Antarctica

Antarctica is the world’s last true wilderness. It is one of the few places on Earth still largely untouched by human development. The landscape is pristine, and it is a paradise of wildlife (lots of interesting birds), many of which have no fear of humans. Our 21 day adventure aboard the National Geographic Endurance will take us from the tip of South America across to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Endurance was launched in July 2021. Named in honor of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship, it is designed to navigate polar passages year-round. Endurance accommodates 138 guests in 71 cabins—All accommodations face outside and have large windows or balconies. Shore excursions and activities include small craft excursions in zodiacs, guided naturalist walks ashore and sea kayaking.

After departing Argentina we will spend 2 days at sea crossing the Drake Passage. Few stretches of water have a reputation quite like the infamous Drake Passage. Having claimed thousands of lives and hundreds of shipwrecks, this convergence of seas was once one of the most dreaded ocean crossing in history. This is where the warm currents of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collide with the icy waters of Antarctica. The flow of water in the Drake Passage is 600 times greater than that of the Amazon River. This collision of water can create waves towering between 60 to 80 feet in height. The Drake Passage is believed to be the final resting place for approximately 800 shipwrecks, claiming the lives of roughly 20,000 sailors throughout history. Nowadays, with high-tech equipment and polar-ready ships, the Drake Passage is much safer to cross but it can still be a wild roller coaster ride across to Antarctica. Dear friends if you are interested in visiting Antarctica but want to avoid the “wild ride”, don’t fret. Other cruise lines offer fly-in options that land on Antarctica before joining the ship.

Once you are across the Drake Passage, the best place to encounter multiple species of penguins, whales, seals, and seabirds, not to mention loads of rugged coastlines, rocky mountains, colossal glaciers, and dazzling bays is the 810 mile long Antarctic Peninsula and all of the small islands off of it’s coast including one of the two active volcanoes on Antarctica. We will be spending many days exploring this region. The last part of our trip will be traveling to and exploring the wildlife on both the South Georgia and Falkland Islands.

We are excited to be on this adventure and having the opportunity to see all the amazing wildlife up close. Antarctica also contains 90 percent of all of the ice on Earth in an area just under 1.5 times the size of the United States….60 percent of the world’s fresh water is trapped in that ice. Scientists claim that if all of that ice were to completely melt, it would raise global sea levels by 190 feet. If the smaller West Antarctic Ice Sheet completely melts, it would raise sea levels by 10 feet to 16 feet. A whole lot of coastal communities would be potentially impacted. Unfortunately the West Ice sheet is melting much faster because of global warming, three times the global average. Therefore, the protection of Antarctica is important to all of us.

We will only have very limited WiFi service on the ship but, when possible, we will keep you updated on our trip. Our first stop is Buenos Aires, Argentina where we will spend a few days bird watching with a local guide. We will have lots of stories, photos and videos to share after our return on February 3rd.

Happy New Year,

Barbara and Joe

January 2025

The Edge of the World

Penguins, Walruses, Whales and of Course Lots and Lots of Ice

Buenos Aires is the Capitol and largest city of Argentina, with almost 3 million people. We arrived on Thursday morning after a 10 hour flight from Houston, Texas. One of our checked suit cases was missing. Another passenger had mistakenly taken our bag. Fortunately before leaving the airport he had returned with our suitcase.

Our hotel, Alvear Icon (Hotel in Puerto Madero, Alvear Icon Hotel & Residences) is located in the Puerto Madero neighborhood, a newer area with lots of high rise office, apartment and hotel buildings. This is the second time we have visited this city. Ten years ago we spent time here before our hiking trip to Patagonia and the Torres del Paine national park in Chile. The city has lots of museums, art galleries, and restaurants.

The most visited attraction in Buenos Aires is actually a graveyard. Founded in 1822, Recoleta Cemetery is built like a city, featuring large square “blocks” with tree lined avenues that span a total of 14 acres and include some 5,000 different mausoleums. The spectacular cemetery houses some of the country’s most beloved icons, including presidents, Nobel prize winners, military commanders and the much idolized Eva Peron, whose immaculate mausoleum is the most impressive of the vicinity.

On our current visit we were treated last night to the Argentine version of “Fish and Chips”. Charcoal grilled trout, french fried potatoes and a tomato salad. An absolutely delicious meal, enjoyed with a bottle of white wine from the Patagonia region.

Going to dinner, was also the beginning of Barbara’s love affair with UBER. Avoid taxicabs in the city. Much faster and less expensive to use the UBER app to travel about. We started our day on Friday with a five hour guided bird walk in the Costanera Sur ecological reserve. Lots of winding paths which lead to the Rio de la Plata river, and three lagoons, where you can observe different species of birds (photos: Red Crested Cardinal and Blue and Yellow Tanager). Our knowledgeable guide helped us identify 73 species of birds and one large iguana/lizard. It is summer here in Argentina, 80 plus degrees, hot and humid. Perfect weather for an afternoon swim in the hotel’s outdoor roof top pool.

On Saturday, we will meet here at the hotel, the group going on the ship to Antarctica. An afternoon city tour and briefing are planned. Early Sunday morning we will all travel by charter flight to the port city of Ushuaia.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Friday, January 9, 2025

We have returned to Argentina.

Later tonight we will fly to Houston and then on to Tucson.

On January 21, 2025 we were standing on a beach between two huge glaciers on the island of South Georgia. All around us were King Penguins. The largest penguin colony on the planet, over 400,000 penguins. It was 30 degrees and snowing. It was really cold but it was so beautiful and amazing that it was difficult to return to the ship.

We have completed our Antarctic journey, 21 days aboard the National Geographic Endurance. A spectacular ship with nonstop activities, wonderful accommodations and superb meals.

The voyage started at the southern tip of Argentina on January 12, 2025. It was an adventure of a lifetime, maybe even two lifetimes. Lots of Penguins, elephant seals, whales, fur seals, leopard seals and seabirds. Magnificent scenery, snow covered mountains, icebergs and glaciers. At times it seemed that we had been transported to another world. The weather changed every hour, sunny and snowing at the same time. Snow, Fog, wind and everything in between including beautiful sunny moments. Cold but it was Antarctica so that was expected. Instead of the two day sea crossing of the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula on the original itinerary, our trip started by traveling to the Falkland Islands after only one day at sea. Three full days at the Falklands with lots of activities before we departed (two days at sea) for South Georgia.

One of of the highlights of our trip. Nothing can prepare you for the sight of 400,000 thousand King Penguins in one place or 25,000 penguins at another place. Simply amazing. We were also treated to a sighting of a Blue Whale and her calf. The Blue Whale was almost hunted to extinction. Today it is estimated that only 3,500 have survived. It was a beautiful and rare sighting.

After departing South Georgia on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula, on January 23, we encountered A23a, the largest iceberg in the world, as it traveled at 30 miles a day toward South Georgia. The roughly 1,418-square-mile chunk of ice — A23a is slightly bigger than Rhode Island. It is 1,000 feet deep,most of it underwater, the length of the Empire State Building. An incredible sight to behold.

Prior to reaching the Peninsula, a special stop was made on the South Orkney Islands on January 24. The islands are teeming with wildlife, with many species of penguins, seals and whales calling it home. We saw over 60,000
chinstrap penguins on the island. An amazing sight. Weddell seals and a leopard seal consuming a penguin were also seen.

After traveling all night we reached Elephant Island, off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. We then spent five amazing days exploring. Antarctica is huge. So spending five days visiting is equivalent to visiting the United States and spending all of your time in Yellowstone National Park in the winter. Lot more to see and experience. Gabrielle Walker describes it best in her book: “The Antarctic Peninsula is like taking the Swiss Alps, and crossing them with the Grand Canyon. Then stretch them both so that the mountains are higher, the cliffs sheerer, the glaciers wider and longer and bluer. Now put this glorious mix beside the sea, next to icebergs and lots of penguins, seals and whales.”

Antarctica is home to an astounding variety of wildlife including many species found nowhere else on earth. The ocean surrounding Antarctica has massive swarms of krill, a rich food source which attracts whales, seals, seabirds and penguins. Krill are small shrimp like creatures that are the cornerstone for the entire food chain in Antarctica. Krill depends on sea ice for their livelihood. They eat the algae that grows under sea ice. With the melting of the sea ice there has been a significant decline in Krill. Protecting this food source is critical in protecting the wildlife.

After a full day of activities on Wednesday, January 29, including kayaking and one last landing on Antarctica to enjoy a large Gentoo penguin colony, we started back to the tip of Argentina. We had good weather and only one night of really rough seas, a Wild Ride, on the two day journey across the Drake Passage.

Lots of great memories and some new friends from this extraordinary adventure.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Sunday, February 2, 2025