On our last day in the South Georgia Islands, we were given a choice. We could either replicate Shackleton’s route to the Grytviken whaling station, starting from Fortuna Bay, OR we could take a zodiac ride. You’ve probably guessed which one I chose, but in case you didn’t, here’s a visual.
Climbing into the zodiac
Boris, our cruise director, was quite specific in his description of the hike: “ It is about 4 miles long, and VERY steep. You will be ascending about 1000 feet. You can take water with you, but no food. And there are no bathrooms, so control your water consumption. Once you get dropped off, there is NO turning back, so be absolutely sure you can make it. The boat will pick you up at the whaling station”.
My interpretation, although he didn’t specifically SAY it, was “you could die”. And I probably WOULD have.
The start of Shackleton’s trail. The hikers are the orange and blue dots.
Despite his dire description of the event, 30 people signed up for the hike. After sleeping on it, six people changed their minds, so 24 of my cruise mates, including my hero Paul, (who helped me up when I fell, on an earlier hike,) and my kayak buddy, Marc (who is my age) made the trek.
They made it!
As for me, I went on an absolutely fantastic zodiac cruise, where we saw waterfalls,
Macaroni Penguins,
Here’s a close up of these adorable little guys
fur seals,
Equally cute, so they get a close up too.
and elephant seals
No close up for THESE guys
It was a perfect zodiac cruise. Once again, we were blessed with ideal weather. But wait, there’s more…
While at the Grytviken whaling station, we toasted Shackleton at his gravesite,
visited the museum,
Baby albatrossArtifacts outside
and were able to send postcards from the only post office we had encountered, so far.
We set sail for the Falklands in the afternoon, and spent the next two days at sea.
I’m not going to describe the seas as rough. Let’s just say I was extremely grateful for my patch.
I’m at the point in my life where if I think I’m not going to enjoy the experience, I’m not going to do it. Our last day in Antarctica ( before heading to South Georgia Islands) was one of those days. Riding in a zodiac when the sea is choppy, the sky leaden, with the wind blowing is definitely not my idea of a good time. Especially when I can watch the action from a warm, gorgeous ship. If this had been my first trip to Antarctica, I might have made a different choice. But it wasn’t, so I didn’t.
Unfortunately, Ernest Shackleton’s crew had no choice. After their ship, the Endurance, (that’s also the name of MY ship) was crushed by ice, they slowly made their way to Elephant Island. Most of the crew waited patiently for almost 5 months until Shackleton and his 5 companions could reach South Georgia to find help at one of the whaling stations.
That’s the reader’s digest version of Shackleton’s voyage.
Needless to say, their cuisine didn’t look quite like what we’ve been eating.
But I digress…back to Elephant Island.
I took the above photo from the ship. Those white dots that you see on the shore are penguins. They are certainly cute to watch, but I’ve already done that, and with another two weeks left on the cruise, I’m sure I’ll be seeing more.
It might not look rough, but remember, that video was shot from my balcony on deck 5. Why can you see two zodiacs containing only 1 passenger, you ask? Well those are members of the crew, standing ready to pluck someone from the frigid waters, just in case the seas started to REALLY rock n roll.
Compare that to the day before, taken from my kayak.
Now THAT experience was absolutely wonderful. What is not obvious from the photo was there were patches of surface ice. We had to break thru it with our paddles, which was a bit of a workout. A very NECESSARY workout, given the way I’ve been eating. Thank goodness for elastic waistbands!
I was very lucky to be paddling with an experienced kayaker, who was steering us through the icebergs.
Was kayaking the origin of the term “back seat driver?”
Marc was able to get us close enough to the nearby island so that I could get my first shots of Adélie penguins.
I was NOT as enthusiastic about the next activity, the polar plunge, but many of my shipmates were.
I figured once was quite enough. When Greg and I did it in 2011, we had to walk into the water, then return to the beach, and ride a zodiac all the way back to the ship. The 2026 version looked to be a whole lot better, given that the hot tubs and sauna were just a short elevator ride away.
We didn’t have a ship photographer capturing our moment, but Mike chose not to participate, so he was able to do the honors. My mother’s comment? “Mike’s the only one of you that has any sense”. Thanks, mom.
So let’s get back to 2026.
You don’t need to be on shore or in a zodiac to see wondrous sights. As we were traveling to Point Wild, we came across a massive pod of blue whales. Unfortunately, they stay mostly underwater, so the only way to know of their existence was spotting their “blows”.
This was as good as Icould get, but undoubtedly those with powerful lenses did a whole lot better.
I liked this photo because you can see the tiny penguins swimming alongside the blue whales.
The weather alongside Elephant Island changed yet again from the brief sunny interlude during our whale watch,
to a progressively cloudier and foggier setting.
That didn’t stop some of my more determined cruise mates from getting into zodiacs to see what they could see at the historic Wild Point. Me, I decided to hear about it at the evening recap.
The first time I went to Antarctica was in January of 2011. At that time, my friends thought Mike, Greg and I had completely lost our minds. “WHY in the world would you want to go THERE?” was the most frequent comment we received from friends and family.
Although Mike was retired, Greg and I were employed, so we were limited to a 15 day journey, 10 days with the National Geographic tour and 5 days on our own traveling to and from Santiago via Lima.
THIS time I’m retired, going solo, so I am able to spend 24 days traveling beyond the Antarctic peninsula to the South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. Instead of meeting the group in Santiago, I’m traveling to Buenos Aires. As with last time, however, we are flying to Ushuaia where we will board the ship, then sail through the dreaded Drake Passage. (Yes, my doctor gave me an adequate supply of seasickness patches. They worked well last time for me and Greg, not as effective for Mike.)
Photo from 2011, taken at the end of our voyage Another view of Ushuaia
So why in the world am I going again?
Where else can you experience creatures so unafraid that they follow YOU?
Where else can you see so many different shades of blue and white?
Or learn about the different seals and penguins living in this frozen wonderland?
But won’t it be cold?
Yes, sometimes it is cold, but National Geographic’s trip cost includes matching parkas for those times. (Laura,one of my trip leaders said “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing choices”.)
Sometimes it’s warm enough to have a cookout on the back deck wearing just a sweater (and a smile) over your tee shirt.
The best part was traveling with National Geographic experts: Photographers, naturalists, geologists, penguin and whale experts. We would gather in the bar every evening for presentations by those experts, showing us how they spent their day.
The walls of the bar/lounge were covered with big screen TVs so no matter where you sit, you still would have a great view.
Fifteen years ago, our ship was the Explorer. This time, I’ll be sailing on the Endurance, a newer ship serving 126 passengers, with 8 cabins for us traveling solo. I’m not sure how effective the internet is at the bottom of our planet. 15 years ago, I didn’t have a smart phone or a blog so it wasn’t an issue.
I hope you’ll join me on this adventure; I’ll be posting when the spirit moves me and the internet grants me connectivity.
Destination NOW 