Sarahara

Antarctic updates

2008-12-06T15:49:00.001-08:00

for those who check in reguarly.

I am slowly updating the Antarctic trip but the posts will be below day 1. Normally the lastest post is at the top but with this trip i wanted to put it in day order so if you scrole down you will get to the latest entry, day 9.

x

Antarctic - Day 1 - Decisions decisions

2008-11-25T11:25:00.008-08:00

I had a flight booked from Buenos Aires to Ushaia. I was planning to spend a few days in Ushuaia and then head up into deepest darkest Patagonia for some serious yomping.

I had booked into the hostel, unpacked and was wondering around when i came across an agency for Antarctic tours. The books say that the boats don´t sail until the end of November, love the lonely planet, so i wasn´t planning on looking for a last mintue deal. Out of curiosity i poped in and there was a boat leaving that day.

It looked amazing, Falklands, South Georgia, South Shetlands and the Antarctic Peninsula. With the ship leaving in 4 hours i thought it would be a bargain price and i had it in my head that i was going. When Daniella told me the price i sat with my head in my hands, it was cosiderabley less than the full price but it was still expensive. I left to think about it and called Jen, a friend from the Navy days who had done two trips there on HMS Endurance. Unable to get hold of Jen i call her husband Paul who said ' go, i know what she will say, you have to go' . So with that advice i went back in and booked.

Two hours later and i was on the ship. MV Polar Star http://www.polarstarexpeditions.com/.

I decided to do a day by day account of the trip, i hope you don´t get bored. I wrote a diary, which i will share with you, then i will post some photos and then i will post the ships log. The log was written by Joel Turner, one of the staff memebers, it was really good and a great account of the trip.

This really was the most amazing thing i have done in my life so far and i hope you enjoy me sharing it with you.

The Polar Star

My Diary

I am running round like a headless chicken trying to get a few minute bits and bobs but finally i am checking in.

It was brilliant from the begining. Welcomed, bags taken and shown to my cabin.

I have my own room, sort off, the ships Doctor has all her things in here and pops in and out but i am sure i can live with that.

To start us off we had our welcome briefing and safety brief, we set sail at 6pm, had a life boat drill and then settled down t a 5 course dinner, which was far from the cheap food i have been eating. All the single people ended up together. They all have interesting stories including Jill, all her luggage had been lost in Madrid and had to run around Ushuaia buying enough clothing to get here through the next three weeks. She had just retired as a nurse and this was her gift to herself, a very stressful start but all she did was smile and laugh about it. Everyone was quick to offer her items, which was an early sign of what lovely people we were travelling with. As a backpaker all i had to offer was moisturiser, much needed.

After dinner we went out on to the deck to take in the view. Passed Puerto William, which is the most southern city in the South. We were looking for penguins, but non found. This is day 1 of an amazing 19 days, BRILLIANT!!

Great view of the Ship with the mountains in the backround, oh and the rainbow.

MV Polar Star

Loading the luggage

We have lift off. Bringing in the ropes

kelp and dolphin gulls -As the ship moves off it stirs up the bottom. These birds are collecting muscles, dropping them from a height on the jetty, to break the shells, and eating the flesh

Safety drill. All outside with life jackets waiting for a role call

The Beagle Channel

All ships have to be guided out by a qualified Pilot, this was his ride home attached to the back of the ship.

LOG OF MV POLAR STAR
The Great Antarctic Expedition
4TH – 22ND NOVEMBER 2008

Written by Joel Turner
Edited: John Harrison
Species List: Ursula Tscherter

MV Polar Star
The Great Antarctic Expedition
Captain Jacek Majer
Chief Engineer Kedziora Waclaw
Chief Officer Jozef Wojcik
Second Officer Joseph Banate
Third Officer Jerry Malapad
Hotel Manager Natasha Hanson
Head Chef Brian Hanson
Doctor Judy Forbes

Expedition Leader Ian Shaw
Expedition Staff

Chris Bateman
John Harrison
Gary Kochert
Joyce Kochert
John Sparks
Megan Tierney
Ursula Tscherter
Joel Turner

Tuesday, 4th November - Leaving Ushuaia
Time: 12:00
Latitude: 54° 48.6' S
Longitude: 68°17.9' W
Wind: Variable
Sea Conditions: Smooth (wave height 0.10 – 0.50m)
Pressure: 994 m
Temperature: 6ºC

Ushuaia, somewhat infamous for its changeable weather, held true to that reputation today. Someof us approached the Polar Star leisurely as she lay in dock bathed in bright sunshine, others being forced to hurry aboard amid flurries of snow and cutting winds only minutes later. One thing was for certain however; an air of excitement and anticipation surrounded our ship as her Captain and crew made final preparations for a 19 day expedition that would cover over
3000 nautical miles across some of the worlds’ most unpredictable seas.

Once everyone was aboard and luggage had been distributed to cabins, Ian, our Expedition Leader met us in the observation lounge for an initial briefing. He introduced us to Captain Jacek who welcomed us aboard and led a toast to the voyage. The Expedition Staff then introduced
themselves and gave brief indications of their specialist interests and experience. The First Officer Jozef followed with a safety briefing, highlighting a few important rules which would help ensure a safe trip for all. All briefings concluded in time for us to watch the ship leave the dock just after 18:00, churning up the water as she manoeuvred which created a banquet of small crabs for opportunist seabirds including kelp and dolphin gulls. At 18:30 we had the mandatory lifeboat drill which brought us out onto deck in bright orange life jackets, mustering under the lifeboats as would be expected in an emergency. It was then time to find the dining room and enjoy our first meal onboard.

The last hours of the day were spent navigating the Beagle Channel; so named after the ship which circumnavigated the world between 1831 and 1836 with a certain young man on board, learning his trade and leaving his indelible mark in history: Charles Darwin. The Ushuaia port authority supplied a pilot and boat to navigate us safely through the channel whilst the expedition staff helped to spot wildlife from the bridge, Magellanic penguins and king shags were seen. John Harrison pointed out the southernmost town in the world; Puerto Williams. Originally a naval base founded in 1952, the settlement now has a population of 2000 people including two of the last fluent speakers of the language spoken by the Yámana Canoe Indians. This tribal group was encountered by Darwin during his time in the Beagle Channel. John went on to explain how Gable Island opposite Puerto Williams was central to the creation myth of the Selk’nam Indians. They believe that this small island floated above a huge flood that covered the Earth and as a result all life derives from survivors that took refuge there.

USHUAIA
Ushuaia lies at the extreme tip of South America, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire. Its name is derived from a Yaghan word (the language of the nomadic Yámana Canoe Indians) meaning “inner harbour to the westward.”. In 1906 the Argentine state founded a penal institution in Ushuaia largely for hardened criminals. The prisoners were responsible for most of the pre-1940 construction of the town. The prison ceased operation and was incorporated into the Naval Base in 1940. Ushuaia now has a population of about 60,000 permanent residents. They are descendants of English missionaries who stayed on as farmers, of Yugoslavians and
Romanian miners, of sailors from Spain and Italy, who signed off or jumped ship here, of Chileans who came looking for work, of a few Germans, and just a handful of people bearing some blood from the veins of the native Indian population. This is the southernmost city in the world, and it boasts graceful frame houses, selfmade cabins and modern concrete buildings; but they all have the same roofs. There are no tiles here, only metal sheeting that is bolted down. The slopes are now being developed with smart hotels and ski facilities.

A spectacular chain of mountains, the Cerro Martial, rises behind the town, to the north. The ruined forest behind the town was caused by a terrible fire in 1918. The fire began to the west of town and raged eastward, so out of control that the townspeople thought they might have to take to the sea in boats. Doused by a torrential rain, the fire, which had lasted three months, was so intense that even the tiny trees were destroyed and the ground left open to erosion.

The Captain issued a warning that we would likely hit heavy swells as we left the shelter of the
channel and suggested that all possessions should be stowed to limit damage. Doctor Judy spent
time visiting each table at dinner, explaining the different types of anti sea sickness medication she had onboard and offering advice to those who were concerned about the crossing. Those of us who were still awake at 23:00 noticed the point at which the Polar Star entered open water as she began to roll. Even though we were in strong winds, the ship’s movements were lessened as we had a following sea thus were not forced to battle the swells.

Day 2 - At Sea, Atlantic Ocean, heading for the Falklands

2008-11-25T11:25:00.007-08:00

Day 2

I woke up this morning at 5.20 and knew it would be beautiful outside so put my coat on over my pyjamas and went out on deck. There were lots of birds flying around, Albatross, Petrels, Cape Pidgeons. It was peaceful watching them glide around me.

Breakfast was a buffet, to much food but i managed to indulge in some of the things i hadn´t seen for a while, Sausages!

Someone is sick with Nobo Virus so everyone is on cleaning stations, if it gets out the whole ship could go down with it.

Three great lectures today, i learnt so much. Natural History and Geology of the Falklands, Introduction to bird life on the Falklands and Digital photography. Despite some of the obvious points in this lecture i still have lots of headless birds.

We are making good time and should get to the Falklands at 1am. When we wake up we will go on land, i can´t wait.

Not to much happened today but it was fun to people watch. The boat is definatley starting to divide. With 94 people you will never meet everyone but there is a younger crowd, which i am pleased about.

The food is excellent. Ended the night in the bar with Ursula, Joel, Chris and John. The staff are all great. Ursula is a whale expert and i can´t wait to hear her lecture. She told me that it may be to early for whale spotting but i am praying that we can just see one.

This trip is amazing, i don´t know how i will sleep tonight but with a few long days ahead i hope it is soon.

Grey-Headed Imm.

Royal Albatross, these birds are so graceful. They were only with us in the early stages, as we head further south we will pick up a a few more types of Albatross.

Pintado, these birds were with us for most of the trip. They spend most of their lives at sea, returning to land to breed. They use the boat for lift as the glide effortlessly

Sunset over the Atlantic, heading for the Falklands

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Wednesday, 5th November – At Sea, Atlantic Ocean, heading for the Falklands

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 53° 31.4' S

Longitude: 63°25.4' W

Wind: Force 4 West South West

Sea Conditions: Very Rough (wave height 4 – 6m)

Pressure: 1000 mbTemperature: 6ºC

The ship woke to a fresh, sunny morning: perfect conditions to observe the variety of sea birds that soared around us. The keen spotters among us were treated to fantastic views of black browed albatross, grey headed albatross, giant petrels, and cape petrels (pintados).

Today would be spent entirely at sea with a following wind that pressed us ever closer to our destination, the Falkland Islands. Our first breakfast at sea was slightly challenging due to the irregular rolling of the ship,the rule "one hand for the vessel and one for yourself" was in the back of our minds as we jostled past each other around the buffet; a source of great amusement at times.

Gary Kochert began the expedition’s lecture schedule with From Africa Upside Down, afascinating talk which highlighted the importance of continental drift in the formation of the Falkland Islands we know today. We learnt that the islands were once sandwiched between Africaand East Antarctica within the super continent of Pangea before its break-up; geology and fossil records confirm this theory. His explanation of the natural history and geology of the area left us excited for tomorrow’s landings. After a short break to stretch the legs on deck, John Sparks followed with his lecture A Southern Eden. This photographic introduction to the birdlife of the Falkland Islands gave us pointers in identifying the wildlife we would see as well as explanations of some unique behavioural traits of the different species.

After lunch we convened in the observation lounge for an expedition overview with Ian which explained the IAATO guidelines that are so important in protecting Antarctica from the negative impacts of tourism. We also attended the mandatory Zodiac briefing as our first trip out in the boats would be tomorrow morning. In order to get fully prepared for our first landing we donned extra pairs of socks and selected a pair of rubber boots for the expedition. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in our cabins, the observation lounge or out on deck. After dinner, John Sparks and Gary gave a presentation that aimed to help us get the most out of our cameras during the trip. Questions were answered and camera features were explained, a very useful session to get us readyfor taking some wonderful photos.

Day 3 - New Island and West Point Island, West Falklands

2008-11-25T11:25:00.005-08:00

We arrived at the Falkland Islands at about 1am si everyone managed to get some sleep as we were at anchor.

New Island is a national park owned by two families. We walked up to the cliffs to see hundred of breeding birds. Black browed Albatross, Rockhopper penguins and Blue-eyes shags, many of them sitting on eggs. Wathing the birds behavious was facinating. It was also nice to get off the ship and have a walk and some fresh air.

Back to the ship for lunch whilst we travelled 3 hours south to West point. Here we had a long hike to see more nesting birds. I was amazed how unphased they were by us, we had to be at least 5 meters away but there was 94 of us in red jackets. I got a gret photo of an Albatross turning her egg. I was concentrating so much on the egg that most of the shots are without a head!

On the way back the Napiers, who own the land, layed on a massive afternoon tea. China cups, English tea and coffee and walnut cake, plus much much more.

On the way back to the ship there were some commerson dolphins in the harbour, playing around in the bow of the zodiacs.

Back on board and we are heading for Stanley. The weather has been forecast as galeforce storms straight on the nose so it could be a rough night.

After the briefing we watched the Blue Planet, it made me feel very excited about the days ahead, Very soon we will be seeing this for ourselves..

Megan, the ships biologist, tangled up in the giant sea kelp

The island, the small white building is a school, there are only two children on the role call.

A ship wreck in the bay of New Island. The weather can get really bad here. There were a few yachts moored in the harbour with a line on both sides attaching them to the mainland.

Here is the cliff face where it all happens. You have the clumbsy Albatross crash landing on the penguins, who are not afraid to show their annoyance.

This area at New Island is unique. There are many birds that share this breeding site, which is uncommon in most other areas. Here you have a Blue eye-shags and a Rockhopper penguins finghting of nest making material

Rockhopper penguin

A little over exposed but i like it. The wing span on these magnificent birds can be up to 10ft

Blackbrowed Albatross, these bird pair up for life but enjoy renewing their vows annually with a few dance moves and a lots of noise. If a breeding pair fail to have a chick then they will leave to find another partner.

The Albatross travels great distances to find food. They feed and forage for up to 300 miles. Once the babies are ready to leave the nest they head towards South Africa for a few years, to feed, and will return by about 5 years to breed.

Caracaras, known locally as Johnny Rooks

Your carriage awaits

Pulling up on the Zodiac

Sara at West Point, Falklands.

A turkey Vulture

Kelp Geese, pair up for life. The female is dark for camouflage and the male is white to attract the females.

I love this picture. I always thought the beak was just the beak but look at the bird on the left. The beak goes right back past the eye. These birds have massive mouths for swallowing squid and decent sized fish.

A glimpse of this Black browed albatross´egg.

This young landy had three eggs to sit on. She was struggling to keep them all tucked in, it was never going to happen. The skuas will move in soon.

Rockhopper penguin, up close and personal.

New friendships forming. Jules, Chris, Celia and Sara about to go for afternoon tea.

Affternoon tea at the Napiers´ They started making tea for the visiting ships years ago and it became a tradition. Again, things that i haven´t had for a long time so i made the most of it.

On the way back to the boat there was a pod of Commerson dolpins playing with the Zodiacs

Anchors up up and away, Next stop Stanely

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Thursday 6th November - New Island and West Point Island, West Falklands

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 51° 44.0' S

Longitude: 61°16.8' W

Wind: Force 3 North East

Sea Conditions: Smooth (wave height 0.10 – 0.50m)

Pressure: 1010 mb

Temperature: 10ºC

The Polar Star anchored in Ship Harbour, New Island at 01:00 this morning which gave us all a welcome break from the roll of the ship that had been with us since leaving the Beagle Channel.We woke refreshed and bright sunshine gave beautiful early morning views of New Island, the most remote of all the Falkland Islands. They were so named after Viscount Falkland of the Admiralty by the first man to land on the islands, John Strong; Captain of the 38-gun privateer Welfare. Historically a refuge and winter home for North American whaling ships, the island is now managed as an important nature reserve by Falklands Conservation. Composed largely of 600 million year old quartz sandstone, New Island has an interesting geological cross-section. Due totilting of the strata over time, the eastern shores can be seen as sandy bays and natural harbours whereas the island rises dramatically to towering cliffs at the western extent.

After breakfast Ian ordered five Zodiac boats to be lowered onto the calm water and a scout boatwas sent to prepare the landing. When all was ready we took our first trip down the gangway and into the rubber boats that would be our water taxis for the duration of the expedition. The Zodiac ride took us into a cove where the former mines weeper Protector lay; a remnant of difficult times,and finally dropped us at a small jetty. Kelp geese were feeding along the shore, the white males contrasting strongly with the darker females and some of us were lucky enough to see the wild rabbits that inhabit this area. At the head of the beach was a small museum room whose most macabre exhibit was a large iron pot, recovered from the penguin colony, which was likely used to render down the birds for oil.This ‘industry’ was soon howled out of existence by the general public, for its cruelty. A short hike led by John Sparks took us to a recess in the cliff on the opposite coast which is exploited by colonies of intermingled seabirds. Black-browed albatrosses, rockhopper penguins and blue-eyed shags all share the steep cliffs. Our presence seemed not to affect the birds at all; there are no natural land predators since the Falkland Island fox was exterminated in the nineteenth century so they need not fear attack. The weather was so beautiful and the colonies so fascinating that calls for the last Zodiac were met with disappointment from many. We walked back across the island and made our way back to the shipfor a spot of well earned lunch. While we ate the ship’s anchor was hauled and we began to motoraway from the bay.

Three hours later the Captain informed Ian that we had reached our next destination, West Point Island, in the North West corner of the Falklands group and soon Zodiacs were back in the water. A short ride brought us into a sheltered bay with a small jetty. The owners of the islands and our hosts for the afternoon, Roddy and Lily Napier, once farmed sheep on the hills here but now are involved in offering visitors a unique Falklands experience. A long hike, or a lift in a vintage Land Rover, took us across the top of the island where we saw upland geese closely watching over their light grey chicks, all less than 2 weeks of age. The track took us to the Devil’s Nose, a narrow headland of limestone which is home to another bird colony, predominately black-browed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins. From the shelter of the tussac grass, we were able to observe the birds at close quarters without stressing them. The two are very tolerant of each other, except when a crash-landing albatross falls into a rockhopper’s nest-space; they are certainly not afraid to stand up and defend it.

On our return from the colony, there was a beautiful cup of English tea with home baked cakes waiting for us at the Napiers’ bungalow; snug in the shelter of the leaning cypresses (Cupressusmacrocarpus), introduced trees which survive in conditions so tough that there are no native tree species. Several striated caracaras (known locally as Johnny Rooks) hopped around us as we neared the house, waiting for the chance to take off with a glove or hat from an unsuspecting passer by. After we had had our fill, we thanked our hosts and hopped back into Zodiacs bound forthe ship. The trip back was extraordinary as we were treated to a small group of Commerson’s dolphins riding in our wake and surfing alongside the boats. The Zodiac drivers spent a little time driving around the bay to give an opportunity to see these graceful creatures in the water. These particular dolphins are well known for their interaction with boats, and their constant seeking outof our Zodiacs proved that they were enjoying playing with us.

During recap and briefing, which had been moved to after diner thanks to our late return to the ship, Chris showed us some videos that he had taken during our dolphin encounter and gave some additional information on them. John Sparks gave a short talk about the albatrosses that we had been privileged to see throughout the day, complimented by his own fantastic photos. The session was brought to a close by John Harrison and his history of the SS Great Britain, the Falkland’s most famous wreck. When built, it was the largest and most innovative ship in the world. After along career it acted as a store for the Falkland Island Company before being towed back to the dock where it was built in Bristol in 1970.

After a long day many of us returned to our cabins for an early night, others chose to end the evening by watching the BBC Blue Planet film ‘The Seasonal Seas’ which focuses on the diversity of life found in the rich cold waters of the world. Those who did pop their head round the door of the Polar Bar would have found it empty from 22:00 onwards, a sure sign of a tiring day.

Day 4- Stanley

2008-11-25T11:25:00.003-08:00

Day 4

Last night was rough, Luckily i was rocking from head to toe, if was was left to right i would have been on the floor as sick as a dog.

Boarded the Zodoacs and headed into Stanely for what we thought was a history tour. It was dissapointing, it was more of a local tour. I certainly learnt alot about the guide, including her fastest time skinning a cow, how much the house has increased in value and de sons vital credentials. We finnished at the museum, which was very interesting. There are lots of ship wrecks. It was a snug, secluded harbour - perfect for sailing vessels to anchor.

We had a pub lunch and a few pints of cider and then wandered around the town buying souvenirs

Back to the ship for happy hour, dinner and a movie - In the freezer, David Attenborogh. Finnished up in the bar, i am really enjoying meeting all these new people, it is facinating. Eveyone has a story on why they are here. Sadly many of them planned to be here with a loved one, in many cases they had passed away with cancer so there were many people here on there own. I was happy to share this experience with them all.

I also realised today that my life has gone full cirle. I don´t have regrets in life but if i was to have one it would be about 10 years ago. I was working with the Navy but not in the branch that i applied for. I was waiting for a place with the hydrogrophers, it was a small branch so i was waiting for someone to reitire or die. I had been on HMS Endurance, the Antarctic survey ship, this is one of the many homes to the hydrogrophers and my aim was to get back down to the ice. I got tired of waiting and resigned for another job. Two days later they offered me a place and it was an extremely tough decision. I chose to leave. 10 Years later i am here, not to chip and paint, grease and scrub, but to enjoy and be shown the wonders of the Antarctic with a field of experts. This trip has had my brain running wild. Having the experience i always longed for has now opened up my sights to new beginings.

Heading for South Georgia, 2 days of rough sea.

One of the many ship wrecks. Kelp Geese out for a strole with the family.

The mines are sucked further down by the peat, they are going to be virtually impossible to clear so this land will remain a no go area.

Which way is home and how far is it......

It was a few days before remeberance Sunday and there were poppys everyewhere. I purchased mine and wore it with pride as we walked around this very historical island

Here is the mast, i will be keen to see the rest of the ship when i return.

This is a locals garden. He finds whale bones and puts them back together. Very big anti whaling message that i think we shouls all support.

Very interesting museum. There was a letter displayed from a young Argentinian soldier to a local lady. He was asking her for food and chocolate. It highlighted how badly these young men were treated.

Would be rude not to. Julie, Sara, Julie and Michael enjoying a nice pint of cider in a English pub with banger and mash. yum!

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Friday 7th November - Stanley

Time: 12:00

Longitude: 57°51.1' W

Wind: Force 6 North West

Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)

Pressure: 1004 mb

Temperature: 10ºC

We arrived at anchor at 08:00 off the Stanley shoreline, the skies were blue and it was clear that we would have good weather for our landing. This said, the expedition team still advised us to wear foul weather clothes for the Zodiac crossing to the harbour as a strong breeze (6 on theBeaufort scale) was creating choppy sea conditions in the bay. The Zodiac drivers did their best to avoid soaking us all on the approach but several rogue waves did give us the opportunity to test the temperature of the water.

The city of Port Stanley was established in the 1840s and now has a population of 2,200 people. Ithas a distinctly English feel; the red phone box standing outside the visitors centre and the availability of quality tea are testaments to that historic link. Two excursions had been planned for the morning, one was a three hour nature trip which was predominantly on foot and the other, a coach based guided tour of the highlights of Stanley. We had signed up to our chosen trips at the briefing yesterday and jumped on the appropriate transport when it arrived at 10am. While the trips were running,the Zodiac Drivers were busy ferrying fresh supplies from shore to the ship. The sea conditions had taken a turn for the worse and those who retuned to the Polar Star for lunch were treated to some exciting moments at the gangway thanks to gale force winds whipping across the harbour, great practise for the swells of South Georgia. The ship also loaded supplies bound for Port Lockroy on the Antarctic Peninsula which we will transport down there and deliver during our landing at the British base. Many of us chose to eat our lunch in Stanley at one of the many restaurants and pubs; with a last Zodiac time of 16:00 we had time enough to explore the city. The Expedition Staff had recommended several places of interest: the southern most Anglican Cathedral in the world with its blue whale jaw bonearch marking the entrance to the churchyard, the small yet fascinating Stanley museum, full of memorabilia about the maritime, farming and military history of the islands, and the Post Office and Philatelic bureau. It was also recommended to spare a little time to walk along the waterfront to see the historic wrecks, especially the SS Great Britain’s mizzen (back) mast left behind whilethe rest of the ship was towed back to England.

Back onboard, Happy Hour got underway at 17:30 which led into recap and briefing where questions that had arisen during the day were answered. After dinner, Episode 1 of the BBC series Life in the Freezer was shown in the observation lounge.

Day 5 - South Atlantic sailing to South Georgia

2008-11-25T11:25:00.001-08:00

Day 5

Brilliant start to the day. I got up early and went out on deck. We saw two hourglass dolphins were playing in the bow. Also asw wandering albatross and antarctic pewter.

Megan gave a lecture on seals, it was very intersting and we learnt alot about how they track the seals for research. They can map where they travel and the results were amazing, they go pretty far.

Gary gave a talk on Shackleton which was brilliant. He was an amazing man and i would loved to have been part og his team, i will have to be content with reading the book, South.

During the lectures they just kept bringing out food. Chocolate brownies, cookies, it is all getting to much. There is a gym on board but we are on day 5 and i am yet to find it but there is still time!! Played scrabble with Chris but she is sick, the sea is rough but i am feeling fine, i am not convinced about the sickness though as i was way ahead!

Rudi is a Swiss guide, hosting 20 Swiss Germans on the trip. They were due to on a Russian vessel but they had engine faliure and were able to transfer onto the Pola Star. He has made many documentaries and we watched one today on the albatross. After that it was life in the freezer part 2, Retreating Ice, again very very good.

Back to the bar, we are definately regulars. Played cards with Joel and Julie. There are definate groups forming now, mine will always be in the bar between 2100hrs and beyond. Really enjoying the expedition, only day 5 and it is the nest trip of my life.

Up early and here is the benefit, a beautiful sunrise over the South Atlantic

Hourglass dolphins. They stayed with the boat for a little while. Jill an i were hanging off the bow to see them.

Rough seas. There were a few empty seats at meal times that day.

A perfect end to the day, sunset.

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Saturday 8th November - At Sea, South Atlantic sailing to South Georgia
Time: 12:00
Latitude: 532° 20.8' S
Longitude: 51°49.5' W
Wind: Force 6 North
Sea Conditions: Very Rough (wave height 4 – 6m)
Pressure: 998 mb
Temperature: 7ºC

Our day at sea began with the customary wakeup call from Ian. The sea conditions were very
rough with a near gale blowing in from the North. Those who were keen enough to be out on deck before 07:30 heard Christian Gabathuler, one of our Swiss passengers, alerting people to a group of hourglass dolphins swimming alongside the ship. Breakfast was a leisurely affair after which Gary presented his lecture Rivers of Ice, which explained the unique properties of ice, the
formation and movement of glaciers and ice sheets and the physical features and deposits they
leave behind. After a short break Megan continued the mornings lecture programme with her talk, Seals and Seal Research which gave us key information on the species of seals we will be seeing in South Georgia and around the Antarctic Peninsula. The session finished with some engaging accounts of Megan’s first hand experience collecting data from seals; including the best way to anesthetise a 4 tonne elephant seal, and some examples of the knowledge that such research has developed.

After lunch John Harrison gave his first presentation of the voyage, Shackleton, a moving account of the 1917 transpolar expedition that resulted in the loss of the ship Endurance and Sir Ernest Shackleton’s heroic battle to save the lives of his men in the Antarctic wilderness. At 16:00 the German speakers amongst us were treated to a fascinating guest lecture, ‘Albatrosses – Masters of the Skies and Open Seas’ given by Rudi Abbuehi, the Polar News tour leader.

After a long day of learning, many of us took advantage of the ship’s Happy Hour and relaxed
together in the observation lounge. Throughout the afternoon the sea conditions had worsened and as recap and briefing got underway the roll of the ship was causing some problems for those
manoeuvring around the lounge. John Sparks performed his well rehearsed ‘rope trick’ to illustrate the wingspan of a fully grown Albatross, Gary gave us an interesting insight into the evolution of ‘the cruise ship’ and Megan explained why the fog we were seeing around the ship was closely linked to the Antarctic Convergence. The heightened roll of the ship guaranteed a lively dinner, we soon realised that it was wise to leave a hand close to our red wine while eating in these conditions. At 20:30, the observation lounge was once again transformed into a cinema to watch The Ice Retreats, another episode from the BBC series Life in the Freezer. The film follows the arrival of spring in Antarctica and the antics of various ocean travellers that return at this time to breed.

Day 6 - At sea, Southern Ocean sailing to South Georgia

2008-11-25T11:24:00.007-08:00

Day 6

Today is Remebrance Sunday i set my alarm for 11 and had a few moments of peace and quiet.

There are lots of sick people this morning, Doc Judy has been busy handing out sea sickness pills but there are less and less people at meal times so they must be really suffering.

It had been a rough night. i woke up at 4am and went to the bridge. I needed reasurance that we were not going to role this huge ship. Captain - are you sick, Sara - no i am scared, captain - roar of laughter, at this point i was no longer affraid. They assure me that the ship can role from 35 degrees to 35 degrees and we are currently roling from 20-25 so we still have room to be thrown around a little bit more.

At sea most of the day revolves around food, which has been excellent. Two lectures after lunch on Birds and Whaling, both excellent.

During dinner we get an announcement that we are about 15 minutes away from our first ice berg. The dinning room cleared as everyone went to get their cameras, wrap up warm and hit the decks. It was more beautiful than i had expected, i could see it in the distance and it is massive, i feel so excited. As it passed the moon lite the ice berg, it was incredible.

Back to the bar for a few hands of cards, a big day tomorrow so an early night.

In preparation for our landing on South Georgia everything had to be cleaned so we had a vaccum party. Ursula, the whale expert getting involved in the fun.

Wandering albatross

John Sparks, the bird man and ex BBC, showing us how big 10 foot really is. This is the wing span of an albatross. On the other end of the rope is Monique, an incredible lady who lost both her parents to cancer, her trip is in memory of them as they never made it.

We had a brief about the next few days on South Georgia. We have about 8 stops planned, where we will see some amazing wildlife up close.

Happy hour, my favorite hour, and my favorite bar man. Ruben and Ruel kept us relaxed with some very generously portioned G&Ts

Standing on the deck waiting for the first sight of the ice berg, in the distance we can start to see it. It is dark and you can´t really get the scale of it but it is big,

Getting close. As we pass it the moon is behind the berg.

And here it is in all its glory. Sadly this is not one of mine, i can only inspire to be this good.

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Sunday 9th November - At Sea, South Atlantic sailing to South Georgia

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 53° 11.4' S

Longitude: 44°30.6' W

Wind: Force 6 North West

Sea Conditions: Very Rough (wave height 4 – 6m)

Pressure: 1007 mb

Temperature: 7ºC

THE ANTARCTIC CONVERGENCE
The Antarctic Convergence is a narrow zone undulating between 50 and 60 degrees south running right round the continent, and well defined by water temperature readings. It is sometimes marked by a belt of fog or mist where warm, more saline currents coming south from the tropics meet cold, denser, less saline currents moving north from Antarctica. These conflicting currents clash, converge, and sink. The mixing waters provide a sympathetic environment for abundant plankton that nourishes huge numbers of sea birds and mammals. However few organisms cross this radical boundary, so it defines Antarctic physically and ecologically.

Those who had managed to sleep through the nocturnal movements of the ship woke to a bright,sunny day. Gale force winds, coupled with the heavy rolling of the ship made for an exciting time9on deck. Sea-birds continued to follow the ship, providing continuous interest, from the tinyswallow-like storm petrels to the stately royal and wandering albatrosses. It was clear that we were still in the region of the Antarctic Convergence thanks to the fog that continued to hang around theship.

After breakfast Ian gave a talk on the IAATO guidelines, explaining how and why we shouldmanage our behaviour to experience Antarctica fully while leaving it pristine for others to enjoy.New regulations on bio-security have been introduced at South Georgia and Ian took us throughtechniques for minimising the chances of accidentally transferring alien species between locations.Hoovers were left in the lounge and we all spent time vacuuming out our bags, coats, andwaterproof trousers. As the morning drew to a close, those who had been lucky enough to see agroup of pilot whales earlier in the day were sharing their encounter with others. A number of furseals had also been spotted around the ship at various points, along with a fleeting glimpse of more hourglass dolphins.

At 14:00 John Sparks gave his lecture Oceans of Birds which gave us an insight into why seabirdscome in so many different shapes and sizes. This was followed by John Harrison’s presentationHistory of Whaling; a captivating account of the Southern Ocean whaling industry. Ian began recapand briefing with some information about the plans for tomorrow, and was followed by JohnHarrison and his interesting look at the origins of Antarctic place names. Celia Ansdell (one of ourEnglish contingent) was then welcomed onto the stage to read a short poem, The Traveller’sPrayer, which brought some welcome humour to the proceedings. Gary Kochert ended the sessionwith a fascinating description of how our eyes see colours and went on to explain that some birdshave an increased capacity to see colour. He suggested that they may indeed be able to seedifferences between male and female where we cannot, therefore sexual dimorphisms may existthat are invisible to us.

As we were finishing off our main courses in the dining hall, the captain gave an announcementover the PA that we would soon be passing the first iceberg of the trip (53°40.3'S/41°58.9'W). Mostof us wrapped up warm and stood outside the bridge as we watched the magnificent, 30 metre tallcathedral of ice pass close to the ship in the dusk, a magical sight that created much excitement.The evening’s entertainment continued in the observation lounge with The Endurance, adocumentary describing Shakelton’s epic voyage across the Southern Ocean, narrated by LiamNeeson.

Day 7 - Elsehul, Right Whale Bay and Sailsbury Plain, South Georgia

2008-11-25T11:24:00.005-08:00

Day 7 - Monday 10th Nov

Diary
I was looking forward to today. We were due to make a landing and see our first king penguins. After two days at sea we were all really excited.

First stop was Elsehul but when we got there the swell was to much to put the Zodiacs in the water. As and alternative we went to Right Whale bay. We managed to get the Zodiacs in the water for a cruise but no landing. We saw king penguins, elephant seals, fur seals and lots of really cool birds. It was nice to see the colonies but we were just a little to far away, so not many photos.

After lunch we went to Sailsbury Plain, home to 600,000 breeding pairs of penguins. This is the second larges colony in South Georgia. Sadly it was to rough to land the Zodiacs on the beach so we had another cruise, and had a little sulk. This stop had really been built up so naturaly people were disapointed. There were lots of elephant seals, the beach masters on the beach making the next round of babies and the sneaky f**kers in the water waiting to get a bit on the side. Sneaky f**kers is the scientific term for the elephant seals with no harem of their own, they hang around the outskirts waiting for a sneaky quicky!

Sat next to Ursula at dinner, she is awesome. Very intersting, she runs a minke whale research programme in Canada. I have learnt a lot from the tonight and feel inspired.

We have to get up at 5.30 tomorrow morning so an early night.

The swell was to much to put the zodiacs in the water so we about turned.

Not before seeing this beautiful light mantled sooty. Another one of Johns amazing shots.

The water is still quite rough, so no landing, but here you can see the king penguins and lots of seals.

Large elephant seal with two fur seals fighting in the water

Fur seal chilling in the icey cold water.

Baby fur seal, not very old. When they are born they look like a bag of skin and bones and are quickly fattened up.

Gentoo Penguin

Elephant seal relaxing in a small pool.

Anchors up and off to the next spot. As we left we had some fur seals playing around in the bow.

The Zodiacs being unloaded for the cruise around Sailsbury plain.

Sailsbury Plain. Full of Elephant seals and King Penguins. It was a little frustrating not to be able to make the second landing. This was the second largest colony of penguins in South Georgia and it would have been really cool to have been amoungst it.

Antarctic terns, another one of Johns great pictures, he does have a camera the size of a tank as well as a good eye!

Grey headed Albatross.

One of mine, hurrah. A Snowy sheathbill. These birds eat up the pengiun poop. This one is getting ready to land.....

.......on the head of John Sparks. John worked for the BBC for many years. It really was a privelage to have such knowlege and experience on board.

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Monday 10th November - At Elsehul Bay, Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 54° 00.6' S

Longitude: 37° 40.7' W

Wind: Force 3 East

Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)

Pressure: 1007 mb

Temperature: 5ºC

Overnight, a one hour time change had robbed us all of sleep but the new day was never the less eagerly met. Some of the hardened birders, Andrew Colenutt among them, were out on deck before 05:30 and had already been rewarded for their tenacity. Sightings of macaroni, gentoo and king penguins in the water, grey headed, light mantled, royal and black browed albatrosses in the air and fur seals in abundance made for a fantastic early morning on deck. At 07:00 the Captain increased our speed by engaging the second engine in order to reach our destination in time for a Zodiac cruise. On our arrival at Elsehul Bay it was clear that lowering Zodiacs would not be an option. The swell at the gangway was far in excess of a safe operating level. The Captain took the ship into the bay and performed an incredibly tight turn to bring us back out into open water. The decision was then taken to motor towards Right Whale Bay in the hope that this would boast more favourable conditions. As soon as the ship dropped anchor, 9 Zodiacs were lowered into the water. From deck 3 we watched groups of king penguins as they swam past, porpoising, on their journeys to and from the shore while the boat driver sputtered around the ship waiting for the landing to commence. This entertainment kept us occupied while the crew changed the gangway to the starboard side of the vessel as conditions were better there. Once on the water the cruising was fantastic; we saw many fur seals fighting on the beach, heard the roar of the beachmasters(dominant bull elephant seals) as they guarded their harems of females and we caught our first glimpse of a king penguin colony spreading outup the hillside in the distance. When the boats were finally called back to the ship lunch was ready and waiting for us in the dining hall.

By 16:00 the ship had reached Salisbury Plain and was at anchor. Ian ordered a Zodiac to belowered as a scout boat to take the expedition staff close to shore in order to make a decision on whether the surf was too large for a landing. It was clear after a short time that the landing would not be made; the steep gradient of the beach and the large active waves created a potentially dangerous surf zone that could not be operated in. The decision was made to undertake a Zodiac cruise along the shore, not only to see the incredible wildlife but also to show us the shoreline up close and explain the reasons for the cancelled landing. Several elephant seal harems occupied areas of the beach, some of us were even lucky enough to see a huge bull and female copulating onthe shore. King penguins wandered around the black sand beach and we could see the rookeries spreading right up the hillside and valley towards the glaciers behind. Giant petrels soared aroundthe Zodiacs while bold sheathbills made attempts to land on our laden boats with some success. At one point a beaming John Sparks could be seen with a large white sheathbill stood nonchalantly ontop of his head, proving he truly is the birdman. Antarctic terns were seen surface feeding on small crustaceans in the water on the colour change between the blue sea water and the cloudier, mineral-rich outwash from the glacier. The keen birders were also treated to great views of several graceful snow petrels as they flew past. By 18:30 we were ready to return to the ship for recap and briefing before dinner.

Day 8 - Fortuna Bay and Stromness, Grytviken and King Eward Point - South Georgia

2008-11-25T11:24:00.003-08:00

Day 8 - 11th Nov

Diary

We took Shackletons last walk from Fortuna Bay over to Stromness. When the Endurance got stuck in the ice he took two men, Tom Crean and Frank Worsley, and went to find help. At the end of this walk is a whaling station where he managed to raise the alarm and return for the rest of his men.

It was great, there was lots of snow and ice and whilst it was chilly it is now the summer. Shakleton and his men came through here in the winter, it was bitterly cold. It was a very spiritual walk and i felt energised and excited to be there. They say that even though there were only three men walking a fourth man was seen walking down the hill with them.

We took some time out for a snowball fight and then headed down to the whaling station. We had to stay 200 meters away as there is asbestos in the buildings.

In the afternoon we landed in Gryviken and went to Shackletons grave. John Harrison, the shops historian, gave a eulogy for `the boss`. John is very passionate about Shackleton, it was emotional.

Jen had told me about a helicopter that had gone down in the war. It was an Argentine helicopter shot down by the British. When they got to the wreckage the pilots were still alive, they shot them. The helicopter is still there, nothing moved. There are lots of little pieces of debris that could easily have been taken as souvenirs but they are there scattered around the body of the helicopter. Military personel have engraved their names all over this bullet filled shell. When Jen was on HMS Endurance, some of the guys went to write their names. Jen told them she didn`t want to be a part of it, it was a grave, when they came back they told her that her name was already on it.

I went to check, and it was`t. There was no shortage of names but Chris and i browsed up and down. I know Jen will be very pleased.

It was a nice walk up to the site, it was nice to get away from the rest of the group for a while. Nice as everyone is, we walk around like red coated penguins sometimes. Many photos have little red jackets in the backround and it can be a little frustrating.

Had a good look around the museum and sent a few post cards.

We had a BBQ this evening and invited all the locals and some yachties that were moored up in the bay. Great evening.

Baby fur seals hiding out in the tussac grass. These things can really shift and will give you a nasty bite. Sometimes they are so well hidden and look like stones so you have to keep a sharp look out.

Love this photo, up close with the king penguins. This is one of Ursulas pictures.

Heading back from the sea, these penguins will probably be coming back from feeding.

They will be getting ready to feed this little lot. Baby kings in the creche!

A little strage looking but lovable. The baby king penguin.

and if you sit still long enough they will come right up to you. Penguins are not afraid of humans, they are curious. They know that their predator are in the water not on the land.

Starting off on the hike. Getting on to the beach was intersting. These fur seals are warming up for breeding season. Testing out their strength and getting a preview of who might the strongest. When the females arrive they will be fighting for beach territory, it will be serious.

Looking back, from the top of the hill, towards the ship.

The walk really was beautiful, there was snow, ice and waterfalls.

Our own special breed of penguin, the red coats. About 68 people completed the walk. Taking into consideration that the average age was about 70 it was quite impressive.

Sara, Michael, Julie and Chris at the top of the pass looking down towards the whaling station.

Antarctic ducks, i think....

All made it to the top. This really was a great group of people, i enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

Reindeer were introduced to the Island as a food source. There is a debate about whether they should keep them or not. They are eating their way around the island and, some say, causing a lot of damage.

The whaling station at Stromness.

Now home only to the seals.

Grytviken (Swedish for 'Pot Cove') is the principal settlement in the United Kingdom territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named by a 1902 Swedish surveyor who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a bay (King Edward Cove) within a bay (Cumberland East Bay). The site is very sheltered, provides a substantial area of flat land suitable for building on, and has a good supply of fresh water.

It is also the home to the grave of Ernest Shackleton and many whalers and sealers.

John Harrison giving an emotional eulogy to Ernest Shackleton `the boss`. We toast him with Jim Beam, not very classy but did the job. Shackleton points south and has a nine pointed star on it, this had been very particularly Shackleton's own symbol in his lifetime. Shackleton had a strong streak of superstition in him. He noted that the figure 9 recurred strangely in his life.

Shackleton died of a heart attack and was being returned to his wife in the UK. She sent a telegram saying take hime back to where he belongs. She didn`t want him, he had become a drinker and fond of the ladies, not sure that is the official version but some belive the truth. So here he lies in Grytvicken.

On the back of the grave, by Robert Browning, Shackletons favorite poet ´i hold that a man should survive to the uttermost for his lifes set prize´.

The Argentinian helicopter, full of bullet holes and engraved with the names of military personel.

Some of the names, i think i was on the Endurance with this engraved PTI. I joined the ship shortly after this to make the return journey to the UK.

Grytviken whaling station. The only one you can actually walk around. It has been cleared of all asbestos. Lots of large pieces of equipment and big drums, for boiling the blubber.

Small church, used for deaths and mariages. Long way to come to get married but it would be worth it. Deaths were mainly sealers, whalers and explorers. No christenings as there are no children allowed on the island, they are not set up to deal with emergencies.

The museum. Well maintained and very interesting.

Inside the museum, whale parts all bagged up and ready to go. Some companies still use the oil/blubber from whales. I need to do a little research and make sure i am not buying into it. I think a car company uses it for something.

There is a little post office, and the job is advertised every year. Ainsley has been there for the last four years and said if you want the job you will have to fight her. She is lucky enough to share a house with the taxidermist. She shared some very interesting stories, tales of dead animals i the bath, and for that reason i would not want her job.

King penguins, they are everywhere, but i don`t think i will ever tire of them. Wrecked whaling ship in the backround.

A perfect end to the day, a BBQ. Brian the chef, produced some spectacular food, which is still being fashioned by me!

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Tuesday 11th November - Fortuna Bay & Stromness, Grytviken &KingEdward Point, South Georgia

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 54° 09.7' S

Longitude: 36° 42.4' W

Wind: Force 3 North West

Sea Conditions: Smooth (wave height 0.10 – 0.50m)

Pressure: 1009 mb

Temperature: 7ºC

Our wakeup call was slightly earlier than usual this morning, the decision to undertake a prebreakfast landing at Whistle Cove, Fortuna Bay meant that we needed to be dressed and waiting at 11 the gangway for 06:00. It was a bright morning; every now and again patches of blue sky broke through the cloud lighting up the numerous icebergs that lay grounded in the bay. Zodiacs ferriedus from ship to shore where Chris and Joel met the boats in chest high waders, necessary attire for any serious South Georgia shore landing team. Ian briefed us onshore and explained that the expedition team had had to move a large elephant seal off our landing site as well as several rather aggressive male fur seals. He gave us some advice as to the best way to ward off these seals, clacking two stones together is a tried and tested method, but if that fails, the best course of action is to back away slowly and choose a different route. A short walk across the outwash plain of the König Glacier brought us to a king penguin colony fringed by nutrient enriched herbs and grasses which offer grazing for reindeer. Although this was only a small colony compared to those we would see in St Andrew’s Bay and Gold Harbour, it was a great place to experience our first king penguins at close quarters.

Those who had planned to undertake the hike from Fortuna Bay to Stromness (affectionately referred to as the Shackleton Hike) were ferried across the bay by Zodiac and dropped at the start point. The remainder of us were taken back to the ship to enjoy the scenic navigation around the bay into Stromness Harbour. Soon 68 of us were briefed on the shore before setting off to walk thelast 5 kilometres of the epic 36 hour crossing of South Georgia undertaken by Tom Crean, Frank Worsley and Sir Ernest, ending in Stromness on 20th May 1916. Once the fur seals in the tussac grass had been identified and asuitable route picked, we headed up the mountain side following our hike leader John Harrison. Conditions were perfect, the wind from behind pushing us upslope and a thin cruston the snow giving good purchase to our boots.The first part of the walk contained most of the hard work, rising to a ridge above Crean Tarn, at this time of the year completely iced over, at a little over 300 metres. The scenery that surrounded us as we crossed the saddle was enhanced by the pure white snow that clung to the mountainsides, offering plenty of fantastic photo opportunities. Before we began the descent, Ursula organised a group photo of all the hikers which was met with much enthusiasm. After another five minutes of walking we came to the spot where Shackleton saw the famous Z-shaped sandstone strata in a high headland; he knew at this point that he stood above Stromness. We looked down over the glaciated valley below, Stromness whaling station sitting on the shore of thebay in the distance, and watched the Polar Star motoring towards her new anchor point. John Harrison explained the route to the landing site and allowed us to take our time and make our ownway back. The rest of the expedition team were waiting at the beach, creating a safe space landing spot amid the fur seals. Gary led a short walk for those who had opted out of the main hike. It followed the perimeter of the old whaling station (access within 200 metres is prohibited due to therisk of flying debris and asbestos) to a small cemetery, the resting place of whalers and ship repairers who lost their life in this treacherous place. Instead of driving straight back to the ship the Zodiac drivers hugged the shore in front of the old station on a short cruise. This gave an opportunity to ask any final questions and photograph the ruins that sat behind the elephant seal laden beach, including the Manager’s office where Shackleton was welcomed back to the world after an absence of 18 months.

It already seemed like a full day but it was only lunch time. A little after three we glided into Grytviken Harbour, anchored the ship and were Zodiaced to the shore by the cemetery where a number of elephant seals were enjoying a fine wallow. There were spots of rain in the air as we approached the little cemetery containing the final resting place of Sir Ernest Shackleton, who died here in the harbour on 5 January 1922, once again sailing to Antarctica. John Harrison spoke a moving eulogy and we drank a toast with whiskey to ‘The Boss’. May he enjoy his rest among the old sailors, still looking south.

We were then free to explore the ruins, museum and shop, the restored Norwegian Church and the old catcher boats lying in the shallows. Many of us took the opportunity to write postcards and send them from the Post Office at King Edward Point, a short Zodiac ride away. As we made ourway back to the ship it was clear that preparations had already been made for tonight’s meal; chairs and tables had been arranged on top deck and a huge BBQ setup outside the observation lounge on deck 5. Glancing back towards the mouth of the bay we were treated to dramatic stacks of lenticular (lens shaped) clouds,a product of the prevailing westerlies as they are lifted over the mountains. The smell of the cooking meat had the Zodiac drivers desperate to return to the ship and as the last passengers were welcomed aboard by Natasha on the gangway, the BBQ got underway. Brian, our head chef, and his team put on a fantastic spread, the ribs and king prawns were particular favourites. We had invited Grytviken shore staff and some visiting yachters to join us for the evening; the observation lounge was full of laughter and story telling as we made new friends, Reuben and Ruel keeping us well oiled from behind the bar.

Day 9 - St Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour

2008-11-25T11:24:00.001-08:00

Day 9 - 12th Nov

Awesome day and probably my favorite day so far. St Andrews bay, full of elephant seals, being very aggressive, and lots of king penguins with chicks.

The place stank but it was worth it. Sadly there were lots of dead babies, both penguins and seal, but i guess that is nature. Seeing the Skuas tearing them appart was actually intersting if not a little to graphic.

There was lots of fighting amoungst the elephant seals, the beachmaster and the sneaky guys. As we walked along they had no care that we were so close, or in some cases on their path. They crush women and baibes to chase of the competition so a human was going to be no exception. We had to keep very aware of the surroundings, it was pretty scarey when they came running towards you, and they did, regularly.

The chicks are hillarious, they run around like crazy things. The noise is incredible, each mother baby has an individual call. They are facinating to watch, i could sit here all day.

Gold harbour in the afternoon, more penguins, more babies and more elephant seals. We also saw the gentoo penguins here, they are lovely. We got off the zodiacs and stood watching the baby elephant seals, wieners. One came up to Toms leg and was snuggling in to his waterproofs, Ian explained they are attracked to black. When Tom left the wiener started to suck on my boot, they have no teeth so no damage done. I can`t belive how close we can get to these amazing creatures, they are approaching us and it is one of the best experiences.

More crazy penguins, we headed over a ridge and there were tens of thousands of them in a valley at the bottom of a glacier.

The elephant seals were active, even got to see a little elephant seal porn.

In the evening i took a long nap, not feeling 100% and the last few days have been pretty busy, i just need time to take it all in. Managed to wake up in time for a few rounds of cards, which was a nice way to end the day.

There are lots of photos. I took over 2000 and it has been hard to pick the best. As this has been one of my favorite days it was even harder. Enjoy........

When you all live on top of each other it can sometime get a little to much. A female elephant seal saying get away from me, NOW!

Mother and a very new born baby.

King penguins coming back from feeding

and heading back to feed the hungry tums of this little lot. The Creche, a few adults stay behind to watch them whilst the other adults fish.

Curiosity, gets Sara incredibly close to these very cheeky chicks.

Huge groups of penguins stood invarious stages of their ‘catastrophic’ moult which begins at the end of their breading season and takes 14 days during which time the birds are unable to go to sea and feed.

The pink bit on the beak, which is sometimes orange or yellow, shows what stage they are in the breeding cycle. (I think)

Skuas, they hang around waiting for stray eggs or dead chicks. They also attack and kill live penguins but not without a fight. Sadly this little fellow lost.
I love this pic. This is Michael, he sat for ages taking photos and attracked quite a little crowed of curious chicks.
Taking it easy.
Taking a strole
Oneof my favorite shots, and it is one of mine. You can see his little foot prints behind him.

The beachmaster, who was kind of forcing this young lady. I think bitting her and holding her down is a little bit naughty, but who is going to argue with a 3 ton giant.
Chasing away the competition,the sneaky f**ckers are always on the prowl
sadley there is always a looser. These giants fight to the death sometimes.
A new pup, having a scratch.

Walking with urgency.
Penguins breed about every 18 months. These adults will be getting ready to mate and breed. Other adults will be looking after last years chicks
Of which there are many
Feeding time. The parent and baby call to each other to make sure that they are feeding the right baby. There may be babies that have lost their parents looking for a meal.
Another one of my favorites. Old mans meeting.
before heading off for the seas to catch fish for tea.
This big guy is racing down the beach to scare off a sneaky guy.
Who is hidding behind Chris and Joel, the beach boys, which is a smart move as they are 6ft4 giants.

A wiener, extremely close and looking for something
to suck on. Here he is with my boot in it`s mouth
i didn`t want to move, it was incredible to be so close to those big soppy eyes.
The babies were all in a little estuary, learning how to swim under the careful supervision of a very large female-
Gentoo penguin carefully crossing the estuary, keeping out of the way of the playful babies
These guys stand about 8ft tall in a fight, then slam down oneach other with great force. To see this was amazing
but at the same time very sad. They cause a lot of damage to each other. Most of the big guys are covered in scars.
beautiful king penguin
Mother and baby calling to each other before the mother will give the baby any food.
and finanlly he gets it. Regurgitated squid, yum
A life changing experience, i just wanted to scoop them all up and take them home
The snowey sheaths that keep the poop levels under control, by eating it. The peguins eat squid and krill. There are parts that they don`t digest so there is some nutrients left in it for the birds.

The glacier in Goldharbour. Home to 400,000 pairs of penguins and a lot of seals

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Wednesday 12th November - St Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 54° 26.1' S

Longitude: 36° 10.2' W

Wind: Force 4 North West

Sea Conditions: Slight (wave height 0.50 – 1.25m)

Pressure: 998

mbTemperature: 9ºC

During breakfast this morning we heard the clunking of the ship’s anchor being dropped, it was 08:30 and we had reached our destination, St Andrew’s Bay. The staff scout boat located a good landing site and soon after the Zodiac drivers began their ferrying operation, through rather choppy waters, to the shore. Huge bull elephant seals lay around on the black sand as we came ashore while hundreds of king penguins walked around the landing area, obviously intrigued by our sudden arrival. Many of us seized the opportunity to work off the calories from last night’s BBQ and walked right around the bay, avoiding elephant and fur seals along the way. This effort was not without its rewards as we arrived at the largest king penguin colony in South Georgia and sensory overload. The sight, sound and smell of the colony,estimated at 400,000 birds, was breathtaking. Nothing could have prepared us for this experience, something that too few people ever have the chance to see. Huge groups of penguins stood invarious stages of their ‘catastrophic’ moult which begins at the end of their breading season and takes 14 days during which time the birds are unable to go to sea and feed. Large crèches of chicks stood together waiting for their parents to return from the sea with food. The brown ‘woolly’feathers give these youngsters a comical look, it is hard to believe that in the near future they willshed this plumage for the stately black, white and yellow of the adults. It was difficult to tear ourselves away from this spectacle as the call of "last Zodiac" was heard across the radios and wewere forced to retrace our footsteps back to the boats.

The ship navigated towards her new anchor in Gold Harbour while we ate lunch. On our arrival into the bay a southern right whale was seen off the bow. Those of us on deck at this point may have noted the absence of any dorsal fin, a diagnostic characteristic of this species. After a short time the whale dived, raising its huge fluke as if to wave goodbye. John Harrison explained that these whales were hunted heavily throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; their exploitation ending in the 1960s. The fact that they float when dead, where so many other whale species sink, gave them their name as the ‘right’ whale to hunt. Soon we were heading into shore by Zodiac, approaching the ‘wader boys’ who were duly waiting for us, waist deep in the surf. Directly behind the landing site was a wide meltwater stream flowing down toward the sea; offering a safe harbour for hundreds of young elephant seals. These wide eyed wieners were exceptionally curious, oneeven made its way into a shore briefing and much to Tom Bobak’s surprise, sat down on his foot.The sheer number of elephant seals on the beach was astounding, the expedition staff suggested that this was the busiest they had ever seen the black sands of Gold Harbour. Huge harems of females meant large numbers of males, both beachmasters and ‘sneaky breeders’. This concentration of males created an exciting and often violent scene, we would routinely find ourselves very close to these 3-4 tonne giants rearingup and attacking each other with tremendous force. No video or photograph could ever fully capture the energy that surrounds these encounters; to be so close to one of nature’s most powerful displays was incredible. We weaved our way along the beach, avoiding confrontations, until we arrived at the tussacgrass that marks the foot of a huge glacial moraine which dominates the southern part of the bay. John Sparks was based at the top of the hill, photographingthe huge king penguin colony below and answering our questions.

Back aboard the Polar Star we looked back on the bay;recap and briefing highlighted how exceptional the day had been from the staff’s combined years ofexperience. Dinner was a great chance to regale each other with stories of the day. At 20:30 the film Island Life: Macquarie Island was shown, a documentary ofthe rich wildlife that lives on this Australian sub-Antarctic Island.

Day 10 - Cooper Bay and Dryjalske Fjord

2008-11-25T11:23:00.008-08:00

Day 10 13th Nov

Diary
Cooper Bay this morning to see the macaroni penguins. There were some agressive fur seals on the beach, one of them bit the end of a wooden oar off. It was a nice walk up, there was lots of pink penguin poop, it is the Krill shells, very interesting.

We had a Zodiac cruise around the bay and got up close to some ice bergs. We were hoping to see some chinstrap penguins, but no joy.

Awesome afternoon, the Captain took a detour through the Dryjalske Fjord, it was wonderful. There is a depth gauge on and we watched as we got closer to the glacier, at one point there was only 20 meters of water beneth us. It was very exciting and some excellent navigation by the captain.

After lunch we went through a massive tabletop ice berg. It is a piece that broke off the B15, it is 10kms long and 36 meters tall. It was part of the Ross Ice Shelf. The Ross Ice shelf was 1800 miles long and 20 miles wide when it hit Ross Island. In 2000 big piece cracked off the the Ross iceberg and this was B15D, one of four large tabluar icebergs floating around. It was pretty spectacular.

Great lecture by Gary, a geologist, on the moving world followed by Ice world, planet earth series. A few drinks in the bar and a few hands of cards, which puts great end to a perfect day. The day,and the trip so far,has been totally mind blowing. Each day seems to throw something more amazing my way and my brain is working overtime, how do i make this into something more permenant.

x

Clearing the beach before the zodiacs arrive. There furs seals were a little agressive and Joel lost the end of the paddle to one.
Sheathbills on the ice.
A pair of sooty mantles courting.
Macaroni Penguin
They nest in the grass, they were quite hard to see.
A couple sitting on a egg.
Up close with the ice bergs.

Heading through the Dryjalske Fjord. Lots of big ice bergs

Which we were passing quite closely

It was stunning, surrounded by hight peaks covered in snow

The ice was cracking but sadly we didn´t see an avalanche.
The beginning of the b15d iceberg
It glowed and blue white colour. It was breath takingly beautiful.
there were huge cracks, it looked likelarge chunks could fall of at any moment
The first officer with the sextant, he measured the height to be 36 meters
that was just above the water, you can see that this berg has quite a bit underneath as well.
Beautiful
Heading out, through the brash ice, to the Ocean.
One last photo as we leave the B15d Ice berg
And here it is on the radar. Huge!

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Thursday 13th November - Cooper Bay
Time: 12:00
Latitude: 54° 49.7' S
Longitude: 35° 54.4' W
Wind: Force 7 North
Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)
Pressure: 1004 mb
Temperature: 8ºC

Wake up call today was at 06:30. Ian explained that the ship would reach Cooper Bay at about
08:00 when Zodiacs would be launched. We squeezed breakfast in before it was time to get
dressed and congregate on deck. Due to large swells swamping the portside gangway the
Chief Officer ordered the starboard gangway to be used. This added a little to our waiting time
but soon we were heading towards the landing site. Gary, Ursula and John Harrison ferried us
to shore where we were met by Ian and Chris who were catching the boats and offering a
quick briefing. Male fur seals dominated the beach and it was clear that the expedition staff
had had a testing time making room for a landing site at all. Once out of the comfort of our rubber boats we walked in single file towards Joel who had established himself as beachmaster and was keeping the advancing males at bay with the help of two wooden oars.

Once past this initial hazard we walked up to the top of the hill, a scramble at times, and made our way through tussac grass to the macaroni penguin colony. John Sparks was up ahead and had located a fantastic lookout with great views over the colony. The Zodiac drivers decided to take their passengers on a short cruise along the shoreline and around a group of icebergs before finally heading back to the ship. The ship hauled anchor minutes after the last of the staff were onboard.

The Captain took us on a scenic cruise up Drygalski Fjord to show us the wonderful scenery and huge glacier descending steeply at its head. After a short time for picture taking the ship turned back down the fjord and out into the ocean. We took a final look back at South Georgia as we passed its southernmost point; Cape Disappointment. Famously named by Captain Cook at the end of his second Antarctic voyage that failed to find the peninsula of the supposed Terra Australis Incognito, this southern extent of South Georgia proved that the land was nothing more than an island. On the bridge, Captain Jacek set our course for Point Wild, 716 nautical miles away on Elephant Island on a bearing of 238°.

Soon after our lunch, Ian advised everyone to make their way out on deck as we were approaching several fragments of the famous iceberg B15(d). We learned that B15(d) was actually one of the four huge tabular bergs that split from the vast B15 berg (over 1800 miles long and 20 miles wide) which fractured off the Ross ice shelf in 2000. At its conception, this was the largest floating object ever to be recorded measuring roughly the size of Jamaica. Those who went to the bridge may have seen the Captain and First Officer plotting a suitable course through the towering masses. Those on deck would have simply marvelled at the spectacle of passing through the small channel between the white cliffs. The clarity of the water helped to produce wonderful blues as the ice disappeared below the surface, a truly memorable experience. The Captain was heard once more over the speaker system explaining that, Joseph Banate, the First Officer, had measured the height of the berg as 36 metres with a sextant and the length, using GPS and radar, at 10km.

At 16:00 we convened in the observation lounge for Gary’s lecture The Way the World Works.
During his presentation we learned the theories behind plate tectonics and their role as the drivers of continental drift. First hypothesised by the young German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, this process produces the cyclical formation and subsequent break up of super continents. Interestingly, Gary explained that much of the major research and discoveries in this area have occurred during his time as a professional geologist. A well attended Happy Hour led into today’s recap and briefing, where past questions that had required the staff to undertake specialist research were reexamined and answered. The shore landing team had put together a short video of footage taken at Cooper Bay earlier in the day. An aggressive male fur seal had given the team some trouble as they attempted to move him off the landing site, the video gave an insight into the work carried out by the scout party. After dinner the BBC Planet Earth film Ice Worlds was shown in the observation lounge.

Day 11 - At Sea, Scotia Sea sailing to Elephant Island

2008-11-25T11:23:00.007-08:00

Day 11 14th Nov

Diary
Got up to the Bridge early today. After chating to Andrew and Jill i realised how much this trip/experience is changing all of our lives.

There wasn`t much to see, a few wondering albatross. The conversation was so valuable, an insight into the lives of really instersting people, it really was a nice start to the day.

Excellent lecture from Ursula on whales. I made about 7 pages of notes it was so interesting.

In the afternoon we saw lots of blows from whales. Ursula thinks they are fin backs, about 12 of them. The blow goes straight up about 2o meters.

Ursula giving her lecture on whales and whales identification. She runs a research programme called ORES http://www.ores.ch/ .
Ursula hand made all of the whales and they are made to scale. Here you see a mummy and a baby humback.

Wandering albatross

Friday 14th November - At Sea, Scotia Sea sailing to Elephant Island

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 57° 07.9' S

Longitude: 42° 23.5' W

Wind: Force 7 South West

Sea Conditions: Rough (wave height 2.50 – 4m)

Pressure: 1002 mbTemperature: 4ºC

A change of time zones overnight gave us an extra hour in bed this morning, the 07.30 wake upcall seeming uncharacteristically amicable. The sea conditions were favourable and allowed us to breakfast in relative comfort for a sea day in the Southern Ocean. Today gave an opportunity to rest after the busy landing schedule of South Georgia and look back at our time there. The South Georgia weather, renowned as harsh and unpredictable, had given us a few days of near perfect conditions which allowed us to carry out all but one landing. The amount of wildlife on the various beaches we visited was staggering and has given us all life long memories.

At 09:30 Ursula presented her lecture A Glimpse into the World of Whales, which gave an introduction to the great whales of the Southern Ocean. John Sparks followed at 11:00 with his talk on penguins; Can’t Fly, Run Even Worse. After lunch there was a chance to relax and spend sometime on deck watching out for the whales Ursula had prepared us for this morning. Those who puting the hours on deck were treated to views of several groups of fin whales passing the ship as we continued our navigation to the South Shetland Islands.

At 15:00 the BBC film The Race to Breed from the Life in the Freezer series was shown in the observation lounge, during this time Rudi presented his lecture Antarctic Ecosystems in German in the Polar Bar. Just before the start of a rather disrupted recap and briefing, John Harrison identified two Southern White Morph Giant Petrels off the stern of the ship. Although not classed as rare, these birds are not seen often and such a good view of a pair from our moving ship was excellent. Gary gave ashort presentation on the different map projections that form the basis of our world views. It was interesting to learn about the way the Polar Regions are so distorted on the classic Mercator projection that we take for granted. Ursula followed with some information on the fin whales wehad been seeing throughout the day around the ship. As if it were planned, a group of these whales were spotted out of the window and the entire population of the observation lounge made their wayto the starboard side to watch the magnificent blows. Ursula finished with a sound recording of finwhale blows, not only could we hear the exhaling of air but the inward breath was also audible. The animated film Happy Feet was shown in the observation lounge after dinner tonight, a relaxing end to a relaxing day.

Day 12- At Sea, Scotia Sea sailing to Elephant IslandTime

2008-11-25T11:23:00.005-08:00

Day 12 - 15th Nov

My Diary
Sadly, before i have finnished updating the blog, i have lost my journal. I must have left it on a bus, and i am totally gutted. It was probably the most valuable thing to me and i can`t belive i have been so careless. Just to highlight how careless i have been i have also lost my North Face jacket and Oakley sunglasses.

The memories will stay with me for ever.

At this point in the trip i remember that ever day just kept getting better. We had some great lectures and the scenery outside was incredible.

Megan giving her talk on the research she carried out with the Australian Antarctic Survey team

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Saturday 15th November - At Sea, Scotia Sea sailing to Elephant Island

Time: 12:00Latitude: 59° 28.1' S

Longitude: 49° 40.1' W

Wind: Force 2 South South West

Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)

Pressure: 1008 mb

Temperature: 3ºC

Once again we woke, blessed with calm seas. Those who had been up on deck for the break of dawn had witness many whale sightings, the best of which occurred at around 07:30 and was announced over the PA system. A group of fin whales had come within 50 metres of the ship and we could clearly see their blows and pronounced dorsal fins. After breakfast John Harrison took to the stage in the observation lounge with his lecture The Nordenskjöld Expedition 1901 – 1903. He guided us through the complex tale of three separate groups, stranded in different places, and their great escape from the clutches of the Weddell Sea.

Ursula followed at 11:00, after she had spenthalf and hour decorating the lounge with various life sized whale hangings, with Incredible Hunters. During this session she focused on the constantly evolving feeding behaviours of her beloved Minke whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada. After feasting all morning on victuals for the brain it was time to allow our stomachs to catch up and we descended on the dinning room for lunch.

The afternoon’s entertainment began in the observation lounge at 14:30 with An Elephant Seal’s Life, a film made by National Geographic that uses underwater footage to showthese creatures foraging under the sea. It was really interesting to watch these animals move around so gracefully underwater, a stark contrast to their onshore manoeuvres that we witnessed at Gold Harbour. At 16:15 Megan followed on with her lecture Penguins, Krill and Fishing; which investigated the role Adélie penguins play in the management of the krill fishery.

After dinner the film Secrets of Antarctica; was shown in the observation lounge. It documented Operation Tabarin, a WW2 operation that established the first British Antarctic Base, in a short 30 minute film and continued with Dog Sledging in Antarctica, a training film from the 1950s about the techniques employed when using dogs as transport across the ice and snow.

Day 13- Elephant Island & Gibbs Island

2008-11-25T11:23:00.003-08:00

Day 13 - 16th Nov

My Diary - still lost

This day may have been one of my favorites. Elephant Island is the island that Shackleton left his men on when he went to find help. The weather was terrible and i felt for the poor guys that were stuck here for months waiting to see if they would be rescued.

We had a lots of fun and also saw some amazing wildlife.

It was snowing overnight at the decks and boats were covered in snow

The scale of the glaciers was incredible, the cruises allowed up to get really close

Mike, Chris, Julie and Sara, brewing up a little mischeif!

First photos of chinstrap penguins.

A monolith and bronze bust of Captain Luis Pardo Villalon, the Yelcho’s master, was placed here by the XXIVth Chilean Antarctic Scientific Expedition in 1987-88. This was the vessel that eventually rescued Shackleton and his men.

This ice berg was just glowing

The boats look tiny. This really was a very special day.

And so the trouble begins. Sara and Chris warming up their hands after preparing some weapons of mass deffence........

The temptation was to much to resist. We were first back on the ship and bombarded the Zodiacs as they returned.

Chris as Joel were the real targets. Once they had dropped their passengers off it was all out war.

From our prime spot on deck 5 we did not see the enemy congregating on deck 4.

But soon it was to late and there was a surprise attack.......
.....sadly i was cornered and it was all over.

Revenge was sweet.
Leaving Elephant Island

Captain Jacek navigating us through to Gibbs Island

Home of hundreds of Chinstrap penguins

Another Zodiac cruise in the cold but it was brilliant. We had seen our first leopard seal, the Apex predator of the Antarctic.

Great shot of a chinstrap, by Ursula

As we went round the bay we saw a leopard seal on the beach being tormented by a sheaths bill. Leaopard seals are not very agile on land but they are dangerous in the water.

The next shots are graphic but have to be seen. My boat didn`t see this but i wanted to share it with you anyway. The photos are by Rudi and i think they are self exlainatory. Leopard seal with his lunch, a chinstrap penguin......

Adelie penguins are normally found firther south but here you can see the black face of a lost and lonely Adelie.

The tops of the cliffs were covered in breeding Chinstraps.

And here they are coming down for a swim and a feed.

Up close, there things really are cute.

Sunday 16th November - Elephant Island & Gibbs Island

Time: 12:00Latitude: 61° 04.3' S

Longitude: 54° 41.2' W

Wind: Force 3 South West

Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)

Pressure: 1003 mbTemperature: 0ºC

The ship’s early birds were the first to see Elephant Island this morning, evidently basking in sunshine at 04:30, sadly no expedition staff were on deck to verify this claim. The rest of us were greeted with a completely different climate as we popped our heads out of various doors and portholes at around 07:00 to be met by a snow blizzard and poor visibility. Our first sight of snow POINT WILD Situated about 7 miles west of Cape Valentine on the north coast of Elephant Island,this famous historical outpost played ‘home’ to 22 of Shackleton’s men for the four months they were stranded here. It is hard to imagine the strength of human determination which could have sustained life on this desolate spit of land for so long.

The point is named after Frank Wild, Shackleton’s right hand man and Elephant Islandcamp commander, who is renowned for his incredible leadership and compassionduring these desperate months. Shackleton left these shores in his famous open boat, the James Caird, and successfully made his way to South Georgia where he organised a rescue ship for the men he had left behind. On August 30th 1916 he returned with the vessel Yelcho and found all of his men alive. A monolith and bronze bust of Captain Luis Pardo Villalon, the Yelcho’s master, was placed here by the XXIVth Chilean Antarctic Scientific Expedition in 1987-88.

On deck created a boisterous atmosphere over breakfast and an early queue formed on deck 3 as we eagerly awaited our Zodiacs. John Harrison lowered the first boat of the morning and found it full of snow as it had been stored on top of the pile on deck 6; he had a tough job preparing it for his 10 passengers. Our Zodiacs took us right around the bay, often in large swells, where we saw chinstrap penguins in their thousands high up above us on the rocky outcrops. Pintados (capepetrels) were seen in flight all around the bay, identified by their black upper wings splashed with irregular white patches.

Ian sent a message out over the radios to alert us to the presence of nesting Antarctic terns. The staff took their boats in as close as they could to the rocks on which Pardo’s bust sits in order to get photos of his historic tribute. We cut small paths thought the brash ice atthe snout of the glacier that protrudes dramatically into the bay. Although not advancing, this iceflow is active and regularly carves, depositing small bergs, bergy bits and growlers into the waterbelow. Meanwhile, John Harrison was having technical difficulties with the electrics in his Zodiac.Chris came to his aid, creating a two boat raft and towing him into a safe location while the problem was resolved.

Once all passengers were onboard the ship, the drivers became aware of a small army mobilising above them on deck 5. Led by the likes of Sara, Michael, Christine, Julie and Fernando, this group of young trouble makers showered wave upon wave of snowballs down on the unsuspecting staff below. Dealing with large swells, the control of their boats and their opposition’s height advantage, the team managed to hold their own long enough to get back to the ship and settle a few scores out on the battlefields of deck 4.

We ate our lunch as the ship repositioned to Gibbs Island, a four hour navigation with an estimated time of arrival of 16:00. The Zodiac cruising began with a short motor from the ship into the bay which took us past groups of pintados and chinstrap penguins on the water. As the first boat approached the rocks that sat off the beach, Chris Pike turned to his driver and pointed to a spot where he said he’d seen a leopard seal. Moments later it reappeared, this time the whole boat was ready and we saw the serpentine head break the surface; our first leopard seal sighting of the expedition. The large seal, sleek dark grey with a mottled light grey underside, made a few passes close to the boat and eventually swam right underneath us and off across the bay.

At one point, all 9 boats came together at a small beach to watch a large group of chinstrap penguins. Ian pointedout two Adélie penguins amid the sea of chinstraps which could be easily distinguished by their 18 black heads and white eye rings. The snow that surrounded the penguins was stained a reddish colour by their guano which owes its pigment to the krill that is their chief source of nourishment.

As we watched the penguins arrive and leave the beach on feeding missions, various people noticed the surface of the water breaking just offshore, revealing sleek sections of the apex predators of Antarctica. The leopard seals were waiting for their prey, biding their time until the perfect moment to strike one of the birds that are forced to make the dangerous dash from the shore into deeper water in search of food. Later in the cruise some of the boats were lucky enough to see a leopard seal attack and successfully catch a chinstrap penguin; bringing it to the surface to flay it in dramatic fashion.

While this drama was unfolding, a number of boats had undertaken the short drive around the headland to explore the adjacent bay and found a small gathering of chinstrap penguins stood on arock close to the shore. It was a perfect spot to nose the Zodiac up and have a closer look at the birds. Ian radioed all drivers in the vicinity to take at look at a comical scenario which was unfolding on a nearby beach. A bold sheathbill was relentlessly pecking at the flippers of alarge leopard seal obviously causing it amild annoyance. Every time the seal was jabbed it would swing round to challenge its attacker only to find that the cheeky bird had scurried right round to its other flank and was resuming its assault far from the jagged jaws.

Conditions on the water were getting progressively worse and our drivers were pleased when the radio called them back to the ship. Likewise, we were beginning to feel the chill of the waves that licked across the bows of the rubber boats and were ready to head to the gangway.After dinner we joined Gary for his lecture A Floating World which described the formation and seasonal changes in the sea ice around Antarctica. When the presentation came to a close there was time for questions and then we dispersed, to our cabins, for a spot of fresh air on deck or to the Polar Bar for a drink.

Day 14 - Half Moon and Deception Islands

2008-11-25T11:23:00.001-08:00

Day 14 - 17th Nov

My Diary - Lost

I know that my diary started every day `this is my favorite day`or `this was the best day` This day was no exception. This was another totally amazing day.

I remeber thinking about how i was going to make this experience more permenant. My brain has been working overtime, i feel constantly inspired and i feel like i am about to explode.

An Argentinian research station

Chinstrap penguin carrying stones to his nest. It looks like such an effort, one has to resist the tmptation to help them out a little!

how i managed to stop myself from picking up one of these beauties for a cuddle i have no idea

Mike with his harem all with pigtails, at his request.

Mike, this is how he spent most of his time at Half Moon, I think the ships food had caught up with him. He was getting pretty mad so we left him to struggle his way back to the ship.

giving a little whistle

just stadning around looking gorgeous

Thinking about Christmas and trying to get that Christmas card shot. It was a good contender but the opportunities just kept getting better.

Crabeater seal, i don`t think they actually eat crabs., but this one has certainly just had a feast on something.

Finally my excess of food on the ship kicks in and i find myself up to bottom in snow. It was just hillarious. Those on the lighter side, Chris, didn´t sink so i gave her a little helping hand, she ended up waiste deep!

Being so close to nature still fills me with this feeling of incredible happiness. A month after returning i still get emotional about moment like this.

Very quickly learning that the fastest way from up is down on your bottom.

Loving the chinstraps.

GEOLOGY OF DECEPTION ISLAND

Deception Island is only the top of a previously much larger volcano that is mostly submerged. Port Foster (max. depth 190 m) is a breached caldera that formed when the centre of thevolcano collapsed below sea level after a huge prehistoric explosive eruption. Eruptions havecontinued at irregular intervals, the first historically recorded by Wilkes in 1842 who saw "theentire south rim of the crater on fire", and the latest episodes occurring in 1967, 1969, and1970. The 1967 eruption destroyed a Chilean scientific station at Pendulum Cove and a Britishstation at Whalers Bay and required evacuation of the bases under emergency conditions. Theeruption in 1969 destroyed both the Chilean and British bases, and the whaling station, and thefive British personnel were evacuated hurriedly. No permanent occupants live on the island,but both Argentina and Spain have summer stations there.

Neptune’s Bellows. Careful manovers were requied to get us into Deception Island

Which wearn`t made any easier by having to dodge some National Geographic divers in the water. One day day i wll reaturn and this photo will be me.

Whalers Bay

Looking down over Neptunes Window

There was a lepard seal on the beach, we stayed within 5 meters but even that felt a little to close.

As he dissapeared into the water i felt nervous. We were about to swim, i had my mask and snorkle at the ready.

As he looked back at us i decided that there was no way i was going to snorkle and risk bumping into this guy. It would be a quick dip!

The beach masters digging out the whole which would soon be filled with geothermal waters

Stripping of the layers and adding a few more. Many went in with their bikinis and some with just their pant, not me. I have been carrying round a 2mm rash vest and, despite critisism, i was wearing it.

First in, and second in as moral support for Julie.

Mad dash for the hot pool.

And it really was toasting. Celia, Sara and Julie enjoying being the first in the pool.

Risto, a crazy Norwegian guy, came prepared with his had and his paper, great entertainments and huge laughs had by all.

And back in, this time for 30 seconds, trying to get the record for the longest time in the water. Sadley the lepoard seal played on my mind to much and i jumped back into the safety of the hot pool.

Appreciation for the beachmasters. We have all become good friends and it has made the trip even more fun.

That evening it was back tothe bar for a few hands of cards

and a cuddle with Ken. He is 80 and here on his own having a trip of a life time. It was so nice to share this experience with him.

Monday 17th November - Half Moon and Deception Islands

Time: 12:00Latitude: 62° 35.1' S

Longitude: 59° 53.2' W

Wind: Force 5 South West

Sea Conditions: Slight (wave height 0.50 – 1.25m)

Pressure: 1009 mb

Temperature: 2ºC

Bright sunlight and cold winds greeted us this morning as we arrived at out anchor point off Half Moon Bay. The snow covered hills and mountains were lit to majestic effect by the sun; the blues and greens of the sea contrasting with the whites to create stunning vistas and great photo opportunities. Nestled between Livingston and Greenwich Islands, Half Moon Island is home to approximately 3300 pairs of chinstrap penguins, some Antarctic (blue-eyed) shags and gentoo penguins. There was time to relax after breakfast, the good weather bringing most of us out on deck. The landing operation ran quickly thanks to the short distance from ship to shore and soon we found ourselves on shore.

John Sparks had already flagged out an appropriate route acrossthe island, avoiding major nesting areas, and along with John Harrison had located 5 large seals (3 Weddells and 2 Crabeaters). We madeour way across the island, stopping every nowand again to allow a convoy of chinstraps to cross our path. The snow was deep in places and some were finding it difficult not to sink through the crust up to their knees with everystep. Body weight to shoe size ratio was all important in the success of trips to the end of the snowladen spit, the little chinstrap penguins watching as laughter filled the air.

The weather was so beautiful that many of us stayed on the beach until the last Zodiac was called to shore. The Captain now had to make the three hour navigation to Deception Island, which culminates in a remarkably tricky manoeuvre through Neptune’s Bellows; the small pass into the island. The bridge had justreceived information that the National Geographic ship Endeavour had one of its Zodiacs and several scuba divers in the Bellows, which clearly complicated the task. Captain Jacek took us through the narrow gap between the submerged Raven Rock, hidden from sight, and the towering Cathedral Crags, with precision; it was a privilege to watch him and his crew working together.

Zodiacs ferried us to shore in the usual fashion although conditions at the beach were far from typical. Stream rose out of the ground all around us as we set foot on thevolcanic gravel, a constant reminder that we were inside the crater of an active volcano. A walk was organised up to Neptune’s Window, led by John Sparks,where the island’s discoverer, Nathaniel Palmer, climbed looking for birds’ eggs and found a view which is fabled to have shown him the continental land of the peninsula. Another hike, led by Gary, went out to the old BAS hangarthen up to the top of Ronald’s Hill.

John Harrison spent his time around the historic ruins offering interpretations and answering our questions. While we were all enjoying the various activities on offer, Chris and Joel could be found digging a hole of Homeric proportions onthe shoreline. This was duly filled by the geothermal waters that lay just below the surface and alarge hot pool was born. Entrance to the pool was conditional; potential bathers must first fullyimmerse themselves in the Antarctic waters of the bay, a rule which was ruthlessly enforced by the proud diggers. Absolute chaos unfolded; quick dashes into the water for photos were accompanied by screams as the true temperature of the water was realised. Risto gave us all a laugh; sitting inthe pool with his hat and newspaper and Jerry holds the record for the longest time in the water.

Day 15- Port Lockroy & Almirante Brown

2008-11-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Day 15 - 18th Nov

Diary - still can`t accept that it is gone, despite spening a day ringing round the bus companies!

Today we entered into the Antarctic Peninsular. I got up really early to see the first glimpses. It was so exciting. After 2 weeks we are finally here.

Sara, in Antarctica, in her PJs.

The scenery has all been amazing and it just keeps getting better.

The sun rise, stuck behind the clouds but giving a beautiful start to the day.

I AM HERE!!!!! Getting deeper into the Antarctic

PORT LOCKROY
The Port Lockroy station is a British Antarctic Survey hut originally built in 1941 as part of thesecret British Operation Tabarin to monitor possible German warship activity in Antarcticaduring WWII. It was then used as a meteorological station until its small size made it hard toinstall state-of-the-art equipment. For many years the hut fell into neglect, then in the 1990s itwas restored to the way it looked in the 1950s.

This is the most-visited place on the Antarctic Peninsula and with that much human traffic, thepenguins offer an important study population for scientists interested in the effects of tourismon wildlife. Like everywhere else that studies the impact of tourism on penguins, the Lockroyresults show that there is either no impact on breeding, or breeding is better. The reasons arenot certain but it is likely that humans deter predators like skuas and gulls, and so reducepenguin mortality. This is not necessarily a good thing, since skuas have as much right toprosper as penguins. Such issues are part of determining good conservation practice everywhere, and are not unique to Antarctica.

The research station/museam/post office/good place to totally overcharge tourists and make a bit of money! Who cares, i bought a fleece and i love it. The island is divided in two and visitors can only visit one side of the island. This was to see how the penguins react to tourists. The penguins where the tourist are do much better as the tourist keep away the predators. The other half probably suffer more as a result as they are easier pickings.

Gentoo penguin, not my shot. I tried so hard to get a jumping penguins. I managed it but the best shot is one of their bottoms.

In the Museam, it was very intersting. You can get a job down here for three months of the year. At the moment there were three ladies and one man, that has been there for years. I am quite sure he has job satisfaction, an island full of birds!

The post office where we all sat scribbling away. It is the most southerly PO in the world.

We had picked up some supplies for the island residents. Gas and a shed load of beer!

On British soil in the Antarctic. BRILLIANT

In the backround you can see the penguins that are isolated from the tourists. The penguins that see tourists regularly are quite comfortable with our presence and came quite close.

Gentoo heading back to his nest.

And this is it, the tiny island of Port Lockroy.

Boats all loaded up and ready to move on to Paradise Bay.

Some huge ice bergs along the way

and more incredible scenery, this is Antarctica and i am in heaven.

The bit of the berg you see on the surface is only a fraction of it. You can see how much is underwater on this shot.

This ice berg has rolled. This happens as the ice under the water melts, it becomes top heavy and roles.

There was so much brash ice and there was so much ice around us it was like being in an ice palace.

We hiked up Almirante Brown to take in the beautiful views.

The zodiac cruise was possibly my favorite of the trip. I think this photo highlights how amazing it was.

This ice is tens of thousands years old.

A weddle seal taking a break

We spent about an hour out on the water, i think i could have spent three and still not be bored.

10,000 year old glaicier ice, you find out what this is for later......

This truely was paradise bay.

Looking down Almirante Brown, and what is the best way to get down......

.... soooo much fun! Julie flying down screaching with excitiment.

Perfect opportunity for snow angels.

I was desperate to sit on an ice berg, sadly this is as close as i was allowed to get.

The Polar star, looking elegant encased in ice.

So what did we do with the ice berg. Sea Breeze and Gin and Tonics topped off with 10,000 year old ice.

We are getting ready to head home, and i feel so sad, there is only one more stop. We had another BBQ in Paradise Bay. It was a great night spent with great new friends. Here are a few of the people that really made my trip special.

Celia, a magistrate in London and absolutley hillarious.

Rick and Jane, from Australia.

Michael, a police officer from the US. Our beach master and a great new friend.

Julie, works for Polar Star in Canada. This was the first time she had been out of Canada, what a destination for your first trip. We had lots of laughs and shared lots of secrets! She had two double beds in her room, it didn`t take long before gave up my tiny single to move in. It was like being back at bording school in the dorms, it was great fun.

Chris above and Joel below. Friends from school and working on the Polar Star, driving boats, doing all the heavy lifting and shifting, ships log and photos. We all had so much fun. They are living their lives as they choose and it really has taken them to some amazing places. They were a real inspiration and a breath of fresh air.

Did i have a school girl crush on one of them? Maybe.......

Christine, engineer lives in Dubai. She spent most of her time with her head down the toilet but when she was out and about she was full of beans.

And so to the BBQ, this little fellow clearly had no idea about the dangers of coal and lighter fluid.

Shirley and Judy, Patrick and Fran, Ian and Wendy, Jill, Richard, Gerry, Nick, Fernando and Aditi, Julie and Tim, Illy and Nick, Ken, the expedition team and everybody else. It has been an amazing trip and it was great to share it with you all.

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Tuesday 18th November - Port Lockroy & Almirante Brown

Time: 12:00Latitude: 64° 49.6' S

Longitude: 63° 30.2' W

Wind: Force 3 South WestSea Conditions: Smooth (wave height 0.10 – 0.50m)

Pressure: 1004 mbTemperature: 4ºC

At around 06:30 we entered the Neumayer Channel, a passage that separates Anvers Island from Wiencke Island at a width of 1.5 miles. The snow covered mountains of both islands flanked the ship as we sailed though, the sky above them filled with beautiful lenticular cloud formations. As we reached our anchor point, breakfast was served and we fuelled up for the long day ahead. The Expedition Team were busy with the Zodiacs, high winds and waves at the gangway would give the drivers exciting conditions to operate in. The scout boat made its way slowly to Goudier Island, Port Lockroy where Rick Atkinson jumped aboard and was ferried to the ship. A former dog sledderin the Arctic, Rick lives at the former Operation Tabarin Base (A) over the summer, maintaining the building and running the post office service, with the help of his three assistants; Laura, Jude and Nikki. He ran a pre-landing briefing in the observation lounge after which we made our way through the wet gear room and out onto deck 3. The planned schedule had to be modified in light of sea conditions which were making Zodiac driving challenging. It was decided that stopping at Jougla Point would not be possible, instead Ian chose to divide the ship into two groups, those in port side cabins and those with cabins on the starboard side. The port side were taken across to Goudier Island first to see the small penguin colony and have a look round the restored base. There was also time for some retail therapy before returning to ship and swapping over with the starboard half.

We picked our way carefully around the gentoo penguin colony which was blanketed in a mixture of mud and guano. Each nesting bird sat on a ring of small stones, pain stakingly chosen by the penguins who seem to have a critical eye where pebbles are concerned. It was comical to watch the birds scan the ground for the perfect stone and then carry it back to the nest, carefully place it down and trumpet loudly with their heads raised to the sky as if to congratulate themselves on work well done. Rick has watched these penguins in the colony for years and believes that they arrive early to the nesting site and cover the area with their excrement in a bid to melt the layer of snow that covers the ground.

While we explored the island and sent various Antarctic postcards, the Zodiac drivers ferried supplies, picked up by the ship in Port Stanley, across to the base. Operations were held up at onepoint as a large iceberg drifted towards the gangway. Zodiacs waited by the ship until the mountain of ice was carried past, they could then resumed their shuttle service. Those of us who were on the water at the right time were treated to a close encounter with a leopard seal as they left the landing site and headed back to the ship.

The Captain and crew navigated to Paradise Harbour as we ate lunch. The Argentine station Almirante Brown, named after the father of their navy, sat on the shore as we made our way through the minefield of icebergs that blocked the ship’s path, finally arriving at anchor at 15:30.

This would be the only landing on the continent of Antarctica and therefore a necessary stop for those wanting to tick off that elusive seventh continent. This morning’s method of splitting us up into two groups was employed again this afternoon: half of us landing onshore while the others went on a zodiac cruise around the glacier bound Skontorp Cove. Those in the boats watched as the land party hiked to the peak of a high snow-capped rock outcrop. The hikers themselves were rewarded for their effort with great views over the bays below and found that a quick but daring decent could be made by sliding down the snow all the way to the bottom. Onceback at the landing site it was possible to wander round the huts of the unmanned Almirante Brown station before swapping into the Zodiacs.

This area proved to be fantastic for cruising; the cliffs that extended out around the bay to the right of the landing site were home to nesting Antarctic shags and terns. As we motored further around the bay, huge glaciers came into view that stretched right up into the mountains. Heavily crevassed towards the snout, the ice looked particularly unstable in places, we were even lucky enough to witness some large carvings that fell with dramatic effect into the water below. The Zodiacs wove in and out of icebergs, often following suggestions from those in the boat with cameras, searching for the perfect shot. Both crabeater and Weddell seals were seen, hauled out on the ice, which came in all manner of magnificent shapes, colours and textures. Some drivers took their boats into the brash ice and stopped their motors, requesting silence for a couple of minutes. The sounds of the bay, so easily drowned out by the noise of the engines, were incredible. Listening to the tinkling of brash ice, the lapping of waves against the cold, hard icebergs, the distant call of Antarctic seabirds and the occasional booming and cracking of the glacier was a truly memorable experience. On our return to the landing site, large amounts of brash ice had been blown into the small cove which made passage by Zodiac more difficult.

Unfortunately tonight’s BBQ had to be changed to an indoor format on account of the weather outside. Snow and cold winds meant that neither cooking nor sitting out on deck 5 was an option. Nevertheless, the observation lounge played host to another fantastic feast thanks to Brian, his chefs and the entire serving staff. On the way back from this afternoon’s landing, a few boats had picked up glacier ice and brought it back to the ship. On arrival it was washed, smashed up andplaced behind the bar. Tonight it was 10,000 year old ice that cooled our drinks; fizzing andpopping as the ancient air was released back into the atmosphere after so long.

Day 16 - Petermann Island and Yalour Islands

2008-11-25T11:21:00.004-08:00

Day 16 - 19th Nov

My Diary - lost

This was out last landing. The last few days have been incredible but Peterment Island still did not dissapoint. Everyone is feeling sad that the trip is coming to and end but the last views on the island soon put smiles on our faces.

The Lemaire Channel, stunning.

Deep in concentration, the Captain and his crew carefully navigating through.

The route through the chanel

We were surrounded by mountains and cracking ice.

here you can see the narrow end to the chanel.

I am not sure why i didn`t think if it before but here i used my underwater housing and got some shots of the icebergs below the water line.

Speactacular.

We had to wait for these bergs to move so that we could squeeze through for out landing.

Adelie penguins. They are able to breed further south than the other penguins that we have seen.

Many were sat on eggs, there was lots of calling and whistling.

It was funny to watch as the penguins stole stones from each other nests. As one stole one from one nest someone else was stealing from his. It was a vicious circle, very entertaining to watch.

Stoney nest, with egg.

They really are beautiful.

Marking out the path to the last view on our landing.

It was spectacular and a really great way to end our trip.

I am so happy, this really has been the trip of a life time.

After lunch i ran up to the bridge. The Captain was on his own, i joked that if he needed a hand to let me know. Here i am steering the ship out of Peterman Island. He was amazed at how well i had done, my co-ordinates were spot on and i even called him sir. He asked if i had any worked on boats before, me? no, never, it is my first time, I will keep my little secret to myself!

Wednesday 19th November - Petermann Island and Yalour Islands

Time: 12:00Latitude: 65° 07.7' S

Longitude: 64° 03.5' W

Wind: Force 7 North East

Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)

Pressure: 1007 mbTemperature: 2ºC

Ian’s wakeup call came at the earlier time of 05:30 this morning, just as the ship entered the scenically stunning Lemaire Channel. Captain Jacek took us into this beautiful narrow strait between the mainland to port and Booth Island to starboard. He piloted a passage right through a myriad of icebergs and we emerged by Petermann Island. Approximately one mile long and hometo 500 pairs of Adélie penguins and around 2000 pairs of gentoo penguins, the island was discovered by a German expedition in 1873-74. As the first boats approached the landing site it was clear that the operation would be hindered by a group of large icebergs that blocked the bay.

Every now and then a gap would open up between the bergs, enough time for a driver to slip their boat through into the little cove beyond to where Ian was waiting to brief us. John Sparks had already flagged out a route to the top of the snow covered hill where he stood waiting for us in thecold, with great views over an iceberg choked bay. Those who had waited all this time to see Adélie penguins found them in small groups a short distance from the landing site. Many of them sat horizontal on their nests, incubating their eggs, suggesting that the birds here may well befurther on in there breeding cycle than the other types of penguins we have seen over the last few weeks.

On arrival back at the ship one could easily have been misled into thinking it was time for lunch, it was however still only 08:30 and breakfast was waiting for us in the dining room. During this much needed respite, the ship repositioned further south to the Yalour Islands, our southern most point of the whole expedition (65°13.8' S, 64°08.7' W). It was clear on arrival however that a Zodiac operation would not be possible due to Force 7 winds that were racing across the surface of the water. It was with great regret that Ian informed us over the speaker system that our last chance to leave the ship would be cancelled. The staff remained on the bridge for some time discussing other potential options but time was a limiting factor as the Captain had a duty to return the ship toUshuaia in time for flights. A compromise was reached and Ian made plans for a short Zodiacc ruise at Pléneau Island, using the lee offered by Booth Island as a barrier from the prevailing wind. On arrival all seemed positive and we dressed for our last cruise of the trip, lining up asusual on deck 3. We watched the rubber boats being lowered into the water. Soon it became obvious that conditions were getting dangerous and within minutes the Captain suggested we cancel the operation and Ian agreed. Drivers made their way back to the ship and those who stayed to watch the return of all the boats were entertained by a beleaguered Joel, fighting against the wind and waves, to bring the last zodiac out of the water.

During recap and briefing, Gary introduced us to the story of Lee Lantz, a man who got rich byselling Patagonian toothfish under the name Chilean Sea Bass. He went on to explain the consequent large scale long line fishing that decimated stocks of this fish. Raymond LeBlanc gave the expedition team a fantastic video that he had taken on Petermann Island earlier today. It followed a heated disagreement between two Adélie penguins which undoubtedly changed our perception of these quiet little birds. John Harrison concluded the session with one of his famous poems, The Zodiac Blues; a rhyme that never fails to induce audience participation. Dinner was then served in the dining room.

This evening in the observation lounge the staff showed one of their favourite films Around CapeHorn, a short montage of unique footage shot from all parts of one of the mighty P-Line CapeHorn square riggers: the Peking. Matchless commentary by Irving Johnson, spoken over the silent film he shot as a young man, from the perspective of a robust old age makes this an unforget tablepiece of cinema.

Antarctic bound

2008-11-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

I am the most excited person in the world right now. I just arrived in Ushuaia and got a last minute trip to the Antarctic for 19 days. The boat leaves in an hour and i have 101 things to do.

I have a few updates that are now on hold for a few weeks but come back soon and catch up on the latest news.

Hopefully some incredible photos and stories to go with them

the boat is called Polar Star and that is about as much as i know right now

XX
Sara

Bolivia to Salta, Argentina

2008-10-26T16:31:00.001-07:00

Bolivia - lake Titicaca and riding the worlds most dangerous road

2008-10-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Another long bus journey, again the bus description was nothing like it said on the tin, to the point that the lady gave us some money back. After surviving the bus ride we arrived at the Bolivian border. You have to be thankful of holding a British passport...........

......Me, smiling at the Border having been stamped in with no problems......

....The Americans, Jason and Dan being bent over and robed of 130USD. In all fairness it is because the US do the same to the Bolivians, any many other countries in the world but i did feel sorry for them.

We skipped lake Titicaca on the Peru side and headed straight for Copacabana on the Bolivian side. This was going to be the perfect place to rest up and take it easy.

Traditionally regarded as the highest navigable body of water in the world (though there are higher lakes in Chile and Peru), Lake Titicaca is immense: its dimensions measure 233km (145mi) from northwest to southeast and 97km (60mi) from northeast to southwest, and it features an indented shoreline, 36 islands and exceptionally clear sapphire-blue water.

A remnant of an ancient inland sea, is deservedly awash with gushing clichés. Nestled between two hills and perched on the southern shore of the lake, Copacabana (Copa) is a small and enchanting town. The snow-topped peaks of the Cordillera Real complete the magical landscape.

View from the Hotel, it was a lot smaller than i thought and there really wasn´t that much going on but it was pretty and we had great weather.

If you ever wondered what happens to all the pedalos then here is the answer, Oz was desperate to take a ride in a swan but instead....

We opted for a sail boat and two fishing rods. There was no wind and no fish, hmmmm......

Jonathan steering with Brian trying to catch fish and Dan rowing in the backround.

The next day we took a trip out to Isla del Sol. The scenery on the way was incredible.

The Island of the Sun is the legendary Inca creation site and is the birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology. It was here that the bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca (or Mama Ocllo), made their mystical appearances.
With a population of around 5,000, Isla del Sol is dotted with several villages, of which Yumani and Cha'llapampa are the largest. The island's Inca ruins include Pilko Kaina at the southern end and the Chincana complex in the north, which is the site of the sacred rock where the Inca creation legend began.

The snow topped mountains in the backround.

There was lots of life on the Island, Pigs, sheep, chickens all just running around unaware of the fact that they will soon be in a pot!

Very cute kids but Oz made the mistake of giving them pringles. Luckily it took them as long to eat one as it took us to eat the whole packet so when they asked for more there really was no more, i think it is we that are the pigglets!

The terrain was quite diverse, beaches, moutains and cactus.
The totora reed boat is an ancient craft used for centuries around Lake Titicaca and the prehistoric Andean world.

This couple were untangling, what looked to be, hundreds of meters of fishing net.

Sunset over the lake.

The bus ride from the Lake to La Paz was breath taking.

The first glimpse of sky-high La Paz will (3660m), literally, take your breath away. The city's buildings cling to the sides of the canyon and spill spectacularly downwards. La Paz is best savored over time, not only to acclimatize to its well-publicized altitude but to experience its quirky beauty.

View over La Paz, a large and crazy city but extremely cool.

Located amidst the lively tourist market, the Witches' Market sells mainly herbs and folk remedies, but also a variety of ingredients intended to manipulate and supplicate the various helpful and harmful spirits that populate the Aymara world.

The most prominent product available in the Witches' Market are dried llama fetuses, which are quite sizable and can be moderately disturbing. These are always buried in the foundations of new constructions or businesses as a cha'lla (offering) to Pachamama. The llama sacrifice encourages the goddess to protect the workers from accidents and bring good luck to the business. The fetuses are only used by the poor; wealthier Bolivians are expected to sacrifice a live llama to Pachamama.

What you are about to read is probably the craziest thing i have done on my travel, would i do it again, NO!

For and adrenaline rush at altitude you can take a ride down the wolrds most dangerous road, named so becuase it has the most deaths on it per annum. We are ten at this point and organise our own group. Our guide was Dale, we had actually met him on the Salkantay trek in Peru. He was ex Navy and so for some reason i trusted him, along with the fact that he had done this about 200 times and not killed anyone yet!

The bus ride up to the top. There were a few nervous people, i was probably the most nervous as i hadn´t ridden a bike for a long time and have really only been on road, rather than off road.

The start point, a car park at about 4880Meters. These bikes were top of the range with front and back suspension. I was even move afraid, we had seen a video clip of a girl that had just used the front break and flpped the bike, lost her teeth. Must remeber to use both breaks! A few times around the car park and we were just about ready to go.

Final breif. The instruction was excellent, i really did feel that any errors were going to be down to me, they really had covered everything.

As busses and cars pass on this road they slow down, throw some alcohol on the road and then drink some. It is a little ceremony to keep them safe but with 100% alcohol it is probably what causes the most acidents. We just poured some on our bike wheel and wet our lips, that was bad enough.

On the move, i had no idea what lay ahead but as i hit about 50kmph i wasn´t sure whether my screams were that of joy or total fear. The adrenaline had kicked in and i felt like my body had been possesed by someone that was prepared to throw themself off a cliff at high speed.

This is the long dowhill section of the ride, it was about 22kms on the main road. We were passing cars and lorries. The boys were hitting up to 60kmph and the girls about 50kmph.

Smiling faces, everyone was doing really well and starting to get more confident with the bikes.

This is the number for a local hospital, just in case!

Incredible views but i have to be honest and say that i didn´t see any of them. I was concentrating so hard on staying on the bike and not killing myself.

This is it, the worlds most dangerous road. It is uneven, rocky, stoney and very very narrow. It is also about45kms long with steep drops of a few hundred meters, in places.

Deep in concentration, Elly, Glen, Kat, Jason, Jonathan, Sara, Brian, Oz, Dan and Michelle. We had 17 stops on the ride. Each stop we were briefed for the next stage. This included all the previous acidents and deaths. You can see all the rubble, this was the road the whole way down.

Not looking two happy, starting on the WMDR, extremely nervous, worried about loosing teeth or even worse, falling off the edge.

The whole group getting briefed for the next stage

This is the shot used in all the advertising. Shortly after this there is a memorial where an Israeli girl just flew off the road. It was recorded as suicide, her insurance didn´t pay out, very very sad.This is what the view, round the corner. This is the memorial stone.

This is another memorial. This was for a family that went off the road in a lorry. The father was drunk so he let the 15 year old son drive, He drove off the road killing his entire family and some people getting a lift in the back. There was another incident close by where 128 people returning from a football match went off the road in the bus.

As you hear these stories on the way down you can´t help but think, WHAT AM I DOING! However it really was breathtaking scenery. Lots of waterfalls, some of which your cycle through.
Dale, he has done this over 200 times, he pulls a few stunts along the way, personally i think he is crazy!

Still hanging on, i am definately more confident and picking up speed.

We all made it, not a scratch on us. It was a great day out and we were all ready for a shower and a beer.
Sara and Dan with dirty bottoms. Dans is definately mud but mine, well it really could be anything. The most terrifying thing i have ever done, but somewhere along the way i started to enjoy it.

The place we finnished at is an animal refuge. The boys had a visitor whilst they were showering, may have been one of these cheeky monkeys!

We took a vote on which road we would take back. There is a new road but the vote was to go back up the road we had just come down. I was more scared going up it, although in a few of these pictures you may find that hard to belive. Adrenaline was still working overtime!

Enjoy........

The steep drop offs

Dan, dangerously close to the edge

The long and winding roads

Some crazy woman hanging out of the bus whilst it was moving

So close to the edge you can almost see the bottom!
Waiting to pass

Next we hit the salt flats in Uyuni but not before going on an eating rampage in La Paz. These boys can eat, and whilst i know it is not compulsary how can resist when the food is soooo good.

Peru and Machu Picchu

2008-10-04T14:13:00.001-07:00

In and around Cuzco

A 27 hour bus ride from Ecuador to Peru and a very early morning flight from Lima i arrive in Cuzco with Elly and meet up with Dan and Brian. We wondered around Cuzco, an amazing city, trying to find the best company to hike up to Machu Picchu with. We were recommended a company by the South American Explorers, so felt good with our choice. You can pay anything from 170USD to 450USD and there really does´t appear to be much difference. Booked for a few days time we head out to explore and run into a few people we met in Ecuador. By the end of the day we have managed to fill our tour with people that we know, bonus!

Brian and I were both suffering with the Altitude so we have given ourselves a few days to rest and aclimatise. Easy place to relax, buzzing and friendly with lots of churches, museums and ruins.

Some History: On May 21, 1950, an earthquake seriously damaged more than half the buildings of Cusco, Peru. It occurred without warning of foreshocks and was followed by only a few weak aftershocks. The epicentral area, within which buildings were extensively damaged, covered only about 12 square kilometers within the Cusco Basin, and minor damage was limited to a surrounding area of less than 500 square kilometers.

Plaza De Armas. Colonial arcades surround the plaza, which was the heart of the ancient Inca Capital.

The Basilica Cathedral. This magnificent building was damaged by the earthquakeand the gospel tower was seriously put at risk, due to the tremendous weight of the ´Maria Angola´bell. The restoration work was undertaken thanks to the Peruvian and Spanish governments. This really was spectacular.

Anyone with a weak stomach may want to skip the next photo!

I have many many more photos but this was the least disturbing for anyone that is easily disturbed. A local dish, therefore must be tried, is Guinea Pig. This little chap is roasted, and was in fact very tastey. There isn´t much meat on it so we ordered one between three and had another meal, just in case we didn´t like it. The presentation is a little off putting but i would eat it again.
As a warm up for a Salkantay treak up to Machu Picchu we hiked some local ruins, Saqsaywamán, Q´enqo and Pukapukara. Not very exciting but it wa a nice day out with great views over Cuzco.

Dan, Brian and Sara at the ruins.

Elly, Dan, Sara and Brian.

I don´t normally take photos of local, unless i have asked them, but this was a sneaky shot of the tiniest lady with her Alpaca, talking to Elly. Just for the record we ate Alpaca and llama as well!

So, to the trek. 5 days 4 nights on the second most popular route, the most popular being the Inca trail.

Day one

We started at 4am and drove up to the beginning of Salkantay National park. The hike was easy, most of it on a road which was a little disapointing. We were quite a fit group and it became very clear very quickly that our guide and assistant guide were not up to leading us.

First peak to the Salkantay. Located northwest of Cusco, Nevado de Salkantay, the cordillera's tallest peak, is at the eastern end of the chain and rises to 6271 meters above sea level. The name Salkantay means 'Savage Mountain' which may refer to the swirling clouds that rise up from the jungle lowlands and engulf the peak. We didn´t climb this, we just went through the pass at about 4,800 meters

Sara, Dan, Elly and Brian at our first lunch stop. The first of many dissapointing meals.

The guide on the left, this is where he got dropped off in the minibus and waited for us. Elly, Sara, Dan, Gyri and Aril taking shelter from the rain.

Enjoying the views, Elly and Sara. Elly is really into the outdoors so, much to the dissmay of the guide, we pushed each other along.

The first camp. Getting closer to the Salkantay, each step i just want to climb it.

Even though the first day was easy i was not feeling great. I was fast developing a cold, cough thing. I had been supressing it since the Galapagos, so that i could dive. It was cold at the first camp because were were surrounded by snow top mountains. We would pass through a many different climates on this trek.

Finally at the top of the Salkantay pass. This was a real struggle for me. The climb was three hours straight up. I was starting to think i developed asthma, or my fitness had seriously declined. It was a very dry and dusty road so i put it down to a mild allergy and pressed on.

Brian resting at the pass.

Second camp, with the worst toilet facilities and no improvement on the food. It rained all night so we have gone from freezing cold to cold and wet. That said, it was beautiful here and we were finally off the road and into the mountains.

Day three

All down hill, BRILLIANT. Really beautiful hike down in to near tropical climate. Day three ended at some hot springs where were treated ourselves to a few rum and cokes.

I managed to get quite far ahead on this leg, for a number of reasons but mainly because i wanted to be on my own for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet. Looking back at the rest of the group coming down the hill.

Elly, my tent buddie and new friend. She is from Canada, we are planning to travel for a little while affer the trek.

Day four

This was a long walk along another road. It was dusty and, to be honest a little boring, until the afternoon when we started to see the mountains that surrounded Machu Picchu.

There was a hydro electric station and a few waterfalls along the way. We were trying to work out where the water was actually coming from on this one. There was a large pipe a little further down the road so it is possible that they were pumping that water up!

Oz, short for Oriane Zarb, sat on the side of the train track with a 5 hour wait ahead of her. She spent the night being sick and could go no further until she realised that this was to be her fate. She soon perked up and managed to walk the final leg to Agua Calientes with us.

It was at this point that we all totally lost it with our guide, who was terrible. He was lazy and really didn't want to be there, which was a shame as we were a really nice group, that had fun despite his lack on input.

Machu Picchu mountain.

The dodgiest bridge that i have ever crossed. The individual metal sheets were not secured down, many were rusty and when you stood on them they bent. This is Brian rushing to get to safety, i think i may have run just a little faster!

After walking along the track and through the very narrow tunnels we made it to Aguas Calientes. A pretty little town that was full of people waiting to climb Machu Picchu. By this time i was off my food, which, for everyone that knows me well, is not a good sign. We had to make the decision to walk up at 4am or take the bus at 6am. I desperately wanted to walk but took the bus option.

Day five - Machu Picchu

4.30am we started to queue for the first bus up to Machu Picchu. It seemed crazy as the first bus didn't leave until 6am but by 5am the queue was massive and went all the way up the hill.

Breakfast in the bus queue, we made it onto the first bus and were very near the front of the entrace queue.

Huyna Picchu, Elly and Dan climb this the day before, parts of it were verticle using ladders to get to the top. Again i would loved to have done this but had to give it a miss.

Located high in the Andean Mountains not visible from the valley below, this city has been re-discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. Besides the fascinating Inca architecture and scale of this site, Machu Picchu owns much of its glory to the unique location. Every time you enter the city, you cannot help it but have to gasp. Sometimes called the Lost City of the Incas.

This mysteriousness that shrouds the city makes a visit all the more interesting. No place in South America can compare to this marvelous city that appears to be some sort of mirage appearing and disappearing from a veil of clouds. One can stand up here for hours and watch time pass by.

Now, it really makes very little difference when you enter the ruins, you can turn up all throughout the day but, if you want to climb Wayna Picchu you have to get there early. Only 400 people a day can climb, 200 at 7am and 200 at 10am. We were 6+ in the queue so managed to get to the top and look over the ruins before they were swamped with people.

The one advantage of being there nice and early, no people.

Getting ready to Climb Wayna Picchu. It was cloudy but fingers crossed it would clear for a good view.

Looking down in to the valley, it really was spectacluar.

Nearly there
We made it, from left to right, Elinor, Brian, Elly, Oz, Sara, Dan, Gyri and Arial. We were amoung the first people to the top and it felt great, although we could't see a thing!

Slowely it started to clear, you can see the top of the Machu Picchu mountain.

And here they are, a shot of the ruins from the Wayna Picchu mountain.

Elly and me, taking in the amazing views and feeling happy with our achievement.
Kat and Oz, two of the lovliest friends i have met. They to will continue with us on our travels.

Almoust perfectly clear. You can see the windy road down the side. This was a long and scarey bus ride.

Brian, Dan, Elly and Sara. All great new friends, sharing a happy moment at the top.

Some of the ruins have been rebuilt, here you can see some of the houses. The other walls you see were wither houses or they were build to strengthen the structure.

Machu Picchu moutain behind the ruins.

Great shot, one of my favorites. The ruins the the wayna picchu moutains in the backround.

Same photo but this one is better because i am in it!

And this one is the same but from a sligtly different angle. It was such a special day and i will remeber it always, like most of my trip!

Temple of the three windows - Bingham thought Machu Picchu might prove to be “that mythical place from which the Incas had come when they started out to found Cuzco and to make the beginnings of that great empire which was to embrace a large part of South America.”

The explorer believed that the fact that a temple at Machu Picchu had three large windows - a rare feature in Inca architecture—was evidence of the city’s importance to the Inca.

Intihuatana means "Hitching Post of the Sun". Every major Inca Center had one of these. Until today the meaning of this Stone has not been completely understood. It was most likely some sort of solar observatory or astronomical calendar. During the Winter Solstice, a strange triangular beam of light is said to be formed by this structure. This beam only shows up during that day and only for a few minutes.
It is believed that some sort of ceremony was held here during that day. With ceremonies, sacrifices and rituals everywhere, they certainly took their religion seriously.

Post Machu Picchi, happy hour 4 for 2 pisco sours. There were definately to many drunk but all we had to look forward to was a train back down.

For which we slept for most of the way.

When we got back to Cuzco i went down hill and had to call the doctor. Turned out i had Bronchial Pneumonia. My lungs were full of water, hence why i had huge problems breathing. I had 40 hours in a Peruvian hospital on IV anti biotics, and was very lucky to have visitors. Big thank you to Brian for holding my hand, it was just a little traumatic! and to both Dan and Brian for waiting for me to get out before traveling to Bolivia.

It has taken me a while to post this blog but three weeks later and i am recovered, just about, so no need to worry.

Next stop rest and recovery in Lake Titicaca, the Bolivian side in Copacabana. The groups is growing, we travel on with Jason, Jonathan, Oz and Kat.

Adios amigos

x

Galapagos Islands

2008-09-25T09:35:00.001-07:00

A must do. This was such an amazing trip, i was like being in the Blue Planet series, i kept expecting to see David Attenborough.

I have put a foot note on here for backpackers on a budget that may stumble across this. The Lonley planet and most agencies will tell you that you can´t do the Galapagos independantly, you must take a tour. Total rubbish, it will still take a chunk out of your budget but it is possible to do it for less than advertised.

In the course of millions of years, continuous eruptions of volcanoes that spurted from the sea floor created a fascinating archipelago: Galapagos. The islands are the tops of enourmous submarine mountains. Some younger islands are still being formed and grow in height, while the older islands are changing their form through the process of erosion.

The biological isolation of the Galapagos, combined with its volcanic formations and warm and cold currents, have led to an outstanding variety of habitats and species. Each island has a different set of unique species due to both isolation by the sea and variations in the island age and topography. The diversity of life forms in Galapagos is truly and evolutionary wonder.

Because of the unique location of the Galapagos - centered on the convergence of several major Pacific Ocean currents - both cold-water and tropical communities thrive here. Marine diversity depends on oceanic currents. The cold humbolt current contributes its waters to the south Equatorial current, which bathes Galapagos with nutrient-rich waters, enabling the growth of the particular marine life of the island.

Warmer waters brought by the Panama current, which is fed by the North Equatorial countercurrent, provide an ideal environment for the development of tropical marine ecosystems.

From the west, the Cromwell or Equatorial, Undercurrent, upon meeting the Galapagos platform, upwells, especially on the coasts of Fernandina and western Isabela, bringing deep waters that are rich in nutrients to the surface. Cold-water species, such as the flightless cormorant and Galapagos penguin, live in areas influenced by the Cromwell Undercurrent.

The Archipelago has a varying climate, marked by a scarcity of rain. The majority of the islands are arid, though there is lush vegetation growing in the highlands of the larger islands. Galapagos lies at the meeting place of winds and ocean currents coming from the north and south. These determine the climate of Galapagos and the distribution and abundance of its species.

There are a lot of photos on this one but you will understand why. I want to show as much of these amazing island and the wildlife to you, just incase you don´t make it.

I met up with Gal, at some very unsocial hour, to catch the plane to the Galapagos. It was the end of the season so everything was a little cheaper. When we got to the Island of Santa Cruz it was amazing. I feel in love with the place after about 5 minutes of being there. On the bus ride to the centre the driver stopped, got out and gentley encouraged a large iguanan, sleeping on the middle of the road, to move. It is clear that the people of the Galapagos treasure what they have.

When we got to the centre we met up with Dan and Brian and wasted no time in making the most of our week in the Galapagos. We booked in to Hotel España, owned by Esther and her friend Roberta. Extrodinary women who made our trip even more enjoyable. They helped us to organise individual island trips, as opposed to an expensive cruise.

Santa Cruz Island where we started our trip.

Brian, Dan, Sara and Gal at Los Gemelos. An amazing geological formation.

The Gemelos (twins) are a pair of craters approximately 30 meters deep located on either side of the road to Baltra. The holes could be created because of a volcanic explosion or because of magma chambers inside earth.

El Chato Tortoise Reserve, a place to observe giant tortoises in the wild.

These creatures were amazing, some of them over 100 years old. I have some great video but can´t seem to upload it at the moment.

Two very rare species of tortoise and Dan and a Gal!

Lava tunnels - When lava flows the outer part of the stream gets cold and hardens, but the liquid magma within continues flowing. When it ceased empty tubes are left behind.

The tunnels were dark and damp and seemed to go on for ever.

Until we got to this point. The guide had really just thrown us down the tunnel, we could have done with a tourch and some knee pads. Brian, getting ready to spiderman through this very small, muddy, gap.

Pelecans fighting for the scraps at the fish market. They also had to se off a greedy sealion.

Ecuabolly - similar to Volleyball but very very different! The rules seemed to be you can catch the ball and then through it, over the 9ft net. Serve with one hand and use as little style as possible. This did´t put the boys off, Dan, Brian and Gal decided to challenge the locals. Entry fee 20USD per person, the stakes were high and they were playing against a 60 year old, a guy with one leg shorter than the other and another guy that didn´t look like to much to worry about. Even with my cheers they were beaten, but not before a good fight. Dinner that night was cheap, 2USD chicken, rice and beans, again!

The highlight for me was to go diving. Gal and i booked up to go to Gordon Rocks, one of the most popular dives. The main reason for diving in this area is to see schools of Hammerhead sharks.

It was a full moon so the water was stirred up and the visibility wasn´t great, which was dissapointing. Anyone thinking about doing these dives should be aware that it is difficult. The currents are strong, which is why the sharks hang out here, and there are lots of sharp rocks that you can be easily thrown into.

Just to give you an idea of how rough it was, and this was a good day!

Scalloped hammerhead shark. We saw one school at Gordon Rocks. It was enough to get the adrenalin flowing.

We took a break for lunch and went into a shelttered area. We had the option to go snorkelling, with SEALIONS; BRILLIANT!!!

They were so playful and came very very close.

Extremely cheeky!

But lots of fun.

Elegant and beautiful

This little monkey bit my camera flash diffuser.

The next day we signed up for another dive at North Seymour. Slightly better visability and a lot more to see.

Nudibrancs, lots and lots of them, normally quite hard to see. There was no coral here, just rock, so it was eay to spot the smaller weirder creatures.

Lots and lots of giant star fish

Southern Stingray

There were two sealions chasing a white tip shark. One of them bit the shark on the tail.

Lunch break and more sealions lazing on the beach.

After lunch more amazing marine life. Galapagos shark.

Starsfish

More sealions swimming around us, playing and having a nosey.

Barracuda

White tip reef shark

There were so many turtles gracefully swimming around

Another hammerhead.

We only did four dives. It was expensive but really worth it.

We explored more of Santa cruise. A nice walk out to Las Grietas. On the way we saw lots of birds, cactus and lizards.

King Fisher

Dan launching himself into Las Grietas. pectacular saltwater grottoes with high lava walls where Fresh water fliters from the highlands and it mixes with the salt water filtered from the sea between the rocks, turning into brackish water (semi-salty)

The Charles Darwin Centre. A young scientist travelled the world, on a voyage that would revolutionize science. Charles Darwin, on board the Beagle, left England on an expedition that lasted five years. For FitzRoy, the captain, Galapagos represented merely one more stop on his voyage, but for Darwin is was much more. Here he began to formulate a coherent idea about the evolution of species. In his words, ´hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact - that mystery of mysteries - the first appearance of new beings on this earth´. It was not until years later he explained evolution, but Galapagos was always the source for his intuition.

Note the difference between the wild tortoise and this tortoise in the captivity programme. I personally thought they looked depressed. One of the main reasons for the programme is to continue breeding whilst the irradicate the threats to the species. The things that threaten the species were all brought to the islands by man. Cats, rats, and other animls dig up and eat the eggs. Goats and other vegetarian animals eat the vegetation needed by the tortoise to survive. Onces these major threats have been removed from the islands they will start to reintroduce them back to the wild.

Lonesome George - The end of the line. Many of the endangered populations of Galapagos tortoises have been brought back from the edge of extinction through varous breeding programs but some, like the Pinta Island Tortoise, face a precarious future. George, the last tortoise found on Pinta Island, is a sad reminder of the results of thoughless exploitation by humans.

The search was on to find any females on Pinta Island and amoung other captive tortoises in the world in the hope of finding a mate for George. They found two girls close to his genetic relations but he would not breed. They thought about cloning but this would be expensive and likely to fail.

SO, in the end the used good old turtle viagra and three lucky ladies are expecting their eggs to hatch any time now. Very very exciting, Go George! No wonder he looks knackered.

Money Laundering, although illegal it is necesary when you forget to empty your pockets before jumping into the sea - Brian!

Time for another Island, Bartolomé

We had to get up at 4.30am for this trip. We were a few days at Hotel España and Esther and Roberta had realy taken to Brian and Dan. Breakfast was not included but these ladies went out of their way and got up at 4.00am to make breakfast empanadas, fried tortillas stuffed with egg bacon and cheese. I was very happy with this arrangement as i got to benefit to!

A small rugged island off the eastern shore of Santiago, Bartolome lies opposite Sulivan Bay . The area of Sulivan Bay, a cascade of lava, punctuated at water's edge with fine white sand, was formed by the flow from a nearby shield volcano that erupted or the turn of this century. (The present Sulivan Bay was not in existence when James Sulivan, from whom the bay takes its name, visited the Galapagos as second lieutenant aboard HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin.) Together, Bartolome and Sulivan Bay evoke a lunar landscape of cones and craters in varying shades of deep chocolate and light brown, black, and gray.The guardian point of Pinnacle Rock on Bartolome, the worn away remnant of a cone composed of spewed ashy particles, is one of the best known landmarks in the archipelago.

It has two breathtaking beaches where marine turtles exist and at the base of the pinnacle, is a very small colony of Galapagos penguins.

A frigate bird. They hovered above the boat for most of the way.

I don´t think i will ever get bored of the sealions! These four were so playful, fighting and chasing each other.

Great shot over the island.

Lava cactus

Snorkelling around the island

Taking it easy

Galapagos penguin. I was so deperate to see one and today was our lucky day.

Up close and slightly nervous, Dan and Brian.

Whilst i was snorkelling, and on my way back to shore, there was a comotion. Blue footed boobies cirlcling above and diving into the water about 3 feet away. I looked down to see thousands of little silver fish using my shadow as sheltter. Then came the pengiuns, the poor fish got it from all angles. It was incredble to be in the centre of it.

You can´t see the feet, but you will shortly, of this blue footed boobie just surfaced after catching a fish, getting ready to go for another. They dropped out of the sky diving into the water at an incredible speed. Again i have a great video and will try and upload it soon.

Leaving Bartolomé with the Ecuadorian flag flying.
Back on Santa Cruz we went to Tortuga Bay. It is considered to be as one of the most beautiful beaches in Galapagos.

Tortuga bay is also a favorite place for sea turtles (which gave the name to the beach), sea lions, marine iguanas, pelicans, flamingos and lava gulls which are endemic to the Islands and are commonly found along the shore of most beaches.

We also got up close with the Blue Footed Boobie bird.

Next Stop Island Isabela - the ride out to the island was probably one of the most horrendous boat rides i have ever taken. All four of us sat there not really knowing if we were gong to survive and then Dan piped up with ´do you ever get that feeling when things are so bad that it´s funny´green in the face i said no, there really was nothing funny about it. Five minutes later i can´t stop laughing. It was true, things got so bad all i could do was laugh.

Isabela Island is by far the biggest island of the Galapagos—bigger than all the other islands combined. It is about 75 miles long and 50 mile at its widest. The total land area is 1771 square miles—bigger than Rhode Island. It is comprised five major volcanoes, of which two are still active. These mountains were probably separate at one time and then fused in to a single mass. The most recent eruption was Cerro Azul in 1999. So the island is still rising, and Wolf Volcano is the highest point in the islands—an elevation of 5,600 feet.

We went to another tortoise breeding centre where they had a different type of tortoise. Table top.

Tortoises seek out dry places with enough earth to dog a nest with the right temperature for incubating their eggs. With great effort the dig a hole using their hind feet and deposit between 6 and 14 eggs. They then urinate and defecate to moisten the ground and cover their eggs, they then abandon the nest.

The newbourns must scrape away the hardened earth of the nest for about 30 days before they reach the surface. This goes more quickly when many sibblings cooperate. The newborns have nothing to eat or drink while inside the nest, but they survive thanks to food reserves inside their bodies.

Slightly dissapointed we only saw one flamingo, and i am sure that its feet were tied with a rock!

At the top of Sierra Negro. Sierra Negra is in the west side of the Galapagos Islands archipelago. Located in the southern part of Isabela Island between the volcanoes Alcedo and Cerro Azul.

Sierra Negra's caldera at 6 miles x 5 miles is the largest in the Galapagos Islands and the second largest in the world after Ngoro Ngoro.

Looking down to the lake
Lots of really cool cactus

Dan in a lava tunnel

Looking down into the deep crater of one of the surrounding volcanos

Back to the water and we went to see where the sharks hang out. Sharks rest a lot and here, if you look closely, you will see about ten white tip reef sharks sleeping.
I got seriously barked at for getting to close, not a smart move!
This little one had just pulled homself up the beach and was getting ready for a nap.

There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of iguanas. The females were al huddled up on one side of the beach and the males were huddles up on the other side of the beach.

Final Island for me, the capital San Cristobal.

San Cristobal, also known as Chatham, is the easternmost island in the Galápagos. It is the site of the only permanent stream in the archipelago and is also where Darwin first went ashore in 1835. San Cristobal is also the site of the oldest surviving settlement in the Galapagos, El Progresso, established in 1869. The island is made up of two coalesced volcanoes. The southwestern half is a symmetric shield volcano made up of gently-dipping lavas and capped by a thick, deeply-weathered pyroclastic blanket and numerous satellite cinder cones.

I went to the Interpretation Center. Here you can learn about both the geological and human history of the islands, conservation issues, and natural history.

The sealions here run the place. It was funny to watch. This small baby was barking at it´s Mum. It wanted food, she clearly could´t be bothered so the baby bit her, she bit him back. It was like watching a stropy teenager trying to get it´s own way. Mum caved in the end.

Getting ready for bed, the beach was full of sealions tucking themselves in for the night. The next morning i got up to watch the sun rise. The sealions were waking, some going for a swim, a spot of breakfast, babies feeding. It was a really special moment as i at there with my coffee watching these incredible animals interact.

It has taken me a while to get this posted but i hope you have enjoyed it. I would recommend everyone to go, and if you need someone to go with i would love to go back.

Next stop Peru and Machu Picchu

Bye for now

Sara

Footnote for travellers.

I wanted to get this out there because we were told that it was difficult to do it independantly, it really wasn´t. I met so many people that were put off from going because of tour costs.

Here is a list of some of the costs to give you an idea. There were last minute cruises advertised all over the place from 900USD to 1500USD and more. These were week long cruises. You still needed to buy your flight, pay tips to the crew and have a night accm before and possibley after the cruise. We spoke to a number of people that had done the tours and they did no more than we did. In fact many people had said that the wished they has done it independantly.

We went at the beginning of September, which is close to the end of season.

Flight from Quitto - USD 380

Flight from Guayaquil - USD 310

Met two girls who waited for a stand-by USD 180 (our flight was empty so this is always an option if you have time)

There is lots of Hostel accomodation on Santa Cruz from USD 10 upwards. Hotel España was very central they organised all of our tours and it was USD 12 per night.

Diving - There are good and bad shops, so be careful. We paid USD 130 for Gordon Rocks and USD 140 for North Seymour. This included a very nice lunch, free t-shirt and photo disk. Some other shops were asking USD 160-180 for the same dives, they were more reputable so you need to make a choice.

All the tours were great and good value.

Bartolomé - USD 90 lunch included

Isobela - USD 120 three day two night guided tour incl food, accm and transport.

Floreana - USD 70 day tour incl food, snorkelling

San Cristobal - USD 20 for the boat over there lots of cheap accm.

The islands are homes for the locals so there are lots of local and cheap places to eat.

Hope this helps anyone searching for cheap trips to the Galapagos.

Ecuador

2008-09-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

From Cartagena i flew down to Quitto in Ecuador. After one cancelled flight and an extremely late arrival i finanally get to the Secret Garden in Quitto, recommended by John and Helen.

The views from the hostel roof garden were amazing you could see all over the city. This did limit my need to explore to much more so because there were a few people, daily, that had been mugged and relived of their valuables. I was on my own at this point and not feeling very brave.

Spread accross a spectacular Andean Valley and flanked by volcanic peaks, Quitto's setting alone is enought to strike you speachless. There are two town, Old and New, the Old town retains the vibrant working class and indigenous character that has always defined it.

View of the Basilico from the roof garden of the Secret Garden.

There was plenty going on in the hostel but the main reason for staying here was, as recommended by J&H, last minute cancellations to the Galapagos Islands. There was an in house travel agent who could not have been more helpful. I Started with a trip to the Otovalo markets where traditionally dressed indigenous people sell handicrafts to hordes of foreigners who pour in every Saturday to get in on the deals.

On the way we stopped off at the Mitad del Mundo. The Hemispheric line runs through Ecuador where they show you some fun mind boggling tricks including testing your own strength and balancing an egg on its bottom end.

On Top of the world on the equator.

It was pretty cool, this is on a flat piece of metal.

Otovalo market, women in traditional dress selling veg.

This was the right time to stock up on some Alpaca goods. It was cold in Quitto, i had left Columbia in 35 degree and Quitto was a crisp 18 degrees. So, i treated myself to a hat, gloves and some enourmous socks.

On the way back we stopped off at Cuicocha. A lake with two sunken volcanes in the centre.

After organising all my tours, flights to the Galapagos and climbing Volcan Cotopaxi, i decided to rest at the Secret Gardens new hostel near the Cotopaxi National park. One to aclimatise and two because it looked amazing. All inclusve family style meals, outdoor activities and peace and quiet.

I met up with Debs, Dan and Brian. Debs soul purpose of going to the lodge was to sit and stare at Giorgio, he worked there and Debs was in love. Dan and Brian, friends from the states, smart, funny and future travel companions. When we got to the Lodge Dan and i walked up to the waterfall. Gum boots on we walked up through the water up muddy sides and took in the fresh air of the mountains. There was lots of card games, sitting by the wood fire chatting and laughing.

Debs and i went horse ridding for the day. I had the slowest horse and spent the whole day playing catch up. We stopped for lunch at a lake and went trout fishing, by hand. It was interesting but not something i will be taking up in the near future.

The next day we arranged to hike up to the glacier of Cotopaxi. I was hiking the next day but i went so that i could aclimatise a little more. The Glacier was at 5000m so this was perfect to see how i coped with the altitide. I was fine and very excited about the big climb the next day.

Sara, Dan, Hannah and Norm at the glacier. Norm is 71 years old, he looks about 50 and is incredible.

This was the start of my big climb. It was cold and the air was thin and this was just the beginning,.

COTOPAXI

This is one of the most awsome things i have done in my life, i will treasure this memory for ever.

Sumit of Volcan Cotopaxi. The highest active volcano in the world, standing at 5897 meters. It was a long hard slog, which started at 1am, but 7 hours later i was at the top on the most perfect day.
During my trip i had plans to climb mountains, my goal is to climb a 6000m mountain so this one is good for a warm up!

Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 75 kilometres (50 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft)Cotopaxi has an almost symmetrical cone that rises from a highland plain of about 3,800 metres (12,500 ft), with a width at its base of about 23 kilometres (14 mi). It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 5,000 metres (16,400 ft). The mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito. It is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

This was taken from the Secret Garden lodge, you can see why this would be a perfect place to relax and unwind
Pre departure, Giorgio, Elly Freddie our guide and me.

We hiked up to the Cotopaxi lodge, just below the Glacier. We were spending the night here, i say night but we got up at 12pm to start the climb at 1am. So to pass the hours we played cards, drank tea and rotated around the fire, it was freezing.

Elly, Sara and Giorgio relxing before the big climb. The weather on the hike up to the lodge was horendous and we were concerned that we may not be able to make it due to bad weather. At about 7pm the weather took a turn for the better and the conditons were perfect, we wanted to go there and then but we would not have seen anything as the night was dark, and cold.

We all got pretty close in the night but no amount of body heat was going to keep us warm. I was thankful when 12pm came around so i could get up and get my circulation going.

Wrapped up like a pass the parcel we walked up to the Glacier where we would get our ice climbing gear on. I was pretty slow, i had been holding off a cold, so i got a guide to myself. This was great, i didn't have to feel bad about holding anyone else back. Crampons on, ice pick at the ready we started up the glacier in pitch black, Which really was a good thing because we were walking up a 35 degree slope. It really was just straight up but at no point did i feel tired or that i wasn't going to make it, not making it was not an option.

This is one of my favorite shots. This is from about 5400meter. The sun was rising and you can see the shadow of Cotopaxi .

As we were climing i didn't ask Pablo how long or how far. I knew that the answer to the question would severly impact me and probably not in a positive way. So, i waited until i thought the answer would be one i wanted to hear. I could see the summit, i could see one of the teams coming down from the top, i knew that we had already been walking for a long time, so i asked the question. How much longer? About 2 hours, maybe two and a half. By this time i could see the steepness of the mountain and my heart sank. I still wanted to make it but the sun was up and the snow was going to start melting, i was worried that they would not let me summit because it had got to late.

Still smiling i ate a little drank a little and pressed on. As we got closer to the top it was very narrow and i had to use my ice picks to pull myself up. It was scarey but exciting. I was attached to Pablo but he was a 5ft 2 Ecuadorian, i am a 5ft 11 giant and could easliy have pulled us both off the mountain with one false move.

And here i am, 5897 meters, holding back the tears of happiness and taking in the most beautiful view. It was worth every step, and the blister on my leg where the boots rubbed

There have been more than 50 eruptions of Cotopaxi since 1738. Numerous valleys formed by powerful lahars (mudflows) surround the volcano. This poses a high risk to the local population, their settlements and fields.

Crying at this point, the emoition was just to much! Behind me the Point Farthest From the Center of the Earth - The peak of the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador at 20,561 feet (6267 m) is farthest from the center of the earth due to its location near the equator and the oblateness of the Earth.
Pablo and Sara, feeling like i am on top of the world.

The climb was over but we still had to get down. This was harder than getting up, although it only took a few hours versus 7 hours to get up there. There were a few tumbles and i spiked myself with my crampons but finally we made it back to the hut. Elly was there to meet me. We were heading back to Quitto to get ready to fly off to the Galapagos, Elly on a first class dive live a board and me, well lets see how that goes, i have a flight and the rest will hopefully fall into place when i get there.

Crazy - sometimes, enjoying life to the full - totally, meeting great people - absolutley

From here i move on with Elly, Dan and Brian, new friends and great company.

much love

Sara

Panama to Cartagena

2008-08-31T16:21:00.001-07:00

Columbia certainley was not on the cards but travelling by yacht from Panama to Cartagena via the Archipielago San Blas was to tempting. Well tempting once you manage to put the thoughts of pirates and drunken sailors at rest.

There are lots of boats that leave regularly but it is finding one with a good reputation and a good captain that is key. I booked to travel on Esmirelda with captain Olivier, French Canadian and experienced Sailor. The rest of the crew were three Swiss Germans, Pascale, Pascal and Dominic.

There was to be one more passenger and thankfully he decided not to come. His name was Armin, upon first meeting him it went something like this -

Armin - Hello you must be Sara, you were announced for yesterday why are you late.
Sara- i decided to go to Isla Grande and party for the night.
Armin - Where are you from
Sara - England

Armin - Well i am a German and i hope you are not offended by nakedness. At which point he whipped off his trunks and proceded to dry himself with the worlds smallest towel. Oh yes i got an eyeful. Nakedness i am comfortable with but this was outrageous, he was stood about a meter and a half infront of me. So, i was pleased when he pulled out, i could not have put up with a week of that!

Aboard Esmirelda looking over Isla Grande.
There is no photoshop on this, the water really was this clear, this was looking more like the paradise that i appear to have been searching for. the weather was a little coudy once we got out to sea but it did not take away from the beauty of the Islands that we were approaching.

The San Blas Archipelago, part of the Comarca de Kuna Yala, is a chain of approximately 400 islands stretching along the Caribbean coast of Panama. Picture football field-sized cays covered with palm trees, ringed with pearl-bright beaches fronting the dazzling Caribbean Sea. Small indigenous villages cover some of the islands, while others remain uninhabited.

Chi Chi me Island. We anchored in between two islands for two days. We swam to them and relaxed under the coconut trees, it was so peaceful. There are only 10 inhabitants on the island so we tucked ourselves out of the way so as not to intrude to much.

Locals selling fresh fish and crafts. The dug out canoes are facinating, it really is just a dug out tree trunk.
The other island, also Chi Chi Me, it has gradually spilt. A little different but not much, white sands, coconut trees and clear water. We did sot around eating fresh coconut, a little chocolate and it would have been perfect.

The first of may amazing sunsets. Me with Esmirelda in the backround. We had bbq fish and rice as the sun went sown, and a few beers.

The sunrise.

This is Venicio, he lives of Chi Chi me and is the master behind my new purchase. The Kuna Indians are known for their decorative art, known as molas. Molas are usually very bright and colorful and are often worn as clothing. Before the missionaries converted the natives to Christianity, they wore few clothes but decorated their bodies with colourful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they followed their body painting designs in their Molas, which they wore as clothing.

There were so many massive starfish hanging out in the crystal clear waters.

After the dissapointment of Little Corn Island in Nicaragua i was happy that i really had found paradise.

Makeshift sail boat

We met many people here that had packed up life, bought a boat and were travelling where ever the winds took them. Some made jewlery and sold it to tourists, many of them were self suficient and caught their own food. They were interesting people but i don´t think i could likve like this.

Looking out to some of the other small islands. The islands are owned by different clans, somre are inhabited and many are not. I don´t think i would have any problems staying here.

fishermen, who are actually quite naughty. They were catching lobster that was to small. We spoke them, as there are laws, and they threw them back. Well, for that day anyway, they don´t understand that if they take them that small there will eventually be none to take at all.

We did have a lot of fun, this is Dominic, complete with war paintbuilding sand castles, the afternoon was finnished off with coconut football.

Getting ready to set sail.

We took in turn throughout the night to steer, by this point Pascale was feeling really sea sick and the captain was drunk. The boys took the night shift and i did the early morning 5am to 10am. The seas were a little rough and it was quite scarey out there on your own.

It has seriously made me think about my dreams of crossing an ocean. It is true, you do see things in the dark and you have no idea what it is. Dominic thought we were about to crash into an Island, there was no fear of that we were still 15 hours away from land.

Finally enough wind to get the sails up.

Another beautiful sunset

The walled city of Cartagena, and not a moment to soon. I think all four of the crew were about to make the captain walk the plank. He was partial to a glass of vino, normally starting at about 11am. He was more than a little opinionated!

The left side of Cartagena as we came in the port, looks amazing but, 70% of them were unfinnished. It was a large building site with lots of half finnished buildings.

The old town of Cartagena, very impressive. It has a great history and many impressive Colonial Buildings.

The crew, Pascal, Pascale, Domonic and me. Ready to leave the boat and have some beers on dry land.

I didn´t spend long here, four days to be exact. It was enough time to take in this beautiful city, see where they sold the slaves, walk around the wall and get a much needed pedicure and a chinese meal.

I will leave you with some photos of the lovely Colonial walled city of Cartagena. I will return to Columbua one day and see the rest, everyone we met said it was one of their favorite countries.

There was one other little excursion to Volcan do Lodo El Totumo. This was advertised as a natural mud volcano with minerals. It really was a hole filled with mud where you climbed in for a dodgy massage and then sat there for 40 mins. The mud was so dense that you floated on top.

Dominic and Pascal had a mud fight, apparently it didn't taste to nice!

Panama City and Panama Canal

2008-08-31T14:30:00.001-07:00

18 hours after leaving Costa Rica i arrived in Panama City. This is such a cool place very cosmopolitan with a very different vibe, that could be something to do with the fact that as a country they are loaded, and little bit corrupt!

There is a large business district but i headed for Casco Viejo, a dilapidated neighbourhood with cobblestones, old churches and scenic plazas.
This is the goverment buildings. You can walk through the streets but everything is armed so no entry.

´Following the destruction of the old city by Henry Morgan in 1671, the Spanish moved their city 8km southwest to a rocky peninsular on the foot of Cerro Ancon. The new location was easier to defend as the reefs prevented ships from approaching the sity except at high tide. The new city was easy to defend as it was surrounded by a massive wall, whic is how Casco Viejo got it´s name (old Compound)´

´The capture, sack and burning of the city of Panama in 1671 marked the climax of one of the most extraordinary campaigns in military history — perhaps the most remarkable aspect of which was the fact that it was not a military campaign at all. The ‘army ‘ that reduced the second largest city in the Western Hemisphere to ashes did not act on behalf of any nation, sovereign, religion or political ideology.

No, these were men motivated solely by the spirit of free enterprise. They were, in point of fact, a gang of criminals — pure, unadulterated pirates.

The leader of this enterprise was equally remarkable. Indomitably courageous and charismatic, Henry Morgan had a rags-to-riches life that would have made a fine subject for a Horatio Alger novel had he not also been one of the most rapacious, ruthless and unprincipled villains of his age.'

There were so many incredible buildings.

Plaza de la Independance is in the heart of Casco and was the site where Panama declared its independance from Columbia on November 3rd 1903.

Looking back over the skyline of Panama City. High rise building and full of huslte and bustle.

Ingelsia De San Jose. This church protects the famous alter do Oro (golden altar), which was the only thing of value salvaged after Henry Morgan sacked Panama Viejo. According to local legend, when word came of the pirates impending attack, a priest painted the altar black to disguise it. The priest told Morgan that the famous altar had been stolen by another priate and convinced Morgan to donate handsomely for its replacement. Morgan is said to have told the Priest ' I don´t know why, but i think you are more of a pirate than i am'.

This has been one of the highilights for me. It is a combination of being a secret boat spotter and the importance of one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time.

'The Panama Canal is approximately 80 kilometers long between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This waterway was cut through one of narrowest saddles of the isthmus that joins North and South America.

The Canal uses a system of locks -compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks function as water lifts: they raise ships from sea level (the Pacific or the Atlantic) to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level); ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide.

Each set of locks bears the name of the townsite where it was built: Gatun (on the Atlantic side), and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific side).

The lock chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship).

The water used to raise and lower vessels in each set of locks comes from Gatun Lake by gravity; it comes into the locks through a system of main culverts that extend under the lock chambers from the sidewalls and the center wall.

The narrowest portion of the Canal is Culebra Cut, which extends from the north end of Pedro Miguel Locks to the south edge of Gatun Lake at Gamboa. This segment, approximately 13.7 kilometers long, is carved through the rock and shale of the Continental Divide.

Ships from all parts of the world transit daily through the Panama Canal. Some 13 to 14 thousand vessels use the Canal every year. In fact, commercial transportation activities through the Canal represent approximately 5% of the world trade.

The Canal has a work force of approximately 9 thousand employees and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing transit service to vessels of all nations without discrimination'.

I went to the Miraflores visitors center which is an expression of the permanent commitment of the Panama Canal Authority to strengthen the public’s knowledge of the Canal. They are very focused on environmetal issues and there is a whole floor dedicated to showing their comitment to the public. From the top of the center you can see the boats passing through the Milaflores, i spent hours here watching two massive tankers pass through.

They have trains along side so that the boats stay central and don´t hit the sides. There were about 6 trains on this boat.

Moving through the second lock.

This boat was from Hong Kong. It was huge.

Ships pay according to their weight, with the average fee around USD 30,000. The highest amound paid was around USD 200,000, by a cruise ship in 2001 and the lowest amount was USD 0.36 by Richard Haliburton, who swan through in 1928.

The gate house of the Milaflores lock

The next day i had booked a trip up the Panama Canal. It was a 5 hour trip and took you through three locks and up through the Gatun lake. All boats, even submarines that occasionally pass through, have to have a port captain who is responsible for getting the vessels through. I overheard that they get paid about USD 300,000 per annum. This is a huge amount of money in this part of the world, an most other parts come to think of it, so it really is a huge responsibility.
There are two briges that connect the two sides of the canal.

This boat is to big, with its cargo, to pass through the locks. They unload all the containers which are then taken by train to the other end and reloaded once the shop passes through.

It takes a few hours for the boats to pass through the first three locks and then they cross the Gatun lake to the other side and spend a few more hours dropping down to sea level on the Atlantic side.

We shared a lock with this monster. This is a fuel carrying boat but there is very little or no cargo on this ship. If it was full the red part would be underwater, and you would only see the black.

It was a tight squeeze, this thing only just fitted in. They are building an extension to the lock which will allow bigger boats to come through. The new locks are being built along side the current ones so there will be no disruption to day to day manovers. They will have more advanced technology and will be more efficient.

The gates

The gates closing. It was all pretty quick, i think it fills at 3 feet per minute.

There is lots of wildlife on the canal. This pelican did quite well for his lunch, at least 4 fish. There were also crocodiles and lots or birds.
The little train keeping the boat from hitting the sides, although it did look like it had taken a bit of a battering.

The lock chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship). These doors are actually hollow and if they need to be repaired they are taken off and floated up to Gatun for repair, then floated back down.

Taking a rest

The Pedro Miguel Locks, the last of the three locks on the Pacific side.

Travelling from the Atlantic side through the Gatun lake, heading for the Pacific.

These white tubes are to put explosive down and clear the land. This is part of the expansion.

Thes are drills that are drilling into the canal. They drop explosives in and then come along with a barge to clear it up.

I hope this hasn´t been to boring. I found it so intersting and it was cool to see the types of containers that were being carried. Bananas, coffee, Fuel, electronics etc etc.

A big day out for me and afterwards i headed up to Isla Grande. I booked to take a boat from Panama to Cartagena. On the way i met some really cool people that lived in Panama. I went along with them to Isla Grande and partied the night away, a great laugh and some new friends.

Bye for now

love

Sara

Costa Rica - San Jose and Tortugero National Park

2008-08-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to Costa Rica but in the end didn´t spend as much time as i had planned here. It was a good time to catch up with myself and rest and then take in the city of San Jose.

San Jose central was full of office tower blocks, malls and lots of fried chicken chains. I did take some time to visit a few museams and churches but it was not as impressive as Nicaragua or Guatemala.

I took a tour to the Tortugero National Park which is in the rainforest on the Northern Caribbean coast. ´Misty green coastal park sits on a broad flood plain parted by a jigsaw of canals. Referredto as the ´mini Amazon´the intense biodiversity includes over 400 birds species, 60 known species of frog, 30 species of freshwater fish, three monkey species as well as the threatened West indian Manatee. Caimans and crocodiles can be seen lounging n river banks while freshwater turltes bask on logs.´

On the way out to the park we stopped at a Banana plantation. The man from Del Monte........

This really was interesting, even more so because i had just started to read the book Bananas by Peter Chapman. It is about how United Fruit Company shaped the world, a very interesting read.

This plantation is about 1,000 hectares. There is one man employed per hectare and they are responsible for the drainage, monitoring and picking the bananas.

The trees have three harvest per year. Their life span in seven years and then they are cut down for compost. The blue bag is to evenly distibute the heat so that they grow and ripen at the same pace. Without the bag the sun would rise and ripen one side more than the other. The bananas are picked whilst they are still green and shipped in temperature controlled containers. They slowley rippen on during their long journey and are nice and yellow by the time we buy them at the store.

The ´mother´tree is under ground. The two trees above are and older one and a younger one. They have different growth cycles that produce the three bunches a year. You can see the trenches at the side, it rains about 12 meters of water a year. The trenches control the water as to much will kill the banana trees.

The factory where the man from delmonte he say ´YES´.

There are many bugs and spiders living in the bananas. This is a Megason Beetle. This species can be up to 12 cm long. Adult males have a horn with which they fight for females. Each male deffends a small territory where it lures a female and keeps other males away. This one is chomping on some sugare cane.

To get to tortugero you need to take a boat through the canals. We had a good group and i met up with a few girls that we met in the Corn Islands.

The water was muddy but the air was fresh and the sounds of the animals had you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see something.

The photos are all on full zoom so not that great, however, if you look closely enough you will see some little eyes here and there!.

Caimen hanging out in the reefs.

The flora and fauna was amazing. There were some really beautiful flowers and trees.

Pink flamingos chilling in the trees.

Another Caimen lurking inthe bushes.

We saw all three species of monkey. Spider monkey, white face and howler. Above are the howler monkies.
The beach, which is protected by the national park. this is where turtles travelled thousands of miles to come and lay their eggs. There are three main visitors. Green back sea turtles, leather backs and loggerheads.

Here are the tracks of a turtle, the morning after the night before. They come come up the beach at night to minimise predators. They spend about 40 minutes digging a holes to lay the eggs and then they go into a transe. They lay about 100 eggs and they will come to the beach about three times. The survival rate for the babies is low, about 1 in 1000. The effort for one turtle to lay about 300 eggs and none of her babies will become adults.

There main threat is jaguars. They hide in the bushes and attack the turtle whilst it in a trance laying the eggs. They go for the behind the neck, the most exposed part of the turtles.

A turtle nest. Once she has laid the eggs, she covers the hole, which is quite deep, turns around and never looks back. The mother does not look after the eggs or the babies.

I went on a night tour to see the turtels nesting. Because it is a national park there were no cameras or flash lights. We did see a few turtles coming up the beach and we were very lucky to see a leatherback turtle lay her eggs. We also watched as an exhauseted mother return to the sea to swim hundreds of miles in search of food.

Sunset on the canal

There is a two toed sloth in the trees, promise!

More beautiful plants

Spider Monkey
Croc basking in the sun
A blue herron. We also saw a green back and a tiger herron.
Baby caiman

Mum was close by keeping and eye out.

Spider Monkey, totally out of focus but the closest shot that i had.
This is a gingery plant and if you were to get lost in the rainforest you can eat this. When it rains it holds lots of water to you can hydrate from it as well.

The sun shines down through the treess and light up the plants

It really was peacful here i felt like i was in a David Attenbrough documentary. I could here is voice as we floated through the canals. ´deep inside the rainforest you can hear the sound of the red frog´ etc etc.......

That was all i mananged in Costa Rica. I was planning to Climb the highest peak, Cerro Chirripo but it was a lot of planning to do it on my own and it was 700USD to go on a three day organised tour. I will save my legs and money for climbing in South America.

Being on my own has not been to bad. I have been able to get done what i wanted to do and the next move is to Panama City, 18 hours on a bus, hurrahhhhh!!!

bye for now

Nicaragua - Leon and San Juan Del Sur

2008-08-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Two quick updates

One - the camera. After a few weeks without it, and no sign of life despite taking it apart with a screw driver, i made the decision to buy a new one. We landed in Managua and detoured to a shoping mall where i purchased a very similar camera, which was not cheap. We get to the hotel and i throw the old broken camera on the bed in slight rage, at which point it decided to work again! So now i have two cameras, which i really don´t need as i am already carrying round a small horse.

Two - update from the Corn Islands. The day that Jo and i left there was a murder. A local baseball player was shot 7 times. He had taken 32kg of cocaine that did not belong to him and was unwilling to give it back or give the procedes made from any sale. So they drove up in a boat and shot him. Soooooo glad not to have been there! Paradise.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and to my Mum who I share the day with.

We arrived in Leon, a beautiful colonial city, with some really amazing buildings and a Cinema. We went to see the new Batman movie, which was really good, complete with popcorn and chocolate. It really was a very happy day!

We stayed in Via Via, a really nice hostle with great food and a pub quizz, which we were nowhere near winning. The accomodation was great and we had our own little rocking chairs to relax in.
Pretty gardens and very very quiet, perfect.

the Cathederal in the main square. On Satruday nights families meet here and party.

The buldings are a little crumbley but is lots of colour and the style is very different. It is more developed here. You can see into people houses, they are very basic but homely with lots of rocking chairs and a TV. Families sit around together rocking a passing the day away.

This was one of the things we had come to do, not cultural at all but really good fun! Boarding down a volcano.

The slope on the left side is the one we were going down.
Kitted up and ready to go ,with our orange jump suits and boards, we climbed for an hour to the crater of the volcano, which is till active.

Lara Croft eat your heart out. Jo armed and ready to go.

The sulphure smoking crater of Cerra Negro. It really did smell but it was an amazing view from the top.

Cerro Negro is one of the most recent basaltic cinder cones to form within the western hemisphere. The last eruption of Cerro Negro was in November of 1995. At this time, the cinder cone was 750 ft. tall. A large percentage of eruptions at Cerro Negro emit pyroclastic material and lava flows. The Cerro Negro volcano spread a large area of farming land with ash. Ash was thrown 1,300 ft. above the crater. This forced the evacuation of 1,400 people from the area. A cloud rose a few miles above the crater. This has brought about ash and rain on towns closeby. This forced more people to be evacuated from the area.

At the top we were greeted by thousands of black and yellow bugs.

It was a little bit freaky. They were flying into mouths, up noses and getting stuck in my hair.

Here we go, Jo and Sara side by side ready to go! The breif was, keep your mouth shut, don´t put your hands down and don´t brake to hard, ok lets go....

Fearless and picking up speed but at his point Jo is ahead.

I have just wiped out but jump back on and am prepared not to brake again. Jo has a massive wipe out and looses her goggles. I don´t know how she manages it but she got down without them, small bit of debris flying into her face.

We want another go........ It really was brilliant fun, had there been a ski lift back up we all would have had another go. Maybe there is a business plan here..........

It took many mojitos and a lots of soap to get this muck off. It got everywhere but two dirty, happy, smiling faces.

So on to San Juan Del Sur. Again, the Lonely planet has very different ideas about clear white sand, but i shall be taking this up with them separately. It was a nice quite beach town with a very colonial feel. This is a place for the surfers and clean beaches to relax on. We bumped into Simon and Cam again, which was a nice start to the day. We are now seven and we all head off to the beach for surfing lessons, except for Cam because he slipped on a bread fruit on Little Corn Island and has really hurt his knee, someone was going to do it!

Simon, Sara, Jo and Cam taking it easy on the beach.

Lights, camera, action - ready to hit the waves. I managed to get the biggest board as i was assured that this would increase my chances of standing up.

Bo, Jo, Sara, Simon, Blair and Ariana ready to go.

I did actually manage to stand up for about 8 seconds, which is a very long time, and enough time for me to understand why people get addicted.

sadly i won´t be getting addicted today as my knees are bruised, i can´t see anymore, my sinuses are completely flushed out and i am tired.

Barely able to carry the board but having a great time.

And so all good things must come to an end. The final meal with Bo, Cam, Simon, Jo, me, Blair and Ariana behind the camera. My travels with Jo have some to an end and in the morning we will go our separate ways.

Jo is heading back to Honduras to do her Dive Master training and hopefully work. I am heading South, Costa Rica, Panama, Cartagena, Equador and then south from there. I can´t tell you how sad i feel but i have a great new friend who i have shared many adventures with, i will miss her very much.

Sara at the border crossing to Costa Rica. Feeling a little bit scared but looking forward to some new adventures.

Sara

Nicaragua - Esteli to the Corn Islands

2008-08-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

After our mad dash from Roatan we were trying to get to the Corn Islands as quickly as possible. The plan was to drink water, eat fruit and catch some rays, commonly known as detox!

It was all going well. Three hour bus journey to San Pedro del Sur, over night stay, up early for a 5 hour bus ride to Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, only to find that all the buses for Managua, capital of Nicaragua, were full for the next three days, ahhhhhhh......

We had no option but to make a run for the border on chicken buses. We picked up another dissapointed traveller, Neil, who was a seasoned traveller so i felt much safer. Five chicken buses and 12 hours later, having only eaten 4 biscuits, we had to end our journey in Esteli which is about 2 hours from Managua.

I forgot to mention the dodgy border crossing where a local woman offered to buy Jo for 8000USD, she wanted her to be her husband. We negotiated for a higher price but the deal fell through as we raced for the last bus.

Esteli was beautiful and we stayed there for a few days to recover from the buses. After a nice organic breakfast we walked to a waterfall, the book said was a 5 km walk, after 2 hours of walkin we were still reading signs that said 4.5 kms.

Which was not a bad thing as this was the view. It was a really nice day, however, it took so long to get there that by the time we did it was throwing it down with rain.

As we arrive at the waterfall everyone else is leaving. We didn´t mind as we figure we would have it to ourselves. Ahhh, pretty. Sadly this photo doesn´t show what was really going on......

..... this one does, even though it is in sepia. It was like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The rain had caused all the mud to run into the river and it looked like a massive chocolate fountain. I opted out of the swim but Jo and Neil braved it, not only was it brown it was freezing cold.

This is close enough for me.

Rested and all booked up for a flight to the Corn Islands. Advertised as ´veritable tropical paradises in an isolated corner of the Caribbean. Both islands boast clear turquoise water, white sandy beaches fringed with coconut palms, excellent fishing, phenomenal coral reefs to explore and an unhurried, peaceful pace.` Hmmmmmmm...........

After the scarey flight we had to take a spine crunching boat ride. Whilst Jo was checking out emergency exits and who to save first i was white knuckled and ready to chunder!

This is probably the largest bit of beach on the Island. We stayed on the other side with lashing wind and waves. All the accomodation was very basic and included bed bugs. This really wasn´t the relaxing getaway we had been dreaming of. There were no roads, which is fine, but the mud paths were lined with rotten mango and bread fruit. It stunk and it was a challenge not to slip in the slime and also dodge the ones falling out the trees.

We did go diving and there was one dive that was pretty cool. White Holes - 8 meters deep and lots of surge, we saw 6 nurse sharks, 3 eagle rays, 3 souther stingrays, 20 barracuda and i had a very close encounter with a spotted trunk fish. It is one of my favorite fish and it was staring me out nose to nose, BRILLIANT!

Jo´s handy work with the camera as mine is still broken, at this point.

We made some new friends on the Corns Islands, Cameron and Simon. Both from Canada, friends from school and incredibly funny. We went out for a nice meal, the food was melt in your mouth delicious as was the wine.

Enjoying the detox!

Whilst the rest of the customers were enjoying a came of coconut oil twister we were outside enjoying the storm.

Jo, Simon, Cam and Sara still enjoying the wine......

....and then all the excitement got to much for one young lady!

This was our body guard on the walk back along the beach. He was pretty cool but got distracted by the temptation of a quick snack!

Totally rested and ready to go. Heading to Leon for my Birthday and some volcano surfing.

Bye for now

Sara