The Traveling Widower

Category: wildlife

Includes posts about whales, hummingbirds, or anything specific to viewing wildlife

  • Antarctic Wrap-up

    December 1st, 2025

    ”Hey it’s good to be back home again”
    “Sometimes, this old house, feels like a long lost friend”
    ”Yes and hey it’s good to be back home again”
    John Denver, Back Home Again

    A person in an orange jacket and sunglasses stands on a rocky outcrop in a snowy landscape, holding a trekking pole, with icebergs visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

    I finally made it home after 19 hours of flight-time collectively on three separate flights starting in Ushuaia Argentina, to Santiago Chile, to Atlanta and then finally to Sacramento. Phew. I put in a couple of miles of walking though airport terminals, waited in security and customs lines multiple times, had some pretty good meals (1st class on international flights), and managed a few solid hours of sleep for a change. It’s now Monday, and I’m pretty much back to my boring life – it’s weird being alone again after sharing this incredible experience with 130 people, many of whom knew me by name (and not just because we wore name tags). But, it’s still nice to be home, and I’m looking forward to light meals, no alcohol, and working out daily. And I already go my chipped tooth repaired! My dentist said the Lindblad physician did a great job with the temporary fix.

    With all the idle time on airplanes and airport lounges, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on this trip, resulting in the last post on this trip – how sad. Nothing to write about for a while. 

    Overall rating – Superb/Beyond Belief/Best Ever 

    We had the cruise finale meeting the last evening at sea, where the Lindblad captain said that this had been an extraordinary trip, even from his lengthy experience in the Antarctic. We went further south, beyond the Antarctic Circle, than cruise ships normally go, and went through thick ice fields to an uncharted bay, filled with moving masses of ice…and managed to send out Zodiacs for 2 hour exploration rides through the ice, and even let the kayaks out to play (but closer to the ship), all the while the captain and bridge crew had to keep moving the Resolution to dodge icebergs (phew..quite the run-on sentence). That one day was an extraordinary experience.

    Pretty much every stop we made was a step beyond anything I’ve seen or done before. We visited four separate penguin colonies, each filled with hundreds or thousands of these amazing little critters. Just watching them waddling around, swimming and porpoising in the ocean, or stealing rocks from their neighbors nests, was a sight to behold. The scenery around each site was beyond belief. I want to come back and see the penguin chicks some day, and definitely want to see the larger penguins (King) in the South Georgia Islands. Maybe 2027 (already looking into a cruise there).

    A colony of penguins gathered on rocky terrain with patches of snow and ice.
    A colony of penguins on a snowy landscape near a body of water, with many penguins scattered across the snow and some waddling towards the icy shoreline.
    Group of penguins on snow with icy mountains and blue ocean in the background.
    Four Gentoo penguins walking across a snowy landscape.

    Every outing was different, and they were not all focused on penguins. We explored an old, abandoned British research station (Station W) on the Detaille Island – it’s been maintained as a self-service museum of sorts, in pristine condition, still filled with old cans of food, games, clothing, radio equipment. And a really disgusting looking bathroom (just a wood plank with a hole in it – and the researchers had to clean it out). I forgot how many men stayed there – about 16 I think. They must have been good friends. It was an interesting stop, and we all hiked up a hill for some great views of the surrounding coastline and glaciers. 

    Interior view of a small, sparsely furnished room with two bunk beds, a stool, and a window allowing natural light to enter. The walls show signs of wear, and bedding is present on the beds.
    An open wooden cupboard showcasing several dusty cans on the upper shelf and a pile of clothing in the bottom section, next to a simple bed with a striped blanket.
    A snowy landscape with a metal tower on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by ice and distant mountains under a blue sky.
    A snowy landscape with icebergs in the water, featuring several people in orange jackets walking on snow, and a small building in the foreground.
    A scenic view of icy landscape with floating icebergs on a bright blue ocean under a clear sky.

    I’ve already described our ‘stable shore ice’ outing – that was incredible. And like most of our time in the Antarctic, there were penguins and seals flopping around. It always paid to have your phone or a camera handy since wildlife just seemed to pop up on the ice out of nowhere. Catching those images was pure luck – which I never seem to have. I did get to try out ship hauling – who knew that this was a potential career for me.

    A group of men in historical attire are walking along the shore, appearing weary as they carry burdens. A fishing boat is anchored in the background, with a calm body of water and a slight shoreline visible.
    A person in a bright orange jacket and blue hat stands on snow near the bow of the National Geographic Resolution ship, holding a thick rope attached to the vessel.

    Another stop I have not written about was Crystal Bay(not sure about the name) – this was scheduled as a Zodiac/Kayak opportunity and once again, we lucked out with perfect weather. Blue skies, little if any wind, and a perfectly flat sea. There was not much wildlife to see, other than a couple of humpback whales (fluke shot below), but cruising through the icebergs was fun – lots of interesting shapes making for good photo opportunities.

    A small boat navigating through calm waters in front of snow-covered mountains and icebergs under a clear blue sky.
    A scenic view of icebergs floating in calm blue waters with snow-covered mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.
    A large iceberg floating in calm blue waters under a clear sky, with smaller icebergs visible in the background.
    A whale's tail emerging from the water near large icebergs in a serene, arctic landscape.

    All NatGeo/Lindblad cruises allow 24/7 access to the bridge – I’ve checked with some of the other expedition type cruise companies, and from what I can tell, you have to get permission. The bridge on the Resolution was amazing – high tech, lots of room for guests to wander around, plus there was a large observation area in front, which looked down the very unique bow of the ship. The captain gave a 2 hour presentation on the design of the ship – it is an absolutely amazing ship. The bridge though was special – you could stand behind the pilot’s “Captain Kirk” chair, and get the same view they had of the navigation and camera view screens arrayed in front, and watch as they manipulated the thrusters and engine pods with what looked like game controls. It was a tech geeks dream to watch as they maneuvered through narrow gaps in the ice flows. 

    Interior view of a ship's bridge with a captain at the helm, large screens displaying navigation data, and panoramic sea view through the windows.
    A digital navigation console displaying a maritime map, set in a modern ship's bridge with various control panels in the background.

    I am truly blessed to be immune to wave motion on ships – so many of the passengers had to deal with motion sickness during the Drake Passage (both directions). I slept like a baby. The ship’s physician was extremely busy those days. For me, I kind of enjoyed the passage – there was a lot to see – Humpback and Orca whales, and flocks of sea birds. I spent a lot of time out on the observation decks during out passage to Anatactica, attempting to photograph the different Albatross and Petrels swooping around the ship. The passage back to Ushuaia was rougher, but still not too bad. The forecast was bad for the next group going out – we lucked out.

    A bird flying against a clear blue sky, showcasing its wings and body in mid-flight.
    A bird soaring gracefully against a clear blue sky, wings spread wide.

    Overall, with our bonus day for getting there early, we spent almost 6 days wandering around Antarctica, covering a large area. The ship’s path in map below, when expanded (not able to do that in the blog) looks like someone just scrawled blind-folded on the map.

    Map showing the route for a journey to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Resolution, depicting locations such as Ushuaia, Cape Horn, and the Drake Passage.
    Map of Antarctica highlighting the journey aboard the National Geographic Resolution from Ushuaia, Argentina, showing locations like Palmer Station, Petermann Island, and various Antarctic bases.

    I have so many photos to curate from this trip…and a lot of videos of ocean waves, floating ice, and stumbling penguins. I might eventually do a ‘best of’ and/or a slide show, and post them. Everyone loves penguins. Plus, I get to learn something new.

    I enjoyed sharing my trip on this blog. I hope you found this interesting. Comments are always welcome.

  • Shackleton Redux

    November 23rd, 2025

    After our visit to Adelie penguins colony, we did in fact find a location with shore-fast ice – that’s sea ice that is still firmly attached to land. The plan was to drive the resolution deep enough into the ice, so that it would be send everyone out to ski or walk around for a while. It sounds dumb, but it was a lot of fun, and how often do you get a chance to walk on water.  Sea ice is frozen sea water, not glacial ice like the big ice shelf’s you read about. (We learned a lot about different icebergs on this trip).

    This is sea ice, but obviously not stable.

    A serene landscape depicting icy waters with various floating icebergs and snow-covered mountain peaks under a cloudy sky.

    So, off we went in search of a suitable site to play – the crew had found a fjord which appeared to still have what we were looking for, on recent satellite images, and sure enough the ice was still there. It was fun hanging out on the bow overlook as the ship very slowly plowed through the ice until it was fairly deep, and sort of embedded. They dropped a stairway down, and sent a crew out to test the ice, and mark out an area that was safe to play and ski on.

    You can see the stairs lowered to the ice, and a couple of crew members off in the distance, marking the safe area. And a couple of lazy seals as well.

    Aerial view of broken ice sheets on dark water, with large sections of ice floating and jagged edges visible.
    Aerial view of a ship's deck overlooking a frozen landscape, featuring a small dock with an orange buoy and ice formations.
    Two people standing on a vast expanse of snow, with visible cracks and small rocks in the foreground.

    Once all was safe and set to go, they let two groups go off for a cross-country ski excursion. I had wanted to do this – I used to do back-country skiing all the time in Colorado, and was pretty good a telemarking down mountain passes. But they would only let passengers with recent experience (last year or two) go, and it has been a good ten years for me). I did start to argue the point, but then I heard Jan’s voice in my head ….”you idiot, you have a bad knee that’s hurting…..be safe!!!”. So I went for option 2, which was to take a long stroll out on the ice.  Which turned out to be fun.

    They had marked out a one mile or so track, which circled around the bay and passed by the two seals which ignored everyone. It was funny looking back at the ship and seeing this long ine of orange coats – it looked like we had abandoned ship, which was surrounded by ice. It made me think of the famous Shackleton Endurance voyage saga, hence the title of this post.

    A group of tourists in orange jackets walking on snowy terrain with a large ship in the background and icy mountains.
    A vast snowy landscape with mountains in the background and a cloudy sky, featuring a few small groups of people in the distance.
    Two individuals in orange jackets stand on a vast, snowy landscape surrounded by mountains, with a cloudy sky overhead.
    A polar expedition cruise ship, the National Geographic Resolution, anchored on a snowy landscape with ice formations in the background. Tourists in bright orange jackets explore the area.
    Two seals resting on a snowy landscape with mountains in the background.
    A panoramic view of a snowy landscape with a large cruise ship anchored in the distance. Several individuals in bright orange jackets are walking on the ice towards the ship, with snow-covered mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

    It was not too cold, but still had to bundle up with all our expedition gear including the Muck boots and the hated life vest. We were walking on water after all – there was always the danger of stepping on a weak spot or a seal air hole.

    A person wearing sunglasses and an orange life jacket poses in front of a snowy mountainous landscape.

    And they did set up the photo-op of pulling the ship out of the ice. It is a rite of passage for cruising Antarctica

    A man in an orange jacket stands on snowy terrain, holding a rope connected to the National Geographic Resolution ship in the background.

    Other than the seals, and a couple of wayward penguins, this was just a fun outing. It is always great to get off the ship and walk around, and it was even better when you can simply walk off the ship onto a flat, stable surface. No waves, rocks or icy climbs. And the views across the open expanse of ice to the surrounding icy mountains was incredible. It is just so hard to fully describe what this place is like. It’s breathtaking where ever you go.

    As for the wayward penguins, I noticed after I boarded back on the ship, and was watching below from the lounge, that three penguin had magically appeared. I guess they followed the channel created by the ship, and decided to check things out. It was fun watching them – they just scoot forward on their stomachs, keeping their wings out as stabilizers, and push forward with their feet. They look like little black and white snow mobiles, and scoot forward quickly. When they hit a crack in the ice, they stopped, stared at it for a while, then each one hopped forward. When all three were on the other side, off they went again, heading back to open water. I wish I had photographed it all – it was like watching the three stooges.