Beauty - Curious Karibella

2023-12-222024-01-20

Quark Expeditions: Antarctica, Day 8 (But Not Really Day 8)

Day 8, But not really day 8

When you sign up for the 8-day trip to Antarctica, you don’t actually sign up for 8 days in Antarctica. Day 1 is in Chile. Day 2 is half in South America and half in Antarctica. Days 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all full days in Antarctica. Day 7 is half in Antarctica and half in Chile, and day 8 is in Chile. Day 8, you don’t even do anything with Quark!

Day 8

Location: Punta Arenas, Chile to Puerta Natales

Agenda: Drive to Puerta Natales

On day 8, we woke up in south America on dry land, but feeling like we were still on a ship. Everyone moved as if the ground was gently rolling, just like the ship. We had a 4-hour drive up to Puerto Rico, and we wanted to get there early. So we packed our 12 bags into our rented van (it was filled from Top to Bottom) and drove up to Chile. The drive was very pretty, but it felt so long.

What Is All the Fuss About Patagonia???

I had always heard that Patagonia is SO beautiful and breathtaking and I really was skeptical. That was foolish of me…

The glare from my phone in the window makes it a bit less picturesque, but this is such a beautiful scene, right? This is basically what I looked like the whole time out of my window. Christmas with a view like this was…… AMAZING!!!!!

This was my last day in Antarctica, y’all!!! I am kinda poking fun at Quark for putting the 8th day on the trip because it really is not part of it at all! We didn’t do much; we just drove up to Puerta Natales, adjusted to the new house, and stared at the insane beauty surrounding us. I loved just staring out of the window because the sun was nice and warm, and it all seemed like something that you would only see in a dream, fairy tale, or movie. The best part is there is always a Very loud orchestra to accompany the sight. An orchestra of….. wind.

Wind House

I have never been in a windier place in my entire life!!! This wind was HARSH! Like being the walls and shaking the house! It wasn’t dangerous wind just really strong. Our host said that the winds got up to either 60 km (37mph) or 160 km (99.4221). I think it was 160 because this wind was really hard! As loud and disturbing as it was, I learned to like it. It added sound to the scenery and made all the clouds very beautiful. It also helped cool down the house when the sun heated it up too much. The wind was also extra harsh on us because we were on what we thought was the highest hill in a small trench/valley/fjord with mountains on either side. Our house was a perfect target for the gusts and bullets of wind. We could also see on the water how strong the wind was because it was creating huge whitecaps. Somehow, thankfully, we did not get swept up in a tornado and taken to Oz.

6-Day Trip to Antarctica

In my 6 days of seeing Antarctica, I was mesmerized. It was the trip of a lifetime, but there is no way it’s going to be once in a lifetime for me. One day I Will find my way back to Antarctica. The best way to do this seems to be to get a job in Antarctica which I probably can figure out how to do. I definitely will get back there. Someday 🙂

2023-12-202024-01-20

Quark Expeditions: Antarctica, Day 6

Wednesday 20/12/2023

Location: World Explorer, Deception Island

Agenda: All Zodiac Cruising cancelled due to high winds. We sailed to Deception Island to try to cruise, but our efforts were not rewarded.

Another Stormy Day

Sadly today was just a day to watch the landscape and learn history. The winds were too high at our morning location to go cruising, so we aimed for Deception Island. Deception island is like a horse shoe. It was once a volcano that erupted but then the caldera broke letting a bunch of seawater in and making beaches. It’s called deception island because when a ship sails around it it looks like sea cliffs all around but there is a “secret” entrance called Neptunes bellows. This entrance is even thinner than the Lemaire channel, and it has a big underwater rock in it, which makes it extra dangerous. It’s called Neptune Bellows because it’s in perfect shape and spot to make extremely forcefully and high wind, which makes ship navigation even harder! Somehow our captain got us through!

Inside the Volcano

Inside it was still windy but everything looked very still. On the several beaches there were abandoned buildings from old whaling stations and the abandoned research stations from when there was a second eruption. The second eruption was not huge, but it was big enough that the island had to evacuate everyone! We were hoping to cruise and land in Whalers Bay, but it was still too windy. Instead we toured the island via the ship and received a history lesson from Ian.

Don’t Make Me Leave!!!

In the evening we had to gather in the Auditorium for our last debrief and briefing about our departure schedule. We also got to see our voyage slideshow and learn some more about whales. We were told how early we were going to wake up and what sequence we were going to fly home in. Alot of people looked sad and I was sad because who wants to leave Antarctica???

Captains Farewell

Later that evening there was a “party” where the captain came down to socialize and a lot of the crew came through the main lounge and we got to clap for everyone and there was a lot of smiling and clapping. On board, there was also a piano, and I had my violin, so… I got to perform a song with my brother. There is a backstory to the song that I performed. The night before, I was practicing this song with my brother (B). He was on the piano and I was on the violin. The song was Chervona Kalyna (Червона Калина) which is a Ukrainian folk song. This song was sung by Kozaks and soldiers and it is about a Red Kalyna in a medow. I know this song because I have been learning Ukrainian and I mostly only listen to Ukrainian and 80’s music. We were playing the song and a lady came in to listen. When we finished the song, she asked how we knew the song and why we were playing it. I told her how I knew it and that we were just practicing it and then I asked if she was from Ukraine. Turns out, she was! We talked for a while and I learned that 12 of the crew were from Ukraine and then I asked if I could play Chervona Kalyna for them the next day at the captains Farewell. That’s how I ended up playing it for the captain (who is from Ukraine) and a few of the Ukrainian crew and all the passengers!

Disco Party!

After dinner I had to pack all my stuff. This meant that I just put everything in my bag and got ready for the next day. As my bag was being checked by my mom my brother came in and announced that there was a disco dance party in the observation lounge! I LOVE dancing! I immediately wanted to race upstairs but I had to wait for my bag to be checked. As soon as it was I raced upstairs!

The dance floor was empty and adults just stood around talking. Some of the head captains were there talking and a lot of guides were there. As two of my siblings walked in the music changed and people moved to the dance floor. Me and Emmy were dancing like teenagers and two of the guides were doing a dance that we did not know. It was like ballroom dancing but probably less fancy. Me and my sister asked to be taught this dance because it looked fun. Once we mastered it we could not stop! Its a simple 10 step dance that repeats forever until you stop. At one point people started going outside so we did to and guess what we saw?? A sunset! The sun was actually setting! This was very surprising and unusual but I later learned that it was the summer solstice (southern hemisphere) and that’s why it was setting.

It was pretty cool! The sun fully dipped below the horizon at 10 pm! It usually sets for an hour or two around 1 am so this was surprise! It was a perfect last night in Antarctica!

Photos from today!

2023-12-192024-01-20

Quark Expeditions: Antarctica, Day 5

Tuesday, 19/12/2023

Location: World Explorer, Danco Island

Agenda: Skip the morning cruise and sail to Danco Island, Zodiac Cruise, Onboard Auction

Antarctica Is Not Always Majestical

Yesterday was beautiful. Today… Today is stormy, windy, and cold. I can’t blame Antarctica. Weather in Antarctica can turn at any moment. Today, it turned out, and we had a very cold day. We were not able to go Zodiac cruising in the morning because it was too windy and the waves were too big, so instead, we cruised to Danco Island. On the way we had a little entertainment provided by no other than the Great Breaching Whale!!!

So, You Saw a Whale Breach?

Yeah, I saw a whale breach, not once, not twice, but over 40 times!!!!! When a whale breeches, it expends 2-5% of its daily energy. This whale breached non-stop for over 40 minutes with over 40 breaches!!! Usually, on the ship, when a whale breaches, they announce it, but the whale is done by the time you get to the right side of the ship. This time, they announced it once, thinking it was a one-time thing. About 15 minutes into the breaching, they announced it again, telling people that they weren’t gonna miss it. They announced it twice more, each time sounding more and more excited! Annie, the marine biologist who specialized in whales, was stunned. All the guides on the ship, some of whom had over 30 years of polar trips, said they had never seen a whale do this. It was a natural phenomenon! It was pretty insane!

The Bridge

Since the whale stole 40 min out of our voyage to Danco Island, we had extra time. Time enough to do bridge tours! The bridge is the part of the ship that the captain steers from and controls everything. It was really cool to visit! It was very quiet and spacious, with wraparound windows and “wings” that go over the side of the ship to see the side of the ship. There were two main captain chairs in the main controlling area, which had sonar, radar, and other fancy equipment. There was a chart room and the captain’s quarters all in the bow of the ship! I ended up visiting the bridge twice because I did not have much else to do, and it was cool, so why not?

Warning: Zodiac Cruising Can Be Wet

Be aware that when you are in a small boat in waves, the ocean can rise to meet you in full force. I am probably making it sound super dramatic, but what I am saying is I got wet. It wasn’t really a surprise because it was raining and it was very windy, which made bigger waves. The good thing is that I had some pretty awesome waterproof pants, so it was really only my face and coat that got wet. Lol

My biggest tip is BRING WATERPROFF PANTS! Some people did not, and they were sad and wet. The waterproof difference is really big. If you are sitting on the cold side of the Zodiac when you are soaked is not fun. Bring pants that have unzippable breather sides so you don’t overheat when it is sunny and warm.

Back to the Cruise

Our afternoon Zodiac driver was Jensinna from Alaska. She took us to watch a penguin colony that had elephant seals on the beach! The penguins were the best part, though. They were waddling up this big hill and tobogganing down. It looked like a penguin ski resort! They had little penguin highways that they would all share, walking in a line, stopping at the top, and sliding down. The penguins who were going down probably did not just make it to the top, but that’s what it looked like! I guess this is when people think penguins are cute. 🙂 We also saw some Ice caves and Ice cliffs, which was pretty cool! We had to head in quickly because the waves and wind started picking up.

Auctioning in Antarctica

What better pastime in Antarctica than an auction? On the second to last night in Antarctica, the on-board penguin research team held an auction to raise money. It was a lot of fun! Adrian, the assistant expedition leader, was the auctioneer, talking very fast and raising the price of things almost as fast! Some of the stuff auctioned was swag from the penguin organization, but some of the things were pretty cool! There was a map of our voyage with art on it done by Valarie (The same person who did the art on the back of my Antarctica sweater). There was also a bottle of Antarctic Glacial Water which got lots of laughs. One of the guides also was making good jokes out of it. Ian, the historian, was showing the bottle around, and Adrian was joking that Ian is over 100 years old because he drinks glacial water, and that’s how he knows all the history of Antarctica so well!! It was pretty funny! Those were the coolest things, but there were many other things auctioned off. I was sad for it to be the second to last night, and I started to be worried about leaving. Nobody ever wants to say goodbye to Antarctica.

Here are the Photos from the day!