highplanesdrifters

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We had a 90 minute zodiac cruise. Sounds long? Time flew by. It did afford us enought time to float and watch the hilarious activity of these little creatures. 20240224_173540.mp4

Heroína Island in the Danger Island group. Again Lady luck is serving up Antarctica on a silver platter. The Danger Islands are home to one of the most significant penguin colonies, 1.5 to 2.5 million. Yep that's right MILLION! Out of the entire expedition team only our fearless leader Michael has been here. Imagine how we feel as mere plebians to have this rare experience. Why so rare? It is often clogged with ice, takes a lot of fuel, and mother nature rarely opens the window. On to the eye candy. Whilst many of the Adelie Penguins have already left for the season the landscape was still covered with them. Every nook and crannie was occupied. Those are not pink rocks. This colony was re discovered because the satellite photos showed islands of pink, and its not granite! A few more victims of Silversea desserts. Penguin ala mode. These leopard seals had Penguins flitting about this berg auditioning for the Darwin awards. Friends saw a kill, eeek.

Thanks PP. Glad you had a great trip. Amazing how things can change so quickly. You are missed, quite a reunion of the Kimberly/PNG trip with staff, expedition team, and Captian. @FauxNom joins the next leg.

YES, give it another go. Our first trip to the Great White was also on Quest. It was so perfect I feared a return couldn't compare. Well....apparently.... I was wrong.

Yes it is Victoria Salem. And double yes, she is amazing. Our third sail with her. I can't imagine anyone being able to tie her to anything though. 😃 I will certainly send your regards! PP at Deception....sounds as good as it gets! How about some pics for this thread? Pretty please.

Antarctic Fur Seals having a bit of fun surfing around a rock , while ignoring the parade of zodiacs that came by to watch. If fur seals could talk - "Do those look like Orcas to you? Nope. Cool, let's keep going." 20240224_084521.mp4

Paulette Island did not disappoint. Home to the abandoned hut from the Nodrenskjold Expedition, aka Swedish Antarctic Expedition. We heard an excellent lecture from Jonathan French about the mishaps and miracles associated with the journey. Worth a Google. On to the eye candy. Paulette had some geology treats, very volcanic. Basalt columns with anticline and syncline. No Patsy Cline. This berg was from Mother Nature's cubism phase. The Swedish Expedition Hut. No caviar and Champagne there. Nonethless, a cozy fixer upper with nice views. Yours for $5.2M. Cash bids only. Yes, that's Victoria in the blue smiling. Great historian. On the hill is a colony of thousands of cormorants. Not great historians. Close up. A special treat here, of dozens of Ginormous Weddell seals bulked up from their last Silversea cruise. This guy is working off last nights Tres Leche cake. Antarctic Fur seal Kayakers. We understand the double kayaks lived up to the name 'divorce boats'. A domestic dispute had to be interrupted as the were upsetting the wildlife.🤣 Perhaps that's what spooked the cormorants. Lucky me, hundreds flew in front of this berg just on time. Caught a few. A nice long break for us. We were first ones out this a.m. And will be last ones out this afternoon. We are currently having a peaceful afternoon whilst Captain picks his way through the iceberg strewn Weddell Sea to the Danger Islands for our afternoon zodiac cruise.

Good to hear from you @FauxNom. Look forward to having you onboard. We are ready for you and will keep the good karma intact. The party has started. Some delightful folks on board. Especially the ones from Atlanta....you know who you are. 😎 Yes, Michael is the EL. He leads an amazing crack team. We also have Captain Pavlin Koev from PNG/Kimberly's. What an adventurous combo. Two landings and a Zodiac ride yesterday. Lucky stars, pinching myself, you name it. Will write more about ship, staff, when time allows. Suffice to say all is excellent. Hold on to your hats.....they have taken us to the Weddell Sea today. Uheard of. Up early, adventure awaits. MTC.

Join the Gentoos in the surf? I tried. Turns out they frown on that sort of thing. Cloud - The old girl is still showing the youngsters how its done. There's a few nicks and she does groan a bit in the swells, but hey I resemble that remark. 😁 Will keep her ready for your next adventure.

Gentoos in the surf. 20240223_140609.mp4

Chinstraps....sound on. 20240223_142108.mp4

Barrientos Island, South Shetlands The hits just keep on coming. As good as it gets. Sunny, high 30's, no wind. Thousands of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins. Chick's almost fully fledged. Ninety minute landing and then a Zodiac tour. Expedition team and Captain really delivered!

Who knew! What an amazing spectacular bonus day. Quickie landing near Fort Point. Swell and too many agressive fur seals prohibited the original spot so the took us around the corner. A few penguins and fur seals. No complaints.

Lol, Matt smoking a spleif...mon.😃

Oh Joy, Rapture, only one day to cross the Drake. We are scheduled a day early for Antarctica. Fort Point landing in the a.m. and Barrientos Island landing and zodiac in the afternoon. Still the Drake Lake. We had a very busy day of unpacking, mandatory briefings, great lectures and bio security check. Lucky to have Matt on the team! PNG crew, how awesome is he? Boot tagging Storage Room Cleaning station Kayak supplies

Some crazy numbers to ponder: 196 passengers 120 staying for Cape to Cape 118 First Timers on Silversea At the morning briefing the Expedition leader asked how many had never been on a Expedition. It looked like the entire audience raised their hands. The expedition leader said "OK, 120%". Wow, the team has their work cut out for them. He also said it is the calmest crossing of the season. On a scale of 1-10, it's 1.2! 😃 I'm am so happy the newbies got the Drake Lake. There appears to be many more young people, and good mix nationalities.

Yes, great for thermal containment. I prefer a water bottle where one doesn't need to remove the cap. Less cumbersome and spilling in a rocky zodiac. We are told the backpack is water resistant. Dry bag, I agree. I like the ones Seabourn has been using.

Calafete Mousse - enquiring minds wanted to know. Berberis microphylla, common name box-leaved barberry[2] and Magellan barberry,[3] in Spanish calafate and michay and other names,[4] is an evergreen shrub, with simple, shiny box-like leaves. The calafate is native to southern Argentina and Chile and is a symbol of Patagonia.

Our gear was waiting for us, including boots and poles. Exchanges today if needed. Not a fan of the water bottles, so if your picky, bring your own. Dinner After some disappointment on Encore in November and reading all the general complaints on CC our expectations were tempered. No need to temper! Dinner was delicious and service was excellent. Salmon Curry cauliflower- just OK Veal Scalopini Sticky Toffee pudding A nice Spanish white to whet our whistle.

This, then, was the Drake Passage, the most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe—and rightly so. Here nature has been given a proving ground on which to demonstrate what she can do if left alone. The results are impressive. Alfred Lansing, The Endurance Well RJ, your MOJO worked. I mean really worked. It's not the Drake Lake, it's the Drake Pond. The transfer from The W to The Cloud was seamless. Silversea had the entire season to perfect it, and they succeeded. Hotel checkout at 10am. We went to breakfast. Ball room available until busses left. They had it stocked with games, Champagne, and snacks. Our Bus left promptly at noon as advertised. They did check our carry-ons which were planeside as we departed. Busses ready for the short transfer to the ship. In our rooms in no time. Well done Silversea! Games! Snacks A little early for me Red Carpet Entry 🤣 Waiting area, where we didn't have to wait.😁 Our sweet ride, 3/2 configuration. On the 3 side most had the middle seat empty. Comfy seats with lots of leg room. No stop at Puerto Mont for fuel so a short 3hr 15m ride. Yummy Patagonia Stew Some native Patagonia berry mouse . I don't think I've ever eaten something this color. Almost there Our ride awaits Just the anchor I need for my new boat. Not exactly Instagramable.

The photo studio is quite large. Will see what I can find out for you.

Hey RJ, getting the sense from our early sample size 40% continuing. Will get numbers when on board. I know a few CC regulars getting on for Cape to Cape leg and Apex Expeditions has a large group boarding then. Get your Drake MOJO going for us.😃 I'm doing all posting from my phone so we'll see if the pic problem sorts itself out.

I don't know how that sideways pic got in there. Apologies.

Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde Departure day. All seems quite organized and efficient so far. Out of rooms by 10am, noon departure. There is waiting room somewhere. We are on the first bus. Stay turned. There is an air of excitement and giddiness amongst the fellow hotel occupants. In our small sample size of encounters with them, all are first timers to Antarctica, no surprise. The real surprise, many first-time cruisers, and many first time Silversea. 😳 Yesterday was another self indulgent day. Weather has been fantastic. A good leg stretch around the neighborhood and afternoon at the pool. Submitted for your approval, The W breakfast Buffet. Quite nice and much better than MO.