Stepping Off

Back in Ushuaia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 12:20:00 +0000

Back in Ushuaia and docking the ship. Laughing with JEN, Peter, Helen, Rob and Jeff. Such a fun group!!

Ushuaia Argentina at about 7pm January 2015

General Tom-Foolery

Charts, calm seas and a little teaching

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 12:15:00 +0000

The chart showing where we were as we left to head home, back across the Drake Passage.

Once back on the ship we were back to work teaching and connecting scientists and the kids. This was a lesson on echolocation with the students that Larry taught.

This is Helen chatting up the captain when she learned that he too was a kite boarder.

Whale watching in the bay

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 12:09:00 +0000

9:30 pm whale watching on the Antarctic Penninsula before heading home. Mother and calf slowly feeding and diving.

Zodiac return

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 12:06:00 +0000

Loading the zodiacs and heading back to the ship slowly. Such a warm and calm afternoon.

A day on the Antarctic Continent.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 12:03:00 +0000

Spending some time on the Antarctic Continent. The ship Le Boreal in the background and guests hiking up the hill behind me. A beautiful day.

If you look closely into he picture above, I think there is a small zodiac in it. We were far up the cliff at this point. Last time on the continent before heading back to Ushuaia.

Tidepooling in Antarctica

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:47:00 +0000

Tidepooling in Antarctica.

This is another science geek bonus in a trip full of awesome. I love looking at invertebrates that thrive in the intertidal zone. My art school thesis was based on understanding the intertidal zone on the coast of New England and some of my oldest memories with the sea are looking for critters in the tide pools in Southern California. The limpet above was covered with a encrusting algae of some kind. Usually these shells are striped and colorful, but this was completely covered with another organism.

Light constantly changes here.

Chunks of ice in between seaweed, rocks and limpets.

Bull kelp thriving in this region.

Gentoo Penguins

Large Tabular Ice Berg

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:35:00 +0000

It's difficult to communicate how large this ice berg is. The ice here is massive. This table berg was taller than the ship we were on. As you know that only about 1/3 is above water.

A perfect "photo-bomb" to my photo.

We passed this berg slowly and had a chance to watch whales and get a sense of how large it was.

Antarctic Peninsula

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:28:00 +0000

Antarctic Penninsula

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:21:00 +0000

Plankton Tow. I thought we would be able to do a plankton every day we were a harbor but it was much more difficult to find the time than expected.

Here, Jeff and I are fully "geeked out" about the amount of salps in the water and the fact that we caught several "sea butterflies" so easily.

Salp in his hand and a sea butterfly to the right. The water is VERY cold by the way. We also saw several large ctenophores that were displaying all of its colors.

We captured everyone's attention with what we caught. The deck hands even ran to get the pool net which proved to be a better device to catch these invertebrates.

Most passengers had never seen or heard of these creatures.

Another massive glacier. These are such humbling structures.

Helen with floating iceberg.

Dirty Chinstrap Penguins

Heading further down the Antarctica Peninsula.

St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:10:00 +0000

At work, with the team!

St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:04:00 +0000

Jen at work, looking powerful.

scouting out the surf and sights.

At first we thought this was a glacier carved basin but there were plenty of healthy kelp forests below. These grow well in 100-200 feet water which is shallow to be carved by a glacier.

All zodiac drivers waiting to pick up 10 passengers each to take on a zodiac tour around the bay.

Penguin colonies off in the distant. No place for us to land but a great look at the sheer cliffs from the boats.

Ernest Shackleton Explorer, Grytviken, South Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 03:20:00 +0000

Santa's Second Visit to Le Boreal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 03:15:00 +0000

More South Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 03:02:00 +0000

More South Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:45:00 +0000

Sleeping Elephant Seal

Fur Seal Pups bathing

Fur Seal

Fur seals are quiet nimble.

Fur Seal Pup - snoozing.

Gentoo Penguin

Elephant Seals - molting and resting.

Afternoon nap, King Penguin

Part 2 Salisbury Plain, South Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:31:00 +0000

Glaciers, Penguins and Fur Seals

Finally, South Georgia.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:27:00 +0000

King Penguin

Salisbury Plain, South Georgia

More King Penguins

Young Fur Seal (sea lion)

Christmas looks like a lot of things.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:15:00 +0000

Flash Events...... This is one of many times we needed to dress up, sing for everyone and sound good.

Amy.....you're hired...you can sing right?

Deck 2 - Eating like French Royalty. Only 7 plates to sit through.

With Helen and Jeff.

Young Explorer Seniors meeting with Richard Harker to talk about photography in preparation for the next contest.

Wildlife At Sea....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:02:00 +0000

Giant Petrel

Whales very close to the ship.

The incredible Larry Hobbs interpreting the landscape and explaining every detail about Marine Mammals.

One of our early encounters of whales on the trip. This is a humpback whale.

Back to Teaching at sea. En route to South Georgia Island.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:56:00 +0000

Helen - My amazing co-instructor!

Engaging kids through games, water color paintings, and academic lessons.

At sea you see Wandering Albatross, lots of Petrels - such as a Giant Petrel, the Cape Petrel and more. We didn't get much time out side but this is a quick stop to go smell the sea air in between events.

Kids......eat more crisps!!

Young Explorers getting ready to speak in front of everyone at one of the first re-caps. Recap is a time to share what we saw during the day and to prep the passengers for the next day.

This map shows where we were on this day and that we would see Shag Rocks before we would see South Georgia. Shag Rocks is a very productive region and often has many whales feeding near them. A natural upwelling causes nutrients and krill to thrive in this area.

Stanley Harbor, Falkland Island.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:46:00 +0000

Stanley Harbor, Falkland Island

Fishing Vessels tied up at the dock.

Christ Church Cathedral and the neighbouring Whalebone Arch are two of Stanley's most iconic attractions, situated in the centre of Stanley on Ross Road.

Loading up and heading out. On to South Georgia Island.

Santa did make an appearance several times during this trip.

Squid Dissection in the Falkland Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:35:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a SQUID Dissection!

After tidepooling, the group had a chance to visit the research station and do a squid dissection.

Tide Pooling in the Falkland Islands.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:28:00 +0000

This is one of two tide-pooling opportunities I had while in or on the way to Antarctica. I loved seeing the variety of types of seaweed, both large and small.

Hunting through rocks to find limpets, sea anemones, sea urchins, fish, sea sponges and more was something I did when I was 8 or below. My high school marine science final took place in the tide pools in southern California. It was a treat to show this area to students.

The things we found ranged from really small to quite large. This is a tunicate.

The kids diligently searched for creatures while it was raining sideways and then vertically.

This is a holdfast of a piece of kelp washed ashore.

En Route to Stanley, Falkland Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:20:00 +0000

Leaving the Beagle Channel. Squint and imagine you are looking at our first penguins through binoculars.

We woke up and found this the next day. Amazing crossing to the Falkland Islands.

The teaching started quickly. Everyday, Helen and I ran programs for kids of various ages that discussed, wildlife, ecosystems, geology, art and more all specific to Antarctica. Very fun.

We received our yellow jackets and were very psyched! We are currently standing in the Elevator on Le Boreal. That fact took us a while to get used to.

First Le Boreal selfie. Heading to Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Heading out of Town.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:10:00 +0000

The view from the Le Boreal Balcony.

Loading supplies.

National Geographic Ship and the Bremen also loading up to depart.

Heading down the Beagle Channel with a very calm sunset.