Happy Birthday to Justin! Our now 15 year old is getting to celebrate his birthday in Antarctica which is a special treat. 

After breakfast, we bundle up and onboard the Zodiac to cruise around the rocks of Walker’s Bay on Livingston Island (still in the South Shetland Islands) to see Gentoo penguin colonies.  We see a gigantic elephant seal swimming in the water.  This is a little more unusual as usually seals are more commonly spotted on the beach or laying on an iceberg.  We also see a baby elephant seal on the rocks waiting for the parents to return with food from their deep water hunting.  Our guide Laura from French-Canada is a geologist and gives us a lesson on the rock formations and landscapes of the Island.

We then switch and hop onto land to explore. Laura the geologist leads us to a collection of different types of rocks that have been collected from the island. Some of them contain fossils of tropical plants and trees that used to grow on Antarctica about 120,000 years ago.  We are hiking on the path established by the guides when we see a large elephant seal undulating his way down to the ocean water.  However, he decides to stop for a rest break in the middle of our trekking path right in front of us.  We have been educated that we must yield the right of way to any and all wildlife so we stop dead in our tracks.  The elephant seal is threatening to go from a rest break to a full blown nap as he sits there nodding off but all we can do is wait it out.  Our new seal friend finally musters up the energy to keep going on his arduous journey freeing us up to continue our trek. 

Morgan, an American scientist specializing in echolocation, is working on the beach recording the sounds of a pack of more than 20 seals. These juvenile seals alternate between basking in the sun and fighting one another.  These adolescents need to get stronger so next breeding season they can win over a female seal in order to procreate. 

We go back on the boat, grab a quick lunch, rest up and play Monopoly Deal then we head to the overnight camping raffle. There is an option to do overnight camping on the continent later in the trip.  Unfortunately, they are only permitted to take 40 people (38 passengers plus 2 guides) out of the 170 passengers. They allowed thirty passengers to pre-register early but the thirty spots were already claimed when Kyle signed up for the cruise. 

The expedition guide in charge of the camping trip has told us that there will be a raffle for the remaining eight passenger spots. We had put all 7 of our names down on the list figuring that gives us a better chance of one of us getting selected.  We show up for the raffle and there are 50 people vying for the 8 spots.

The guide is originally from Sweden but has lived in Svalbard since 2007.  It’s not often that Kyle, with all his trip planning, has to look up where a place is on the map but this is one of those times.  Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole.  It is one of the northernmost inhabited places in the world. The guide looks the part of a Norwegian Viking and we have dubbed him the “Viking Overlord” for reasons that will become apparent.

Kyle approaches the Viking Overlord and asks, “today is my son’s birthday, if my name is pulled can I give it to him for his birthday?” Kyle is assuming this won’t be a problem but Overlord looks at him quite seriously and says, “No!” in a gruff voice.  Kyle is not sure what to say so he says, “really?” The Overlord responds, “I will not have passengers playing games with my raffle, it must be 100% fair for all passengers.”  Kyle returns looking dejected and informs the clan there will be no switching allowed.  “Geez - I think it’s a little extreme to accuse me of rigging his lottery when I was just trying to give Justin a birthday present.”

A couple enters the room and ask where they are supposed to sign up for the raffle.  The Overlord is staring them down looking none too pleased. “The sign-up sheet for the raffle was closed at 10am this morning.  Your too late,” he informs them in the same gruff voice. The couple seems a little taken aback and says, “Well, how were we supposed to know that?” Kyle can already tell this is not going in a good direction.  “Are you kidding me?  They’ve only announced it on the loudspeaker like 8 different times, where have you been?  I will not have you messing up my raffle either.  You are not going to be in the raffle so exit the room now,” the Overlord thunders out.  Having been summarily dismissed and thrown out of the raffle, the couple quickly makes for the exit. 

The Viking Overlord continues on, “this is a mandatory meeting so now I’m going to take attendance for the 30 pre-registered passengers and if you’re not here, you won’t be going on my overnight camping.”  The very first name called quickly results in a high pitched yelp from a woman in the audience.  “Oh my God, that’s my husband, he’s totally here but he just went to the bathroom while you were doing the raffle stuff,” she stammers likely already intimidated by the Overlord’s last two outbursts.  “I repeat, this is a mandatory meeting and your husband is not here so he will not be attending my overnight camping trip.”  Horrified, the wife flees the room apparently none too interested in camping with the Overlord without her husband.

“I’m glad to see it’s nothing personal against me, apparently he doesn’t like anyone,” Kyle observes.  Corey and Justin really want to go so we are silently pulling for them.  About halfway through the names, the Viking Overlord calls out “John Huebner.”  Well at least one of us will be getting to go.  Kyle and Leanne turn around to find John’s seat empty.  “Where did John go?” we ask the other kids.  “He left a couple minutes ago.” The Overlord is clearly short on patience.  Kyle says, “please hold on, were trying to figure out where he went.”  “He’s not here so he’s not going on my camping trip,” the Overlord booms out.  This is becoming a familiar refrain and Kyle knows there is no point in arguing with the testy Viking.  

It turns out that John had no interest in going on the campout and he just put his name down assuming he could give it to Justin or Corey.  We he found out that there was no switching, he bolted.  “Dad, if my name was pulled and I said I didn’t want to go, the Overlord would have screamed at me ‘why in the seven bloody hells did you put your name in my raffle if you didn’t want to go, you are ruining my raffle. That Viking is a maniac so I got the hell out of there,” John explains afterward.  John has a totally valid point and it was a good thing he left since his name did get pulled. It turns out none of rest of us got picked so no one will be going on the overnight camping trip.  We end up agreeing that it might not be the best experience if we went and had the Viking Overlord yelling at us all night.

The afternoon excursion is Deception Island which has a history of human occupation dating from 1911 when a whaling station was established in Whalers Bay by the Norwegians.  The station shut down in 1931 due to a slump in whale oil prices and the introduction of synthetic whale oils. In 1944, a British base was established by the Royal Navy during “Operation Tabarin” using the abandoned whaling station buildings. In 1945, the operation was terminated and the base was handed over to the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and became a research station. 

The main activities carried out at the base were meteorology and operation of an air facility to support the other British research bases on the Antarctic Peninsula region.  An aircraft hangar was built in 1961 and new accommodations and laboratory in 1965. The base was occupied continuously from 1944 to 1967 when it had to be evacuated because a volcanic eruption.  Turns out that Deception Island is actually a Caldera or rim of a volcano. The base reopened in 1968 but was shut down for good following another eruption in 1969.  Note to self – don’t live on the rim of a volcano.

Much of the abandoned British research base and Norwegian whaling station remain today. We tour rusted out dilapidated buildings that give a real ghost town feeling.  John informs us that Desperation Island was ranked the 2nd coolest abandoned town in the world.  The wood buildings stand with ceilings that are either sagging or have completely collapsed. We squish our ship-issued black boots into layers of black lava stones. We cross a small river feeling more like we are visiting a different planet. 

The site was designated a historic site under the Antarctic Treaty ensuring the abandoned island will persist long into the future.  We wrap up our land exploration and are ready for our Zodiac cruise. We have signed up with Sara, one of the ship’s scientists who is from Spain, to ride in her Zodiac and help her with her science research.  Sara is a marine acoustics expert and has conducted research all over the world mostly recently in Denmark. 

She has a hydrofoil which is lowered into the water to record underwater marine life sounds and a directional microphone for recording marine life sounds above the water.  She lights up when she tells us about the technology now available to record animal noises in the ocean.  You can tell she is really passionate about her work.

Today’s mission is to find groups of Chinstrap penguins out in the ocean swimming and hunting fish together and record their above water communications.  Sarah tells us that there is currently no research or documentation on Chinstrap penguin’s water based communication.  Almost all the other species of penguins do not communicate in the water. Corey and Justin are asking a bunch of questions and we can tell they are hooked.  We could see either one of them being an Antarctica expedition scientist and guide ten years from now.  

We head out of the narrow opening of the caldera to find ourselves circled now by dozens of Chinstrap penguins in the open sea. Their name derives from the fact that they literally have a black strip of feathers under their beaks.  

Given its Justin’s birthday, Sara entrusts him with expensive equipment to record the sounds of the Chinstrap penguins in the ocean while she drives the Zodiac and records the coordinating video. Sure enough, the chinstrap penguins are chattering away coordinating their dive down.  It’s very cool that we are witnessing and recording a phenomenon in nature that has never before been documented.  Primary research at its best.  All that and two days ago we couldn’t have named a single species of Antarctic penguins.

Learning about the research interests of the staff is an unexpected plus.  We are incredibly impressed with the staff on the Hondius; not only are they eager and enthusiastic, they are extremely well qualified to guide us.  Several are experts in their fields like acoustics, seabirds, geology, glaciers, etc.  And their enthusiasm ignites our own.

The guides have put out a question box that anyone can submit a question anonymously if they don’t want to ask it in front of the group. At the end of our 6:30 pm daily briefing, the Viking Overlord pulls out the questions to read them.  First one, “is there a bar close by that I can try to meet Antarctic women?” The crowd laughs at the spoofed question.  Second one, asks the Viking Overlord if can come to the person’s cabin and read them bedtime stories about penguins and whales?”  Ok clearly, someone is having fun with the question box.  Kyle suspects it’s a group of Dutch people in their twenties.  The Overlord responds, “well, I won’t do that but if you want to come see me after the daily recap, I can tell you stories about walrus penises.” Say what? “He didn’t really just say that did he?” Kyle says with a look of disbelief.  Apparently the Viking Overlord is a few fries short of a happy meal or that is how Vikings flirt with each other. 

With the question box having turned into a mummer’s farce, the Overlord exits stage left and the ship’s hotel manager, Michael, announces in his now classic Austrian accent that tonight we will have a live opera performance after dinner by one of the passengers.  When we last spoke to him yesterday morning we had tentatively scheduled it for this evening but things were such a whirlwind today that we didn’t have time to check back and confirm it so we assumed it wouldn’t be tonight. Leanne had already left to go down to the dining hall to get us the big table so Kyle runs down to tell her that tonight will be John’s solo concert on the boat. Yikes!  

Leanne bolts upstairs to tell John the news he’s on tonight. When John answers the door, he doesn’t believe the news at first.  He’s been practicing in his room and on the deck for the last three days.  “You got this, and you are definitely ready,” Leanne persuades him. Performance anxiety is a reality most performers deal with in some capacity; and honestly it’s part of the warmup for John who skips dinner to mentally prepare for his solo concert.   

At dinner, the rest of us celebrate Justin’s birthday in the dining hall while Justin regals us with fun facts about Antarctica that he had downloaded before the cruise given the lack of wi-fi.  At the end of dinner, the staff brings over an ice cream cake for Justin and the entire dining room breaks out in a Happy Birthday song for him. 

Michael announces John’s concert again at dinner. After dinner, the crowd spills upstairs into the Lecture Hall.  We had estimated for John that maybe a couple dozen passengers might attend.  By 9:15, every seat in the Lecture Hall is filled with more than 20 others standing in back.  At least 125 people are there to hear John sing.  

John emerges from the entrance doorway while Leanne introduces him to the crowd. The excited energy in the room helps John deliver one of his best performances ever.  When John exits after his last song, the entire crowd gives him a standing ovation and is chanting for an encore. John performs an encore song then pulls Justin up on stage to sing Happy Birthday operatic-style to his little brother. John has now performed on five continents with only South America and Africa left to conquer.

After the concert, Justin and Corey meet with the acoustics scientists Sarah and Morgan to hear the penguin recordings from the afternoon. The clan convenes in Justin’s room for some final birthday fun.  We pull out the binoculars to look for whales as icebergs start to appear competing for ocean space.  The air is quite a bit more frigid as we cruise South closer and closer to mainland Antarctica.  The boys stay up late In combined post performance and post birthday glow.  Chatting away. So life without Wi-Fi can still be fun!