This is the rest of the entries from the M/V Fram blog, I have posted a few of my own blog entries, and tons of photos. Just wanted to give you the rest of the story if you were following along!!!
You can find it all at http://mvfram.blogspot.com/

SATURDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2010
Under two volcanoes

Malcolm Lowry famously wrote about life under a volcano; today, we briefly lived under two: Paulet and Brown Bluff! But apart from the topographical similarity, there are major differences between his experience and ours: his character drank himself to unconsciousness under the blazing Mexican sun, we became intoxicated with the beauties to be found under the spell of these two majestic Antarctic mountains.

Paulet is an active volcano that formed an island in the Weddell Sea; and if this was not spectacular enough, it is covered with Adélie penguins. These natural born comedians were named in 1840 by French commander Dumont D’Urville to honour his wife – was he perhaps also an involuntary comedian?; or was his wife pleased about her namesakes? Obviously, a matter for historians to clarify…

After this exciting first landing, we started travelling north in the Weddell Sea, and watched in the distance the many tabular icebergs floating in these waters. During this tranquil cruise, we also came across sea ice, which was split apart by MV Fram’s solid hull, much to the amazement of our passengers, who flocked out to deck to enjoy the occasion.

In the afternoon, we landed in Brown Bluff, an imposing reddish cliff on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which was formed by the eruption of a volcano under thick icefields. Because the eruption took place under ice, the volcanic material cooled down very quickly and formed colorful and interesting rocks – so geologists will tell you. But even if you don’t care about rocks, what an imposing and beautiful place this is! And yes, there are Adélie penguins too, which are fun to watch as they walk the length of the beach in search for an appropriate spot from which to jump into the water. So, this is how life under two Antarctic volcanoes was for us today.

SUNDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2010
‘Round about midnight

‘Round about midnight we entered the Antarctic Sound; and in a similar fashion to Miles Davis’ eponymous melody, where changes in rhythm and tonality follow each other in sweet succession, during our traverse of this scenic strait at the northern tip of the peninsula, we were treated to a wonderful symphony of colours. We sailed past amazingly blue icebergs of all shapes cut against the pastel pink of an infinite sky set ablaze by the setting sun. Flat, tabular icebergs will have broken off the continental ice-shelf, in this case probably from the Larsen Ice Shelf, on the eastern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula, from where they then drifted into the Antarctic Sound.

Irregularly shaped icebergs are simply older tabular icebergs, that have been eroded to capricious forms by wind and water. Many animals rest on these ice giants, and you regularly spot penguins, seals or seabirds on them. Knowing that about 70 to 90% of the iceberg lies under water, cruising past them you better keep a respectful distance in case they topple.

Way past midnight, this morning we sailed through the Gerlache Strait. Named after Belgian expeditionary Adrien de Gerlache, who came through here in 1897-1899, this is a panoramic seaway flanked by imposing mountains. On our approach to this afternoon’s landing site, Cuverville island, we were visited by some humpback whales. It was a fantastic sight to see them diving to herd krill into their gapes, waving their goodbyes with their unique tails as they disappeared into the deep.

Around 15 o’ clock we landed at Cuverville Island, where we visited a big colony of Gentoo penguins. The site is really amazing: the island is surrounded by dramatic mountains covered with glaciers, and many icebergs were floating in front of the beach – it was a perfect postcard. The site was mostly covered by snow, but the penguins criss-crossed the snow by means of an intricate network of “penguin highways”.

‘Round midnight (à la Thelonius Monk, of course), we cruised the spectacular Lemaire Channel on our southward Antarctic journey. What a trip from midnight to midnight!

MONDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2010
Neko Harbour and Port Lockroy

This morning we had actually planned to land on Vernadsky Station (the old British station Faraday), south of the Lemaire Channel, but onboard MS Fram we have learnt that in the Antarctic, one plans something and the weather decides whether you can do it – today, we couldn’t. Densely-packed ice was flowing northwards during the night, so our Captain decided to sail away from the oncoming ice and this morning we were positioned in front of Neko Harbour, which by the way, is a fantastic place, so we all enjoyed a landing there. Some of our passengers climbed to the top of the hill overlooking the sea and the imposing glacier that hangs all the way from the crest of the mountains to the sea. On the way down, some slid down a snowy slope. Neko is on the mainland of west Antarctica.

We saw some avalanches and also a couple of ice chunks calving off the nearby glacier into the water. Of course, there were also penguins, and as our passengers had already seen them before, the unstoppable impulse to take bizillions of photos is beginning to wane, and they are actually starting to look at these funny birds.

On the route from Neko Harbour to Port Lockroy, we cruised the scenic Neumayer Channel, which today showed in all its splendor as we had blue skies and flat, mirror-like waters.

We landed in Port Lockroy in the afternoon, and our passengers were fascinated by in the small museum showing how life was in a British Antarctic research station in the 1940s; they also proved to be rather interested in the museum gift shop spending tons of their hard-earned cash on very nice remembrances of their trip! The proceeds from the shop are all ploughed back into the running of the base and the restoration of other British bases around the Antarctic. All this is administered by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.

THURSDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2010
Drake Passage

Like a bookend, the Drake Passage always marks the end of a voyage to Antarctica- in this part of the world anyway. It is water dreaded by many, but is tamer than its reputation. Today- 15 December- is our first day on the Drake after a fabulous 5 days in Antarctica. The day started fairly calm and we completed our bridge visits. There, our captain explained how MS Fram, a state of the art vessel, is operated. Among other interesting facts, we learnt that it is normal procedure, to make depth soundings of uncharted waters – something that was done when we visited Paulet Island a few days ago. Now we have a lot more information to help us navigate the waters close to the colony.

Later in the day, the winds picked up and by evening we were in a full gale with high waves.
Our passengers were also able to see the whole crew in action, as we performed one of our regular safety drills. Today, we simulated a fire on the ship and proceeded as if it was out of control and we had to abandon ship: most of the crew actually donned safety equipment and boarded one of our rescue boats. Safety is something we take very seriously, and these exercises are an important part of our operations.

Towards the end of the evening, we tested the knowledge of our passengers about all things Antarctica, as we held our traditional quiz night – we all had a good time and a big laugh. Congratulations to boat group no. 7.

FRIDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2010
One last night, one last day

Today, we are pleased to offer the thoughts of a guest blogger, author Iliya Troyanov, who sailed with us during this trip:

Some people, including the lecturers, do not mind crossing the Drake Passage, they sleep like babies the profound sleep of the well-adapted, but greenhorns like myself spend last night tossing and turning in my sleeplessness, distrusting the rolling motion and unable to quell the multitude of thoughts, images and impressions of a journey like no other, into the last Terra Nullius, a land where the exception is the rule – Antarctica. So it was only fitting that the lectures ended with two discussions on climate change, both interesting and at the same time distressing, because it became evident how long and winding, how stony and full of potholes the road to political and economic change is. No one questioned the necessity for change, but there was little agreement as to how to go about it. The Antarctic’s pristine state has exhilarated many of us (one gentleman expressing in measured words a sense of personal transformation) but, at the same time, there is a feeling of torment by the knowledge of what will become of it when humans take over – visions of its rape and plunder already triggered by the ruins on Deception Island. There is only one possible conclusion: it is incumbent that we prevent humans encroaching on it any further. And the auction in support of the Save the Albatross fund brought to mind the metaphor of a sailor who, having killed the sacred animal, is compelled to carry its body round his neck, as if it were humankind’s true cross (Coleridge): “The spirit who bideth by himself / In the land of mist and snow, / He loved the bird that loved the man / Who shot him with his bow.”

Standing on the weather deck, looking out, it seemed easy to forget civilization entirely (your hearing barely registers the quite throb of the engines). Silent birds write ephemeral messages across the monochrome sky that we have no idea how to decipher; icebergs that store the freshest water and the cleanest air there is on earth. The message of the discussions was clear: catastrophe is bearing down on us faster than we think and small steps won’t be enough. It is probably already too late to adapt humanely to the situation without there being a large number of victims. Whatever we do from now on, we won’t be able to avert certain disasters. Warming means mass exodus, famine, war. Every living system in the world is in retreat, because we are degrading the biosphere. The prime culprit is our exploitative, disposable economy and its dependence on fossil fuels. Capitalism’s pathologies are called consumption and waste. A journey into Antarctica ends with such pitiless questions – rightly so. The awareness that we take back home is a heightened one.

More later…