Days 29 & 30 : Heading Home!

Saturday 11^th March, 2017

Thursday 9^th was our last day in Tahiti. We had another wander around the Papeete in the morning, and in the afternoon did an Around the Island Tour which was great. Now it’s night, and the view from our Papeete window is just lights on boats; no clouds, no sunset, no ferries …

We caught a 2 AM plane to Auckland and arrived there at 6 AM on Saturday. Friday was a brief affair! Sydney and Hobart then followed later on Saturday.

The flight home turned out to be totally uneventful, just the way they should be! Once we left Tahiti navigating queues were much quicker as typical NZ and Australian efficiency took over. I was surprised Australian customs were not in the least bit interested in our having been meandering amongst penguin poo! Why did we even bother declaring that?

= = = = = = = = = = =

Since coming home I have completed various entries, and now changed the publication dates of the posts so that you can read them more or less in chronological order! I’ve also added the various labels (Antarctica, Easter Island, Ecocamp, Patagonia, Tahiti) that you see as tabs below the title of the blog. Select one of these and you’ll see only the so-labelled entries.

In due course I might write a final entry on reflections of the trip, written with the advantage of a month or two of hindsight!

Meanwhile, enjoy …

Day 28 : Tahiti – An Around the Island Tour

Thursday March 9^th, 2017

Tahiti comprises two islands joined by an isthmus. The larger of the two, Tahiti Nui, has a good road all along its coast, with the mountains rising from the coast to around 2,240 m and generally shrouded in cloud. The smaller, Tahiti Iti, is less developed and has poor roads.

Typical west coast Tahiti with a fringing reef in the distance

Days 26-28 : Tahiti – Exploring Papeete

March 7-9^th, 2017 

Sleep abandoned, we admire the view for a while over a cup of tea and hatch a plan with the aid of tourist brochures from the desk drawer: get something for breakfast, organise tours around or into the island for the following days, and explore Papeete on foot in our free time.

Days 25 & 26: Tahiti –Travelling to Papeete

March 6 & 7^th, 2017 

We did not cope with the heat and humidity in Easter Island at all well, and Tahiti is 10 degrees further north! We seem to have a chest infection, and a dry hacking cough (that makes me feverish). It was brewing amongst passengers in Antarctica, and certainly started there for us,  and has now become a major issue. As the Hotel Altiplanico did not have air-conditioning – just fans and huge opening sliding doors which might let the insects in at night – we have had little relief from the humidity. So Easter Island has been a real trial, but we did enjoy it, and certainly very happy to have been here!

Day 25 : Easter Island - Exploring Hanga Roa

Monday March 6th, 2017 

I was disappointed that the Altiplanico was so far from the centre of town. On our first afternoon we were free to do our own thing but felt too crook to walk there and back in the heat and humidity, so we felt isolated. Today, our last day, we took a taxi into Hanga Roa to explore on foot.

It was a cloudy morning with a sea breeze, and thankfully nowhere as humid as the prior sunny days when we toured the ahu and moai. But it wasn’t to last, as showers and sunshine came at lunch time, and the afternoon was humid. In the meantime we explored Hanga Roa. It was indeed very rural and “laid back”, but the people wonderfully friendly and helpful.

Explaining hands in Hanga Roa

Day 24 : Easter Island–Tour of Cultural Sites in the Northeast and North

Sunday March 5^th, 2017:

The day dawned clear and very warm. Being a tree-less island there was little respite from the sun while we were touring sites today! We drove in a van with the windows open up the SE facing coast to the NE corner of the island. It was flat and very open, and mostly grazing land. It is fenced, sometimes with long sinuous stone walls, yet we saw very little stock.

There’s plenty of rock for stone fences!

Day 23 : Easter Island - Tours to Cultural Sites in the Southwest

Saturday March 4^th, 2017:

We had travelled to Easter Island to see the stone statues, or moai, that have generated so much mystery, and to learn more about the Rapa Nui culture. Despite our illness, exacerbated by the high humidity, we were not disappointed!

There are 887 known moai, and many have now been restored to their rightful place standing on a ceremonial platform, or ahu. With the exception of 5 moai at Ahua Akivi, they face inland. They are carved mainly from volcanic tuff from a single quarry, and are huge: 4-5 m high and weighing up to 20 tonnes, but the largest is nearly 10 m tall, and weighs 80 tonnes. Some were topped with gigantic pukao, or top-knots, of red scoria, around 2m in diameter and height and weighing 10 tonnes. Just how they were transported to their ahu, raised, and the pukao installed is unknown. The eyes of the moai were embellished with coral or shell, and red scoria pupils.

The moai at Ahu Tongariki – look carefully for the humans!

Day 22 : Easter Island - Living like the Idle Rich in the Hotel Altiplanico

Friday March 3^rd, 2017:

We are now on Easter Island, learning to live like the idle rich, it seems. It is also very green, and very muggy!

We were up at 6 AM in Santiago, Chile, and had a 5-6 hour flight some 3 hours later after spending over 2 hours queuing. The Chilean way seems to be to make queuing as long as possible: even when our documents had been checked by the immigration police, they were immediately checked by security, and then again by the stewardesses before we board, at least twice. This redundancy is itself a form of heightened security! Collecting baggage is another interminable waiting game.

Easter Island - green and showery, looking across the airport to Hanga Roa

As we flew into Easter Island I was surprised at how green it was! Yes, we were still used to the greyness of Antarctica, but when I’d looked at Easter Island on Google Earth some time ago it looked very dry. Perhaps I should have been surprised at that!

Day 22 : Now on Easter Island

Friday March 3^rd, 2017

We are now on Easter Island, learning to live like the idle rich it seems. It is very green, very muggy! We arrived mid afternoon and have rested in and around our cabin and the hotel’s swimming pool.

Our hotel is the Hotel Altiplanico Isla de Pascua.

 We were up at 6 AM, and had a 5 and half hour flight over 3 hours later. We also spent 2+ hours queuing, which is very tiring. The Chilean way seems to be to make queuing as long as possible: even when our documents have been checked by the immigration police, they are then checked by security, and then by the stewardesses before we board. Collecting baggage is another interminable waiting game.

 All of which meant we resisted the non existent temptation to walk three kilometres into town in the heat of the day.

 So far, no pictures of Easter Island … later I’ll get the camera out. But there could be a piece about Antarctica coming up … but internet connection here is very flaky so nothing might happen!

Day 21 : Quick Update from Santiago

March 2^nd, 2017

Thanks to Antarctic storms, our holiday in Santiago, Chile, became just one full day! But if we had not had these extra days planned, we would have lost our trip to Easter Island. We know which we’d rather NOT miss out on!

So tomorrow morning we fly to Easter Island and a few days of luxury, by the sound of it. Our Santiago residence – Hotel Santa Lucia – may be right in the city center, but definitely seems to be a place of faded glory!

From 0^oC to 30^oC in a few hours travel was a bit much! Fortunately there was a breeze in Santiago. So also was Santiago downtown a culture shock, following the tranquility and wildness of Antarctica. We had a brief walk around this morning, and a half-day small-group city tour in the afternoon. The latter was a great way to get an introduction to the city!

Santiago sunset

Santiago skyline

We noted this morning that the world still rock and rolls a bit when we get up! After 10 days rocking and rolling and pitching and squirming in Antarctic waters on a sturdy ship, it’ll probably take a few days to get used to terra firma again … hope there are no earthquakes!

At present I do not intend to write much about Santiago. I sort of feel what little we have seen today is enough and I do not regret the Antarctic storms robbing us of another day and a bit here. I’m impatient to get to Easter Island!

Day 20 : Quick Update–Post Antarctica.

Tuesday February 28^th, 2017

(I thought I’d leave this in, as a quasi summary of Antarctica. I edited it slightly when backdating the posts relating to Antarctica that I couldn’t actually post from the Polar Explorer.)

 Well, we are finally back into the internet connected world, in a posh hotel in Punta Arenas. It was beginning to look as if we might be overwintering in Antarctica! Well, almost …

 We had some pretty wild weather late in our cruise, and our flight from King George Island to Puntas Arenas was rescheduled twice. If you are reading this, it will be because it finally arrived and took us off the island. (Otherwise, we are spending another night on the boat!)

 We were warned this was an expedition, and on expeditions plans may change due to various reasons. Weather is a principal cause of change! As it was, we had few changes, but then a couple of days ago a ripper of a storm came through that made the Drake Passage seem serene (which it wasn’t), giving us force 7 winds, horizontal snow, and the exterior of the ship all iced up …

 Also, 50% of us on the boat, us included, came down with some lurgy picked up in Ushuai, and despite the best efforts of the ship’s doctor, we are now coughing and spluttering our way around the world.

 Now that we are back in the wired world, I’m putting some more posts on the blog, and later will gradually  back-date them. I have written some stuff about Antarctica but still need to select some photos … maybe when we are in Santiago tomorrow afternoon.

 In the meantime, here are just a very few …

My first penguin … a gentoo

Tucker time – you can see it coming and going down!

A fur seal – once seriously exploited, now plentiful

A leopard seal trying desperately to open an eye

Yes, there was no shortage of wildlife! But the scenery was awesome, too …

An iceberg, around 100+ m high.

Traversing the Lemaire Passage was awesome the first time, but on the way back it was rain and heavy low cloud and certainly no mill-pond!

Well, as I said,  we did get to Punta Arenas, but any possibility of sending blog posts didn’t pan out as it was extremely late, and the hotel wifi was clogged by 35 expeditioners all trying to download nearly two weeks of emails at the same time.

So this is heading out to you the following morning from Punta Arenas airport with us enroute to Santiago. The other Antarctic posts will just have to wait …

Days 18 & 19 : Farewell, Antarctica!

Tuesday & Wednesday February 27-28^th, 2017

The time had come for us to leave Antarctica, to disembark from the Polar Pioneer on the zodiacs for the last time, land on King George Island, walk a kilometre to the Frei (a Chilean base) airfield and fly to Punta Arenas for the night, and onwards to wherever. There would also be a “Changing of the Guard” at Frei as the plane that takes us homeward brings in another 54 expeditioners who will reverse our trip along the Peninsula and then across the Drake Passage to Ushuai.

A storm prevented any landings, by us or by our plane to Punta Arenas

However, the weather changed these plans. Not only where we unable to make any landings on our last day, especially on Deception Island, but the arrival of the plane at Frei station was twice delayed, and the Polar Pioneer cruised in holding patterns off Deception Island and then overnight in Collins Harbour, King George Island. So our mid-day flight became early the following morning, which then became late afternoon!

Days 15-18 : Antarctic Homes Away from Home

I’ve written about the practical, scenic, wildlife and environmental aspects of the Antarctic Peninsula. But a major aspect I’ve only touched on has been the human side. People live and work in Antarctica, and have been doing so for many years. Many countries have permanently occupied or seasonal bases on the Peninsula, and then there are unoccupied buildings that are now museums, emergency shelters, and ruins. This entry has additional comments and images on these Antarctic “homes away from home.”

Refurbished Nissen hut at Bransfield House, Port Lockroy

Days 12-16 : Mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula

Mountains abound on the islands along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and on the Peninsula itself, and form an extension of the Andes. Its central plateau is an ice sheet at around 1,500-2,000 m, but is largely hidden from our view from the west by rugged mountain ranges that rise 1,000 m, or more, more or less straight from the sea.

Island mountains, off the Antarctic Peninsula

I’ve always had a passion for mountains. I recall as an early-teen reading books about Alpine or Himalayan expeditions. I don’t know what sparked this interest; maybe it was innate! I clearly remember my first bushwalk. I was around 12 and joined some family friends walking up Mt Roland near our home in Sheffield. It was – and still is – steep, and I remember soaking in the bath afterwards and telling Mum that if anyone asked me to climb Mt Everest, I was saying “No!”.

Days 11-17 : Antarctic Wildlife : 2) Animals of the Sea

In this second post on Antarctic Wildlife I’m focusing on the sea, mainly whales and seals.

There was a strong contingent of people on the voyage who went snorkelling or scuba diving. My impression is that they really didn’t see much in the way of biological organisms, large or small! From the zodiacs (read about them here), we could at times see quite deeply into the clear water. What did we see? Nothing! There was virtually no seaweed to be seen, and very little washed up on the shore, and certainly no fishes.

We did see chains of salps, and first thought these were plastics lost overboard from some boat! Rather, salps are gelatinous creatures with bright red internal organs. They reproduce asexually by forming long chains of individuals – which is what we were seeing. As salps are 90% water they don’t contribute significantly to the Antarctic food chain.

A chain of salps washed up on the shore

Days 11-17 : Antarctic Wildlife : 1) Birds

In this and the next entry I’m commenting on the wildlife we saw in Antarctica. To start with, birds; and in the next entry, whales and seals.

Long before we’d crossed the Antarctic convergence zone, the wildlife made an impression through the birds that seemed to be constantly soaring around the boat! However, once close to the Antarctic Peninsula, it was penguins, seals and whales that were our companions, with far fewer birds on the wing. So, to start with, birds.

A skein of cormorants in the Beagle Channel

While crossing the Drake Passage, and elsewhere, it was so rough that the deck was out of bounds and I was photographing through our porthole or the windows of the Polar Pioneer’s bridge. Also, when we were on land the light was invariably dull. As a result, most of my photos lack “punch”, but I’m including quite a few anyway!

Day 14 : Crossing the Antarctic Circle

Thursday 23^rd of February, 2017

“Across the Antarctic Circle” was the name of our expedition, so I suppose crossing the Antarctic Circle was a prime objective of the expedition. In that case, I’d better say how it all went, this crossing of the Antarctic Circle business.

Some where out there is the Antarctic Circle!

Days 11-19 : A Day in the Life of an “Antarctic Expeditioner”

February 20-28^th, 2017 (written at the end of the cruise)

There was a wake-up call over the Polar Pioneer’s PA system, usually around 7 AM, announcing breakfast at 7:30 and the expected time for disembarkation for the morning’s shore-based activities. However, a wake-up call at 6 AM to witness our passage through the awesome Lemaire Channel prompted one of the 54 to retort “I thought this was a holiday!” But it was worth it, as these pictures show!

In the Lemaire Channel – it was worth the early wake up call!

Days 9-19 : On the Polar Pioneer

I plan to write about the rhythm of our daily life on – and off – the Polar Pioneer! But first I’ll write a little about the Polar Pioneer herself.

We first met the Polar Pioneer in Ushuai, moored next to the Crystal Serenity, a large cruise ship. She sure looked small in such company, but proved to be a very comfortable vessel (despite what the seasick might have thought!), even though she was not offering us the luxury of her Ushuai berth mate!

In Ushuai harbour: the Crystal Serenity on the left, Polar Pioneer to her right.

Days 11-19: Zodiacs, without which this Expedition could have been Boring!

February 20-28^th, 2017 (edited at the end of the cruise)

The zodiacs are really what made our Antarctic Expedition possible. They are what gave us access to the islands and the ice, and they provided essential backup support for the snorkelers and divers. And at times they provided a considerable degree of excitement and quite an adrenalin rush!

Heading for a landing on mainland Antarctica

 

Days 11-19 : Antarctic Shades of Grey

February 20-28^th, 2017 (written at the end of the cruise)

We’ve all seen the travel brochure images of Antarctica … a cloudless sky with the sun illuminating the dazzling white snow, the deep blue of crevices in the ice and the tourist boat floating serenely, reflected amidst ice flows on an a azure blue see. Well, it’s not quite like that!

Well, maybe for a few brief hours it was like that …

… and often like this – as seen through our porthole!

 

Day 11 : Antarctica - First Contact

Monday 20^th February, 2017

After two nights and a day of tossing and churning we crossed the Antarctic Convergence, an invisible line determined by the properties and condition of the sea water such as temperature and density. South of this line is the Antarctic Ocean. Some hours later the swell dropped markedly and we were in the lea of the South Shetland Islands. And then we saw it: a long low white cloud, brighter than the grey sea and cloud: an ice cap on the South Shetland Islands.

This was Antarctica … well, an Antarctic island!

Ice cap on a South Shetland Island

Days 8 & 9 : Ushuai, “Capital of Antarctica”

Friday 17^th to Saturday 18^th February, 2017

The claim “Capital of Antarctica” probably stems from the fact that Ushuaia is the world’s southernmost city, and the closest to the Antarctic mainland. It is a major stepping stone to Antarctica for both tourists and scientific expeditions. I recall something like 90% of Antarctic tourists pass through Ushuaia on their way to Antarctica.

 

Boats on their way to Antarctica. The Polar Explorer is right of center

 

Day 7 : El Calafate

Thursday February 17^th, 2017

El Calafate is a small town of around 23,000 permanent residents on the southern shore of Lago Argentino, whose western end becomes a series of glacial valleys or fjords running leading into the southern end of Parque Nacional dos Glaciares. El Calafate is a major tourist centre and the little CBD was bustling with tourists and locals alike, despite the pouring rain.

Day 6 : EcoCamp Safari to French Glacier

Wednesday February 15th, 2017

On our third day Krista stayed in camp for the day, so I joined three others of our original group on a 17 km return walk to the French Glacier, led by our guide Pablo. The French Glacier and river drains the central part of the massif, south into Nordenskjold Lake. There had been a little rain overnight, but the morning was dry with high cloud. Our return walk was windless and in a very light drizzle, but not enough to dampen our spirits! Besides, the reflections were stunning!

Refelctions on Sköttsberg Lake

Day 5 : EcoCamp Safari to Lake Grey

Tuesday February 14th, 2017

Whereas our first night had been cloudy, very, very windy and overnight rain, our second day dawned absolutely clear, no wind and decidedly cold. I got up early and saw the sunrise painting the Torres with red light. Quite a sight! I also found the Contemplation Walk and explored that.

Early morning light on the Torres

Lake Grey, today’s destination, is a glacial lake in the western end of the park, and has highest point – Paine Grande – of the Torres del Paine massif rising nearly 2600m right out of the lake. We were bussed to the hotel at bottom end of the lake via numerous lookouts over various lakes, and of course constant views the massif itself. We were now familiar with the view from the eastern end, with the various towers standing dominant. But now these were hidden and we were seeing new features, and finally Paine Grande itself.

Day 4: EcoCamp Safari to Laguna Azul

Monday February 13^th, 2017

Each day at the EcoCamp we had a choice of easy, medium or hard activities. We chose easy, except for the last day when Krista stayed in camp and I went on a medium 17 km hike. The easy outings were nature based, and had some short walks of up to 4-5 km. More or less everywhere we went, the scenery was dominated by the Torres del Paine massif, and we ended up seeing it from the east, south and west.

Just one of the many panoramic views of Torres del Paine massif

 

Days 3-7: EcoCamp Patagonia

February 12^th –16^th, 2017

Torres del Paine is a massif to the east of the main Andes and is a major tourist attraction for general tourists, hikers and serious mountaineers. There are several hotels in and near the national park, each of which also has camping grounds. And then there is EcoCamp Patagonia …

EcoCamp Welcome Dome with Torrres del Paine in the background

Day 2 - Punta Arenas

Sunday 11^th February, 2017

Today in Punta Arenas was our recovery day from confinement in airplanes and interminable queues …

… and it was a day of warm (for here!) sunshine but a very strong northerly wind. We are in the furious fifties here (53 S) and the strength of the wind reminded us of that fact. If it had been from the south it would have been frigid, to boot! We wandered around the waterfront and Centrum (the CBD), had a meal, visited a café, found a supermarket, bought a sim-card for my phone, and chatted with tourists from a cruise ship.

The Victoria anchored off Punta Arenas

But first …

Day 1 … Sardine Tin Travelling

Friday 10^th February, 2017

Today, Day 1, is a long day, so long that we have a night in the middle of it, and arrive in Santiago before we have left Sydney! It’s all because we cross the international date line, and the date is turned back one day. But the actual time difference between Sydney and Santiago is 14 hours.

It’s also a long day of travelling; nearly 30 hours from when we got up in the morning to when we get to Punta Arenas in southern Chile,  our destination – and still on the same date.

Introduction

Thursday 9^th February, 2017

Both Krista and I have long had a fascination with Antarctica.

I was drawn to Antarctica when I was a kid by reading books of early Antarctic exploration. Then there was the 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition lead by Edmund Hilary and Vivian Fuchs. While in high school my interest in science grew and the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year grabbed my attention. This featured a range of Earth Science subjects, many focusing on Antarctica such as ionospheric and aurora physics, and cosmic ray research.

By the time I'd completed my BSc degree at the University of Tasmania I'd also developed a passion for mountaineering and skiing, which Patagonia and Antarctica clearly offered in abundance. But a PhD in Theoretical Physics specialising in optics was not a good CV for a stint in Antarctica! However, I continued to dream of visiting Antarctica, whilst recognizing it was simply that, a dream! I'm not sure how the young Krista, still resident in Finland, thought she could wangle a trip to Antarctica, as a degree in entomology and experience with leaf hoppers seems equally unsuitable as a CV as mine!

So a visit to Antarctica - along with Nepal and Patagonia, and a few other places - was on our bucket list!

Three friends independently made cruises from Ushuaia along the Antarctic peninsula in the summer of 2015-16. This encouraged us to think, "Well, why not us?", and having made that decision, it became "Why not also Patagonia?". It's a long flight across the Pacific Ocean, so we soon decided to break the journey by visiting Easter Island, and finally the vagaries of airline time tables suggested a couple of days on Tahiti. So an 11 day cruise became 4 weeks of travel!

So this blog documents our travels and travails, from Antarctica to the Tropics.