Antarctica - Part 6. Going Home

 We survived the Drake Passage and were over on the South America side by March 14th.  We look forward to sailing in calm waters.

Our position on March 14th - in the Beagle Channel, Chile

We are not far from Port Williams and Ushuaia

Port Williams

We are scheduled to arrive in Punta Arenas on March 16th so we have two days to cruise through the Beagle Channel.  Here are the Chilean Fjords and Glaciers.  Part way through the Beagle Channel we stopped at a fjord.  This will be our last expedition off the ship.  We did not land anywhere but just motorized through the ice and admire the local scenery.

Getting on Expedition Boats to cruise the fjord

Expedition Team Member explaining things around the fjord

Lots of ice floating around

Big Chunks of Ice

According to the GPS on my camera, this is Cabo de Hornos

Some Birds

Here's our position on the evening of March 15th, according to the Cruise Mapper App.  However, we still have to navigate through the channels.  We should be in Punta Arenas by morning.

Getting close to our destination

There is a mix feeling as we approach our final destination - relief that it's almost over and sadness that it has not gone exactly as planned.  

When we woke up on the morning of March 16th we were anchored on the pier of Punta Arenas.  This is it; the end of the cruise.  However, we still have one more important task.  Another COVID PCR test before we are allowed to get off the ship.  This is required by the Chilean Government.  

We were assigned our time slots.  When it's our turn we went down to the third level where the Medical Center is located and waited for the medical staff to administer a nose swab.  We were told to wait in our cabins and if we did not get a phone call in 30 minutes we are safe.  We can get off the ship and continue to Santiago. I was nervous but the phone did not ring.  I am safe!

For those who tested positive they have to stay and quarantine in Punta Arenas for 7 days.  Some passengers did test positive.  They have to pay their own lodging and other expenses, probably claiming from the insurance company.  I feel bad for them.  What a way to end a beautiful journey.

Punta Arenas, from the ship's deck

On the last day of the cruise we had to leave the ship by 8am.  Another group will be boarding in the early afternoon that same day.  Our bus took us to the Punta Arenas airport where we waited for our charter flight at 11am.  We were the second flight out that morning.  Upon boarding I saw that our flight was only about one-third full.  Maybe there were more passengers catching COVID than I thought.  

We arrived at Santiago Airport at about 2:30pm, retrieved our luggage and headed for a short walk to the new international terminal.  I was surprised that no representative from Hurtigruten was there to help or direct us.  We are now on our own.  My flight to Atlanta was at 10:30pm.  The Delta Airlines check-in counter will not be opened until 6:30pm.  We passed the time by having lunch and coffee at a nearby cafe.  

Just before 6pm I headed to the check-in counter and checked in using a newly installed kiosk.  Thirty minutes later the gate agents showed up and started checking in our bags.  She also checked our documents and PCR Test certificate.  The US requires a negative PCR test take a day before your flight.  Fortunately, the PCR Test taken on board the day before was valid.  Ahead of me was a couple who was given priority because they have special needs.  They clogged up 20 minutes of the agent's time because they did not have anything ready and had multiple luggages to check in.  Others waiting in line are inpatient and fuming.  Eventually I checked in and went through security.  I found my way to a Priority Pass Lounge but there was a long line.  I was told that I'd have to wait for an hour.  I turned around and headed to my gate in another terminal and waited until it was time to board my flight.

The flight from Atlanta to Santiago took 9 hours.  Even though it was night time I could not sleep.  That is my problem on long flights.  I watched a movie about the tennis championship Williams' sister and their father called "King Richard."  It is a very good movie.  But I still could not sleep in spite of listening to soft and classical music to make me drowsy.

We arrived in Atlanta at 7am on March 18th.  I tried to go through Global Entry by scanning my passport.  But they have changed the process.  Instead they took a picture of my face and was able to identify me.  I went through the Immigration Line, picked up my luggage and was asked to open my suitcase to be inspected.  Finally I exited and took an airport train to my Delta terminal.  It was still too early for my flight so I went to the Delta Airlines SkyClub lounge.  This is such a nice perk to be able to go to an airport lounge and have some nice food and refreshments.  I remember the days of long layovers at an airport food court with terrible and expensive food and uncomfortable chairs.  Even though it was early in the morning the lounge was very crowded.  I sat next to a group which was obviously not business travelers.  They were drinking and talking loudly.  On the way to a vacation spot perhaps.  I had to move to a quieter area.  So much for a quiet respite.

I finally arrived back in Phoenix at about 2:30pm local time.  I've been traveling for 34 hours since I left the ship!  Naturally, I was exhausted.

Note:  As I was updating this post the Oscars had just ended.  Will Smith, who played Richard Williams in the movie "King Richard" won the Best Actor award.

Antarctica - Part 5

 A little bit of sadness overcame many of the passengers.  We are about halfway through our trip and already we are getting ready to head back to Punta Arenas.  On the brighter side we've made 5 landings and seen a lot of Antarctica.  Our next and last stop is Deception Island, where we've stopped before.  This time we are going to Whalers Bay, where whalers use this place to process the whales that they killed and used as a base for their whaling activities about 100 years ago.  In those days whales are killed for their blubber which is processed into oil.  The oil can be used for many purposes - lubrication for machinery or made into candles.  There was a big whaling industry in the US in the 17th to 19th century.  Commercial whaling was banned by the International Whaling Commission in the 1970s'.  You can read more about Whaling in the United States here.

Deception Island

Seals on the Beach

Leftover Storage Tanks

An Abandoned Building

In the foreground is a cemetery, marked by a couple of cross

More Storage Tanks

A Collapsed Building

Passengers are asked if they want to do a Polar Plunge.  Some brave souls at some of the landing sites did that.  Here at Deception Island a young man from Germany stepped up to the challenge.  He was in the water perhaps for about 30 seconds.

Getting Ready for the Polar Plunge

Before we head back across the Drake Passage we took a final cruise around one of the bays.  There were icebergs all over the place.  We did not land anywhere but getting close to some of the gigantic icebergs is quite an experience.  In a couple of months this area will all be turn into ice.

A Gigantic Iceberg

Lots of icebergs

Surrounded by Icebergs

Leaving the mother ship to cruise around the bay

These icebergs are big!

Our ship's position on March 11th - Brown Bluff in the Antarctic Sound

Our location, at the tip of Antarctica.  We did not land here

This will be our last stop in Antarctica as we start to cruise across the Drake Passage.

Crossing the Drake Passage on March 12, 11th day of our Cruise

It takes 2 days to cross the Drake Passage.  The water here is one of the roughest in the world.  Fortunately, this time I was ready and put on my motion sickness patch early.  I spent the early part of the crossing in bed and even skipping dinner.  I slept through the rough waters at night.  In the morning I felt good and did not have any seasickness at all.  The patch is working.

However, we are still in very rough seas.  The captain had to closed off some outdoor areas where there is potential for someone falling overboard.  You could see the waves going up over 10m high.  At dinner time we hit a patch of rough seas and the dishes in the dining room were flying.  You have to hold on to something solid to walk around.  Luckily we are on a fairly large ship.  Otherwise we'd be thrown all over the ship.

Note:  at the time of finishing this post I've been back in Arizona for about a week.  It takes time to catch up on the post and memories.

Antarctica - Part 4

 Our next landing is perhaps the most beautiful of all the landing sites - Petermann Island.  This has been a base and refuge for different groups of different nationalities over the years.  Here are some Gentoo and Adelie penguins.

Location of Petermann Island

Beautiful icebergs and snowy landscape

MS Roald Amundsen framed by snow and penguins

A Penguin Chick

Colony of Penguins

What's Going On?

More Beautiful Landscape

Reflection from the Clear Water

We had a COVID Antigen test that morning before we went out to Petermann Island.  Later that afternoon we found out that several passengers tested positive.  This, in spite of all the precautions that we took and also isolating those who tested positive earlier.  The captain came on the PA system and expressed his disappointment.  He had consulted with his home office in Norway and was told that we have to cut short our stay in Antartica.  This is on top of cancellation of the trip to the Falkland Islands.

We were supposed to land at Orne Harbor the next day but the water was too rough and the captain decided to cancel it.  We decided to head back to Deception Island but land at a different part of the Island.

Antarctica - Part 3

One casualty of the positive COVID tests is that our trip to the Falkland Islands is cancelled.  Falkland Islands is a group of islands off the coast of Argentina belonging to the British.  It has a population of around 5,000.  Since the pandemic they have zero COVID cases so they are very careful who they allow to come ashore.  It's good judgement on the part of the Captain to cancel that trip because we don't want to bring the virus to the island. I don't hear any passenger complaining because we've been told before we came on this cruise that anything can happen during the trip.  What it means is that we have more days to spend in Antarctica.

Today we are scheduled to land at Brown Station.  It's an Argentinian base and research station.  There are a few buildings here plus lots of Gentoo penguins.  

Brown Station

Landing at Brown Station

Climbing Up the Hill

Penguin Welcoming Party

This is our HOME!

Hello People!

MS Roald Amundsen in the background

The only exciting thing to do here is climbing up a small hill and sliding down.  It doesn't sound exciting to me because I ski.  For others it's a lot of fun.   I just hung around the buildings taking pictures of the penguins.  After about an hour or so I am ready to go back to the mother ship.

There is an optional overnight camping activity for those who want to try camping in Antarctica.  From what I heard it's not cheap - about 400 euros.  I don't understand the thrill of camping in the cold but for some it's a fun thing to do.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was canceled because the water was too rough for the expedition boats to land at the island where they were supposed to camp.  So much for that.

The following maps give you a perspective of where Brown Station is.  It takes the ship 2 days to cross the Drake Passage.

Antarctica separated from South America by the Drake Passage

Brown Station in Antarctica

Sailing towards Brown Station we see a lot of icebergs floating in the water and beautiful snow-covered mountains.  Here are some of the pictures.

An Iceberg

A Zodiac in the water

Zodiac among the Icebergs

Antarctica - Part 2

 It's been 5 days since we left Punta Arenas.  Following the landing at Yankee Harbor that morning we have to take a PCR test.  All passengers must take this test. After all the tests that we have taken you'd think that there won't be any COVID cases.  Unfortunately, 8 passengers and 1 crew member tested positive.  This means that the virus is still lurking around somewhere on the ship.  Those infected have to be quarantined in the Medical Center for 7 days.  I feel bad for those passengers.  Their cruise is almost over.  It's no fun being quarantined anywhere.  For those tested negative the experience continues.

However, they locked up some of the amenities and outside toilets.  The indoor gym and sauna are locked up.  The jacuzzis and pool are still opened.  So is the Explorer Lounge.  

Public Toilets are closed

The next day we have a landing at Telefon Bay on Deception Island.  This used to be a volcano.  You see lava sands and rocks on the beach.  There are no wildlife here though.  We just walked around the beach and some hike higher to get a better view of the island.

Landing at Telefon Bay

A Glacier Lake

Hiking up the hill

Crew waiting for us with their Zodiacs

MS Roald Amundsen in the morning sun

In the background someone is getting ready for a polar plunge

After the landing in the morning we have the afternoon free to do whatever we please.  Some signed up for a kayaking excursion.  Others signed up for an overnight camping.  Both are pricey.  I heard the kayak is about 150 euros and the overnight camping is 400 euros.  Doesn't make sense for me to spend so much money sleeping in the cold while I have a nice warm cabin to sleep in.  

I spend most of my free time in the Explorer Lounge.  This takes up almost the entire 10th floor.  There are comfortable chairs all over and some that are just next to the windows.  There is a bar here serving all kinds of refreshments.  All soft drinks and hot beverages are free.  If you want cocktail or beer or wine, that is extra money.  The staff comes around often to take your orders.

Bar and Lounge on the 10th floor

Comfortable seating in the Explorer Lounge

Empanadas for snacks