After crossing the Circle to land at Stonington Island, we headed north through the majestic straits, channels, and island archipelago of the peninsula, to again cross Drake Passage, arriving finally in The Falkland Islands. This was to be our first taste of expedition cruising.

We were attracted to this trip while cruising along the coast of Brazil. Conversation at our dinner table had turned to interesting trips taken in the past. My wife, Nancy, was intrigued by one couple's tale of cruising in the waters of Antarctica. When we returned home, I began my research and found that there were about a half dozen or so ships which made this journey in Antarctic^'s summer--our winter. Of these the Explorer, carrying no more than 96 passengers, with a skilled and enthusiastic staff of young scientists who doubled as zodiac drivers, held the most promise for a truly different vacation.

Boarding the zodiacs took a little getting used to, but the young men and women who were our drivers were superb coxswains, able to maneuver the craft in high winds and seas. Our expedition leader, Matt, was excellent. We all felt confident, relying on his judgment as to passenger safety with respect to wind and sea conditions. His wife, Megan, a naturalist, specialized in sea birds and whale identification. She, and the other staff members, taught us many things about the Antarctic wildlife in their lectures and at the wrap-ups at the end of each day.

One of the most moving memories of this trip was of our first sighting of icebergs, ice flows and pack ice. We had just completed our two-day transit of Drake Passage under overcast skies. As we entered Crystal Bay, the sun shone brilliantly on icebergs and pack ice and the ship sighted whales at play. We followed several schools for several hours as they sounded, exposing their mammoth flukes to the sky. Sea birds of all kinds, petrel, albatross, cormorants and skuas, to name but a few, constantly flew over the ship. Seals of four different species sunned themselves on the pack ice. As the ship broke through the ice all cameras were in use. The passengers were truly experiencing "sensory overload" as each new sight was more exciting and breathtaking than the last.

Besides the many whales, seals, and sea bird sightings, both at sea and on shore, the penguins provided us with the most amusement as they fed their young, ventilated for cooling purposes, swam, waddled around, and just plain showed off for us. Every day we were given two, and sometimes three, zodiac trips ashore to penguin rookeries such as those found on Cuverville, Peterman and Aitcho islands or to the many other points of interest.

Among these points of interest were Deception Island, where we saw the remains of an old whaling station and swam in water heated by volcanic hot springs, Rothera Base and Palmer Station, British and American Bases on the Peninsula. There we were welcomed, entertained and given tours by the scientists. Of particular interest to us was the fact that the ship would attempt to go south of the Antarctic Circle, ice conditions permitting, to visit Stonington Island. Jackie Ronne and her daughter with a group from the Washington, D.C., Explorers club were on board to try to return to East Camp on Stonington Island to mark the 1947-1948 season when she was one of the first two women to winter over in Antarctica. Ice conditions were good and we were successful in reaching the now deserted, but well preserved, camp!

The scenery was magnificent in Lemaire Channel and Neumayer Channel, affording us views of glaciers, icebergs and ice covered mountains. Another point of interest was Elephant Island, reached by Shackelton and his crew after their ship had been crushed by ice and sunk in 1916. Shackelton's journey in an open boat to South Georgia and his return to rescue his men is an awe inspiring story. At the time of our visit to Elephant Island, the seas were too high for us to land. As we circled the site in our zodiacs, our thoughts were with the brave men and their leader who endured and survived their incredible ordeal.

After we left the ship in the Falkland Islands, we felt that this trip was the best trip that we had ever taken and vowed to do more expedition cruising in the future. For more information on cruising in the Antarctic, and on the choices available to travelers, send us an email or contact a Uniglobe travel specialist.

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