Ready to Board
the Kapitan Dranitsyn on 02-04-01
Antarctica – February, 2001
This was adventure
travel at its best.
On February 2, 2001,
I joined a group of Planetary Society members in the Miami Airport for a
trip to the bottom of the world. The group was heavy with scientists and
engineers, space lovers and wannabes.
After a 9 ˝ hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and another
4 hour flight to Ushuaia at the tip of South America, we boarded the
Kapitan Dranitsyn, a Russian Ice Breaker, and set sail across the Drake
Passage. This area is known
for the “roughest seas in the world,” and I have the bruises to
prove it.
Never mind.
All thoughts of seasickness and sky high waves disappeared as we
approached the Shetland Islands and moved on to the coast of the
Antarctic Peninsula. This
is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Sharp rocky mountain peaks, covered with glaciers flowing down to
the sea, low clouds, sudden weather changes and long, languid sunsets
kept us in a constant state of wonder. This
was summer in the southern hemisphere, so day time temperatures were
generally in the 30s and 40s. The weather
could change suddenly with 40 mph winds, rain, sleet or snow appearing
out of nowhere, so we dressed for a blizzard when we were off the
ship. Looking like rolly-polly children’s toys in our layers of warm
clothing and life jackets, we climbed down the side of the ship into
zodiacs for trips to the beaches. There we wandered among the penguins
and seals. The penguins
were too busy to notice us, and the seals apparently needed a lot of
rest.
When we
weren’t on shore, we were learning about the continent from
geologists, naturalists, historians and other experts.
To make sure we got our space fix, the Planetary Society arranged
for Donna Shirley, former Mars Exploration Project Manager for JPL, to
bring us up to date on Mars exploration.
The Captain let us join him on the bridge where the view was the
best and didn’t even seem to mind when we pored over his charts as if
we knew what we were doing. The Russian crew and the Austrian chef and
his helpers made sure we were properly pampered, and of course, the bar,
library and gift shop were open to provide whatever kind of distraction
we needed. It was a short
eye-opening two weeks.
This was the best
adventure, so far. What am
I going to do to top this?
Special
Note:
Antarctica photo
journal: Click on the thumbnail to view.
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Crossing the Drake
Passage (courtesy of Bill Little) |
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Among the Icebergs |
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At the foot of Glacier Paradise Bay. |
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Barbeque on the Helicopter Deck |
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Crabeater Seal taking it easy,
Paradise Bay. |
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Cutting through the pack ice in Antarctica
Sound |
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Deception Island |
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Donna Shirley, Donna H., Pauline Plast
& Arlon Hunt in dining room. |
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Feeding the Baby-Brown
Bluff |
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Glacier-Climbing Up! |
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Glacier-Sliding Down |
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Hanging around the
beach, waiting for our baby feathers to molt. |
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Going for a Dip
(courtesy of Bill Little) |
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Hundreds of thousands of Penguins. |
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Icebergs! |
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LeMaire Channel #1 |
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LeMaire Channel #2 |
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LeMaire Channel #3 |
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Let's push this baby
back! (Thanks to Karl & Jasper) |
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Reflections of Sunset at Neumeyer
Channel 1 |
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Reflections of Sunset at Neumeyer
Channel 2 |
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Sunset at Neumeyer Channel Antarctic
Peninsula |
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Threading through the
glaciers. |
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