Highlights of my Trip to Antarctica

This section lists what I feel were the highlights of my trip to Antarctica, referencing my journal entries for those events.

You may return to the main journal section at any time.

Antarctic landings and points of interest

Of course, the point of the trip was to see Antarctica. An alien landscape, with plenty of surprises, I found Antarctic both beautiful and powerful, delicate and iron-hard.

Thrills and chills on Deception Island (January 31)
Gentoo Penguins, whale bones, and leopard seals at our landing site at Port Lockroy (February 1)
The immensity and power of Paradise Bay (February 1)
A sense of perspective passing through the Lemaire Channel (February 2)
Arriving at Ross Island, and greetings from an enthusiastic whale (February 11)
My first view of McMurdo Station (February 11)
An amazing and very satisfying visit to McMurdo Station (February 12)
A last look at Antarctica at Cape Hallett (February 13)

Cruising

We had several surprising events occur while cruising, including several major schedule changes. As Lars-Eric said several times, we were pitting ourselves against nature on this trip, and sometimes the weather and ice conditions were spectacular -- both beautiful and forbidding.

Leaving Punta Arenas on the Marco Polo (January 28)
Mechanical failure in the Drake Passage (January 30)
Wind and waves in the Drake Passage (January 30)
Great evening weather, lots of sun, and some huge icebergs (February 4)
Pack ice and huge icebergs in the Amundsen Sea (February 7)
Pack ice in the early morning brings Emperor penguins and a pod of Minke whales (February 8)

People

There were many interesting people on this trip; they really made it an exciting and enjoyable experience. I was impressed by the general interest and enthusiam of the passengers and the quality of the staff and the lecturers and leaders.

Ethan Berkowitz, our NSF observer (January 28)
Dining with Dana (January 29)
A lecture and slide show given by Sir Vivian Fuchs on his transantarctic expedition (February 6)
A lecture and slide show given by Sir Edmund Hillary on his trip to the South Pole and on climbing Mt. Herschel (February 7)
Lady Philippa Scott and others read from the journals of Scott and his expedition team (February 13)

Non-Antarctic sightseeing

Since I've never really been anywhere before outside the North American continent (except for St. Lucia when I was very young), I found our starting and ending points just as interesting as the tour itself.

A tour of Punta Arenas, and real Chilean food (January 27)
Cruising the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, Argentina (January 28)
A tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park (January 29)
A tour of Lapataia Bay, Ushuaia Bay, and the Beagle Channel by catamaran (January 29)
Lunch at an Ushuaian restaurant (January 29)
Arriving at Lyttelton, New Zealand (February 18)
A brief bus tour of Christchurch (February 18)
A short tour of Auckland (February 19)

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