Sketchbook and paintings from Antarctica

I've finally scanned my sketchbook.  I have a few other stray drawings to track down, but here's the bulk of the sketches.  Click on them to see larger images and then use your arrow keys to go through them:

And also a few postcards and paintings:

Here's a map of the journey:

Thanks to the expedition team for keeping us informed, entertained, and most of all, safe in this extreme environment.  You guys were amazing.

Thanks to the ship’s crew for taking care of us and always being a pleasure to be around.

Thanks to my fellow passengers for being a part of this rather memorable journey.

Crossing the Drake Passage

The Drake passage was kind to us, but still involved bumping into walls and furniture - everything is relative. 

Home and jetlagged

 I'm still recovering from the 40 hours of travel required to return and just starting to go through pictures and sketches, but here's a shot of O-Berry with some new friends. 

Go with the floe

 Considering how cold and wet I was previous day, I passed on the morning zodiac ride and spent some good time in the observation dome with a half-dozen other passengers watching the ice floe in. The landscape is incredible, and the ice really was flowing - we watched a sizable glacier make its way past the ship and a whole lot of sea ice start to appear, and it was snowing! It was absolutely amazing.  Some of the staff came out on deck to take pictures because even they were amazed.  

This also meant that our trip further south was replaced with a different landing place further north, which meant that the polar plunge took place a little bit earlier. This is when people get the chance to change into their bathing suits, tie a harness on, and jump into the freezing waters. For this you get a certificate saying that you jumped into Antarctic waters. I stayed inside with a warm drink. 

 

Our afternoon was a landing where you could walk in Antarctica and see the amazing landscape, and a load of really adorable penguins. Oh, but don’t step even 6” off the trail or you will sink up to your knee and need someone to help pull you out. Trust me. 

 

Because that happened around dinner, and dinner was late, it was a late night followed by an early morning.  The earliest part was watching the iceberg parade, which was incredible. They come in all shapes and sizes and look like everything from meringue to castles the abstract sculpture. Then took a zodiac tour around more icebergs. We had a lecture on krill before lunch - don’t laugh, the entire food chain depends on them - then back out to another landing site. It takes your breath away to stand there surrounded by snowy mountains, penguins, and icebergs. 

 

Now we’re trying to get to the Drake Passage before the weather does.

Kayaks and ice floes

Updated 26 December with more photos.

My morning started at about 1:30am when I woke up to see the sunrise, and there were some huge blue icebergs in the distance with pink skies overhead - absolutely stunning. A little while later, there were whales in the distance. Then I closed the curtains and went back to sleep. 

Sometime around 10am I was out in a kayak. The water was perfectly flat and it was snowing. The water is also thick - it’s around freezing but as it’s moving it hasn’t frozen. The waves from the zodiac moved oddly slowly - there is some different physics here. It’s pretty amazing being out on the water like that, although the kayaks tracked poorly so you spent more time than I would like just trying to keep them going in the right direction. Also, because we are directly under that hole in the ozone layer, even with factor 50 sunscreen on a snowy day where you can’t see the sky, even after an hour or so, you burn. Oh, and the temperature was something below zero. But it was amazing and true Antarctica. 

After lunch, we moved to another spot and took a tour in a zodiac around the icebergs. Pretty amazing to go through those, although once again, no matter what you are wearing after being splashed with freezing water, you are cold and wet and sunburned. But still, the scenery is stunning. 

Tomorrow we make our southern-most stops, including a trip through an incredibly narrow channel with walls of ice on either side, and I plan on getting up early to see that!

today is a good day for the waterproof pants

Updated 26 December with more pictures.

In the mornings we have talks about the plans for the day, and this morning it included some beautiful pictures of the Antarctic landscape.  Then we walked out of the auditorium and saw the real thing!  We are here! And I dare say it looks just like the pictures.  

We were going to Deception island, but a few hours later the gale force winds diverted us to another spot. As we got ready for our zodiac landing, they said, “today is a good day for those waterproof pants.  Also, it’s 32 degrees with a 37kt wind, so dress warmly.”  The zodiac ride was like Splash Mountain but colder, wetter, and a little more dangerous. Welcome to Antarctica!  Penguins were there to greet us and the surrounding views were jaw-dropping. 

 

I’ve discovered that how you pack and carry things like a camera for a normal outing and the ability to cope with same in a thick parka, life jacket, and insulated mittens is a different story. I need to figure out how to rearrange while still providing safety. Also, there is nowhere you can put that backpack down without putting it in penguin poop. 

 

As we left the island, it started to snow. Now we’re in a pretty amazing rain storm on our way to the next stop. I’m exhausted. 

Chinstrap penguins:

Not our ship: