Antarctic Film Star

It's official...I'm now a star of 'high-def' film! The film crew that I helped out while in Antarctica have released the previews for their HD Mini-Series: Mark Terry's Antarctica. And...yours truly happens to be in a few of the trailers! Feels a little wonky to be watching myself on film, but pretty cool too. So if you'd like to check it out, follow the link: http://www.polarcapproductions.com/?page=trailers and then watch either The Melting of Antarctica, or The Antarctica Challenge.

Having these trailers come out has really fired me up again, and I've been getting together my resume....gotta keep the momentum going!

Latest updates

So...I've been back home for about a month now, and back into the swing of things with work and trying to get out and play as much as possible! It has been great getting back to my home and my friends and believe it or not, work has been good too. I still have many moments where I long to be back on a ship or camping beside penguin burrows though....I suppose I will just have to keep working on my plan to get back down south.

My latest crazy news is that I am now the owner of a feline friend. Those of you who know me well will understand that this is quite surprising as I always vowed never to have a cat. Yet I was contemplating getting a pet and realized my life was not quite ready for a dog. I went to the Bow Valley SPCA in Canmore and found the coolest cat there...an 18-month-old orange tabby. He has chosen the name Atticus; I considered Sanchez, but he's a bit too contemplative to be a Sanchez, and not enough trouble to be name Jesus Christ (sorry Mike). He and I are currently chilling out, watching the Planet Earth series and so far we're getting along well! My only request to all of you is to prevent me from becoming "the crazy cat lady of Bow Valley"...I'm only allowed one cat.

So that's the latest news from this wandering Alberta girl....although with the addition of Atticus, I won't be wandering too far for a while.

January 9 & 10, 2009 -- Homeward Bound

[Sitting in the departure lounge at the Santiago, Chile Airport]
So here's my plan. I'm going to send in a resume to Quark Expeditions (along with some of the other companies) to apply to be on the expedition team of an Antarctic-bound ship on my time off next winter. I met yet anoher crew member at the Dublin Pub last night who convinced me I could totally get a job! So that's my plan. I just have to play up my background in biology, interpretation, & education, the fact that I have now been to Antarctica, I've done research work in the Falklands Islands and I have boating experience from my time at the Bamfield Research Station. Plus, add in a few good (hopefully) words from expedition staff....and there I go!

This trip has been crazy. It's been a little over-the-top, but I feel like I'm in a better head space after having just put myself out there so many times....because when I do, there are huge rewards!

[...]

January 10, 2009
Woah!! Karen (a friend from the hostel who is on her way back to Australia) found me in the departure lounge and got me to come join her in the VIP departure lounge! Free food, drink, a "quiet" room with lounge chairs, pillows and blankets....and I even had a quick shower!! What a fantastic way to chill out before the 11-hour flight from Santiago to Los Angeles.

I was then able to sleep quite well on the flight. Now I'm enjoying a little breakfast and a coffee at LAX while I wait for my flight back to Cow-town. I can't seem to get images of icebergs out of my head...so I'm drawing, sketching, and painting icebergs of all shapes and colours in my journal.

January 7, 2009 -- Decompression...

I'm back in Ushuaia and I still feel like I'm on a ship! The back and forth motion is kind of nuts...it is actually somewhat difficult to write at the moment. And when I'm walking down the street, it feels as though I'm weaving my way down the sidewalk...hopefully it's not too noticeable!
I went to Tanta Sara, the cafe where this all began, for a little cafe con leche and who do I run into but Mark -- the whale guy! Then as I was searching for a place to eat lunch, who do I run into but Mikolaj, Niklas, Geoff (the bird man), Alex (zodiac driver extraordinaire), and Gary (zodiac driver)! So I had lunch with the expedition staff one last time. These people have just been wonderful on my trip...who knows...maybe one day I'll work along side some of them! On a side note, I met some crew from another ship and one of them happens to live in Bamfield, B.C. the rest of the year! AND he's good friends with my gal Kylee! Ushuaia really is the smallest place in the world!

Tonight it's supper at La Rueda -- the best parilla in town -- with all of the other backpackers that got last-minute tickets as well. And tomorow night is the "wrap party" for the film crew! Only a few more days until I head back to the real world...

January 6, 2009 -- Farewell Antarctica

I was up nice and early today -- my last day on the Drake Passage. I spent some time up on the bridge deck for a while before breakfast. Another beautifully calm day! [When I woke up I wasn't sure if we were still moving...it was so still.] The ship was clipping along at around 12 knots...too bad! I wish I could prolong this.

A journey is a person in itself, no two are alike, and all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggles that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.
~ John Steinbeck ~

I'm sitting on the bridge one last time, looking into the Beagle Channel as we head back to Ushuaia. Am I different? Have I been transformed? As I look toward the horizon of the so-called real world, the world of work, and relationships, and the new year, I'm not sure I feel as transformed as I would have thought.

[...]

Just had my palm read by the Chief Engineer -- Bozo Petrovic, from Montenegro. Interesting man, with interesting things to say about my future.

This trip, this adventure, this journey has definitely shaken up my life in a good way. It's given me lots to think about in terms of what I want to focus my energy on, where I want to travel, what kinds of jobs I may pursue. As ridiculous as it might seem, I have a strong feeling that I will be back here.

Now it's time to get ready for the final slide show and our farewell dinner. We'll actually be in port tonight, so once we clear customs a few of us plan on heading into town for some beverages and one last celebration of our time together.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
~ St. Augustine

January 5, 2009 -- Northbound...

On this day in 1922 the great Ernest Shackleton died of a coronary off of Grytviken. His body was buried on South Georgia.

Here I am, crossing the infamous Drake Passage once again! Except this time, I'm feelin' fine! I took some anti-nauseants from a friend and although the boat is definitely moving around in the water, I'm not feeling queasy at all. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the day...on the way down I did more sleeping, but that just seems wrong somehow. My roomate Nataliya isn't doing so well...she's pretty much laying prone and sleeping her way through this day. Sooo glad that's not me!

Mikolaj and I had a chat about job possibilities for me on "The Ice"....could I work as the "gift shop girl" at Port Lockroy? I wonder....

Now Miko is preparing for his talk entitled: "Sex on the Beach -- or How Do Elephant Seals Do It?" I'm sure it will be interesting!

Strange. There is always sadness on departure.
It is as if one cannot after all bear to leave this bleak waste of ice, glaciers, cold and toil...
~ Fridtjof Nansen 1912 ~

Antarctic Poetry

The Sleeping Bag
by Herbert Ponting in the South Polar Times

There seems to be a difference of opinion amongst us as to which is the correct way to use a sleeping bag. There may almost be said to be sides on the subject, hence the following:

On the outside grows the furside, on the inside grows the skinside,
So the furside is the outside, and the skinside is the inside.
As the furside is the outside, and the skinside is the inside,
One side likes the skinside inside, and the furside on the outside.
Others like the skinside outside, and the furside on the inside,
As the skinside is the hard side, and the furside is the soft side.
If you turn the skinside outside, thinking you will side with that side,
Then the soft side, furside's inside, which some argue is the wrong side.
If you turn the furside outside, as you say it grows on that side,
Then the hard side's next your own side, which for comfort's not the right side,
As the hard side is the cold side, and your skinside's not your warm side,
And two cold sides coming side by side, are not right sides, one side decides,
If you decide to side with this side, turn the outside furside inside;

Then the hard side, cold side, skinside, beyond all question's inside outside and it does not matter a particle what you do with the bally thing, someone' sure to tell you it's outside inside.

January 4th continued -- Seals, fin whales and penguin chicks, oh my!

I went up to the main lounge after lunch for Mikolaj's talk on seals. Mikolaj has been the Base Commander of the Henryk Arctowski (Polish) research station on King George Island for the last year and is finishing off his time in Antarctica as the marine mammal specialist on the Clipper Adventurer. He has studied elephant seals extensively and has spent quite some time in Antarctica. He is also one of the best lecturers on the ship...you can tell he's taught university as he has lots of good jokes and anecdotes to share.

After the lecture I headed up to the bridge to try and spot some orcas...but no luck. We sighted several more humpbacks; the whales showing off their flukes, dorsal fins and even a little tail! We were on our way to the South Shetland Islands, into the English Channel towards Barrientos Island (one of the Aitcho Islands Archipelago) where we would have our final Antarctic landing.
Due to its proximity to the Drake Passage unfortunately a considerable amount of human flotsam and jetsam washes up with the tide here. During the crossing we got super lucky and got to see two fin whales!! These whales are the second largest animal in the world!

Once we arrived at Barrientos Island, I got busy with the film crew. Because of my work in the Falklands they wanted to interview me about some of the vegetation growing on the island, and asked me about how global climate change might affect the vegetative growth in Antarctica. There is definitely greenery on the island; it looks like a cross between a moss and an algae. It is hard to believe that much of anything could grow in this type of environment!

We got to spend lots of time watching gentoos and their chicks up close and personal. The chicks are especially curious as you can see by the photos...they would get super close to us, and then suddenly realize 'mom' was somewhere else. Then they would squawk and waddle around looking for mom once more.

I also got the chance to get some great shots of the chinstrap penguins, and their feet!

And right before we had to rush back to the ship, Niklas zoomed our zodiac over to a neighbouring island so we could see some Weddell seals. Just lounging on the beach, smiling for the pictures, scratching their noses...just chillin'.

Our last Antarctic landing...I don't want to leave! I didn't want to leave the Falklands and I don't want to leave here. Somehow work doesn't seem quite so exciting right now. It feels as though the real world is so far away; but I suppose I've only got the Drake Passage between this adventure and reality.

Side note: If anyone is wondering what penguin tastes like...

"If it is possible to imagine a piece of rotting beef, odiferous cod fish and a canvas-backed duck roasted together in a pot, with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce, the illustration would be complete."
~ Dr. Frederick Cook, the Belgican Expedition, on what penguins taste like

January 4, 2009 - Deception Island

The South Shetlands are a 540 km-long string of islands laying across the southern end of the Drake Passage, separated from the Antarctic Penninsula by the Bransfield Strait. These are the warmest, wettest and most colourful part of Antarctica. Deception Island is one of 11 main islands and is the largest of three recently active volcanic centers in the South Shetlands. We entered Telefon Bay by way of the narrow entrance known as Neptune's Bellows.
A hike up to one of the craters on the island was the objective of our first landing. What a completely different landscape! Such a stark contrast to what I have seen so far. It felt as though I was walking on the moon.

The crater was actually quite impressive; at first it seemed as though we were jst walking up a big hill and then all of the sudden I was peering over the edge of this enormous crater! Quite a long ways down if one was to misstep.

I spent some time wandering around and I even found some plants! It looked to be similar to the coastal nassauvia I was seeing on the Falkland Islands. The film crew had asked me to keep an eye out for any kind of plant life in order to be able to document it for their film....Daniella Rubeling -- botanist extraordinaire! (?)

After making back onto the ship, we moved quickly over to Pendulum Cove, named by the Foster Expedition of 1829, when pendulum and magnetic experiments were conducted there. Pendulum Cove is reputed to have "warm" water, and a few other passengers thought they might take this opportunity for a polar plunge. The rumour of warmer waters was slightly misleading...
Due to geothermal activity, the water right at the shore's edge was actually very warm. But move your big toe about 4 inches deeper and you're back to approximately 1 degree water! I decided that one day of polar swimming was enough and I contented myself with watching a few others take their plunge.
We made our way back to the ship and before lunch we passed through Neptune's Bellows once more. Just as we were going through the narrowest stretch, three humpback whales were spotted hanging out near the surface of the water -- aka logging. Fantastic! We cruised around them for quite some time with the ship...getting so close! More chinstrap penguins were porpoising nearby. We even got to see some tail! And to top it off, I can now say I know how to identify whale poop! A big krill-coloured (pinkish) expulsion.....

Now, after a nice bowl of soup, I'm getting a little sleepy and am ready for a little nap. Then I'll head back up to the bridge for some whale spotting!

January 3 continued... -- What luck!

Today was living proof that if you don't put yourself out there, you'll never know what opportunities you might miss. I was hanging out on the bridge and overheard our expedition leader Brad talking to one of the zodiac drivers about the film crew that is working on board. [Polar Cap Productions are working on a film called "Antarctic Challenge" about the effects of global warming on the Antarctic.] They were talking about the film crew getting their own zodiac for the entire afternoon and I just decided it couldn't hurt to ask about getting into that zodiac! So ask I did, and Brad told me to approach the film crew th emselves to see if they would mind having me along.

Well I walked past the producer's door about 12 times before I found the courage to knock, and what do you know, he was actually happy to bring me along! I met the rest of the crew right before we headed out for a three and a half hour zodiac cruise, and I was named their 'Radiation Protection Technician' as I was the one who remembered sunscreen. We made anchor at Foyn Harbour, an anchorage between Nansen and Enterprise Islands in Wilhelmina Bay, off the coast of Graham Land. We got to visit the wreck of an old whaling ship which now seems to be a site for nesting Antarctic Terns. The whale oil on the ship had caught on fire and so the captain decided to run it aground before it sunk.

We had so much time on the water!!! Niklas was our driver and we got so close to some massive tabular icebergs. I was able to get some amazing shots. It was such a wonderful experience and the film crew were so friendly and took me in right away. I'm just continuously amazed at how when I just put myself out there, great things happen!

January 3, 2009 -- Antarctic Swim!

Officially landed on the continent today! It was snowing and foggy at first rise this morning...absolutely beautiful. Another view of this icy continent. Large, fat flakes were falling lightly but the air temperature was actually quite nice!

The Clipper pulled into Neko Harbour, off Anvard Bay on the east side of the Antarctic Penninsula. The site is named for the floating whale factory ship Neko, which operated in the South Shetlands and Antarctic Penninsula from 1911 to 1924, and often used this bay. A small Argentinean refuge on the coastline and gentoo penguins all around. Niklas pulled us up to the rocky beach packed with gentoos (and their guano!).

I hiked up to a high point on a ridge above the bay and had an amazing view of the Deville Glacier where icebergs are "born". The shadows!!!! Amazing colours and shades of blue and white. After spending some time watching for calving icebergs, I got to slide the snow on my butt! There was even a point at which the drop-off was straight down.

After the big hike, I took the POLAR PLUNGE! I removed a few layers (snowpants, 1 pair of longjohns, expedition parka, fleece sweater, thermal shirt, rubber boots and socks!) to get down my bikini and prepared myself mentally for what was to come. I walked among the gentoos on the rocky shores, right into the 0 degree waters of Neko Harbour, Antarctica! It was frigid but so amazing! After I exited the water, I felt so invigorated and refreshed that I decided I should go back in. I made a second entrance into the Antarctic waters, dove right in, and as I was making my way back to shore a gentoo penguin porpoised right in front of me!

Ice Terminology

Ice shelf: a large slab of ice flowing on the sea but remaining attached to, and partly fed by, land-based ice

Glacier: a mass of ice, irrespective of size, derived from snow and continuously moving from higher to lower ground, or spreading over the sea

Icebergs: a piece of ice of the order of tens of metres or more that has been shed by a glacier into a lake or the sea

Types of Icebergs

Grounded berg: where the iceberg has run into shallow coast and is unable to move

Tabular berg: flat topped iceberg, usually derived from an ice shelf, may drift for years before melting

Rolled berg: iceberg that has literally rolled over as a result of becoming top-heavy from the lower section melting in the sea water; they tend of have a smooth, rounded shape

Calving: the process of detachment of blocks of ice from a glacier into water

Bergy bit: a piece of floating glacier ice up to several meters across, commonly derived from the disintegration of an iceberg

Growler: a piece of glacier ice almost awash, up to a few meters across, but smaller than a bergy bit

Brash ice: small fragments of glacier ice, smaller than growlers

Sea-ice: ice that forms by the freezing of the sea (**Sea water freezes at -1.8 degrees C, but it depends on the salinity of the water)

Grease ice: early ice that forms as the temperature falls and small ice crystals clump together into congealed greasy ice slicks

Pancake ice: ice spun around in waves and thickened into free floating ice disks (up to 3 meters in diameter)

Pack-ice: formed from ice floes freezing together

Polynya: area of open water within pack-ice, caused by local wind and current patterns

Fast-ice: ice attached to land

Tide crack: crack in the fast-ice caused by tidal movement of the ocean

January 2, 2009 -- Part II

We had our afternoon landing at Useful Island....useful for me as I got to see my first chinstrap penguins! The seas were a bit choppier this afternoon with the wind picking up a bit, which made our zodiac ride and the landing a bit more interesting. We were able to hike through the snow up to the peak of the island. A previous ship's group had packed a nice trail for us, which made it much easier to maneouvre without bothering the penguins. We see other ships from time to time, but most of the time it feels as though we're the only people out here.

There are so many gentoos everywhere...and some people have even begun to say things like "Oh yeah, we just saw some more gentoos." I'M IN ANTARCTICA!!! Can it get any better than this?! I would sit and watch gentoo after gentoo only to spend more time here.

We're just about to go for our afternoon recap, and briefing for tomorrow's landings. The ship is on its way to Paradise Bay where we will be having an Antarctic BBQ on the stern deck! I can't believe this amazing weather....hope it holds!

January 2, 2009 -- Part I

Another splendiferous morning! We had an early rise at 0600h and I was able to enjoy my toast and peanut butter on the stern deck, looking out at icebergs and Antarctic peaks. We headed out in the zodiac with Mark – a renowned whale spotter – into Iceberg Alley, near Pleneau Island. This area is also known as the iceberg graveyard as the shallow ground causes icebergs to run aground here. We saw some absolutely amazing ice and the sun was beating down on us.

As we moved through the brash ice with the zodiac, we attracted the attention of a 3 meter leopard seal who decided to hang around for a while. It was absolutely amazing to see this predator of penguins moving so smoothly through the water beneath our zodiac. As if it knew we wanted to get some good photos, the seal hauled itself out onto a small ice floe for a photo shoot. It soon slid gracefully back into the water and swam off, leaving us feeling awed and blessed.

As we headed back to the ship, we were treated to a group of gentoo penguins porpoising alongside the zodiac. Our morning cruise was capped off with William, the head bartender, delivering us piping hot chocolate out on the water. What a phenomenal morning!

Before lunch we passed through Lemaire Channel -- also known as the Kodak Gap -- with towering peaks (rising 3,000 feet from the water's edge) and large glaciers on either side of the ship. A humpback whale sighting off the starboard bow capped things off.

We've just finished lunch and we're on our way to Useful Island through the Neumayer Channel for our second landing of the day. Apparently more gentoos and some chinstrap penguins will be in store. Another fantastic day on "The Ice"!

...One seemed to have reached the very end of the world...land without form or expression, yet with a certain simple and primitive beauty in the colours of the grey-blue rock, shining through clear air, with the sea-wind singing over them.

~ James Brice ~