim from our guides, and we'll show you what's there in the next post. (Read Part 2 of this voyage)

Thanks for reading,
John

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The Epic Trip to Antarctica with My Brother -- That Almost Wasn't

Our Antarctic Cruise with Abercrombie & Kent on Le Lyrial

Part 2: Stunning South Georgia Island and the Highest of High Seas

Full video recap of our expedition to Antarctica

Our Expedition Cruise to Antarctica with Abercrombie & Kent

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