Antarctica 2001
Friends of ours who have been avid travelers mentioned that they were looking for places to go and things to see that were new for them. I suggested Antarctica but they said they would prefer warmer climates. I told them that when we were in Antarctica in 2001 it was colder in Chicago than down there. They said they still thought that they'd prefer to see it through my photos. With that in mind I realized that we hadn't started this site at that time and when I looked at the photos I found that they were scanned negatives that had never been processed. Yes, the photos of Antarctica were on film with many bracketed to hopefully deal with the light problems. I have spent some time working on these photos and although I'm not done with all the work I thought I would post them as a work in progress. I hope you enjoy them.
The trip was a real adventure. We actually started from Santiago and flew on a charter flight to the Falklands. The airport is a British airforce facility and we were picked up by the Stanley City buses to be taken into the capital of Stanley. Within no time we understood why this was part of Great Britain. The hotel, the phone booths, the accents, and the food were as English as could be. The food certainly clinched it. The cold food was warm, the hot food was warm, and all of it rather tasteless. We assumed that the food on our ship would be only mediocre but it had to be better than this. The first couple of days were exploring the islands of the Falklands, their birds, penguins, and people. We visited a couple of farms and met the families that ran them as well as enjoy tea and pastries with them. Not only was it interesting but it was worthwhile to have an opportunity to have our first wet landings where there was no ice. The accommodations on the ship was what we expected, rather spartan although the public rooms were large, comfortable, and beautifully done. The most surprising thing however was the food. We were pleasantly surprised at the gourmet meals. We assumed that the fresh salads and other perishable foods were disappear after a few days but were constantly surprised in the chef's ability to maintain the high level of cuisine he was serving.
Sailing was smooth until we reached the Drake Passage. It was scary. The winds increased to Force 11, passengers were banished from the outer decks, and the ship went up and down, side to side like nothing we had ever experienced (or now 12 years later) . At the beginning of the passage we were surprised that almost everyone made it to dinner. What became clear was that very few people got sea sick since we were being slammed from side to side not the more rolling motion that you think of with sea-sickness. You had to constantly hold on to the railings when moving from place to place and even then people fell and a one passenger was slammed into his bathroom door with the door then closing on his arm and breaking it. It was, however, the only fracture encountered. This went on for 36 hours and then suddenly we were through the passage. You will see a picture of the calm setting we found when we entered Antarctica.
I am not going to attempt to describe the trip day by day since I didn't keep a diary. Hopefully the photos will tell the story. We have often been asked what's there to do and to see in Antarctica. I hope the album will answer the question. Without a doubt we saw a continuous display of magnificent scenery, sunsets, penguins of many species, seals, and to cap it off a couple of whales who stopped to play.