Salisbury Plain

Dropping anchor in the Bay of Isles our first stop of the day was Salisbury Plain. We were greeted to similar weather conditions as its English namesake with the wind growing stronger and the sleet clouding visibility. There the similarity ended. As we jumped out of the zodics and out onto the beach, hundreds of king penguins clustered in around us. The baron landscape was dotted with fur seals as far as could be seen. We made our way across the plains trying to avoid the fur seals. Every so often one would consider us to be trespassing and we would pick up the pace as a brief chase ensued. Once across boggy creeks we arrived at the King Penguin colony. Over 60,000 penguins huddled together in the shelter of the tussock covered hills. The brown fluffy chicks were calling out for food and the downy chicks (over 12 months old now) were picking out the last of their baby feathers. As we stood there busily snapping with the camera, the penguins wandered about oblivious to their visitors. As the horizontal sleet died down and the sun came out the wind picked up giving a wind chill of -15C. We struggled back across the plain towards the beach. As the katabatic winds exceeded 100 km/ph we hunkered down in the sand before be selected as guinea pigs to make the first trip back. Soaked through to the skin as the zodiac bounced across the waves we arrived back at the ship. Unfortunately the crossing wasn’t considered safe, so the rest of the group endured a 3 hour wait, huddled on the beach.

In Shackleton’s Shadow

As the mist cleared we caught our first glimpse of South Georgia. The 9,000 ft mountains rose suddenly from the sea, interspersed with glaciers which extended into the water. At about 1.30pm we spotted our first ice berg which was about the size of the ship. As we approached land we were guided in by numerous fur seals, keen to show us the way with elegant dives in and out of the water. Finally we dropped anchor in Fortuna Bay and the call went out to prepare for landing. Hurriedly we layered up for the cold weather and boarded the zodiacs which took us to shore. Filing past the fur seals on the beach we spotted an Elephant Seal about 20 metres away. Weighing over 3.5 tones it lacked the ability to bend its rear flippers, so that once on land it slowly drags itself onshore whilst its fur seal neighbours (which it dwarfs) scamper up and down the beach at a nimble pace. Its size was difficult to comprehend. Scrambling through the tussock we carefully avoiding the nesting Giant Petrels before heading over the shale and up to Crean Lake. The hike we were taking across South Georgia was the final stage of Shackleton’s epic crossing which he completed in 1916 after two years of being stranded in Antarctica and rowing to South Georgia. Crean Lake was named after Crean, one of Shackleton’s party, fell in it during their crossing. Above the lake our hike continued up over the snow and across the pass. From the top we could see the remains of the abandoned Stromness Whaling Station in the distance. Descending down the steep incline and past the Shackelton falls we hiked out of the valley and onto the beach. The fur seals and king penguins ignored our arrival; continuing to fight, growl, and grunt whilst we boarded zodaics to take us back to the ship.

At Sea

Humpback dives into the deep

For the past two days we have been at sea, rocking and rolling our way across the Southern Ocean. The eight hundred mile voyage has taken us across the Antarctic convergence where the ocean dives in temperature and past the tiny ‘Shag Rocks.’ It took us some time and several doses of seas sickness meds for us to find our sea legs. Onboard ship we had lectures on Antarctic history, photography and wildlife by several authors and seasoned Antarctic experts. By the second day at sea the wind had calmed and fog cleared. We ventured out on deck to see a pair of Humpback whales surface and then flip their tails high into the air before descending into the deep. Fur seals also swam along side the ship along with Albatross’s circling high above. Now we are on the approach to South Georgia which is hidden in fog, King Penguins have started to appear swimming along the side of the ship.  We should make landing later this afternoon.

Falkland Islands

After stops in Southern Chile and Argentina, we finally arrived in the Falkland Islands. The airport is a British Military Base on the southern side of the East Falkland Island. From there we made our way across the barren landscape dotted with grazing sheep, past stone runs and landmines to Stanley, about an hour on the partially sealed roads. Stanley is a City (it has its own Cathedral) of less than 3,000 people. With it’s red telephone boxes, rows of cottages and union jacks flying it has the character of a small English village which time has forgotten for the past 40 years. The smell of burning peat, used by locals to fuel their homes drifts through the town. We had a tour of the city sights which included some 100 year old ship wrecks and a memorial to the 1982 war. The following day we headed off-road to Bluff Cove, about 40 minutes from Stanley to get our first sighting of Happy Feet. We watched hundred’s of Gentoo Penguins carefully sitting on their eggs. Every so often they would stand up and gently roll the egg with their feet to stop the inside of the egg sticking to it’s shell. We were also lucky enough to see half a dozen King Penguins and a couple of brown fluffy chicks. Whilst we enjoyed some local cakes and tea, some of the Gentoo’s began to waddle along the beach and dive into the surf. In the afternoon we headed out past the minefields to a local sheep farm where we helped to cut peat and watched the sheep being shorn. Looking out across the bay to St Lois a solitary King penguin had also decided to visit us at the farm. From there we crossed back across the Island and boarded our shop, the Polar Pioneer. As a beautiful sunset lit up the sky over Stanley we set off on the long voyage down to South Georgia.

Valparaíso

Set into the hills and looking out across the pacific, Valparaíso was our last stop in Chile. Arriving from Santiago we first headed to neighbouring Viña del Mar and the smaller town of Reñaca, where we dipped our toes into the ocean and tried the local Empanadas. After heading back into Valparaíso we explored Pablo Neruda’s quirky house and took our first ride on a funicular. Scattered throughout the city, each of the century old funiculars shudders and shakes its way up the hill helping to avoid the countless steps involved in navigating through the labyrinth of Valparaíso's narrow walkways.

Staying at a 19th century sprawling English house perched high up on the hillside we were treated to spectacular views out across the ocean and many of the city's hills. This seemed to compensate for the steep climb up the hill and the ten flights of stairs to reach our room. The following day we spent exploring the city, trying to capture some of its brightly coloured houses soak up its vibrant atmosphere whilst taking some time out to sample more of the city's Empanadas and local wine. Tomorrow we start our Antarctic adventure, as we head via Punta Arenas to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands.

From Chardonnay to Carménère

‘Lunch is the wedding of food and wine’ our guide Patricia proclaimed as we headed out to the Casablanca Valley, about an hour out of Santiago. We were certainly looking forward to the wedding and the pre-wedding tastings. Patricia and Manuel were our guides on our private tour to some of Chile’s largest wine regions. Our first stop of the day was at the Emiliana Winery, an organic vineyard that proudly practiced the principles of biodynamic viticulture.  Chickens and peacocks roamed between the vines eating away at any fungus that could attack the grapes. Corridors of wildflowers were planted to attract bees who were also very good and repelling pests and making honey as a side product. There were also alpacas – which were I am sure were useful in some way too, but it was unclear how. Anyway, onto the wines. The Sav Blanc and Chardonnay were nice, but the Carménère is Chile’s signature grape and every winery creates a different blend with Cab Sav.  Emiliana had blended 85% Carménère and 15% Cab Sav which enjoyable but our preference was the 60% Cab Sab, 40% Carménère that we tried at our next stop. Indomita was an imposing castle like winery that sat on top of the hill and looked out across the valley. We were guided through their cellars which had lost many barrels due to the devastating Earthquake in 2010. By the time we made it to lunch, a delightful 4 course tasting menu with matched wines we had started to feel the effects of the morning’s work. A strong Pisco Sour, (Chile’s national drink) over lunch certainly didn’t help. From lunch we head to the San Antonio Valley and our last winery of the day where after a beautiful Pinot we were ready for a nap on the way home. We just had time for one last stop, to try a dulce de leche, meringue and cake filled with a caramelised centre – definitely something for the sweet tooth that revived us somewhat for the journey home!

 

Santiago

Nicole outside Catedral Metroploitana

Statue in Plaza de Armas

Arriving in Santiago it quickly became apparent that our non- existent Spanish might prove to be a problem. Wondering around on day one in a jet lag induced daze we pointed and made strange hand gestures and some how managed to obtain food, water and start to navigate around the city. With some key phrases such as ‘I am a vegetarian, what can you recommend?’ and ‘I would like some non-fizzy mineral water please?’ we soon found our way. Following some sleep, by the second day we had adopted our local metro station as our own and began an epic walking tour across the city and up on the funicular railway to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. Whist very welcome the 30 degree heat however isn't really helping with our Antarctica prep and the 0 degree day time temperature that will meet us in the Falkland Islands on Saturday.