Ice (Nov. 21)

Antarctica, the seventh continent.  Well, actually, it's my fifth, but most people call it the seventh.  It's also called the white continent, and I think I know why.  It's also known as the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, and loneliest continent.

When I awoke this morning and looked out the window, I was blinded by the amount of ice outside!  There were huge tabular icebergs everywhere.  For those of you who don't know what those are... a tabular iceberg is a large iceberg that was once a part of an ice shelf.  As glaciers shift down to the sea, ice shelves (tall, flat pieces of ice) break off in long, narrow icebergs about 30x5 miles long.  Those are what I first saw when I looked out the window.  There is simply a lot of ice!  

Tabular ice berg in Antarctic Sound.

Our landing this morning was at an Adelie Penguin colony at Brown Bluff.  These little guys are small and quirky, just as you would imagine a penguin would be.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that it is much colder here.  It snows here a lot and is about 4 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind chill.  No longer Chaco weather out on deck unfortunately.  Not that it really was before either, but Jason and I have kept to the Chacos so far, much to the bemusement of our shipmates!  But we bundled up for this landing and were rewarded with our first continental landing, meaning that we actually set foot on the continent of Antarctica, not just an outlying island.  It's exactly as I imagined Antarctica would be when I was little!  Lots of ice, very cold, and many, many penguins!  

Adelies at Brown Bluff.

We made it to Antarctica!

We had intended on finding some thick ice and running the ship up on it so that we could get out and walk around, but we never found ice that was suitable for this purpose.  So we sailed around looking for seals and ice bergs.  During dinner the captain even rubbed the front of the ship onto a huge berg and pushed it down the channel quite a ways!  Very cool day.  And as we came to find out, it was one of the coldest summer days in the last four years!

Pack ice in Erebus and Terror Gulf.

And right before I was about to post this, we saw killer whales!

Greg

Sea (Nov. 20)

We've spent the past two days at sea, making our way from South Georgia to the Antarctic Peninsula. They've been relatively uneventful, but I'll catch you up on the highlights.

Days at sea can seem either surprisingly busy or smack of sheer boredom. Yesterday was mostly busy with talks from the staff on Robert Falcon Scott, the second man to reach the South Pole who died in the attempt, and some time working with the photo staff on improving creativity in our next few days at Antarctica. The weather was unusually calm with fog and occasional hard snow.

Scott was a remarkable person and an incredible explorer, but I was surprised to learn that he was a troubled soul at some level. His quest for the Pole seemed to reflect his introspective nature and personal insecurities. It seems that he needed Antarctica as a mirror to show who he really was. He needed the wild and unconquered places to test his limits as an explorer and a leader. In his case, Antarctica proved too much. He succeeded in reaching the Pole, but he could not make the return journey. He and all of his men died getting back to base camp. He made it to within 11 miles of a food cache he had prepared, but neither he nor any of his men had the strength to continue on. He froze to death in his tent after writing letters to his men's families and finally a letter to his ever-supportive wife who was on her way to New Zealand in anticipation of his safe return. His story is a tragic success. It reminds me what the few remaining blank places on the map can mean to us. For some, they are testing grounds, to others, mirrors to the depths of their own souls. Still others look to these places to see their own insignificance, see the power they know exists in something greater. Antarctica can be a place to strive for and strive in and through. It's like a mirror. There are as many Antarcticas as there are people who come here, as many images as there are people who look into the mirror. Scott and Shackleton competed for the same Pole, but each experienced a very different Antarctica.

When I woke this morning, I heard a loud vibrating and shaking noise followed by a sort of small crash. Next I felt a rise that kept rising and rising and finally fell with the same shaking. I eventually put together that we were in a storm and that the shaking was the propeller coming out of the water as we crested a big wave. The gale kept blowing all morning. The waves crested and blew spray through the air. We crashed down wave after wave, and most people stayed in their cabins. At breakfast, we heard metallic crashing and banging from the galley and saw crew people carrying power tools -- not a good sign. By lunch it was starting to calm down and everything was fine, but the weather we had was a reminder of just how tough these seas can be. The twenty-odd feet and 45 knots of wind we had can be much much worse, but it was quite enough.

Now we're only about 50 miles from the Continent, and we're very excited to be getting off the ship tomorrow.

~Jason

BIG (Nov. 18)

Well, this morning we woke up not knowing where we'd be.  There are storms brewing between us and Antarctica, and we are in for a fairly rough crossing, or so we're told... The ship will spend the next two days zig-zagging between storms in an attempt to find the calmest crossing possible.  As a result, we weren't sure when we woke up whether we'd still be in SGI or already on the move to beat the storms.  

We did wake up in SGI, which was always the intended schedule, but we were in the wrong place.  Our intended destination was also going to be rough and therefore wasn't a very hospitable place to anchor overnight, so we awoke in a familiar place: Gold Harbor.  This was the landing earlier in the week where we had beautiful light, thousands of penguins, and elephant seals!  Coming back was always a hope of mine, but typically unusual for these trips.  So for me at least, it was a pleasant surprise!

As we departed from Gold Harbor, we said goodbye to SGI in a spectacular fashion, or perhaps I should say that the island gave us a spectacular farewell!  The view of the mountains was incredible.  All of the peaks were snow covered all the way down to the sea and glaciers surrounded many of the peaks.  The peaks looked like daggers trying to slice the cold sky.  I couldn't believe the number of sharp mountains!  That island is truly a special place! It seemed to be inviting us back to experience all of its hidden wonders!

And that wasn't even the high point of the day!? On our way to Antarctica, we had to take a detour for...whales!  Ahhhh, saying that just seems peaceful!  We turned towards the distant signs of these great creatures to get a closer glimpse.  As we got closer to the numerous whale blows that appeared on the horizon like white trees, we found that we were watching a group of dozens of fin whales feeding on the surface.  This is a new type of whale for me, and it happens to be the second largest whale alive!  We continued to get closer and closer, but some of the whales didn't look quite the same.  Yes, the best thing possible happened, funny how that sometimes happens...!   BLUE WHALE! I can't figure any other way to make it sound more exciting.  Just seeing one has always been a dream of mine, a point on my life-list!  You first see his head break the surface and then the back, and then the back, and then some more of the back, and then finally the tiny little dorsal fin!  It was incredible, but then there was a second!  We were watching two of not only the largest whale in the world, not only the largest animal in the world, but the largest animal that has EVER lived!!!  That's big! 

Fin Whales and Blue Whale.

~Greg

Nescit Cedere! (Nov. 17)

Today was our penultimate day in South Georgia, and it was as action packed as any we've had so far.

The plan for the morning was to use the zodiacs to view several otherwise inaccessible areas. We arrived in a little fjord called Hercules Bay very early this morning. The walls of the bay rise straight from the ocean to form a vertical amphitheater of black rock, unbroken except for a few areas where the hardy tussock grass has been able to colonize the slopes. Our main reasons for visiting this little corner of South Georgia were the other residents of the steep slopes -- Macaroni Penguins. Macaronis, affectionately known as "Macs", are by far the most abundant penguin on South Georgia, but visitors seldom see them because they choose to nest on steep cliffs with heavy surf. We were fortunate enough to visit the colony in Hercules Bay at close range from our zodiacs.

The Macs are a lot of fun to watch. Because they have inaccessible homes, even they have a hard time reaching them. Imagine the last time you got out of a pool. Chances are you weren't especially graceful. Now let's add two feet of swell and make the edge of the pool an algae covered rock with an almost vertical face. Still feeling confident? Just one more thing -- you can't use your arms because you don't have any arms because you're a Macaroni Penguin. That's what your commute home from work is like. The good news is that you can make it to work very quickly. All you have to do is lose your balance, and you'll be at your office as soon as you roll and fall down the rocks and into the icy water.

These amazing animals are just as beautiful as they are crazy. We watched them come and go from the water, swimming straight up through the water to burst out and fly through the air for the briefest of moments before occasionally making a successful landing on the rocky shore and usually slipping hopelessly back into the sea to try again. If that kind of a morning doesn't make it a good day, I don't know what does.

Macaroni Penguins going home.

Oh, the hotel manager decided it was a good idea to serve hot chocolate to us on our boat cruise.  Unfortunately, the gentleman in front of me had a hard time keeping his in the cup.

Hot Chocolate all over my face.  You should've seen my camera!

The plan for the afternoon was to sail to St. Andrews Bay, the site of the largest King Penguin colony on South Georgia. It is home to 250,000 breeding PAIRS of birds - and they have chicks, lots of them, so the conservative count runs near three quarters of a million animals. If that's not enough, there are elephant seals, fur seals, and even a few (introduced) reindeer to watch. This is the sort of amazing place we've come to expect from South Georgia, but the scale of St. Andrews blew me away. I think I scared everyone on the bridge when I spontaneously blurted out, "whoah!" while we were approaching the bay. I had just noticed that the whole coastline was covered with penguins. Surprisingly enough, the penguins were upstaged this afternoon. The weather stole the show as a storm kept trying to blow in over the mountains and down the two glaciers that feed the bay. The storm never came in, but catabatic winds blew a cold wind off the glaciers carrying particles of ice and dust and whipping the sea up into foam and spray. We had to stand into the wind, and after a little while, the captain called us back on board. By this time the wind was blowing a consistent 55 knots and gusted to over 70. The crew and the zodiac drivers (our naturalists and professional photographers) got everyone back on board quickly and safely, but the zodiac ride in was... Energetic.

The St. Andrews king penguin colony with a storm coming in.

Greg, with the rest of the penguin colony.

What struck me as I was riding back in the zodiac while I was soaked by the spray and pelted by the wind were a few little sea birds no bigger than a swallow. The storm-petrels were riding the punishing wind as though it were a gentle breeze. They were truly at home, wheeling just above the waves and plucking tiny bits of food out of the foam as spray blew from the tops of the waves. At that moment, I realized just how out of place I am in the great Southern Ocean and just how tough you have to be to live here. That's why James Edward Oglethorpe was so struck by the persistence of these little seabirds on his crossing from England to found the colony of Georgia long before this island was on the map. His fascination with this bird led my alma mater, Oglethorpe University, to name their mascot the Stormy Petrels. We also use his motto, "Nescit cedere," the Latin for "He doesn't know how to give up," as our motto. It applies to the petrel as it does to the Macaroni Penguin and all who survive in the Antarctic, especially the heroes of Antarctic exploration like Shackleton, as Greg reminded us yesterday. It's an inspiration to all of us to strive hard and never, never give up.

So we braved the weather, entered our comfortable, heated ship for a hot shower, and continued on for the evening to cruise Drygalski Fjord. We're still in the fjord as I write and sit and listen to one of our naturalists and another guest play mellow tunes from Hendrix and the Beatles after dinner. It's all just another day on board the Explorer!

Drygalski Fjord.

Until tomorrow, friends, and nescit cedere.

~Jason

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (Nov. 16)

Today was all about Shackleton.  He was one of the most epic men that lived during the twentieth century.  Here's a short recap of what he did in case you didn't know.  

In 1914, he led an expedition to cross the Antarctic continent through the South Pole.  He and his crew sailed to the Weddell  Sea to begin their expedition, but their ship, the Endurance, was frozen in the pack ice.  Shackleton decided to wait out the Antarctic winter for the ice to thaw and release their ship, but it was eventually crushed and sank, leaving the 28 men to their three life boats.  They sailed in the life boats to Elephant Island where Shackleton left two of the boats and 22 of his men behind.  He and five other men then sailed for over 800 miles in 15 days to South Georgia Island!  They rigged a sail on their largest lifeboat, the James Caird (24.5 feet), and navigated by taking solar readings, but the sun only appeared four times throughout the voyage!  Upon landing on the western side of the island, Shackleton and two others made the trek across the island to reach the only active whaling camp at Stromness.  They completed this nearly 22 mile section in only 39 hours, crossing glaciers, climbing over, and rappelling down mountains all during the winter!  One of the men even fell through a frozen lake up to his waist before completing the trip. Overall, they spent more than a year to struggle back! 

Shackleton came off the glacier all the way in back of the photo.

This is the lake where Tom Crean fell through the ice.

Shackleton's first view of the Stromness whaling station.

Shackleton's Waterfall, the three men nearly died descending the cliff on the right.

Stromness.

Shackleton is known for perhaps the most spectacular failure ever!  He did not cross Antarctica.  He didn't even really begin to attempt it before the ship got stuck!  The reason his failure has been memorialized is not just because of how he returned to civilization, but that he did all of what I previously described, without losing a single man!  Truly epic!

Today we completed the last four miles of this intrepid journey.  The hike was beautiful! The ship dropped us off in Fortuna Bay and picked us up on the other side of the pass at the Stromness whaling station where Shackleton ended his adventure.   The whaling station, in case you were wondering, has long since been out of use.  The afternoon was spent in the"capital" of SGI, Grytviken, which has a post office, museum, fishery officer, and a hydroelectric power plant, but only a handful of people.  Shackleton died here aboard the Quest in 1922 and was buried in the small cemetery outside the town.  While we visited he grave, there was actually a beautiful rainbow, the end of which coincidentally rested on the site where he died.  

A full size replica of the James Caird.

The Grytviken Church.

"To the dear memory of Ernest Henry Shackleton -- Explorer.  

Born 15th Feb. 1874.  Entered the Life Eternal 5th Jan. 1922."

Shackleton's gravestone had a caption from his favorite poet on the back.

"I hold that a man should strive to the uttermost for his life's set prize."
~Robert Browning

I have no idea what Browning intended by the quote or how Shackleton interpreted or applied it, but it leads me to what I mentioned in one of my earlier entries.  I listened to a message of Francis Chan's as he spoke on Philippians 1:27, about letting your manner of life be worthy of the gospel.  What a challenge!  I don't think I'm striving like I could or should be, but maybe that's why I'm being reminded about it lately....

What is your life's prize? Do you strive for it?

~Greg

Wow! (Nov. 15)

Describing the past two days is impossible for me. South Georgia is more amazing than I imagined. This place is truly special. I've never visited anywhere quite like it. 

For those of you who are not familiar with this incredible place or think I'm speaking of the southern portion of my home state (which is also pretty special), South Georgia is an island southeast of South America and a little northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Its about 100 miles long, 20 miles wide, and has peaks ranging from an average of about 5,500 feet to a high of about 9,500. It has black sand beaches, glaciers, fjords, mountains, streams, and waterfalls. It's as though a mountain range simply rose out of the ocean. This island feels more like a continent than an island when you set foot on it. 

Typical South Georgia

Amazingly enough, it gets even better. The beaches are literally covered with wildlife. From thousands and hundreds of thousands of beautiful, comical King Penguins to hundreds of giant elephant seals or the aggressive fur seals, every time we set foot ashore we are surrounded. 

Gold Harbor and the National Geographic Explorer.

Greg and Elephant Seal pups.

When I first saw Salisbury Plain for yesterday's landing, I was overwhelmed. I didn't know where to look or how to see it all. This morning's landing at Gold Harbor was even more overwhelming. As my feet hit the sand, I walked between two Elephant seal bulls, each weighing around 6 tons, to see the mountains with a hanging glacier and an icefall all behind a king penguin colony. It may have been the most dynamic place I have ever been. At one time, I was watching an albatross at its nest while looking down at thousands of king penguins with a beautiful mountain backdrop, seeing the largest carnivores on earth (yep the Southern Elephant seal, as long as you exclude whales) battle for mastery of the beach, and watching the glacier calve down in a giant waterfall of ice and all that with amazing weather, a rarity in South Georgia. Overwhelming. 

This afternoon, we went for a hike from another beach up to a mountain pass to see the next bay over and the main mountain range on the island. The view from the top was awesome. 

Mountain pass overlooking Cumberland Bay.

This was the high point of our hike.

I'm sure there's a lot more to say, but I'm not really sure how to say it. I'm just really glad and thankful to be here. 

~Jason

Penguins, Penguins, and More Penguins (Nov. 14)

Today, we visited South Georgia Island for the first time! This was day one out of the five that we will be spending here.  As usual, we landed on two separate sites, one in the morning and one in the evening.  In the morning, we visited Salisbury Plain, and we visited Prion Island in the afternoon.

The morning was absolutely amazing! It happens to be the exact place from the picture that first inspired me to go here many years ago. One of my favorite photographers, Thomas Mangelsen had a coffee table book with a lot of pictures from this place, and the real place seems just as enticing as I first imagined it.  The rocky beach is surrounded by snow covered mountains and glaciers!  There were over one hundred thousand king penguins at this one beach!  Yeah, that's right, 100,000.  Count them, five zeroes!  

Just us and a few friends at Salisbury Plain.

We landed on the beach early this morning for a try at a sunrise shot, but it was completely overcast and has been quite foggy all day.  But we still managed to get some really special pictures!  The beach was absolutely covered with penguins waiting to hop into the surf, and the male fur seals and elephant seals were also present, staking claim to their piece of the beach for the upcoming breeding season.  (Small note: I do not care for the fur seals.  They are actually quite aggressive and smell almost as badly.)  

The penguins here are quite curious. When you sit down to their level or when they relax, they will walk right up to you, which is really cool, but sometimes they're too close to focus your camera.  They also have the typical penguin waddle and awkward head movements that make them seem so comical! 

The afternoon was not quite as good as the morning, but the naturalists kept telling us how special it was to land there. The weather has to be calm enough, and you must obtain a special permit to land here.  In addition to that, this is the only place that visitors (meaning anyone other than researchers or government officials) can see a wandering albatross on its nest.  The Wanderers as we call them, just happen to be the birds with the largest wingspans in the world. We managed to see 5-6 chicks on nests, but no adults were present.  They were out to sea gathering food for their chicks. Now I say chick, but that may be misleading.  This is a semi-fluffy bird that weighs around 25 pounds and is larger than its parents.  After all of their feathers finish developing and the parents leave them, they actually have to lose weight to fly for the first time. Without the parents arriving though, the photography wasn't so good.  

Oh and Jason is "pumped" because we saw the South Georgia Pipit, which is apparently the most southern songbird in the world.  So, on a ship with many birders in a "prime" birding location with guides and an ornithologist who specializes in sea birds, I've come to notice something... Jason's birding habit is closer to the level of the ornithologist than many of the self-proclaimed birders aboard.  I think we all knew he had the bug, just not how badly, lol.  

The "mighty" South Georgia Pipit!

Anyway, hoping for another great day on SGI!  

Oh and for everyone back at PCC in Atlanta. Thinking and praying for y'all!  Managed to get some additional time aboard ship yesterday to watch one of the Passion 2011 videos of Francis Chan. So good! And I happen to have enough to watch one each Sunday that we're missing at PCC!  Can't wait for Passion 2012 at the Dome!

Greg