Great descriptions! Gotta do this trip again!

We had the roughest seas on our trip when we were on the way from the Falklands to South Georgia, so you're lucky if the forecast is for calm seas. South Georgia was the highlight of the trip for us - can't wait til you get there!

You saw a lot more penguins in the Falklands than we did - I think we just saw the rockhoppers and a few gentoo.

Andi - use one or two of their walking sticks next time - especially when you get further south and the penguin poop is everywhere,

love the tales. thank you.

Ditto to Leslie.

Andi:

Your style of writing when it comes to jotting down what's in your head without editing and making it all socially correct just cracks me up and I must say I am having some good belly laughs at the kitchen table reading of your treks across the landscape. Keep up with the writing even though you may not be able to keep up with the pace of your fellow cruisers.

QUOTE: At 6pm, there was a walk to a magellanic and rockhopper rookery and an albatross rookery. I was by the king penguins when I saw Doug start walking up a hill with a group. The hill was a rocky, steep incline, riddled with Magellanic penguin burrows every couple of feet which you had to navigate so you wouldn't fall in. I huffed and puffed my way up, being careful with my footing, and each time a penguin would pop up like "whack a mole" scaring the crap out of me. In addition, I had to negotiate around the sheep. I finally got to the fence with sweat pouring down me and 30 pairs of eyes staring at me because they had to wait. My poor, short little legs were so tired and my rubber boots were so heavy. I had to somehow get them over the wire fence. I lifted them with my best Rockettes kick and they kind of did a third Reich lift not very high off the ground. I felt that poor Doug wanted to disown me. Finally, the leader manually lifted my legs for me and I fell over the fence. I looked over the hill at the happy, content people waaaay down and realized I would have to do this again in reverse. What an idiot. END QUOTE


Trudge on, girl, trudge on................

Cheers! Ray

Wow, your magical journey just gets better and better! Love your reporting style Andi; I feel like I'd be the one bringing up the rear with all that gear and heavy boots on!

Wonderful commentary! Maybe later today, we'll get some pix from Andrea, Doug, or Ken!

Andi, I am loving reading your wonderful reports on your adventures. I understand that you are pushing yourself to the absolute limits of your endurance, in order to get the full story for us. :) And we love you for it. More More. Please!

Loving these, Doug! Obviously Andrea has some coming too, from the looks of her picture you sent!

andi mentioned you had already seen Kings, I don't recall seeing them until later in the cruise, and they blew me away compared to those little guys coming before!

Quick post must get to bed - they say whales in the morning early but I just had to post THEY HAVE AMARULA on board. We had a night cap tonight of Amarula.

Having a great time and just cannot wait to get to South Georgia where they say our good weather will continue. We have had good seas and lots of sunshine since leaving Ushuaia. We are in the Southern sea and could not expect it be much calmer. Just a little gentle rocking making me very relaxed and sleepy.

Ditto to Ray

Love those running penguins

LOL, Ngaire, I don't think I've ever seen that stuff outside of Africa ;) I ask all the time!

Thanks for checking in with us. It is wonderful you all are enjoying calm seas and sunshine. Like Leslie (and Diane coffeecup I'm sure), hope everyone appreciates it! Only one more day to sail, and then bet we will get some great KEN photos.

Great reports!!! YUM Amarula!!!! Andi more more please :app: :app: :hug: :hug: :blahblah: :blahblah:

I found Amarula in a 7-11 in Ranson, WV last year. You never know when or where it will turn up. Seems right to be on Zodiac, since it goes with critter-spotting.

Great Reports, Carla found Amarula at the liquor store downtown in our city. Its sprouting up everywhere. Was great to drink around Christmas.

We are all anticipating our first whales of the cruise this morning as we near Shag Rocks. Since I had a few minutes, I though I'd pop on here and say we are all having a great time. Today we will be enjoying our second seaday in a row. Between Pooch, Hearts, lectures and eating we are staying pretty busy. Tomorrow we begin our three days on South Georgia. More later.......

Now I know why they sell a DVD on trip - didn't see a single whale this AM. But nice being outside all bundle up in my "snow suit". Rumor is we need to have them on by 5 AM tomorrow. Betty might have a problem with this time table. Tonight the ship will go dark as all lights and windows covered due to confusion it would cause a particular bird if they saw our lights. Tonight is also B & K party. Stays light very late though.
Off to consume some bouillon, then lunch, then Shackleton lecture. Continues to be great trip.

Sometime between your landings and lectures ya'll need to have a five year pooch anniversary party during your trip.

It was probably on 1/23/07, on the Hanseatic during our first sea day on the way to South Georgia, that Brad and I taught Ngaire how to play pooch. As they say, the rest is history.

Good whale sightings this morning. The first "alarm" was a little disappointing however what was interesting is that there was a Humpback and Southern Right Whale were together.

About one pooch game later whales were spotted again. This time two Right Whales REALLY close to the ship just stayed in the same spot and gave everyone fantastic views.

Today at lunch we had the traditional Rack of Lamb, roast potatoes and green peas with Frank, Wendy, Alan and Wendy. It was fantastic.

Okay off to the Shackelton lecture

More whale sightings this afternoon. And one was a Blue. Say they only see about one Blue each season. How lucky can we get?
Shackleton lecture was fantastic. Lots of new information even if you had only seen the PBS series. Part 2 to follow in a few days. Was happy to see one of 3 women that applied for his crew was named Betty. These ladies called themselves "The Sporty Girls".
Weather is still cool and foggy but with Ngaire on board I am positive tomorrow will be a beautiful day.

Yes a five year anniversary of POOCH is a thing to celebrate. Meanwhile Pam has POOCH figured out and wins almost everytime. We need the pooch master and mistress here to challenge her!

Wow, it doesn't seem like it's been five years since we all learned to play POOCH on the Hanseatic. Too bad you all don't have the Germans to keep you in line on Zodiac :D

I guess I am in the lucky minority on Amarula; I was able to find it in the Memphis area from the beginning. Haven't looked lately, I have to confess; I still have a bottle.

Great post Andi...with more of same post (s) I'll have 3 cups of tea!! XXOO

I am not seeing Andi's post and I am afraid to delete any of the blank posts above?

uh-oh, she must have been trying to delete the extraneous. Bring it back, Andi, that was a good one!

I was so excited to learn we'd have two and a half days at sea. I figured i'd do some card playing, some reading and some relaxing. Not here. The expedition team on this team has been great and the lectures wonderful. I might have had better grades in science had topics been brought to life they way these folks are doing it for us. We have running lectures on mammals, fish, botany, geology, and recaps on what we see and why and the future of the ecological concerns, glaciers, sea levels worldwide and it's effects on the continents. This trip is so much more than penguins and scenery, good food and service.

We have had lectures on very varied topics such as "krill, small but mighty"; "Life in the southern ocean," "Shackelton's journey's", cooking demoes, wine tastings and our end of day briefings.

We discussed the seismology of the area and the fact that there is volcanic activity in Antarctica. While not a tectonically active zone there have been three major earthquakes greater than 7 and one this weak at Elephant Island that measured 6.6.

One lecture taught us all about tussac grass which can actually live to 300 years in age however the Falkland farmers eliminated much of it to gain more farmland. Currently, they have reintroduced a replanting program as they have found it not only feeds sheep but is useful for the ecosystem for feeding birds as it providenesting areas for petrels, penguins, thrush, and seals.

We also didn't stay just in the sciences, but got into a bit of History/Poetry and discussed the origins of Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the epic poem about Antarctica.

We also discussed how the fishing industry has opened up to other countries in 1986 and 1990 opened with main catches being illix squid de la plata and Patagonian squid. However, the catches has been declining of late and may not be sustainable.

One lecture taught us all about tussac grass which can actually live to 300 years in age however the Falkland farmers eliminated much of it to gain more farmland. Currently, they have reintroduced a replanting program as they have found it not only feeds sheep but is useful for the ecosystem for feeding birds as it provides nesting areas for petrels, penguins, thrush, and seals.

We also discussed how the fishing industry has opened up to other countries in 1986 and 1990 opened with main catches being illix squid de la plata and Patagonian squid. However, the catches has been declining of late and may not be sustainable.

Sea activities also kept us busy. On day two, while the seas were still calm, with a slight rocking motion I love, the skies were white and no longer blue and the seas had turned from turquoise to grey.

There has been a dramatic temperature drop within the distance we have traveled. The expedition team has been teaching us that this weather also affects the southern sea here. The different sea life is affected by the cold water which holds more oxygen than hot water and the more nutrients from the krill which provides a solid foundation for sea life.

So, as you get further from the equator the number of species drop but there are greater populations of those that exist. Additionally, the lifespan of creatures down here increases as you get towards the poles as they have to have more time to maximize their reproductive success.

We were expecting to see whales anytime starting around 8am, but we got a call around 9 because there was a sighting of a minky whale. It was gone so quickly, you saw the spray and it was out of sight. Off we went to our krill lecture and figured our whale sightings were done for the day. Then I went off to a gravlox cooking class and someone yelled out "whale!" We all jumped up and the poor chef said " well I have a fish here too."

An announcement came over the loudspeaker that a both a a humpback whale and a southern right whale were right next to the ship and we were cutting off the motors. The humpback is common around the world but the right whale, only seen in the southern hemisphere, is fairly rare. What was also rare was the fact that both interspecies whales were together, most likely caused by an abundance of krill. Gee, we all understood that now. We must have watched the whacks for nearly an hour before the team announced we'd be moving on.

We were playing cards this afternoon and an announcement came over the loudspeaker about 4pm that a fairly rare sighting of 2 blue whales and a fin whale. The blue whales are the biggest whales and these were about 90 feet long or about the size of a space shuttle to put it into perspective and the fin whale is the second largest whale and this one was about 75 feet long. We have been so lucky with weather and animal sightings! This ship also has an open bridge policy and we are allowed to watch all of these sightings with the captain and the expedition staff with them. It's been terrific.

Starting tonight we have to blacken out the ship so as to emit as little light as possible. Smaller seabirds see lights and fly towards them and become disoriented. Normally not good on land and confused, they have trouble getting airborne, hide head first in corners, and lose heat end up terminal. Every morning, the crew will now check for injured or lost birds and attempt to reorient them and get them back to safety.

Our day tomorrow begins at 5:30am and ends at 8pm with three separate landings of several hours each. These will now introduce fur and elephant seals into the mix and we have been told that we will be attacked by fur seals so to remember to clap our . I how many of us will forget to clap and will freak?

An announcement came over the loudspeaker that it was a beautiful morning in South Georgia.. Blue skies and 48 degrees with the calmest seas and most beautiful sunrise. I asked Doug what time it was Nd he said 4:30.. I guess we're up. It sure is pretty out there and I can hear the king penguins calling. Right now, we are the last group to go ashore and it is torture waiting so w'll have to amuse ourselves watching the seals and dolphins playing outside our window!

It is an absolutely perfect day for our landing on Salisbury Plain, South Georgia. I'm back King Penguins!!

One word - WOW!

South Georgia today! Three landings today first two were absolutely spectacular. About 45 - 50 degrees no wind blue skyes magnificent. Marc and I walked around with no jackets just shirtsleeves Not enough words to descibe the day. Turdlely had been inspected for contraband seeds and organizims so he got to come ashore too, though none of the Kings were interested in him. Just Unbeleivable!!!!!!!!!!

Glad that you had great weather on South Georgia, that is sure a beautiful spot. We have a very large copy of a photo Russ took in our home and people think that it is a painting, they can't imagine all of the Kings.

Have fun the rest of your trip.

I love reports like this, and can imagine that Andrea will soon have a photo feast for our eyes!

WOW is all I can say - so delighted you are loving your trip. I check your seamail first thing every morning - my tea is piping hot just waiting for a report or pictures!!! XXOO to all of you...those penquins are darn cute!!

We had 3 amazing landings today – Salisbury Plain, Prion Island and Fortuna Bay. So exhausted but wanted to put up a few of my favorites.

Andrea, great pictures! That sure is a LOT of happy feet!

Yes!!!!!!!! A++++++

Andrea's pictures really captured the day, it was amazing, Doug took me back to the ship kicking and screamig. The seals all have these adorably different faces...Btpeth found one that looked like a ferret,; some have snake faces,spaniel faces, cat faces, cow faces. These guys are constantly playing. They run up to you and sniff you. The adults run up and bark at you but you clap and say ' no bad seal" and they back off. They are a hoot. They hide in the tussah grass and bound out at you. Now the king penguins, when swimming look just like ducks. While really oretty, the poor tenses, when losing their baby fur, look really sorry...like a bad case of puberty.

The first stop was a surprise as the beach was rather Spassky populace. The, over the crest and 250,000 king penguins line the cost shoulder to shoulder. It is almost too much to take in. We'll it's almost midnight and I've been up since 4:30. More later.