Getting Home

As we pack up and get ready to head home, its nice to know that we will be heading home soon.  The trip was fantastic! The next morning we grab our luggage and get in the van that takes us to the airport.  We arrive at the airport, check our luggage and head to the gate.  When we take off we fly into a lightening storm.  The plane rocks to and fro.  It drops once.  Soon, we get to higher altitude and out of the storm. We fly to Atlanta, go through customs and go to our next flight.  Four hours later we arrive in Seattle.  We get our luggage and meet the guy who is driving us home.  Finally, after being gone for a month we arrive back home.  We get unpacked and get ready for Christmas.

From door to door, it took us a full 23 hours and 15 minutes to get home.

We ended our trip on December 22, 2011.

The Polar Plunge

We came back from a zodiac cruise around 11:50 and in the Mud Room was a tall white board; written on on it in green was "Polar Plunge 12:00". Grant, Ryan, Hailey and I went up to are room and changed into our bathing suits then went back to the mud room.  There was a group of about 25-30 people ranging in age from the 30-80 years, minus my siblings and I as well as a 12 year old boy.

The four of us and the younger boy were the first to jump.

As you walk out onto the zodiac you think 'ok I'm just going to do this so I can say I swam in the Antarctic ocean'.

Then when you jump the  thought that goes through your head is ' why am I doing this? this is so stupid'.











After the you hit the water and are like ' it's not so bad'.  












Then as you reach the surface you're like ' Oh my god! This is freezing! Get me outta here!'

But you can't get out very easily because you body is completely numb and you can't move that much.

Animals of Antarctica

                                                                             

PENGUINS:

We saw four types of penguins while we were traveling in Antarctica.

The Chinstrap Penguin:

The Chinstrap penguin got its name because of the distinct black line around its chin. They grow to be about 2 feet tall and weigh around 13 pounds. Their flippers are black with white edges.  

The Adelie Penguin:

The Adelie penguin is recognized by it all black head.  They grow to be 3 and a half feet and weigh about 13 pounds.  Their bodies are mostly black with white stomachs. 

The Gentoo Penguins:

The common way to know if a penguin is a Gentoo is when it has little white "earmuffs" on its head. They weigh 18 pounds and are the fastest swimming penguins reaching speeds up to 22 mph. Their bodies are black and white and they have an orange beak with black patches on the sides near their faces.  

The Emperor Penguin:

The Emperor penguin is the largest of the penguin species we saw in Antarctica.  They reach 4 feet tall and weigh about 50-100 pounds.  Only one in every ten trips to Antarctica sees an Emperor penguin.  This is because they live fifteen miles inland and must walk to the ocean to feed.  Their bodies are grey while their heads are black.  They have yellow and orange on their necks.     

   

 SEALS

Weddell Seal:

Male Weddell seals weigh less than female Weddell seals. So males usually weigh about 1100 pounds or less. Weddell seals measure about 8.2-11.5 ft long and weigh between 880-1360 pounds. Male and female Weddell seals are generally about the same size, though females can be slightly larger. However, male seals tend to have a thicker neck and a broader head and muzzle than the females. The Weddell seal face has been compared to that of a cat due to a short mouth line and similarities in the structure of the nose and whiskers. Their upturned mouths that give them the appearance of smiling.

The Weddell seal grows a thin fur coat around their whole body except for small areas around the flippers. The colour and pattern of the coat varies, often fading to a duller colour as the seal ages. This coat moults around the beginning of summer. Adults are generally brown, with lighter belly. They are mottled with large darker and lighter patches, those on the belly being silvery white. Adult males usually bear scars, most of them around the genital region.

Young Weddell seals have gray pelage for the first 3 to 4 weeks; later they turn a darker color. The pups reach maturity at 3 years of age. The pups are around half the length of their mother at birth, and weigh 55 to 66 pounds. They gain around 4.4 pounds a day, and by 6–7 weeks old they can weigh around 220 pounds.

Elephant Seals:

Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult males (bulls) which resembles an elephant's trunk. The bull's proboscis is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. More importantly, however, the nose acts as a sort of rebreather, filled with cavities designed to reabsorb moisture from the animals' exhalations. This is important during the mating season when the male seals rarely leave the beach to feed and therefore must conserve body moisture as they have no incoming source of water. Bulls of both the northern and the southern elephant seals reach a length of 16 feet and a weight of 6,600 pounds, and are much larger than the cows, which typically measure about 10 feet and 2,000 pounds.

Leopard Seals:

The leopard seal is large and muscular, with a dark grey back and light grey on its stomach. Its throat is whitish with the black spots that give the seal its common name. Females are generally slightly larger than the males on average. The overall length of this seal is 7.9-11.7 ft and weighs  from 440 to 1,300 pounds. They are about the same length as the northern walrus but usually less than half the weight.

Its front teeth are sharp like those of other carnivores, but its molars lock together in a way that allows them to sieve krill from the water, in the manner of the crab-eater seal.

Humpback Whales:

The varying patterns on the tail flukes are sufficient to identify individuals. Humpback whales are gentle giants of the deep.  The underside of their flippers are white, so when we watched them we could see where they were in the water.

The National Geographic Explorer

The National Geographic Explorer was the ship we took to Antarctica.  It was an ice-breaker and research ship.  The ship was 500 feet long and can have 150 guests onboard all in cabins that look out off the ship.   It is a fully stabilized, ice-class vessel, enabling it to navigate polar passages while providing exceptional comfort. It carries kayaks and a fleet of Zodiac landing craft. An Undersea Specialist operates a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and sophisticated video equipment, extending access to the underwater world. On board are 7 naturalists, 3 divers and undersea specialists, and 2 professional photographers and well as the expedition leader and assistant expedition leader.   

OUR ROOMS

Our rooms were the two biggest on the ship.  They were all the way in the back and had balconies as well as a wall of slanted windows.  The rooms pretty much took up the entire middle section of the back of the ship with one room in between.  The rooms were very nice and comfortable to be in.  We could watch almost everything from our rooms.  The bathrooms were also nice; completely made out of aqua and turquoise tiles. 

The other areas on the NGE were the Chart Room, The Lounge and the Mud Room.

The Chart Room was where they ship had some charts of the route we would be taking and you could also stand in there and see everything that was going on in the bow of the ship.

                         The Lounge is where all the Recaps, presentations and lectures took place.

The Mud Room was where we would get ready to go on Zodiac cruises or leave for landings.

Argentina

After being on a plane for almost a full 24 hours we finally arrive in Argentina.  We got off the plane, grabbed our luggage and headed to the hotel. My dad had scheduled a bike ride at one which was in an hour.  my mom had it moved to two so we could sleep for a while.  After resting for two hours we went on the bike tour.  Argentina is huge! When you look at it on a map its not really that small.

The people are nice, but they speak very fast.  The weather is very hot and humid.

We went to an Estancia, which is like a horse ranch.  The people were very nice.  The guachos, who are Spanish cowboys were very good with the horses.  They would take wild horses and train them.  Guachos are very close to their horses.  The horses are called Peruvian horses.  That means that when they walk they only take one foot off the ground at a time.  When we were riding the horses it was very smooth and comfortable.  The western horses we have in the U.S. are not very smooth when you ride them, they kind of rock side to side, unlike the peruvian horses which move more forward and backward.

My family and I also went to a "Guacho BBQ". They cook out in the middle of the forest over hot coals with a small grill over them.  My dad and brother Ryan ate cow intestines, heart and kidney.

Preparation For The Trip To Argentina/Antarctica

As we get ready to leave in a week, everything is complete chaos. Suitcases need to be packed, the house needs to be ready for Christmas when we get back, there is shopping for the trip to be done and so many other things to be done.  The days go by. Soon its a night before we leave.  I go to pack my suitcase and find my cat sitting on my pile of clothes. She does this every time we go on a trip.

I pick her up and set her next to me.  I turn to put my clothes in the suitcase only to see my cat sitting in the suitcase.  Finally, all of our packing is done, We set all eight pieces of luggage out near the front door so we are ready to go in the morning.

We began our trip on November 26, 2011.