It’s time to mention the terrific honor we’ve had aboard the Viking Octantis on its inaugural voyage to “The Mountains of Madness.” We’ve been sailing with one of the great explorers of our time, a true pioneer of this continent and a triumph in women’s exploration, Live Arnesen. On January 6, 1995, Liv from Norway,…

Stern Landing at Snow Point, The Shetland Islands to see elephant seals. We were on the second boat out at 7:30 am. Just getting dressed for an event is quite an undertaking. We were trying to time it this morning and decided that while it probably only takes ten minutes to dress, the strength required…

We had a Zodiac ride with Aaron around Foyn Harbor at Enterprise Island. We toured through lots of blue icebergs, which I never tire of because each is such a sculpture. While the film crew was positioning themselves to film the scientists who were laying small cameras on the ocean floor (using a special mackerel…

8 am weather balloon launch, on the 7th deck. We were allowed to go beyond the “Do Not Enter” sign to the helipad area where a biologist and a glaciologist—now meteorologist— were launching the second weather balloon. This is part of a global warming study that ships are asked to take part in. It’s a…

We started early with a Zodiac landing on a little island called Cuverville, named after a Belgian admiral (who might be an ancestor of my cousins with a variation of the same name!) It was a small island with lots of rock outcropping, the rest covered in snow, of course. It was only 7:40 am…

This might have been the best day of our whole trip. We saw an “iceberg bay” from our morning window with steep snow-covered cliffs all around. It was cozy with lots to look at. On our Zodiac ride into Hidden Bay, we saw a Weddell seal, two leopard seals (both sunning on small icebergs), Pintado…

This was the day that we’ve been looking forward to, our first steps on Antarctica. So much of this experience is other-worldly. We feel like we’re on Mars—the stark beauty and inhospitable climate. Or, in the Himalayas— the cold and rugged terrain that we struggle to climb through. In fact, it’s much easier than I…

This morning, we glided slowly across the passage under overcast skies. As I was listening to a talk about the science of the day, I could see John through the great stern windows looking out with binoculars and a camera. Then I received a text from him that there were whales and “Land Ho!” I…

Yesterday was non-stop. Even though we’d been at sea all day, we did not rest (much). We started with another PCR spit test. (Left the vials for pickup.) Then we had a schedule. We needed to attend an IAATO mandatory meeting for everyone who wants to go ashore anywhere. Here we were presented with the…

Even though this report is for the second half of Monday, it is now Tuesday morning. We’ve had our first night at sea!  We left through the Beagle Passage (how exciting!) which is lovely. It’s truly a passage through the hilly mountains, a little to port a little to starboard, the straight on.  Most of our…