Dear Cha-Wel-Dor-Sue,

In Donald Key's book "Earth At Omega, The Passage to Planetization", he states "Frontiers for the world's peoples have virtually disappeared, except, perhaps, for the Upper Amazon Basin, Siberia, and the Australian Outback". I would also add the Antarctica.. Since Pat and I have seen the Upper Amazon and have been to Siberia on two occasions, I thought we should see the remaining frontiers. With this in mind, we planned to visit the Antarctica in January and to follow it up in February by making a trip to Australia to see the Outback. To go where few others have gone has always been an exciting experience for me and, in fact, the realization of a life-long dream. As far back as my childhood, when the only book we had in our house, except for the Family Bible, was the "Heart Of Africa", and the meeting of Stanley and Livingston, I have always wanted to travel afar and to see as much of the world as I could during my lifespan.

No doubt the real reason I wanted to see Antarctica is that this floating continent is virtually the last frontier on earth. It is not only the coldest, driest, and loneliest of all places, but I am told one of the most beautiful. It is still unspoiled, forbidding, and sterile, and is waiting to be discovered by the intrepid tourist. Very few tourists, in fact, have had this unique opportunity to see this remote continent and to enjoy the thrill of seeing this unique continent.

There is a sense of excitement that overcomes one at the first sight of the huge icebergs that one encounters after crossing the.Drake Passage and of course, ultimately, when one steps aground on the continent of Antarctica itself. the Captain shared in this excitement and announced that he would offer a bottle of champagne to the first individual who spotted an iceberg and there were many who sat in the Observation Room with their binoculars, expecting to be the winner of the Captain's Award. Tom Cook, an electronics engineer from North Carolina, was the winner. Subsequently, we saw more and more icebergs of greater and greater sizes. Our approach to Antarctica was from Chile, and our visit was not only to the so called Archipelago and its islands but also to see a small area of the Palmer Peninsula on the mainland. For those who visit this isolated continent on scientific endeavors, not only the comforts of civilization but the very essentials of life are scarce, for everything must be brought in by ship or air. For us, however, our home was the Scientific Expeditions Deluxe World Discoverer, equipped with all the luxuries of home.

Our visit to Antarctica took place in January, during the so called Antarctic summer, when the temperatures were not only tolerable but actually rarely fell below freezing temperatures. In fact, during this same period of time, it was considerably colder in Connecticut than it was in the Southern Shetland Islands and in the Archipelago of Antarctica. During the astral summer, from November to March, the sun does not set below the Antarctic Circle which is at 67° south, much as it was on our North Cape cruise in Norway in July, some two years ago. Since we never crossed the Antarctic Circle, we did experience several hours of moderate darkness in the evening. Unfortunately, the sunrises and sunsets were something that we rarely experienced, as it was cloudy or overcast most of the time we were there.

Before I describe the areas that we visited, perhaps a few general facts about the continent of Antarctica might be of interest. To begin with, it covers five and one-half million square miles, or is twice the size of the continent of Australia. Its size doubles in the winter, when the ice shelves created by the freezing of the surrounding seas extend far out into the oceans. Antarctica covers one-tenth of the earth's surface and supports the greatest mass of ice in the world. If all of it's ice was melted, it would raise the sea level 250 feet and both Hartford and Manchester would be below sea level! It is cold and dry and windy, with an average winter temperature of -60° Fahrenheit and the coldest temperature ever recorded on this planet was at the Russian Base Station Vostok, when the temperature was measured at a -129° Fahrenheit. Unlike the North Pole, which is surrounded by the great land masses of the globe (Europe, Asia, North America), the South Pole continent is surrounded by the great oceans of the world (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian). The average elevation of Antarctica is over a mile high and the Polar Caps Plateau itself is 9,840 feet high. The highest elevation on the Continent is the Vinson Massiff, at an elevation of 16,860 feet, and the one active volcano, Mount Erebus, is some 12400 feet high and situated near McMurdo Sound and the Scott Base Camp.

Antarctica lies below 60° south and is like no other land. Trees and flowers are lacking and what sparse vegetation exists is largely in the form of lichens, mosses and algae. Ice covers virtually all of the Continent and at one point, measures a depth of almost three miles! Since there is very little snow fall in Antarctica, averaging only about five inches per year, this depth of ice represents the accumulation of 150,000 years of snow fall. The Polar Cap, responding to the pull of gravity, moves down the slopes in the form of massive glaciers, some of which extend out into the sea in the form of enormous ice shelves, one of which is larger than the State of Connecticut. In fact, at one time, one of these ice shelves broke off and floated free as a tabular iceberg, which measured some 60 x 200 miles in dimension. Unusual atmospheric conditions produce mirages, white-outs, and the Aurora Australia, much like our Northern Lights. It is interesting that geological investigations have revealed veins of coal and petrified wood fossils, indicating that at one time, its climate was temperate, and that this probably occurred before the tectonic plate shifts separated it from the large mass called Gondwanaland. There are no vertebrate animals on the continent but marine life abounds, with many species of whales, penguins, fishes and birds. It is interesting that there are no crabs or lobsters, although these are found immediately north of the continent at the southern tip of Chile.

The Greeks called the North Pole area Arktos, and, as a consequence, the newly discovered southern continent was called "Anta-Artikos". When Magellan circumnavigated the globe, he used a passage between the lower ends of Chile and Argentina and the Islands of Tiera del Fuego, and named these islands "Land of the Fires", because the local Indians had kept fires going constantly, not only to do their cooking but to keep warm in this inhospitable climate.

Many navigators have explored the area of this southern continent and they include the Spanish, Portuguese, English, German, French, Russian, Norwegian, and the Americans, many of whom were New England whalers. Many countries maintain research bases at the present time in Antarctica and most of these operate only during the summer months. They are occupied by scientists who are studying the various physical aspects of the continent and such specialized studies as the meteorology and ecology of the Antarctic. China is the most recent nation to establish a scientific base station. Many countries maintain a station there pure and simply for political reasons, as no fundamental research is being undertaken at these sites.

The International Geophysical Year (IGY)(1957-1958) proved the benefit of cooperation among the nations and led to the "Treaty of Antarctica", which is to last 30 years and expires in 1991, if not renewed. All territorial claims during this period have been suspended and the Continent is open to all nations and to scientists from all over the world. No weapons are permitted in Antarctica and no alterations to the normal ecological balance are permitted. In visiting this area, much as in visiting the Galapagos, one leaves only one's footsteps behind. At one time, whales abounded in this area but, unfortunately, hundreds of thousands were killed and, ultimately, an International Whaling Commission was formed, which has endeavored to set quotas in order to preserve what is left of the various species of whales in these waters.

Although our adventure really began at Puerto Williams, on the Beagle Channel on Tiera del Fuego, I should add that the flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas on the Magellan Straits was breath-taking, as we flew right over the backbone of the AndesMountains and saw many ice fields, innumerable glaciers and glacial lakes, and the snow covered peaks of the Andes Mountains. It was truly a beautiful sight. Our plane landed at Punta Arenas and our stay here was brief, as we were to have a tour of the city later en route home. Our flight continued on to Puerto Williams, which is the most southern city in the southern hemisphere. It was at this point that we boarded our ship, the "World Discoverer", after enjoying a pleasant luncheon at the Wala Restaurant and after having had a brief tour of the town and it's Museum. We were introduced to a few native Indians who looked very much like our American Eskimos. Our accommodations on board the ship were more than ample and the shipboard routine was very much like that on the "Society Explorer", which we sailed on during our Upper Amazon River Adventure.

On our first morning after having set sail we anchored briefly at Cape Horn and we hoped that we would set foot on the Cape at this time. The weather, however, was so unfavorable, with gusts of wind, that only two Zodiacs were able to reach shore and they merely put a foot ashore and were promptly ordered back by the Expedition Leader. However, on our return, weather conditions were more favorable and we were able to set foot on Cape Horn.

After leaving Cabos de Hornos, we started across Drake's Passage, a distance of some 450 miles before we would reach the Southern Shetland Islands and King George island. This proved to be the roughest part of our entire trip and , during this period of time, the ship rolled and pitched incessantly. We were told that the weather conditions were beaufort 9 or Force 9, which means winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour and lists of 20 to 25°. The crossing was so bad that the Captain's Welcoming Party was deferred and the only activity that occurred aboard ship were several lectures by the accompanying Scientific Faculty. Although I had spent months at sea as a Ship's Doctor on the Grace Line vessels, I do not believe I have ever been so uncomfortable (not actually sea-sick) by the rolling and pitching, that I said to myself that henceforth in the future, I would use only land and air modes of transportation. During this period of time, the captain was continuously cautioning us to stay inside the ship and always to have one hand on some fixed support and to use the railings between each deck of the ship.

Our first landing was on King George Island, at Admiralty Bay, and at the Commandante Ferraz Brazilian Station. It was here that we saw a large intact whale skeleton which everyone photographed, There was also a small colony of Adelie penguins. En route back to the ship on our Zodiacs, we saw a leopard seal sunning himself on a small iceberg and, I might add at this time, that the leopard seal is the chief predator of the penguins. Not far from the Brazilian Unit is the large Polish Research Station called Arctowski, and it was here that we saw thousands more of Adelie penguins. We also saw numerous elephant seals, and these are the largest seals that I have ever seen. The bull elephant weighs up to three tons and to display his ferociousness will sometimes inflate his snout which looks a bit like an elephant's trunk and thus accounts for his name. The Polish scientists were very friendly and treated us to chocolate cookies and coffee. I don't think any of us envied them their accommodations nor the isolation that occurred with working in this part of the world.

In the afternoon, we had two more wet landings on King George Island and these two research stations were adjacent to each other. One was the Rudolpho Marsh Martin Chilean Station, and the other was the Bellinghausen Russian Station. Unfortunately, we spent so much time in this area that we were unable to visit the recently established Great Wall Chinese Station which was not too far away. It is interesting that the Chilean Station had several families living there and apparently, this was an attempt to make a political statement that colonization was indeed a fact, and was done hopefully to provide a valid argument for the acquisition of this territory to their country. It was during Allende's reign as President of Chile that he invited the Soviet Union to establish a base next to the Chilean base, which at that time was called the Presidente Frey Base. Now that the relations between Chile and Russia have changed, there was very little of a friendly or cooperative spirit between the personnel of the Chilean Base and that of the Russian Base. We wandered about the facilities at both bases and I was surprised that I had carte blanche permission to wander in and out of most of the Russian buildings.

During the night, we sailed on to Deception Island, which apparently was created eons of years ago, when a volcanic eruption created a large central lake with a border of rocky mountains. There was an outlet to the sea and thus, a perfect harbor was created. It was here that the Norwegians, around the year 1910, erected a whaling station, and later, the Chileans and the British built research stations. However, volcanic eruptions in the year 1967 and again in 1970 destroyed both stations and there is nothing left there now but the remains of the Norwegian Whaling Station. It is interesting that a sea plane hangar and an old aircraft are still there.

Later in the afternoon, and still within Deception Island, we sailed to Telefon Bay, where we climbed to the rim of a large extinct volcano. It was a slow and arduous climb and when we reached the top, there were some magnificent views, not only of the large caldera but also of numerous satellite calderas. Still later in the afternoon, we sailed on to Pendulum Cove for a bath in the warm hot springs. This was a most interesting experience, as the air was very cold and the water itself was very warm and there was a constant mist arising from the surface of the water. Most everyone quickly disrobed and got into the water and endeavored to find the precise spot where it would be reasonably comfortable. If one was not in the right area, the water was extremely cold at 38° Fahrenheit or if one was too close to the hot springs, the water would be extremely hot at 135 Fahrenheit. As soon as one got out of the water, one was served some hot mulled brandy and was rejuvenated promptly.

Before we left Deception Bay, our last stop was a landing at Bailey's Head and the captain noted that this was only the third time in ten years that he was successful in effecting a landing at this site. We were indeed fortunate to see a large Chinstrap Rookery with about a million penguins. Our slides should provide adequate documentation for this unusual and fortunate experience.

Up to this time, we had been in the so-called Archipelago, or Islands, and had not touched the mainland of Antarctica. However, on this day, we passed through the beautiful Neptune's Bellows, and landed on the mainland at the Gonzalez Videla abandoned Chilean Research Station. Here, we were surrounded by a large colony of Gentoo penguins, most of whom were nesting. These were more colorful in some respects than the Adelie or the Chinstrap penguins. We saw many chicks and usually, the very small ones were covered with a gray colored down and the older ones with a brown colored down. Among the penguins were some pure white birds, the Sheathbills, who were predators and occasionally would snare a young chick and fly off with it. There were some Weddell seals and a pair of elephant seals that were molting or shedding their skin. Today, for the first time, we had landed on the mainland or on the so called Palmer Peninsula.

After leaving Gonzalez Videla, we sailed to another abandoned station, Almirante Brown, where the more hardy of our group took off on a very steep mountain climb on the snow for the beautiful view it afforded of the many glaciers in this area. The rest of us were given a tour of the bay area in our Zodiacs and we cruised along the foot of some huge glaciers. It was breathtaking and we missed only one thing and that was sunshine. We had not seen any since leaving Puerto Williams.

We stopped briefly at Port Lockroy, hoping to effect a landing, but the winds were so strong that the attempted landing was postponed. We actually anchored and waited for several hours for the weather to change but, unfortunately, this did not occur. In the evening in the Cinema Room, or Lecture Room, we watched Parts One and Two of Shackleton Polar Explorer. This was a fascinating account of Shackleton's first two trips to Antarctica. Since the landing at Port Lockroy was impossible, we altered our course and pointed toward Anvers Island, where the United States' Palmer Station is located. The captain had warned us that the weather in Antarctica could change in an hour and we certainly could now testify to this fact. The itinerary on all cruises to Antarctica actually depends upon weather conditions and sometimes one is fortunate in enjoying good weather and enjoying many landings , and on other occasions, one is less fortunate and has to miss many interesting landings. We felt sorry for our sister ship, the Society Explorer, which left two days after we left Puerto Williams, and we were told that they were anchored in Deception Island for almost two days because of extremely bad weather and severe storms.

During the night the weather improved and in the morning we enjoyed a bit of blue sky and occasional sunlight. The passage through LeMaire's Channel was spectacular and we had to dodge icebergs, some of which virtually seemed to fill this canyon or passageway. As we emerged from the towering walls of rock and ice, we entered Penolas Passage and we sailed south until we met "fast ice", or an ice shelf. At this point no further progress was possible and the captain made a circle in this vast ice shelf so that we could get some idea of what it is like to experience an ice breaker's performance. As we looked ahead, there was nothing but interminable ice and it was obvious that any further passage southward was entirely out of the question. At this point, we were probably about 65° south. Heading north, we finally reached the Palmer Station and our Expedition Leader went ashore and brought back with him the Commandant of the Station and one of the research scientists. They briefed us on the activities of our Station and explained to us that this was not a government maintained operation but rather one conducted by the National Science Foundation, which did, however, receive government funds. While there, a severe snow storm came up and this was the first time that we had this experience in Antarctica. Most of the research work was devoted to the krill Eco-System, a small shrimp-like organism that was the chief source of nutrition for the huge whale population that formerly were present in these waters, and which presently supports the enormous numbers of penguins. Apparently, these small creatures are extremely nutritious and rich in protein and someday, might be harvested commercially. We were led to believe that at the present time, both the Russians and the Japanese are harvesting krill and it is canned and sold in their respective countries. After we left the Palmer Station, we crossed over to Torgesson Island for a view of the Jentoo Rookery. It was late in the evening and while we managed to secure a few photographs, it was almost too dark to get some very good pictures of these fascinating birds. It was here also that we saw many Blue-eyed Shags, a very interesting bird that exists in this area. After leaving Anvers Island, we were provided with a very pleasant surprise when the captain and the cruise director announced that weather conditions were ideal for a landing at Potter's Cove on King George Island. It was the home of a very active Argentinean Research Station and some 44 men and four women were actively engaged in research there During our visit. It was announced that only six would remain over the winter and that the majority would return home at the end of the summer. They were most gracious and showed us about their installation. In fact, I enjoyed a bit of fine Argentinean brandy and attempted some limited conversation with my Spanish. On the shore, we saw the largest collection of elephant seals on our entire trip and in one group, someone counted as many as 39 and they appeared as a large mound or mass of blubber. It was here also that I climbed the high peak to see the Giant Petrels which were nesting on the ledges. They are very large birds with a wing spread of six feet or more, much like the Albatrosses. Later in the evenings after dinner we made another surprise landing on Harmony Cove on Nelson Island, and saw a huge colony of Chinstrap penguins

Our northbound crossing of Drake's Passage was relatively uneventful, although the sea provided a fair amount of rolling and pitching. Fortunately, we succeeded in making a landing at Cabo de Hornos, or Cape Horn. There, our wet landing was the most difficult that we had encountered as we had to step on perfectly round rocks that were slimy and extremely slippery. At this point, Pat elected to remain on the Zodiac and to return to the ship. I sort of crawled over this wet area until I got onto the drier stones where I found mobility much safer The climb was so steep that the Chileans had built a wooden stairway and this enabled us to climb to the very peak of Cape Horn. A Chilean Weather Station is maintained at this site and also a small Post Office to accommodate those who would like to buy stamps and have their cards mailed from the most southern tip of the southern hemisphere. There were a few Magellanic penguins about but they were too far off to be seen with anything other than binoculars. These penguins are different in that they live in holes or burrows and their coloration is distinctive being primarily a combination of white with black striping. As I looked out over Drake's Passage from the very tip of Cape Horn, I could not help but feel that I am now entitled to wear two ear rings for according to buccaneer tradition, one may wear one earring if one has been at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and two earrings if one has also been at Cape Horn on Tiera del Fuego.

Finally, a few words about penguins might be of interest. There are probably over one hundred million penguins in the world today, composed of as many as eighteen different species, and scattered along the coast of South America, Southern Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and as far north as the Galapagos Islands. We only saw three varieties, namely the Adelie, the Chinstrap, and the Gentoo species. Had we visited South Georgia we might have seen the Emperor and the King Penguins. It is interesting that penguins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere and south of the equator. The species vary tremendously in size, shape and coloring and it is difficult to distinguish males from females. They are invariably friendly and "act like little people". They cannot fly but are marvelously equipped to swim and dive and their wings are modified to serve as paddles. Their bones are dense, as compared to birds that fly, and they are capable of swimming thousands of miles, though the majority of them stay close to shore and to their rookeries. They are air breathing animals and pop out and in the water as they swim (porpoising). Their coloring of black backs and white bellies served to protect them from sea predators, who, looking up from below, cannot distinguish them from the bright light of the sky and the ice floes. They are also equipped with special glands which enable them to convert salt water into salt free water. The normal swimming speed of most penguins is about 15 miles per hour and their chief food supply is fish and krill. All penguins, though preferring the water, must come ashore part of each year to have their offspring and to grow new feathers. Like human beings, they are warm blooded and, therefore, have to have several layers of insulation or blubber to enable them to survive in the frigid cold weather. They walk upright and though they can "toboggan" many miles across snow, they are usually waddling on the rookeries and icebergs. The locomotion or walking varies with each species and the so called Rock-Hoppers on the Falkland Islands literally hop from one spot to another, sometimes as much as six feet.

On land, most penguins live in large colonies called rookeries and they chatter and fight a lot. Baby penguins come into this world like other birds, as eggs, and usually in a clutch of two. They are hatched after a period of incubation during which the male and the female nestle them to keep them warm during their period of incubation. It is interesting that the Emperor penguins do not build nests but carry their eggs around on their feet and warm them with their bodies. Most penguins return each year to the same spot to have their babies, an expression of the so-called territorial imperative. Hatching usually averages six weeks and following birth, the babies must be kept warm and fed. At this time, the parents may feed the chicks two pounds of food per hour! At six weeks, the chicks molt their feathers or baby down and by the time they are two months old, they are ready to go to sea.

Finally, penguins are beautiful animals to watch and sometimes look like the black and white formal suits people wear at weddings. Their feathers are sleek and shiny and many have handsome patterns and colorful feathers on their heads, such as the Macaroni penguins. They appear to be unafraid of people and appear quite friendly and it is no wonder they are so appealing. However, if one approaches them too closely, they peck at you furiously and the sounds that emerge from a rookery are coarse and shrill and I have recorded them on my tape recorder.

On our last day, we landed at Punta Arenas on the Straits of Magellan and were taken by bus to see something of this city of 100,000 people. We had lunch at the Club de Union which was a beautiful old building built many years ago before the days of the Panama Canal and during that period of time when many ships rounded the southern end of South America and used the Magellan Straits as a passageway from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The chief occupation of the people here was shipping and fishing and the largest and most profitable enterprise was that of King Crab fishing.

Our trip home consisted of a flight of three hours from Punta Arenas to Santiago and then after a delightful dinner at the Plaza Crown Hotel in Santiago, we returned to the airport for a ten hour flight from Santiago to Miami, with a one hour stop at Lima for refueling. We were fortunate in making an excellent connection in Miami and within a half hour of our arrival, were en route on the final section of our trip, a three and a half hour flight from Miami to Hartford. All in all, it Was an unforgettable experience and as exciting and thrilling as any I have ever enjoyed to date in my life.

With Love,

DAD

CEJ/ngb

T2/19/87