PLA28-24, trip log, Antarctica - Discovery and learning voyage

Finally the day had arrived, and our expedition to Antarctica was about to begin! We found ourselves in Ushuaia, in the most southern part of Argentina, also called the end of the world. During our expedition, we would go even farther south.

We were not expected to embark Plancius until 16:00. That gave us time to recover from the long journey south and explore the town of Ushuaia. This small town offers a lot of coffee and cake cafes as well as many outdoor shops. Ushuaia makes for a cozy town and is ideal for buying last-minute items like hats, gloves, or another layer to keep warm.

At 16:00 it was time to make our way up the gangway of Plancius. We were greeted at the dock by members of the expedition team, and the hotel manager quickly checked us in. There was not a lot of time to relax, as at 17:15 a mandatory safety drill was scheduled, so our presence in the lounge was required. We were welcomed by expedition leader Eduardo, and the chief officer guided us through a safety video and drill procedure. Then we all sat in the lounge, wearing our bulky orange life vests. When we heard the abandon ship alarm, we made our way outside to the lifeboats where the second officer informed us further.

With the mandatory drill done, it was time to release the ropes, start the engines, and leave the port of Ushuaia behind. The captain came down to the lounge and greeted us with a glass of champagne, speaking some warm words of welcome. Eduardo then gave us more information about the program for the days ahead.

Soon it was time for dinner. The galley team had prepared a delicious buffet, and the dining room was buzzing with excitement. The members of the expedition team also joined for dinner, and this offered a first opportunity to get to know each other. After a long and intense day, it was time for a good rest.

Our first day on the Drake passage. The ship was rocking and rolling, and we had to slowly train our sea legs. We started the day with a delicious breakfast in the restaurant and many people were present, which is always a good start to the sea days. Shortly after breakfast, we were invited to the mandatory briefing about IAATO. This introduction to the overseeing organization that works out the rules and regulations of what we can and can’t do. All of this to ensure that Antarctica stays as pristine as possible during and after our presence. Some of the most important parts are not introducing new species and disturbing existing species both in flora and fauna.

During the briefing, some Hourglass Dolphins were spotted on our starboard, creating a small break which worked out well for everyone. After the mandatory briefing, we were ready to hand out the rubber Muck boots recommended for landings in Antarctica. A perfect way was to keep your feet dry on wet landings or deep snow. This was a smooth operation where boots were handed out quickly among everybody on the ship. The right sizes were not always easy to find but in the end it all worked out.

Due to tight bio security rules, we also organized a mandatory bio security this morning. During this time, we invited everybody by deck to join us in the Lounge to clean all our outer clothing and gear that we would take ashore in Antarctica. This is quite a long process as lots of people had just done small hikes around Ushuaia the days before which made this extra challenging. The people that had rented their gear were quite lucky and had a very fast turnaround.

In the afternoon we kept on going for the biosecurity for deck 3 and 4. During this time multiple sea birds were flying around the ship including the Southern Giant Petrel and the Black Browed Albatross. The weather had cleared up quite a bit as well so many people were enjoying the outer decks, especially on the bow of the ship. The afternoon carried on with Steffi and her lecture in which we were introduced to many species of Petrels, Shearwaters and Albatrosses. All birds from the family Procellariforms are called the tube-nosed birds. Specialized to survive for very long times in the open sea far away from any land.

Later that afternoon we had our first official Recap. This is where we also got the chance to introduce ourselves as the expedition team, a diverse team with many different backgrounds. Afterwards, Marco talked about the influence of wind patterns in Antarctica; Steffi about the history of the Drake Passage together with related information like the creation and what it means to the area. As last Koen explained as a last-minute crash course about the Antarctic Convergence. One of the ways we could confirm entering the Antarctic region that very night.

In the end, it was a day filled with new information and great preparation for our first landing in Antarctica. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be as compliant as today and our sea legs will be improved.

Our second wakeup call with another song from our expedition leader Eduardo. We were on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula. We continued sailing to the south within Antarctic waters, as we had crossed the Antarctic Convergence during the night.

After a good breakfast, we were invited to attend several presentations to introduce us to the activities to come. At 9.30am, we had our first presentation, which explained the procedures for kayaking. David explained how to equip ourselves and how to get to the kayak from the Zodiac, which would take us some distance from the boat. He even offered to practice getting into the kayak by simulating the operation between the floor and the sofas.

We started by seeing the first icebergs in the distance. The fauna was also different now. As well as the giant petrels, a magnificent sooty mantled albatross passed close to the boat. Three fin whales were also spotted to port. Their blows could be seen in the distance.

At the end of the morning, Koen and Marco explained how the camping activity would work. The plan was for us to spend the night on the ice, digging a small shelter to protect ourselves from the wind.

We continued our way to the south during the nice buffet and continued to feel the movement of the waves. After lunch, we met up in the lounge for a coffee and a chat about our first impressions of the start of our trip. We then watched the second episode of the Blue Planet video in the lounge. Then at 4pm, Koen gave us a presentation on the historic exploration of Antarctica.

At the end of the afternoon, Eduardo invited us to join him in the lounge for a recap of the day and a presentation of the day ahead. At the time of the presentation, we had already covered 1040 km and were now approaching the Peninsula. The plan was to pass close to the Melchior Archipelago at dawn the next morning. Eduardo gave us an overview of the weather: we were sailing at the edge of the low-pressure area; the wind should decrease in the next few hours, and we were hoping to be able to make our first trip ashore in good conditions.

Steffi then showed us how birds adapt to long flights and how albatrosses take advantage of the wind to fly without expending energy. Régis took over and gave us the first information on how to identify the birds we were gradually discovering in this environment. Some were easy to recognize because of their wingspan, while others required more practice and observation. Finally, Elke gives us information on the citizen science programs that have been set up and to which we can contribute at the end of our trip. For example, we could help track whales by the colour of their tails or help estimate the size of penguin colonies by counting individuals on photos taken in real time in the Antarctic.

At 7pm, we sat down for a good meal served on a plate. We finished the day in the lounge, excited at the prospect of touching the Antarctic tomorrow.

At last, the ship was lying more calmly in the water. A first glance out of the window this morning showed us that we were surrounded by a landscape thickly covered in ice. In the distance, a whale blew a fountain of water into the air. Immediately after breakfast, we set off on our first adventure on our Zodiacs, kayak or underwater in a dry suit. The light drizzle later turned to sleet and soaked us quite a bit. The cold and wet were a little annoying but were forgotten as soon as we could enjoy the glowing icebergs.

Ribbons of small pieces of ice stretched through the water. The sound of the clashing lumps of ice and the plopping as they melted transported us to another universe. A loud blow in the background brought us back to reality: two sleeping humpback whales were slowly travelling through the water. On closer inspection, the icy desert turned out to be quite lively. A Dominican gull was being chased by a skua, cormorants flew resolutely towards the mainland and Antarctic terns fished for krill in the water. Shortly before we finished our excursion, a few whales had awoken and were busy fishing for krill in the surface waters. It was an unforgettable spectacle that we were able to see up close.

After we had warmed up sufficiently with a good meal and had some time for a nap, we drove into Paradise Bay. A truly picturesque landscape: icebergs wherever you look and ice-covered mountains whichever way you turn. The captain manoeuvred us slowly and carefully between the pieces of bergy bits and ice bergs. At the very end of the bay lay a tiny snow-covered island: Stoney Point, the destination of our afternoon excursion. One by one we disembarked in the rubber dinghies.

On land, snowshoes and a pre-stacked path awaited us up the viewing hill. As kayakers, we were let off the boat a little later and had the ice-filled bay almost to ourselves. It was a fantastic experience to glide silently between icebergs and bergy bits of ice. In the distance, we saw our travelling companions clambering over the snow cap of Stony Point like ants. They, in turn, had chosen a couple of Weddel seals on land as another perfect photo opportunity.

Interestingly, all the seals had different coloured fur. A characteristic that could even make it possible to distinguish between individuals. A few gentoo penguins also attracted our attention; we had not yet been able to visit a larger colony, but it was certainly a first taste of what the coming days could bring.

During dinner, M/V Plancius slowly sailed out of Paradise Bay again, past white and blue shining ice, majestically illuminated scenery and numerous other feeding whales. What a first day in the Antarctic!

In the early hours of the morning, we were invited to drag ourselves out of bed and head for the outside decks or the observation lounge to enjoy a magical moment.

Plancius was about to embark on one of the legendary passages of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Lemaire Channel. It was indescribable to sail through this narrow passageway overlooked by majestic rock ramparts. This passage, sometimes blocked by too many icebergs, was now free. The steep mountains, all black and white, were reflected in a sea as smooth as a mirror.

After breakfast, our expedition team takes us on a tour of Petermann Island, a mecca for polar exploration. One kilometre long, this island is one of the places explored by Jean Baptiste Charcot during his second Antarctic expedition aboard the three-masted schooner "Pourquoi-Pas".

Before disembarking, the Zodiacs took us close to a tide mark whew the two letters "PP" engraved in the rock are visible at low tide. We were then welcomed ashore by Eduardo and his team. From the very first metres, wildlife was everywhere. The Argentinian shelter hut nearby was surrounded by penguins who had established their colony there, while an elephant seal slept peacefully on the foreshore between the rocks.

Several routes had been opened by our expedition team, and we could take them at our leisure to reach a colony of Adélie and Gentoo penguins, or a breathtaking viewpoint on a high point. Here and there, in the middle of the white expanses, penguins return from the sea with their stomachs full of food for their offspring. The chicks, already quite large and gradually shedding their thick down, look like scruffy teenagers.

We could observe them stretching, sleeping soundly or even pestering their parent for yet another meal. What a sight!

In the afternoon, our expedition team suggested us a zodiac cruise in Salpétriere Bay and Port Charcot located on the western side of Booth Island. This area is well renowned for the number and size of its icebergs. In fact, all around us stranded monsters of ice, each bigger than the next, competing in originality, shape and colour.

Smaller drifting ice floes would go almost unnoticed if they weren't used as platforms for a few sleeping seals. We could then observe Crabeater and Leopard seals that were not roused from their torpor by the noise of the zodiac engines. A

fter all these observations in this maze of ice, and as we made our way towards Plancius, a humpback whale came to the surface to breathe. On several occasions, we could see it swimming and then diving slowly, showing us its fluke. What a delight!

After the usual daily recap, in which Hélène told us more about Sea leopard and Marco shared his knowledge of icebergs, dinner was served. For some, the adventure didn't end there. A group of brave volunteers set off to camp under the stars.

Equipped with their camping kit (mattress, sleeping bag and duvet), they boarded the Zodiacs and left Plancius for a night in the snow, in splendid scenery and perfect weather conditions.

Camping

Location: Damoy Point, Dorian Bay

After the incredible afternoon, M/V Plancius was repositioned sailing North across the Lemaire channel and into the Neumayer to reach our overnight spot that had been chosen to spend the night. The beautiful and protected area adjacent to Dorian Bay, tucket in between Jabet Peak and Tombstone Hill.

The weather conditions were excellent, wind was absent, and the sky partially clouded, therefore an incredible night awaited us. After dinner we were shuttled ashore by our expedition team, whilst Koen and Marco had set up the camping site for the night.

The snow was crispy when we started digging our snow pits for the night and the cloudless sky anticipated a bright although cold night. After setting up our kit, the guides led us on a relaxing walk alongside the bay to watch the sunset near a small Gentoo rookery and a lonely resting Weddell seal.

The last sunlight rays cast fabulous hues of yellow and pink on Mount Franais and Mount Agamemnon, the highest peaks of Anvers Island, while M/V Plancius sailed through the Neumayer Channel and wished us good night.

For forty brave souls, the morning started quite early. Our campers enjoyed a night with fresh air and Antarctic scenery outside of the ship. The Expedition staff picked them up around 5:30 to give them some additional hours of sleep and all of us some travel time to the new place. They looked happy and enjoyed their adventure of a different kind.

Our morning activity was planned at Jougla Point. We went out in our beloved Zodiacs and explored a small rocky outcrop located in the Southwest of Wiencke island. The place was full of breeding Gentoo penguins and Antarctic Blue-eyed Shags. The chicks were a few weeks old and were just hilarious, laying on top of each other, chasing the parents or just standing around and watching us. The landscape was rocky and by that, dirty and full of penguin poo, well that is also something we also need to see on our trip to Antarctica.

The smell was intense but real, but this could not stop us. During the little loop that the team had set up, we also explored some whalebones from the old whaling times. The place was used for shelter against harsh conditions by whaling ships and to process captured whales. The bottom of the sea is still covered by many whale artefacts and many of these bones have been arranged on shore as well. For us a great opportunity to judge the size of some of the marine mammals that live in these areas. But honestly, we enjoy it much more to observe them alive.

For our lunchbreak the Bridge Team treated us well and while having another amazing and filling lunch, we cruised the Peltier channel, a tight channel between glacier covered mountains. A restaurant with a view, we would say.

But the earned calories needed to be burned, in the afternoon, we got the chance for a snowshoe hike around Damoy Point. Damoy offered us stunning scenery with surrounding mountains and glaciers. The sun came out and added the last bit of a happy vibe to this place. We walked up the little hill, enjoyed the various penguin colonies and explored the old Damoy Hut.

The hut was used by FIDS and later by the British Antarctic Survey, as a shelter for scientists and supplies that were meant to be brought further South mainly to Rothera station; the nearby glacier was used as a runaway for the planes to land on this remote corner of the Antarctic Peninsula. Many nights were spent here waiting for reasonably good weather. The day was just amazing and with more and more sun, it just got better and better.

After our return to the ship, a daily recap was scheduled, but the weather and the outside scenery was just too good to stay inside, so we cancelled the recap, or better we just interrupted it and hung around at the outer deck. This is a “once in a lifetime” moment.

Eduardo likes when a plan works, and I think the plan of the Hotel department worked as well: they scheduled an Antarctic BBQ for us outside. How incredible was this!

Captain decided to support and drove the ship to Börgen Bay with a speechless beautiful panorama. No wind, ice just everywhere also on the sea around us. It was almost surreal to listen to music, enjoy a BBQ and see this unique and untouched landscape. We were so grateful for the day, and some people danced through the night as if there would be no tomorrow.

We woke this morning under a contrasting grey and gloomy sky; nevertheless, we all got into Zodiacs, kayaks or dry suits. And the trip was well worth it! First we went to the shipwreck of the Guvernøren. The tragic end of a floating whaling processing plant, that caught fire on Christmas Eve 1915 due to a careless crew member.

The captain then sank the ship to save the cargo, whale oil for the whole season. The poor fellows then had to wait a whole 6 weeks on the ice-covered islets to be rescued by their sister ship. They didn't get bored, because they had to salvage barrel after barrel from inside the ship and bring them ashore.

However, we knew the warm Plancius was close by when we ventured between the offshore islands in snowfall and later out into the open sea. Every rocky outcrop was occupied by fur seals. South polar skuas also watched us from the beach line. A school of shags landed in the water not far away and stragglers kept arriving. It was a whole school outing on the open water. They probably wanted to show their offspring the colourful visitors that were noisily making their way through their waters.

Finally, we went on a whale safari. Numerous pairs of sleeping humpback whales floated on the mirror-smooth, grey surface. But soon life came into the water. One after the other, they picked up speed, arched their backs and showed their flukes. Soon they were all engaged in some form of krill fishing. Each zodiac got its very own group of whales. They dove down without haste, took a big gulp of krill water in their huge mouths and reappeared on the surface. A soul-stirring spectacle. Surely there was not one of us who did not realise the power of nature in their presence. The sounds of the whale blowing were still ringing in our ears that evening before we went to bed.

The snowflakes were no less intense in the afternoon. A flat island, just visible, was our next destination. Once ashore, we were greeted by numerous fur seals. Weddell seals rested in the snow in several places. The view of the bay behind the landing site was magnificent, although in black and white. Numerous small and large pieces of ice decorated the water and land, framed by a vertically dropping glacier walls.

A surprise awaited us after we had first climbed a small rounding hill and then descended again. A young emperor penguin was resting on the edge of the snowfield. He was completely unimpressed by the 5-6 fur seals sharing the ledge with him. The penguin had travelled far away from its colony so that it could turn up here. The nearest areas for emperor penguins are on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula in the Weddell Sea.

Another fantastic day on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula before wrapping up the operations and starting our way north across the Bransfield strait on our way to the South Shetland islands.

After a calm night across the Bransfield strait we woke up looking at the narrow passage known as "Neptune Bellows", which connects the external waters around the island with the interior part of the caldera. Soon the captain directed the bow of Plancius straight into the narrow gap and M/V Plancius sailed graciously through the Neptune Bellows into Port Foster. A small crowd had meanwhile gathered in the outer decks, awakened by Eduardo wake-up call, admiring in awe the impressive basaltic cliffs bursting with birdlife and beautiful reddish-to-orange lapilli-tuff layers which told us of the turmoiled history of this volcanic island.

Deception Island is one of the most active volcanoes of Antarctica and over the past century it had undergone several eruptions, the most recent ones happened in 1968-70. It is located on the Bransfield basin, where extension over the last 4 million years (of a rate of 10mm/year) has caused the opening of the Bransfield Strait, together with persistent volcanism in the area. The rifting is connected to trench-rollback which is related to the adjacent subduction zone. The volcanism is mainly below sea level but three of these volcanic centres make it above sea level: Deception Island, Penguin Island and Bridgeman Island. These islands form the youngest emerging land of the South Shetland archipelago.

Our landing for the morning was Telefon Bay, named after the whaling ship that used to be moored in this bay during the summer season. Located about 9km on the northeastern shore of Port Foster, we set foot on the ashy and rocky landscape of Deception island; a drastic change compared to the snowy terrain of the past days. A short hike led us to the ridge of a lateral moraine carved out by glacier erosion; from here we appreciated the dark layers of different eruptive events deposited on the ice over the past decades, and a very unique glacier feature, a dirt cone, a pyramidal cone of ice and snow that gets cover with insulated debris material ejected from the bottom or the side of a glacier.

The trail led us up on the rim of a small cinder cone, one of the many that dotted the inner part of Port Foster. From here we could enjoy a nice view of the whole caldera with the two research bases of Gabriel de Castilla and Deception looming on the horizon across the bay. Back at the shoreline the traditional Polar Plunge started right away. The participation was beyond expectation and even our brave staff joined the plunge after most of the participants had been shuttled back to the ship.

Brunch was served in the restaurant, whilst M/V Plancius was maneuvered out through the Bellows, passing the southeastern shore of Livingston Island and through the beautiful and treacherous Macfarlane strait dotted with impressive towers of basaltic columnar joints. Unfortunately, the weather was not co-operative this time with us, while transiting around the southeastern corner of Livingstone Island on our way to Edinburgh Rock, a thick fog fell upon us, decreasing visibility. The officers worked hard to keep the ship on a safe track, and despite trying to buy sometime the visibility didn't improve. However, the expedition team found a nice way to salute Antarctica with a warm chocolate and rhum party at the deck behind the bridge.

Rather than sailing out into the open ocean through the treacherous waters of the MacFarlane strait, captain decided to opt for the more secure Nelson passage, between Greenwich and Nelson island. Two long days awaited us across the infamous waters of the Drake Passage, however the weather forecast seemed to be on our side.

Overnight, we left the waters of the South Shetlands and shortly after dinner we could feel the rolling and pitching of the ship among the deeper waters of the southern tip of the Drake Passage. Although the weather overnight was still foggy, during the night we could still see some nice icebergs in the distance. The ship rolled a bit more during the night due to the typical swell of the Drake, running from West to East.

Sharp at 08:00 in the morning Eduardo woke us up with Pink Floyd’s “Keep Talking” song. Shortly after the doors of the dining room opened and everybody joined the room for breakfast. After the expedition team collected our boots, we attended an interesting lecture about ice and glaciers dynamics presented by Elke; followed by Michael showing us a few historical videos of Little America and Whaler’s Bay.

Lunch was offered shortly after noon and then it was time for a short nap. Meanwhile the visibility around the ship had improved and we could observe a few Black Browed Albatross and Wilson’s Storm Petrels gliding around Plancius, which at a good constant 11 knots had made good progress across the Drake.

The lecture marathon carried on with Steffi introducing us to the world of Cetaceans; those incredible marine mammals we had been so lucky to observed feeding around the Antarctic Peninsula. Lately at 18:00 we had our last daily recap. For this one, Ingrid our hotel manager had a few announcements to make, mostly to prepare our guests for disembarkation and about the methods to pay their bills. This was followed by Eduardo who presented the plans for our next day and the weather. We are being very lucky with the weather which seems to be cooperating, so far we have had a smooth Drake passage. The microphone then was passed to Steffi who presented a footage of the curious case of a penguin who devoted his life to crime stealing rocks from his neighbour. Finally Hélène gave a very energetic recap presenting the life of Belgica antarctica, one of the few midges that populates in great numbers the white continent.

Shortly after dinner was served, while in the meantime the wind outside had increased and so did the waves. A few people spent some time after dinner around the bar; the Drake was starting to take its toll on us, and a long rocky night was coming.

We awoke for our final day aboard Plancius to the rolling seas of the Southern Ocean. Three-meter swell and 25knotts of wind buffeted our port side, disturbing sleep for some, whilst rocking others into an even deeper slumber. Nevertheless, we arose to another day of lectures, food and wildlife aboard Plancius as we drew ever closer to Tierra del Fuego.

After another delicious breakfast from our galley team, Marco offered us his presentation about Patagonia with interesting historical insights and guiding us through some of the marvelous natural wonders of the land we were about to approach. Immediately after Michael lectured us with technical and historical aspects of the whaling era, fortunately long gone.

Then, after lunch our Expedition Leader, Eduardo guided us into the unknown world of the Theory of the Relativity of Albert Einstein and how the application of this last one led to the development of such navigational systems as GPS that we use in our daily lives.

Meanwhile, M/V Plancius had reached the calm and protected waters of the Beagle channel which showed us all its rich wildlife: rock and imperial shags flew around the stern of the ship, whilst black-browned albatrosses and Southern Giant Petrels were gliding alongside.

A Sei Whale was spotted on the horizon and duly announced and as quick we were out a small pod of playful Dusky Dolphins were escorting us into the eastern section of the Beagle channel right in between the Chilean islands of Nueva and Picton and the southeastern shore of Tierra del Fuego. The dolphins seemed happy with the wakes created by the ship and kept swimming alongside on port and starboard for half an hour.

Eventually it was time for Captain Ernesto farewell cocktail. We gathered for a final time in the lounge and after a rousing speech, the captain offered a toast to this incredible voyage and Eduardo thanked the team and crew for their efforts. The festivities finished with a beautiful slideshow – a fitting memory of a truly amazing Antarctic basecamp.

Dinner was served shortly after, whilst we picked up the pilot and continued our navigation towards the port of Ushuaia which we reached in the late evening.

With our bags packed and left outside our doors for the staff to collect, we enjoyed our final hearty breakfast from the galley crew. Following breakfast, we disembarked and said goodbye to Eduardo and all the team. Whilst many of us leave with some sadness, we are grateful to be back on solid ground and with our hearts full of fond memories and unforgettable experiences from our exploration Antarctica Peninsula.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and support, but most of all for joining us on this adventurous Antarctica Basecamp voyage. We hope to see you again in the future, wherever that might be!