We just got back from an 11-day trip through Antarctica, aka the white continent, on the M/V Antarctic Dream. Here are some just-back highlights from this trip of a lifetime including penguins, icebergs whales, and humans.
Our home for 11 days: the M/V Antarctic Dream
Just-back highlights from Antarctica
Followers of our Journey know that we’ve been anticipating our Antarctic adventure since August and the planet’s most remote continent totally lived up the hype and went well beyond our expectations. Take a look.
And that’s not even a BIG iceberg by Antarctic standards.
The penguins of Antarctica
Penguins are even cuter than you think and we saw thousands of them–mainly gentoo and chinstraps.
Gentoo penguins near Port Lockroy, one of the shore excursions during an Antarctic adventure.
Gentoo penguins near Port Lockroy, one of the shore excursions during an Antarctic adventure.
Gentoo penguins near Port Lockroy, one of the shore excursions during an Antarctic adventure.
We also got a rare and exciting sighting of a lone emperor penguin (the four foot tall stars of March of the Penguins) on an iceberg far, far from its usual home.
A lost and lonely emperor penguin adrift on an iceberg.
The icebergs of Antarctica
Icebergs, which can reach more than 10 miles (16 km) in length, were stars of the trip as well. They came in intricate wind-swept shapes, impossible blue colors and the ice is ultra-clear, like glass. We know because Karen braved the frigid water and reached in to retrieve a small chunk to enjoy in an on-board cocktail.
The tip of the iceberg in Antarctica.
The whales of Antarctica
We did not put our hands in the water during a zodiac excursion during which our inflatable boat was surrounded by a pod of seven killer whales. We also sighted minke whales on a couple of occasions and crabeater seals and Weddell seals also made appearances.
Our zodiacs were surrounded by pod of killer whales during one shore excursion in Antarctica.
That killer whale dorsal fin is at least three feet tall and its heading straight for our shipmates.
The humans of Antarctica
There were also many human highlights on the ship including “Ernie Shack, Adventure Addict”, the captain’s wife, the crazy defense attorney from New York who brought along her Snoopy Snowcone maker, el Capitan Guapo, The Glen (who went skinny dipping one day and performed a necessarily brief yet impressive re-enactment of the loping way penguins swim), our fearless leader Pablo and, of course, Maxi. Oh, and Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter Céline Cousteau was on the ship with a film crew working on a series of TV show about the waters around Chile.
Our shipmate The Glen (who has a tattoo of the Antarctic continent on his back) went skinny dipping in the frigid Antarctic waters off Deception Island.
To learn more about travel to Antarctica, check out the feature we wrote for the Dallas Morning News including tips for making the most of your trip to Antarctica and our feature for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about all of the onboard adventures you’ll have.
Antarctic travel tips
All travelers to Antarctica are required to have a medical evacuation insurance policy just in case something awful happens out there in the middle of nowhere. On Call International has covered us on our Trans-Americas Journey for more than a year now so we didn’t have to worry about arranging coverage (or dealing with a catastrophe). Because we were already covered we could focus on just being excited about this trip of a lifetime.
We weren’t taking any chances with the notoriously rough waters of the Drake Passage where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans crash up against each other, so we went the prescription route and used a Scopolamine patch. But we also armed ourselves with homeopathic remedies including a pair of Sea Bands. These simple, cheap, reusable devices–picture an old-school wrist sweatband like McEnroe used to wear with a plastic ball embedded in one side–stave off nausea caused by motion sickness (or morning sickness) by applying pressure to a specific point in your wrist. The combo worked and we made it through the passage without getting seasick.
Our route from Ushuaia, Argentina at the bottom of South America, across the Drake Passage and on to the Antarctic Peninsula.
No, we didn’t drive to Antarctica. Our thanks to LATAM Airlines, which flew us to Ushuaia and back and to the M/V Antarctic Dream which took us from there.
Here’s more about travel to Antarctica
I miss you guys (and the penguins). Thanks for posting this. Love the photos, Eric. They’re really great. Glad you made a reference to Maxi, thought you might have forgotten to add him. Eager to read next installment.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos from Antarctica. We went in early March, the end of the season, so some of the penguins were a bit worse for wear from molting and caring for the young. But, they were still so fun to be around – we could have watched them for hours. Still get amused looking at photos and videos of them.
The pictures of the zodiacs right next to the whales are amazing – very cool that were were able to get so close up. Such an incredible part of this world.
It is indeed amazing and I’d go again if the opportunity arises. If there is a next time, our only wish would be for better weather as we spent a few days in white-out conditions. As for the whales, we didn’t get close to them, they got close to us.
I love the pictures guys! I’m heading down to Antarctica on the 1st of January, I’m soooo excited
Thanks. Seems like Antarctica is the thing to do these days. Which compay/ship are you going with?
Wow you guys! These are awesome photos! It was worth the wait having you offline for awhile. What an amazing experience to get to go to Antarctica. I hope we will make it one day soon.
Thanks. Since you guys get around as much as we do I have no doubt you’ll make it there. Needless to say, well worth the effort.
Amazing stuff from amongst The Penguins. Glad to have you two back safe and sound (and warm) and posting. OK, I’ll admit it…penguins are my favorite wild animal, and my kids send me stuffed penguins whenever they find one. I have petted one at the San Diego Zoo, but would have loved to be with you on this voyage.
Steve
Loved this! Well done on a fairly detailed account and some good images to back it up.
Great post, you guys! I got cold just reading it, but you obviously had some fantastic experiences (and photos), so I’m sure it was worth it. Love the juxtaposition of the skinny dipper and the penguins. Hilarious.
WOW! Looks incredible. What a wonderful experience it must have been.
Skinnydipping with the penguin…brrr…fabulous pix! Have a travellicious 2011!
Wow you guys, leaping all the way to Antartica. It’s like trumping yourselves as far as adventuring. What wonders still lie ahead… ~~Dave
Awesome pictures, and a great description of the adventure! I sure hope to make it some day, though I do hope I don’t spend too much time in white out conditions.
Fantastic photos! Antarctica is my dream destination, but I probably won’t do the skinny dipping part!
eeeeeee!!!! thank all of u !! hope u really enjoy this amazing trip to antarctica! nice job men! pictures are beautifull…take care !
Just add Maxi!!!
Wow that sounds awesome! I love the photo of the guy Glen going skinny dipping!
What a trip! Great photos.
I love the translucent-like blue of the icebergs. And it would be so cool to shoot the penguins – err, photograph. Was it intimidating at all being in an inflatable boat next to all these killer whales? Why would putting your hand in the water matter?… I would think if they wanted to, they could just jump up and grab a human snack.
It’s all so overwhelming and the whales come by so quickly (and I was so busy ‘shooting’), there is no time to be intimidated. However, when I first looked at the photos I realized the big males dorsal fin was taller than people standing on another zodiac, probably 6+ feet…maybe we should have been intimidated. Luckily the killer whales have no interest in us nor see us as prey, at least no interest in a large inflatable boat filled with us. As far as the orcas are concerned, we’re not salty pretzels, or so the biologists say.
Oh wow – have to say, I’ve never had a serious interest in visiting Antarctica until I saw these photos…you got so close to the penguins and orcas! Animals would be my top reason for going and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such great animal experience shots. Now I want to go!!
Really, no interest. Come on, as a traveler, the simple fact that it’s the 7th continent has to have some allure. It’s pricey, but worth it. Absolutely beautiful and unique with great wildlife. Actually, its the penguins that get so close to you.
If you haven’t seen our following post with more Antarctica photos, check it out.
It is so beautiful, I swear! I love penguins, I want to see them personally but I couldn’t. Antarctic surrounds ices and it seems very cold. Well, I love those pictures above and I love penguins!
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I would love to go to Antarctica. I so nearly got a job working on the research vessels that go down there but I guess it was not to be.