Antarctica is the only continent without a permanent native population. Instead, the year-round population of about 1,000 is made up mainly of visiting scientific researchers and support staff who live in roughly 50 permanent stations throughout the continent. A similar number of seasonal stations allows the summer population to reach 4,000. Forty-two countries operate research…
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Third Trip to San Evaristo, Day 2
Sunrise on Tuesday, January 24 The wind had picked up during the night, and by morning the wind was back to screaming with sustained winds in the low-20-knot range and gusts to 30 knots. We even had one gust of … Continue reading →
Pourquois Pas Island
Pourquois Pas Island, at the north edge of Marguerite Bay, was discovered by Jean-Baptiste Charcot. He led the 1908-1910 French Antarctic Expedition, and named the island after his ship. Charcot in turn is the namesake for the French expedition ship Le Commandant Charcot, the highest rated ice class vessel in the world, that we’ll be…
Keith’s Perspective on Ensenada Grande and San Evaristo/Le point de vue de Keith sur Ensenada Grande et San EvaristoKeith’s Perspective on Ensenada Grande and San Evaristo
I had an okay time at Ensenada Grande. There were a lot of kids. We did some D&D, but there were too many kids playing D&D to be fun. We went on a hike with some other people. Most of … Continue reading →
Stonington Island
Stonington Island in Marguerite Bay is the site of two early research stations. East Base, the oldest American Antarctic station, was built starting in 1939 but hasn’t been used since 1948. The British Base, Station E, was used for many historic survey missions in the 1940s and saw use until the mid 1970s. From Red…
Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida to San Evaristo
During the night, the wind shifted to come from west, where this anchorage had no protection. When we woke up on Monday morning January 23), it was very uncomfortable. We got Kosmos ready to go and pulled up anchor at 0700, … Continue reading →
Red Rock Ridge
After our second night at sea through the Drake Passage, we woke up in Antarctica. Massive icebergs floated everywhere, some surprisingly close to the ship, in an endless variety of fantastic shapes and sizes. Ashore, steep and snow-covered slopes soared straight up from the water. Antarctica is much more mountainous than we were expecting. Taking…
Second Trip to Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida, Day 3
Sunday (January 22) was another rolly morning. First thing in the morning, we coordinated with the other families to go for the big hike. We encouraged everyone to meet onshore ASAP so we could all get a reprieve from the … Continue reading →
Second Trip to Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida, Day 2
Here was the sunrise on Saturday, January 21 The wind picked up overnight and was screaming by the morning. The wind caused a lot of noise — the wind itself was loud, the anchor chain/bridle moved a lot, waves slapped … Continue reading →
Drake Passage Southbound
Our two-day crossing of the infamous Drake Passage from Ushuaia to the Antarctic continent was wonderfully calm. We passed the time at the bridge, taking in several educational seminars, and just enjoying being on board the National Geographic Endurance. The ship’s public areas are comfortable and generously laid out, never feeling cramped despite a full…
