Grateful in Grytviken
Today, the day after Christmas, we anchored at Grytviken a tiny outpost of civilization on the southeast coast of South Georgia Island. Grytviken (Grit-veeken) is known for two things, the place Sir Ernest Shackleton finally found help after his horrific crossing of the Southern ocean in a 22 foot sailboat and as a whaling station that helped to scour the ocean of the mighty whales of this region.
Much of the place is now in ruins and many buildings have been removed because of an asbestos hazard, but the try works still stand, rusting away along with a few grounded, stove in chase boats. There is a museum (quite good) that tells the story of whaling, the life of the island and the surrounding seas and Shackleton's epic story.
The most compelling building in town is the stark white, steepled church set back from the bustle of the shoreline against the green hills. After we had hiked the hills, paid homage at Shackleton's grave, walked through the decaying town and seen the museum, many of us retired to the church for a Christmas service.
I walked in a little late to the angelic sounds of Ave Maria. The small church's pews were lined with passengers in red parkas and bared heads. It felt very homey and welcoming with Christmas garlands and candles. Several passengers took turns coming to the front and telling the story of Christmas in three parts interspersed with Christmas carols in which we all joined in. I am not religious, but while signing the carols I remembered back to singing with my family as a kid and how much joy I got from our times together. I choked up at each new carol.
Then came the Prayerof Saint Francis and I could clearly see the huddled whalers of the past, far from their homes and loved ones working in wretched conditions at the end of the earth and I clearly saw the comfort brought by such words...
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
I imagined Shackleton, after months of desperate struggle offering thanks in this church and how grateful he must have been for his Salvation.
Then a young Irish boy, one of the passengers, came forward to give a traditional Irish blessing...
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
We ended the service with the Young Explorers, myself included, coming forward and singing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Before heading back to the boat I had a moment alone on the shore where I thought how grateful I was. To my Mom for all the wonderful Christmas memories of a decorated tree and the singing of carols, to my Dad for the sense of adventure he gave me and to my departed Uncle Joe for giving me a taste for international travel. To my wife for her generous spirit that encouraged me to take this trip and to all my friends who believe in me. I am Grateful in Grytviken.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Flightless in the Falklands
We got into the Falklands early this morning. I woke up and looked out my window to see white sandy beaches and sand dunes. It could have been a beach anywhere in the world, with one key difference: on the beach were PENGUINS!
We pulled into Stanley Harbor which was surrounded by low, fairly barren hills. Outside of the town there are no trees. No bushes much bigger than knee-high. The colorful houses and shops of the town are scattered along the shoreline and across the near hills that line the bay.
After breakfast I joined a group of others for a nature trek to see the native birds and plants. Our guide, Geoff, told us historical facts about several wrecked ships around the bay and the mines that were still hidden in the sand dunes when the Argentinians tried to stop the U.K. from taking the Islands back from them in the 1980's. His main job was showing us the plants, geology and birds of the area. He seemed to know all the plants and what they were good for. I ate some Scurvy grass, which he offered to us. I had read so many novels of seafarers dying of scurvy and how some had been saved by the grass I felt I should try it. It had a tart, sort of citrusy taste.
The highlight for me was the birds. Right off I saw Turkey Vultures. I had no idea they lived this far south or had reached an island so far out at sea (250 miles from the South American coast. A long way to fly for a bird that could not survive landing on the ocean). Next we saw Kelp Geese and Upland Geese both of which have a mostly white male and brown, gray and black female. We saw Flightless Steamer Ducks with their chicks, who waddled down the shore and swam off as we approached. Flightlessness in birds is a strange adaptation. Outside of a few very big birds like Ostriches and Emus, flightlessness only happens on islands. The reason being that the islands were free of predators (humans have introduced predatory animals to many of the islands of the world since these birds lost the ability to fly) so they didn't need to get away to survive. But the question remains, why lose the ability? Studies seem to show that if the organisms doesn't need to flee predators the next most important thing is food. if they can walk or swim to their food, then they may be saving the energy by not exerting themselves to get airborne.
Another factor in the Falklands is the wind. It is dangerous to fly here. One reason is a bird might be injured by strong gusts, but a worse fate is to be blown out to sea, especially if you are not a sea bird.
So many of the birds here, even if they are not flightless, stay low to the ground to avoid being blown into the void.
Penguin flightlessness is another story for another post.
We pulled into Stanley Harbor which was surrounded by low, fairly barren hills. Outside of the town there are no trees. No bushes much bigger than knee-high. The colorful houses and shops of the town are scattered along the shoreline and across the near hills that line the bay.
After breakfast I joined a group of others for a nature trek to see the native birds and plants. Our guide, Geoff, told us historical facts about several wrecked ships around the bay and the mines that were still hidden in the sand dunes when the Argentinians tried to stop the U.K. from taking the Islands back from them in the 1980's. His main job was showing us the plants, geology and birds of the area. He seemed to know all the plants and what they were good for. I ate some Scurvy grass, which he offered to us. I had read so many novels of seafarers dying of scurvy and how some had been saved by the grass I felt I should try it. It had a tart, sort of citrusy taste.
The highlight for me was the birds. Right off I saw Turkey Vultures. I had no idea they lived this far south or had reached an island so far out at sea (250 miles from the South American coast. A long way to fly for a bird that could not survive landing on the ocean). Next we saw Kelp Geese and Upland Geese both of which have a mostly white male and brown, gray and black female. We saw Flightless Steamer Ducks with their chicks, who waddled down the shore and swam off as we approached. Flightlessness in birds is a strange adaptation. Outside of a few very big birds like Ostriches and Emus, flightlessness only happens on islands. The reason being that the islands were free of predators (humans have introduced predatory animals to many of the islands of the world since these birds lost the ability to fly) so they didn't need to get away to survive. But the question remains, why lose the ability? Studies seem to show that if the organisms doesn't need to flee predators the next most important thing is food. if they can walk or swim to their food, then they may be saving the energy by not exerting themselves to get airborne.
Another factor in the Falklands is the wind. It is dangerous to fly here. One reason is a bird might be injured by strong gusts, but a worse fate is to be blown out to sea, especially if you are not a sea bird.
So many of the birds here, even if they are not flightless, stay low to the ground to avoid being blown into the void.
Penguin flightlessness is another story for another post.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Sea Legs
We are now at sea in the Southern Ocean. We left Ushuaia headed East by way of the Beagle Channel named for the ship (the HMS Beagle Captained by Fitzroy) that Darwin circumnavigated the globe in. The Beagle Channel is futher south than the Strait of Magellan and is an alternative route to bypassing Cape Horn. Our next landfall will be the Falkland Islands.
I stayed up late last night on deck looking for seabirds with a keen birder I met from England named John. He really knows his birds and has as much or more appreciation and anticioopation for what we will see than I do. We ticked off Southern Giant Petrels, South American Terns, Black-browed Albatross and Imperial Shags. But we stayed up late to catch a possible glimpse of Magellanic Penguins near a narrow passage before we left the Beagle Channel. As we got closer to thwe deeper water byond the narrows the air got colder, the wind picked up and a rain squall threatened ahead. we saw two small islands ahead covered in black and white birds, but as we got closer we could pick out Imperial shags (a.k.a. cormorants). but on the opposite bank, below a large sandy bluff we spotted the Magellanics. Fifteen or twenty stood on the sandy beach above the surf line in the fading light!
I went to sleep to the increased rocking of the ship now that we were in less protected waters and woke up this morning to bigger swells and unsteady footing. I am just getting used to the ship's movement and staggering around my cabin and down the passageways like I'm drunk.
When I first woke up I looked out my window and there riding the air above a swell was a Royal Albatross! Within a few minutes I saw a Cape or "Pintado" Petrel a beautiful mottled seabird.
I has taken a few hours and a little bit of queeziness but I think I have my "sea-legs" now.
I stayed up late last night on deck looking for seabirds with a keen birder I met from England named John. He really knows his birds and has as much or more appreciation and anticioopation for what we will see than I do. We ticked off Southern Giant Petrels, South American Terns, Black-browed Albatross and Imperial Shags. But we stayed up late to catch a possible glimpse of Magellanic Penguins near a narrow passage before we left the Beagle Channel. As we got closer to thwe deeper water byond the narrows the air got colder, the wind picked up and a rain squall threatened ahead. we saw two small islands ahead covered in black and white birds, but as we got closer we could pick out Imperial shags (a.k.a. cormorants). but on the opposite bank, below a large sandy bluff we spotted the Magellanics. Fifteen or twenty stood on the sandy beach above the surf line in the fading light!
I went to sleep to the increased rocking of the ship now that we were in less protected waters and woke up this morning to bigger swells and unsteady footing. I am just getting used to the ship's movement and staggering around my cabin and down the passageways like I'm drunk.
When I first woke up I looked out my window and there riding the air above a swell was a Royal Albatross! Within a few minutes I saw a Cape or "Pintado" Petrel a beautiful mottled seabird.
I has taken a few hours and a little bit of queeziness but I think I have my "sea-legs" now.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Ushuaia - The End of the World
I arrived here in Ushuaia yesterday. The trip was long and exhausting with stops in Miami, Santiago, Chile, Buenos Aires, Argentina and finally, Fin Del Mundo - Ushuaia. About 32 hours total travelling time. I got about two hours sleep total that whole time. Anyway...
Ushuaia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, has about 10,000 (?) people. It is a working town with a port that handles fishermen, adventurous yacthspeople, cargo ships and small cruise ships destined for Antarctica.
I arrived hungry and tired so after checking in I found a restaurant that served pizza, so I ordered a Crudo Jamon (ham and cheese). What I got was unique among the pizzas I have ordered in my life, this one had a Fuegan flair.
Ushuaia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, has about 10,000 (?) people. It is a working town with a port that handles fishermen, adventurous yacthspeople, cargo ships and small cruise ships destined for Antarctica.
I arrived hungry and tired so after checking in I found a restaurant that served pizza, so I ordered a Crudo Jamon (ham and cheese). What I got was unique among the pizzas I have ordered in my life, this one had a Fuegan flair.
I walked around a little before heading back to my hotel where I slept off my trip with a 10 hour coma-like knock out.
This morning after eating breakfast in the Hotel Albatros I went for a walk around town. Where I spotted some cool birds (still trying to figure out the names) and looked in shop windows on the shopping street.
 |
| Made it! |
Monday, December 8, 2014
What does "Going to Antarctica" Mean?
I have been telling people that I am going to Antarctica for several months now and I get all kinds of reactions. The two most common are "Wow!" or Why?" I started to think about this and realized after further conversation that not everyone understands what "going to Antarctica" means in my particular case, so here is my explanation.
First off, I often have to clarify that this is the ice covered continent in the southern hemisphere not the ice covered ocean in the Northern hemisphere. They are both cold, and the North has Polar Bears (and Santa Claus' workshop - I guess it floats on multi-year pack ice) and the South has Penguins.
Beyond those basics I would like those reading this to get a better idea of what and where I am going. Antarctica is nearly twice as big as Australia and I will be on the trip for 15 days and traveling by ship, so I will see a very small part of it... very small. I am not going any further into the interior (towards the South Pole) than I can walk from our beach landings between breakfast and lunch. Antarctica is the windiest, driest, coldest continent and has the highest average altitude. Most of these attributes are characteristics of the interior. I will spend most of my time on the coast where it could still be windy and cold but low altitude and likely wet.
I also need to explain that only part of the trip will be Antarctica proper. I will be leaving from the port city of Ushuaia, Argentina on the island of Tierra Del Fuego on Le Boreal, a 466 foot luxury, expedition cruise ship heading north and east to the Falkland Islands for a short visit to see wildlife (mostly penguins and other seabirds) and the lifestyle of the local inhabitants who are mostly fishermen, farmers, ranchers and peat cutters.
From The Falklands we head south and further east to South Georgia Island. Along the way we cross an important line. Geographically speaking almost all of Antarctica is within the Antarctic Circle which is located 66*33'44" degrees south of the equator. Within this line there will be at least one day with no sunrise and at least one day of no sun set during a year. The closer to the pole, the more days of each. The line I am talking about is not the Antarctic Circle, it is the Antarctic Convergence. (see below)
The Antarctic Convergence is an ocean phenomenon where warmer waters from the temperate zone collide with the frigid waters surrounding Antarctica. This line is not fixed (it moves with the seasons) and it is not equidistant from the continent's shore. The significance of the line is that it dictates "Antarctic conditions". On the North side of the line the ocean temperature is about 42* F. On the South side it drops to 36* F. This difference creates ideal conditions for the growth and livelihood of krill which is the driving food source for many creatures of the Antarctic seas. South Georgia Island and its surrounding waters are found south of the Convergence. So even though South Georgia Island is not connected geologically to Antarctica, biologically, oceanographically and meteorologically it is Antarctic in character.
From South Georgia we turn back West and explore the Antarctic Peninsula and its associated islands (technically part of the Continent). If sea and ice conditions permit we will sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
The last part of the journey will be to cross the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.
First off, I often have to clarify that this is the ice covered continent in the southern hemisphere not the ice covered ocean in the Northern hemisphere. They are both cold, and the North has Polar Bears (and Santa Claus' workshop - I guess it floats on multi-year pack ice) and the South has Penguins.
Beyond those basics I would like those reading this to get a better idea of what and where I am going. Antarctica is nearly twice as big as Australia and I will be on the trip for 15 days and traveling by ship, so I will see a very small part of it... very small. I am not going any further into the interior (towards the South Pole) than I can walk from our beach landings between breakfast and lunch. Antarctica is the windiest, driest, coldest continent and has the highest average altitude. Most of these attributes are characteristics of the interior. I will spend most of my time on the coast where it could still be windy and cold but low altitude and likely wet.
I also need to explain that only part of the trip will be Antarctica proper. I will be leaving from the port city of Ushuaia, Argentina on the island of Tierra Del Fuego on Le Boreal, a 466 foot luxury, expedition cruise ship heading north and east to the Falkland Islands for a short visit to see wildlife (mostly penguins and other seabirds) and the lifestyle of the local inhabitants who are mostly fishermen, farmers, ranchers and peat cutters.
From The Falklands we head south and further east to South Georgia Island. Along the way we cross an important line. Geographically speaking almost all of Antarctica is within the Antarctic Circle which is located 66*33'44" degrees south of the equator. Within this line there will be at least one day with no sunrise and at least one day of no sun set during a year. The closer to the pole, the more days of each. The line I am talking about is not the Antarctic Circle, it is the Antarctic Convergence. (see below)
The Antarctic Convergence is an ocean phenomenon where warmer waters from the temperate zone collide with the frigid waters surrounding Antarctica. This line is not fixed (it moves with the seasons) and it is not equidistant from the continent's shore. The significance of the line is that it dictates "Antarctic conditions". On the North side of the line the ocean temperature is about 42* F. On the South side it drops to 36* F. This difference creates ideal conditions for the growth and livelihood of krill which is the driving food source for many creatures of the Antarctic seas. South Georgia Island and its surrounding waters are found south of the Convergence. So even though South Georgia Island is not connected geologically to Antarctica, biologically, oceanographically and meteorologically it is Antarctic in character.From South Georgia we turn back West and explore the Antarctic Peninsula and its associated islands (technically part of the Continent). If sea and ice conditions permit we will sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
The last part of the journey will be to cross the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.
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