Lyubov Orlova in Antarctica

Isn’t that a magnificent view? Towering, snow covered mountains, with clouds swirling above the water. I have no idea at what time of day the photo was taken. If it were taken below the Antarctic Circle that could just as easily be midnight as midday.

I won’t be crossing the Antarctic Circle on Emperors and Kings. So we will experience twilight for a few hours each evening. Last night’s full moon made me wonder if I would see a full moon in Antarctica. So I googled a moon table and confirmed that the next full moon will be December 2, 2009.

I should be at sea, somewhere between South Georgia and the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Well above the Antarctic Circle, although perhaps still within Antarctica. I won’t know that until December 2. It appears, however, that my romantic dream of standing on the fly deck of Khlebnikov at 1 AM with the light from a full moon sparkling on the water might just come true.

The entire trip is fundamentally romantic  in a 19th century manner – we’ll be following in Shackleton’s wake – Weddell Sea to South Georgia. We’ll be raising a glass to his memory in Grytviken. We will negotiate on foot – sea ice – near Snow Hill. [Admittedly, we won't be dragging small boats behind us.] No matter, my imagination will suffice. I won’t be sleeping a week from tonight.

Mushroom Iceberg

Gosh, most of my best travel memories are connected to food. Some of the worst too! Accidentally, I was onboard Akademik Shokalskiy sailing down the Beagle Channel on my birthday. I hadn’t told anyone, but I hadn’t counted on the Expedition Team’s prescience. That first shipboard meal ended with pyrotechnics and a cake too big for one to eat. The “candle,” more like a small flare, was hot. I learned the hard way. Only superficial burns resulted.

I love the canapes our chefs prepare aboard Kapitan Khlebnikov. Our Hospitality Team move through the mingling guests with beautifully arranged trays. And everything tastes as good as it looks.

Have you tried Yerba Mate? Leaves of a South American holly tree are steeped in hot water to create a tisane. The flavor is somewhat grassy with undertones of Andes mountains and Patagonian pampas. Supposedly Mate (pronounced Mah-Tay) boosts the immune system. The drink has caffeine like properties, but doesn’t have caffeine.

I’m looking forward to the 24-hour hot beverage station that dispenses hot water, so I can make myself a cup whenever I want. I’ll be sipping Mate while I watch seabirds from my cabin window at 3 AM. Can’t wait.

Stanley, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

The last port of call for me will be Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Over the centuries, the islands have welcomed Charles Darwin in HMS Beagle, countless whalers, sealers and explorers.

There are flights from Stanley to Santiago, Chile. Ah, ha, you say, that is the reason she is ending her Antarctic adventure in Chile’s wine country. Wouldn’t you if your itinerary passed through Chile as mine does?

Akademik Shokalskiy, Deception Island

Argentina and India have signed an agreement that will enable civil nuclear development. Although Argentina has lodged a claim to ownership of a portion of Antarctica,  the civil benefits of nuclear-power won’t reach the 7th continent. Antarctica is a nuclear-free zone.

Before the Antarctic Treaty, nuclear power was being used on the continent. All nuclear activity was removed once the Treaty became the instrument of government.

I was fascinated to learn that the Treaty was signed at the heart of the Cold War. Incredibly, two of the 12 countries that signed were the United States and Russia (USSR). The Treaty limits activity on the continent to peaceful research that must be shared between Treaty nations. More than 40 countries have signed the Treaty since the original dozen.

For me, Antarctica is a beacon of hope in a world of strife. If governments can set aside their national agendas for peaceful, international cooperation in Antarctica, the same could be done in the rest of  the world.

End of an Era

You are going to see a great deal of that emblem to the right over the next few years. We are turning it into a patch that you will be able to purchase. It appears at the head of every End of an Era itinerary on this website. And it features prominently in our new brochure: Polar Voyages 2010-2011.

Just released – the ink isn’t dry yet! The brochure includes End of an Era at a Glance. That’s a grid that lists every End of an Era voyage, the dates and the special guest aboard. A handy tool for those of you who have always dreamed of an icebreaker expedition but have not yet got around to it.

Emperors and Kings is not an End of an Era voyage. But is a unique voyage. We’ve never operated it and will never again operate it. It is truly a one-off. I’m priveleged to be part of the complement of guests aboard.

An Exclusive Group

It has been an eerie week. Appropriate for Hallowe’en I suppose. You be the judge – has my life been mere coincidence?

Sunday night I was channel surfing. Click, click, click…then bang – an Irish accent and a tiger. I had missed the first two minutes, but found – quite by accident – the broadcast debut of Broken Tail’s Last Journey. This is a documentary that I have been hearing about off and on for 18 months as it was being produced. I had no idea it had been finished and was airing.  Mere coincidence I said.

Then Wednesday night – channel surfing again – I see a familiar face under which was the title Andrew Lambert. It was a documentary about Captain Bligh. Andrew was one of the on-camera subject matter experts. Yep, that is the same Andrew Lambert I wrote about earlier this week – Laughton Professor of Naval History. I watched the program.

Later that evening – I was channel surfing yet again…and who popped up one more time on a completely different program – Andrew Lambert. As the on-camera guru he was drawing parallels between an ancient seige weapon and a tank from WWI.

Mere coincidence? Methinks not – this has been an eerie week!

Expedition Map for Snow Hill Island Safari

Khlebnikov is parked in the ice edge of the Weddell Sea, a 20 minute helicopter ride from the Snow Hill Island Emperor Penguin rookery. The first visit to the rookery in 2009 occurred in -16C temperatures. When I visit the rookery in late November, I can expect the same temperatures.

That’s a balmy -16C. I spent four weeks earlier this year in -30C windchill in the city. I always have difficulty convincing people that a visit to Antarctica or even the North Pole is warmer than Canada in January.

Snow Hill is above the Antarctic Circle - take a look at the map to the right. But it is sufficiently close that the region experiences 18 to 20 hours of daylight during the austral (southern hemisphere) spring and summer. All that light warms the place in comparison to the dark of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

After my visit to Snow Hill in 2009, Khlebnikov will sail 2 more times to Snow Hill in 2010. They are End of an Era cruises. The first departure will have SeaWorld’s Animal Ambassador Julie Scardina aboard as special guest. The second will have Peter Fretwell, from the British Antarctic Survey. He is the man who used satellite imaging and penguin poo to identify 10 new Emperor Penguin colonies. I am not making this up!

Antarctic Springtail: Pietro Paola Fanciulli

That ugly fella to the right is a springtail (collembola) – Antarctica’s largest insect. There are 8 species living on the subantarctic islands.  Large is relative – they are 1 to 2 mm long. The nail of my index finger is 10 mm wide.

They may be primitive, but they have adapted to the environment in an amazing manner. They synthesize antifreeze, so their body fluids remain liquid at -35C. That  is equivalent to -31F. No matter which scale you use – that’s mighty cold!

The Antarctic springtail (Cryptopygus antarcticus) is the most common of the 8 species. It eats microfungi and algae. They are food for mites, particularly Gamasellus racovitzai.

Do I hope to encounter either insect or any of their relatives when I’m traveling in Antarctica? Nope…I admit it. I’m a girl when it comes to insects, no matter how small they are! Penguins, birds, whales and seals – that’s what I’ll be on the lookout for.

I’ll eagerly participate in the boot washing and cleaning program to remove all stray seeds and pests. We worry about changing the fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic by introducing foreign flora and fauna.

Maurice Cole Tanquary

Bee boffin, Maurice Cole Tanquary, was a member of the Crocker Land Expedition. Robert Peary claimed to have seen a huge island in 1906, which he named Crocker Land. Backed by the American Museum of Natural History, the American Geographical Society, and the University of Illinois’ Museum of Natural History, the purpose of the 1913 expedition was to confirm the position of the island and investigate its biology, geology and geography. Instead, the expedition confirmed that the island did not exist, led to murder and demonstrated, once again, that ignoring the wisdom of the indigenous people was foolhardy.

The Crocker Land Expedition did some things right…important research was conducted; and  photographs were taken that documented the lives of the indigenous peoples and the habitat through which the expedition traveled. The expedition also confirmed that Arctic conditions could produce vast mirages, called Fata Morgana.

Another consequence was the naming of land features – Tanquary Fiord – was named for Maurice Cole Tanquary, the expeditions’ zoologist. Upon his return from the Arctic, he became the father of modern beekeeping.

Kapitan Khlebnikov returns to Tanquary Fjord for the last time in 2010. On the west coast of Ellesmere Island, chartering a plane or sailing on our icebreaker are the only two ways to reach the breathtaking bay. So special is the location, BBC’s Natural History Unit will be on board that End of an Era cruise to shoot footage for Frozen Planet, the sequel to Planet Earth.