mlgb

They did this to us at Fournier Bay. Half an hour later the sun came out.

tripplanner001

Antarctica! On Hurtigruten no less. Hope the weather improves and you have the time of your life. Are you making stops at Neko Harbor or along the Lemaire Channel?

mlgb

We went through Lemaire Channel yesterday. Today we were lucky and able to do a continental landing at Brown Station. No zodiac today due to continued high winds so will just be scenic cruising,

And boy o boy is it ever scenic...

Brown Station

mlgb

A few bird photos


Snowy Sheathbill on pool deck



Gentoo Penguin

tripplanner001

Did you go sliding down the snow at Brown Station? It was one of my most memorable experiences during our entire trip.

mlgb

I do hope that was something planned! No one is permitted to sit, kneel, or even place a pack down due to fear that HPAI could spread here (already confirmed at South Georgia closing many landing sites there).

A few people maybe slid by accidental falls.

Path down to landing site.

mlgb

Like many cruise operations Hurtigruten HX took a big hit due to COVID. Clearly they are now catering to the Chinese market (100 of 250 passengers), with full complement of lectures translated live (also German) and at preferential times. Will be interested if they spin off the expedition/cruise piece of the company to Chinese investors.

No solo supplement to fill empty cabins and we are at half capacity (250 of 500 passengers) according to one of the expedition scientists. Seems fully staffed up for the upcoming peak season. Does not feel crowded and the scrum at buffets only requires the occasional sharp elbow. Some dinners have been a la carte service with attentive pacing bordering on professional other than first offered beverage service not fast enough for me! Certainly a nice change from the summer's packed Princess Alaskan cruise.

Although the base cabins get only a kettle there are automated espresso and coffee machines in public areas and the main restaurant.

Very few families, tweens being the youngest. Diverse mix of ages. Apparently the cost for solo travelers compares well with other lines. There are added charges for excursions such as kayak and the famous overnight camping by lottery.

They canceled last night's camping which means the rest of us may be able to do a zodiac this morning as well as an afternoon landing.

mlgb

Apparently the larger ships such as this one are not allowed to land at Port Lockroy. We are supposed to land at Damroy Point but because the penguins nest under the hut we can't visit inside.

P_M

Hi mlgb. We had some crazy weather too, but we did manage to land in the late afternoon. I'm sure the campers on your ship were disappointed but the campers on my ship said they didn't do anything except set up camp, then straight to bed. They were brought back to the ship very early the next morning, so it wasn't quite what they expected. Maybe if you pass that on to your traveling companions they will be less disappointed.

tripplanner001

We went in 2017 and about 40% of the passengers were Chinese, as were the other Hurtigruten ships sailing around that time, so this isn't new. Other than Chinese, the other large groups were Americans, Norwegians, and Germans.

The sliding may be weather dependent. We were able to climb up high overlooking the station and then slide down the mountain on our bottoms, with the station in front of us. Some did this more than once.

Sad about avian flu on South Georgia. We enjoyed our visit there even more than Antarctica itself.

mlgb

Must have not hit reply. No sliding because due to the Avian Flu risk we cannot sit, kneel, etc. Only boots and they are disinfected before and after. They do supply ski poles for us.

It certainly was icy enough for sliding yesterday. Today we had sun and slush!


Zodiac cruising am

Skua!!! (We like to yell that out).



After- dinner scenery

mlgb

A better photo of the Brown Skua and some Gentoo Penguins at Damoy Point yesterday



Brown Skua

Gentoos nesting

starrs

So very cool!

mlgb

Yesterday was a special day for us, we traveled over "night" although it doesn't get dark, to the Weddell Sea. After breakfast it was announced that there was a sighting of the "Holy Grail" of penguins, the Emperor. We were able to move up quietly and many of the passengers and crew dashed up to deck 7 for an awesome view! The cute Adelie penguins were being seen most of the day also.



Emperor and Adelie Penguins together on sea ice

The Emperor

mlgb

For the daily excursion we had 15 minutes to stand on sea ice like penguins, and then scenic cruising.


Farewell Antarctica

tripplanner001

Wow. What a special experience to cap your journey to Antarctica. Safe travels back.

Percy

Thanks mlgb I have been following along.

Great Trip and Pictures.

Nelson

Wow, wow mlgb, fabulous pictures! Hope you feel inspired to do a more thorough report. In any case this is great, and fun that you and P_M crossed paths aboard sister ships.

tripplanner, I found your TR from the region including South Georgia. What a trip!

mlgb

Thanks for following. Last night after being mostly done with the return Drake, the crew and officers gathered at the bottom of the central atrium and sang holiday songs.

Surprise today despite tricky winds we had a "wet landing" on Saunders Island. Here are some passengers walking up to the Rockhopper Penguin colony.



Fish and chips were on offer at lunch so I had a beer to celebrate seeing "Rockies" and a Striated Caracara.

mlgb

Rockhoppers are the BEST penguin