Category: Blog

…..the day we went to Stanley!

Wednesday 6 March, 2013.

Well, we just had the best day ever. Up at 07.30 (10.30 GMT), dull, grey, and overcast in fact the day didn’t promise that much at all. But this was the Falklands, more British than Britain and the last stop on our itinerary before we return to Buenos Aries. There were a variety of tours and walks available and the FF split up depending on our preference. One of us took a nature walk around the bay at Port Stanley while the others opted for a bus tour followed by a stroll around town.

Port Stanley is not large and indeed the total population of the Islands, of which there are some 700 or so, is less that 3,000. Given its size, neither tour took very long. The nature walk was an easy walk that allowed access to some of the local wildlife, while the first four stops on the bus tour were a boat wreck, the tiny airport, a peat bog and a road sign. No kidding. The road sign was pretty special, mind. Known locally as the totem pole, it contained hundreds of distance markers to various point around the UK and beyond, placed here by military personnel based on the Islands since the conflict in 1982. Yet another poignant reminder of just how far away from home we are.

After further stops at the museum, Government House and the War Memorial on the shore road, we were left to our own devices to explore the centre of Port Stanley.

It is a small coastal town populated by souvenier shops, three churches, a post office, the Islands’ police station and (at least) three pubs. Needless to say we found our way to more one of these including Deano’s Bar and The Globe where we enjoyed a few bottles of the Falklands Islands Ale (brewed in the UK). And, some of us also enjoyed local fish and chips for lunch, something we had looked forward for the last few days, despite the excellent food on board the Fram. We were a international crew and it wasn’t just the Irish that had to be dragged out of The Globe in order to make the last shuttle bus back to the boat.

All in all, we had a very fine day indeed.

We’ve put a lot of new photos up on the blog. We’ve added other wildlife to the Penguins page as well as a second Gallery page – the first was getting very large. Don’t miss the whales, the seals, the ”dirty” penguins and the albatross.

According to our resident geologist on the Fram, the islands, meaning the ones that we are going to next on our itinerary, belong to southern Africa – geologically speaking that is.

The Ship’s young German photographer, Simon Bober, is a busy man. I was getting a strange blue tint on my photos so I asked him what the problem was likely to be. Simon immediately identified that the white balance setting on my camera was wrong for the conditions. Simon also recovered lost video for an american guest, restored photos from a corrupted memory card for a UK visitor, advised another of the Fearless Four (Aileen) on a frozen zoom (really!) and resolved multiple other photography issues for others among the technically challenged.

Photographs are an important part of this expedition and Simon is just the man in an emergency. He has been busier than the ship’s doctor!

We got the opportunity this morning to vist the Bridge of the Fram where we were briefed by the Captain on the ship’s operations. Fascinating stuff. The functions are highly automated and only two people are required to be on the Bridge at any one time. For the most part the ship runs on automatic pilot, following the course inputted to the ship’s computer. The area is very high tech and I couldn’t help but wonder what some of the earliest seafarers to visit these waters would have made of it all. It is definitely the best view in the house.

Happily, the Captain was able to confirm that the internet difficulties we experienced earlier in the voyage did not impact at all on the ship’s essential communications functions. The Captain was also quite clear that newspaper reports from January this year that the Fram had to be rescued from the ice by a British naval ice-breaker (see this Blog) were wholly inaccurate. The operation had been entirely routine and had allowed the Fram to go to an area where it might not otherwise have been able to reach.

In response to those asking, we did of course remember legendary Irish explorer Tom Crean during our visit to South Georgia and during our toast to ”The Boss”. Along with Shackleton and Worsley, Crean completed the extraordinary crossing of Sth Georgia on foot as part of their epic journey to rescue the men marooned on Elephant Island. A lake in the mountains above Stromness whaling station bears Crean’s name as a result of his famously having fallen into it during his trek. A photo of the lake appears on our Gallery page.

09.20 Ship’s time (12.20 GMT) Tuesday 5 March and still on high seas on way to Falklands. Calm but overcast and a bit warmer on deck – plus 5C. 278 nautical miles to go and expect to cover that in about 23 hours. .

After two days in South Georgia, we have now turned the bow north west and are headed back towards the Falklands. We will spend the next two days at sea covering the 1,500 or so miles to Port Stanley. Somewhat ominously, we were warned as we sailed away from Stromness that this would be a good evening to take the sea-sickness pills we brought with us but haven’t needed up to now. Even though the skies were clear, up ahead the blackest of ugly, dark clouds lurked meanacingly.

It is now 11pm ship’s time and the Fram is rockin’ and rollin’ its way through rough seas. It is hard to stand upright and sleeping may also be a problem with the creaking and groaning of the ship’s superstructure. However, we are all reassured by the knowledge given us by the Captain the other night at his Q&A session that this ship has perfect bouyancy even when listing 90 degrees and lying on its side! Well, maybe ”reassured” isn’t quite the right word.

Anyway, the good news is that this rough ride has more to do with converging currents in this part of the world than it has to do with bad weather and won’t last beyond the morning. Such joy!!

Sunday 3rd March – Day 2 on South Georgia Today we visited Fortuna Bay and Stromness. Some hiked the Shackelton Way to arrive in Stromness (more below).

Fortuna Bay: A large group of fur seals, many of them pups, greeted us at the landing site. A few meters away was a large group of King Penguins who had wandered from the colony about half mile away. The colony gave us the opportunity to see all stages of King Penguin life, including adult males and females, some mating, others incubating eggs, year old chicks And all the while, the skuas attacking, preying on vulnerable eggs and chicks (see Gallery). Our guides estimated between 7-8 thousand breeding pairs here. It was one of the wildlife highlights so far. One would not have been surprised to see David Attenborough appear from within the middle of the colony, cameraman in tow.

Pictures are posted that describe this scene better than I could. Unfortunately, technology prevents us from sharing the smell.

The Shackleton Way: The hike retraces the last 6km approx of the route it is believed Shackleton, Crean and Worsley followed after landing at South Georgia in search of help to rescue the men left on Elephant Island. Eventually, they reached Stromness Whaling station on May 20th 1916. The island crossing took them almost 36 hours. The island interior had not been surveyed so they had no map and were guessing their route. Mountains rise to 2,700m straight from the sea with glaciers and glacial valleys everywhere so the difficulties Shackleton faced were immense. At one point Tom Crean strode out across the snow covered teraain only to find that he has strayed onto a frozen snow-covered lake. The ice couldn’t bear his weight and he fell into the freezing waters. But Crean was tough and he survived. The lake today is called called Crean Lake and we passed above it during our walk (See Gallery). The highest point on our trek was 300m above sea level. From this vantage point, we could first see Stromness at the same point from which it is thought likely Shackelton and his men first saw it (picture also in Gallery).

The weather was good again, temp 2c, although as always wind chill lowers this dramatically. We had been warned the hike could be called off at any time as the weather changes so quickly here and the area is prone to katabatic winds. The walk ended in a glacial valley that brought us to the disused whaling station at Stromness. Sadly, the station is out of bounds to visitors due to the risk of asbestos in the decaying buildings.

Saturday 2 March, 2013.

Arrived Grytviken, South Georgia, this afternoon which we reached by sailing through the stunningly beautiful East Cumberland Bay. I know that that sounds like so much repetition just as I know also that we are running out of ways to describe the magnificence of the scenery down here.

Grytviken is an important stop on our itinerary for lots of reasons. It has played a hugely important part in history of Antarctica particularly during the Heroic Age. Most of us have been reading descriptions of this former whaling station and looking at pictures of it ever since we first became interested in Antarctica. None of those descriptions and none of those photographs does the place justice. It is very unique and the old rusting buildings, whale-oil tanks and ship’s hulks only add to the beauty, charm and overwhelming sense of history it exudes.

And of course, Grytviken is where Sir Ernest Shackleton died and is now buried. And it was to his graveside we headed immediately we set foot ashore. This part of our trip was as much pilgrimage as holiday. Standing at the grave, we toasted ”The Boss”, one of the greatest heroes of Antarctic exploration with a glass of scotch we had each brought along for the occasion. And in keeping with tradition, we each saved our last dram for the man himself by emptying our glasses over his grave. We also remembered one of his staunchest comerades, Frank Wild, who’s remains are also buried in Grytviken graveyard, and all the great explorers of the Great White Continent.