Today was the most-filled day that we have had to date. We accomplished two different landings, complete with two different hikes, and all before lunch! On our way to our third landing for today, Port Lockroy, a museum of an old British station, we encountered two other boats in the water. One was a ship about the size of ours, but was filled with tourists; while, the other was a yacht. Why there was a yacht in such choppy waters I do not know. It was fun on the bridge though. It felt like we were in an old ship guarding our waters. Not that we had any control over where they could be, anymore than they could us. It was great to see everyone looking out the windows with binoculars looking at the ships. It was really great when we spotted the yacht and everyone was trying to figure out what the ship was called and what a tiny boat was doing in these waters. People commented on that little boat going through the Drake's Passage. Some of the staff mentioned quickly that they would not at all want to be on it!

- Kerry Morse, Participant

It was 5:30 A.M. and I heard Geoff in the loud speaker, saying we have arrived to our destination. We had planned a whole schedule yesterday from getting up early and doing several thrilling things. We first put on our rubber boots, our ski pants and Northface jackets. We took the zodiacs to Danco Island where we climb the mountain which was tiring and observed the amount of ice that has frozen over several years. After that long climb, we glided down and I couldn’t stop. Later in the afternoon, we got to Neko Harbour where we first were divided into 3 groups. My group drove around in the Zodiacs and we were fishing anything that was possible expect penguins. The only thing we did catch was diatoms and planktons which wasn’t really exciting unless it was seen through a microscope. After that we climbed another mountain which was the steepest I have ever seen. It was very challenging since the ice would sink down and the rubber boots weren’t much help in hiking a mountain. As we got to the top we drilled into the ice and we got to see how old the ice was and then glided down the steepest snow mountain ever.

Afterwards we went to a beach of Antarctica and for 15 minutes stood quiet to observe. As I had my eyes closed I would hear the penguins and would hear the waves. All of a sudden I heard a cracking sound which was the calving the ice on the mountain. And saw a huge piece of ice falling down in the water. All that was in my mind were Geoff's words.... if ice was to fall into the ocean from above the mountain or in other words an avalanche, run to the snow and get off the sand. I did as he said and ran to the snow, since big waves would be storming into the shore. It was just amazing seeing everything in one day. 

- Estefani Chimbo, Participant

Today we got to go Danco Island and Neko Harbor and we would potentially make our way to Port Lockroy tonight. We woke up at 5:30 this morning so that we could get in the zodiacs for Danco Island really early this morning. It had plenty of Gentoo Penguins all over and I was pretty excited because we haven't really seen a large population of Gentoos yet. They are definitely the most friendly and trusting and I think they are my favorite penguin species so far. We also went on a hike up a pretty big hill (in my opinion) which was tiring, but our efforts were worth it when we got to the top. We also had so much fun sliding down the hill that we climbed up. The scenery up there was beautiful and we all just lay down in the snow and took it all in...the snow was also refreshing because most of us were sweating.

Later, at Neko Harbor, we did a little bit more hiking and learned about ice core samples and plankton samples. It was a three hour trip on land, but we got a lot accomplished and learned a lot. We also saw some Weddell seals and even a dwarf minke whale that swam right by the zodiacs. We're supposed to be going to a station on Port Lockroy but the weather conditions are not their best so that is still pending.

- Jess Dancer, Participant

Ahh the joys of hot chocolate! As we've rounded the Antarctic peninsula, the weather seems to have gotten continually colder, and as of right now it would seem we are in the midst of a gale with winds blowing up to 50 knots, and I've found much needed comfort in the crew's readily available supply of hot beverages. Yesterday we had our first landing on the continent itself, at "Brown Bluff" which didn't fail to charm with its large collection of Adelie and Gentoo penguins, apparently in the middle of their breeding season. The baby bits of fluff competed for our attention with a young female Elephant seal who seemed to relish languishing and stretching for our entertainment. I felt badly about getting so close to the nests of the Adelie who seemed quite perturbed until I heard that chick survival rates are actually higher in highly visited areas, as Skuas, the penguins' main predator seem to stay away from humans.

As the days pass, I've slowly begun to let go of my longings for bookshops and the lights of civilization. Being so far away from the familiar has given rise to an unprecedented amount of introspection. Sitting in front of a glacier, as we did today at Neko Harbour, it's impossible to be concerned about anything. All of my mundane worries seemed to slip away and I felt the continuity between the beauty around me and that inside of me. It was truly astounding and it was nice to finally just give up taking pictures and experience what was around me, under the careful tuition of Jim and Remy.

Tonight we are set to go ashore to Port Lockroy, a restored base from the 1950s which stands to the experience of those who braved Antarctica without nearly any communication or luxuries. After a presentation from David Fletcher this afternoon on what life on these bases was life, I confess I feel very lucky to call our beautiful Ushuaia home, and yet still get to experience the clarity distance can lend. 

- Mary Clare O'Donnell, Participant

Today has been an amazing day; I thought that my favorite day was on Heroina Island but today was a million times better. We had to wake up super early, which I was not excited for, but as we landed on Danco Island I was taken aback by the gorgeous view. There were snow covered mountains everywhere, the ocean was filled with icebergs, there were glaciers everywhere and there was a Weddell seal and penguin rookeries. When we started the hike on Danco Island it was definitely one of the toughest hikes of the trip; my boots kept sinking into the ice and the mountain was extremely steep. I took my time going up to the top and when I got there the view was spectacular and unreal. There were two moments that were definitely the best part: the first was an SOI group hug on top Danco Island which caused the ice beneath us to lower and make a loud sound that scared all of us and the second was coming down from the mountain. Instead of slowly walking down, we all got to slide down to the bottom; it was so much fun.

At Neko Harbor, which was the second landing on the actual Antarctic continent, I got to witness part of a glacier break off and land in the water. The sound it made reminded me of loud thunder and the impact of the glacier into the water caused a surge of waves onto the shore. After that unique experience we got to lay on the shore and take in the nature around us; because we were all very quiet many penguins walked close to us and we were able to take amazing pictures.

It isn’t even 1 o’clock and the day has already been full of excitement and adventure. I am not looking forward for the end of the trip but I am extremely anxious for our next landing today at Port Lockroy.

- Nicole Rodriguez-Fierro, Participant

Yesterday and today were absolutely amazing! Yesterday was my first time to step on the ground of continental Antarctica, completing my visit to my 7th continent. There was a seal on the ground that was moulting and I sat and watched for a little while and it came closer - it was sublime.

But today was even better! With wakeup announcement at 5:30, we had to be dressed and on the gangway ready to get in the Zodiacs by 6am. Although I was tired, I wasn't anymore tired than any other day. But once I got out onto Danco Island and we started hiking, I was wide awake. It was very hard to hike up the inclined slopes with rubber boots and not hiking boots on, but I managed and at the top of the mountain, the view was outstanding! The best part of the excursion, however, was sliding down the slope on my back. I was going fast and the view was beautiful. W

When we got back on the ship, we didn't have long until our next excursion. I worked on some postcards because I have so many to write by tonight when we visit Port Lockroy (20 out of 42 left!). When the time arrived for our next excursion, I was on one of the first Zodiacs out, so I was in the group to do the ice core first. We had to hike up another incline, but not as steep. The ice core was very interesting, and I helped dig the hole that we got that sample out of! After the hour was up, we got to slide down the steepest part of the incline, and go onto the next station. We meditated and sang on the beach, which was peaceful, and there was a seal on the beach as well. The last station my group had to do was the plankton searching out in the Zodiacs. It was really fun and interesting, but my group didn't find anything!

Today and yesterday's excursions were amazing, but I should go finish my postcards so I can send them in a few hours at our third excursion of the day!

- Sherene Iskander, Participant

Today we touched down on the Antarctic Continent! It was the most fun, at least for me, that we've had so far. We got to hang out with this baby female elephant seal that was shedding/moulting like crazy. It was fun to watch her scratch herself in a way with mannerisms similar to that of humans. It was really funny. All over the rookeries were baby Adelie penguins and baby Gentoos together with their mothers/fathers chirping and fluffing their feathers. I could have watched them all day, if it weren't for the smell "lol". We spent a good two hours at the site today, and it took everything I had not to steal a little pebble souvenir. I remember what Geoff said, "I don't know why we always think we should 'take' things from a place we visit" and it really changed the way I felt about the ordeal, for the better of course.

On the boat today we were playing in the wind, as the strength reached about 40 knots and we could lean over at a 45 degree angle with the wind holding us up. Forget about it if you had your jacket open like a chute, the wind would probably throw you overboard. Luckily, none of that happened...but it was all definitely a lot of fun. I finished my oil painting today of this penguin picture I took, but it would probably be an insult for me to give it to anyone, not my best.

Tomorrow we have to wake up at 5:30 for a pre-breakfast excursion, wish me luck! Hopefully lots of pictures and hopefully I do not pass out on the hike up to the ridges. Boat's great, miss you all .. never want to leave!

- Victoria Hoffman, Participant

I have realized that no matter how descriptive the words, or how catchy the phrase, I can't really convey to anyone how this place makes me feel. As I think of how good lunch is going to be I look out the window to see an iceberg the size of a mansion float by. The simple word that comes to mind is: "Wow".

Ever since climbing aboard the Ushuaia I have felt connected to this amazing continent. Upon our first sighting of a humpback whale less than 30 feet from the bow of the ship I knew there was nothing that can rival this land of snow and ice. In essence, I have a new place in my heart. A place where penguins shuffle to delve into the icy waters, where an elephant seal molts and takes a well deserved nap, where a fin whale takes in a long breath before feeding. The power of the White Continent has me, like it has so many other students with me here today.

So I say, "Have your cell phones, your skyscrapers, your cities of steel. I'll take the sound of penguins, the towering glaciers, the jungles of ice, and the knowledge of just how beautiful this world within a world truly is." So here I write to you in awe of the true winter wonderland, sad that it has to come to an end.

Yet I feel assured that I will always carry this experience with me sharing it with whoever has the look of curiosity that plagued my eyes just a short time ago.

- Cody Hall, Participant

Well, while everyone was getting ready for school today Students on Ice was having the time of their lives. Yes, the early morning began at 5:30 A.M. but the hike to the top of the glacier was fantastic. Deep toned blues, grays, and browns made up the surrounding landscapes of ocean and mountains. During our moment of silence, two avalanches could be heard shattering the still air we made quiet. After our group photo at the top it was time to make our way down. The means of descent made the whole ascent worth it. The last big slope before the bottom we ran and threw our stomachs onto the ice and snow. Rapidly we slid down the mountain with the wind in our face. It was a fantastic moment. Pure bliss was pouring out through everyone's smiles. The morning could not have been better... it was simply the time of our lives.

The fun did not stop there, though. Our afternoon expedition took us to Neko Harbor where penguins, seals, and even a dwarf Minke whale could be seen. Here we were also setting foot on the actual continent. I took on the task of helping to drill an ice core in one of our three workshops. When the ice was brought up you could see the layers the seasons had made. To get down from the top of the glacier we indeed received permission to slide down, once again. The ride down was fantastic; it’s like riding a roller coaster with high definition scenery surrounding you. Sometimes thunder to be heard, not from the sky but from under the snow on the cliffs. Twice the mountains rumbled and released their burdened snow into the sea, and another time the avalanche carried snow further down the mountain. The scenery was simply magnificent and looked like the Antarctica you can be seen in magazines.

Finally, at the end of the day, our zodiacs carried us to our first research station / museum. Unfortunately, I must go to bed now to get ready for and equally as adventurous day tomorrow.

- Alex Gustafson, Participant

Wow what a day! We have only just had lunch and already we have been on two hikes, done glacier coring, meditated on a beach, done some plankton studies by zodiac and slid down two massive snow hills! We are surrounded by beautiful glaciers with exposed rock faces and ice floes with Weddell seals and Gentoo penguins. Later today we are stopping at Port Lockroy where we will visit the museum, find out what it is like to live on a base and what it is like to winter over. Everybody on board is positively buzzing, can't wait to tell you about our next adventures!

- Hannah Jacobs, Participant

Our day began with a 5:30am wake-up call from Geoff over the ship's intercom. I was awfully tired, but I was too excited to even realize it. We took the zodiacs to shore and started our hike. It was a gorgeous little peak and all around us were massive glaciers, huge mountains and the beautiful water flowing by. The hike was challenging and exhilarating. I was tired and sore when I got to the top, it was very steep, but it was so great to be up there. It gave me a 360 view of everything all around. We took tons of photos and we had some quiet time too. I just sat up at the edge of the ice cap looking out and the mountains and glaciers. They were huge and completely full of power! On the way down, it was much faster and much more fun. We slid on our stomachs on the ice the whole way down. I picked up some crazy speed and headed down the hill laughing! When I got to the bottom, I turned around and walked back up and did it again! It was so funny! I went body surfing in Antarctica! We went back to the ship and continued on. Our next stop was Neko Bay where we went to shore and got to do workshops. I worked up on top of the glacier doing the ice core. It was awesome! I officially love glaciology! I just learned so much from Fred, Alex and Fletcher. Once again, the way down from the glacier was easier than the way up; we slid down the entire glacier covered hill. What a blast.

Later on today we are headed to tour a British Research Station. Also we are hoping to have a BBQ dinner out on deck. Today really shows how many incredible events we can fit into one day! I feel great, but my back is sore; no early morning yoga this morning and I seem to be missing it, my back can sure tell. The icebergs are so majestic; I am heading outside to relax on deck and appreciate these profound mountains, glaciers and icebergs.

- Jenna Gall, Participant

Wow!!! Where to start. I guess a good start would be at 5:30 am this morning when we got our wake-up call from our expedition leader for the first expedition of the day. Off we go to Danco Island for a hike up the mountain. What a great way to start the day. It was beautiful up at the top and our Canadian members enjoyed singing our National Anthem with the flag in our hands. Our second excursion today was at Neko Harbour...what a beautiful spot!!! It was great as I got to be a bit of a scientist today. We attempted to get some samples to look under the microscopes that we have on the ship. We haven't had the chance to look at them yet but hopefully we were somewhat successful. As we were looking for samples I was extremely lucky to have a whale come up right beside our zodiac. It was absolutely fantastic. As if this wasn't enough, we did a third landing at Port Lockroy, a museum and a gift shop. Off we send our postcards and hopefully they will make it sometimes in the next year! Another wonderful day!

- Marissa LeBlanc, Chaperone

Today was quite the day. Let me just give you all a brief recap. Today was very eventful to say the least. I started off my day with a 5:30 am wake up call, spent three hours venturing off into Antarctica some more, had a presentation made by David about his time spent in a British research base here in the south, and just recently got back from the Port Lockroy museum, the only gift shop in Antarctica.

The highlight of my day though has to be sliding down the steep slopes at Danco Island and Neko Harbour on my bum. I also realized that although I learned some of the hardships of living in a research station down here, it's still something I aspire to do. I want to conduct biological studies in one of these bases. I don't know how to go about doing such a thing except for the whole you know, getting a degree in biological studies; but, I'm sure that with proper guidance from fellow scientists on board this ship, I'll be sent in the right direction. Hoping to see you all soon back in the states, miss you all and take care.

- Petra Ovalles, Participant

The expedition becomes more exciting each day! Today we had to wake up at 5:30 and go for a hike on Danco Island before breakfast. Waking up and immediately participating in strenuous activity was a little rough at first, but once we reached the top of the mountain it was worth it. And it got even more exciting when we got to slide down the icy mountain on our backs! It was so fun that I climbed up two more times to slide down.  After that, we had a short break as we prepared for another landing, this time Neko Harbour.

At Neko Harbour, we partook in three different workshops in the field. The first workshop was a glaciology related activity in which we learned about the layers of the snow/ice of the land and we took an ice core sample. When it was time to move to the next one, we got to slide down another mountain, and this one was steeper! Unfortunately, while sliding down the slope snow got into the pocket that my camera was in and now it is broken! So, I will only have pictures of the first half of my trip, unless I can get it fixed. Anyway, in one of the other workshops I got to get really close to a Gentoo penguin as I laid silent on the beach of Neko Harbour, and then got to see a Minke Whale while in the zodiac of the other workshop.  I'm just having so much fun and there is still much more to do!

- Seth Peng, Participant

Another amazing day here in the world's nice cold icebox!!! My highlight today was when we were on a pebble beach with ice mountains behind us and an ice bay around. Cracks in the ice were like layers standing up. On our left was a small pebble hill where Gentoo penguins were nesting. They had pebble hills where they were laying their eggs, hatching their baby chicks, and taking care of them.  Along the beach a little further there were rocks lining the edge with the width of about four medium people before you were actually in the water. We walked along to these rocks passing 2, what we believed to be Elephant seals or Weddell seals. I went and sat at the very edge of the rocks along the beach for our fifteen minute meditation. I leaned against a cold rock but I was comfortable enough and next to it there was another rock with a small trickle of water dripping down, and this somehow soothed and calmed my inside making me relax. There was a small cave in the ice past the beach and water dripped down into the ocean. It was like the water was the sky and the drips of water were stars, blinking as they fell. Penguins skipped and popped out of the water and then drove back in as if they were rocks being skipped. This relaxing scene was my highlight of the day. Love you mom and dad!

- Taylor Greene, Participant

I would like to begin my journal of the day by wishing a nice first school day today of 2010 to all my University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres classmates. Well, I'm writing my journal after a great lunch time and two landings, where we have been able to see glaciers falling in the water, Gentoo penguins, a little young curious Minke whale, hiking, singing the national anthem of Canada on the top of the hill with our country flag...well, an amazing day. We have learned this morning about glaciology, microbiology of oceans, and taking time to stay in silence, for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of Antarctica. Finally, we came back to the ship by sliding on the snow, as the penguins do. Another memorable day.

- Vincent Carrier, Participant


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5 p.m. Update: We have just updated our January 3rd page from with journals and photos galore - and there's no doubt that this expedition is one for the record-books in terms of fantastic weather, extraordinary wildlife sightings - and inquisitive and enthusiastic students!

All is well on board the ship and we just spoke with Geoff Green who reports that the team is having another spectacular day. The weather has been so cooperative. The seas are calm and the sunsets are spectacular. Geoff made special mention of the early evening light - and how it's some of the most beautiful he has ever seen - as it reflects off this icy world. You will see a great photo of an Antarctic evening on yesterday's page - and many students writing about it.

The team had a 5:30 am wake up call today and a 6:15 am landing at Danco Island. They hiked to the top and were treated to a spectacular 360 degree view of ice fields, mountains, icebergs - and Geoff called it "simply mind-blowing." Following some time for reflection - the team took to the slopes and slid to the bottom - and then headed back to the ship in time for an 8 am breakfast!

In the afternoon, the team visited peaceful Neko Harbour for a 3 hour visit that included oceanography and glaciology workshops, and more hiking.

Currently, everyone is back on board for dinner and the ship is en route to Port Lockroy - a British Antarctic Station for an evening visit!

Photos and journals should follow this evening or tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned for further updates!

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8:00 a.m. Update: Good morning! Our team is en route this morning to the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula. Last we uploaded many new journals and photos on our January 2 page and are awaiting photos and journals from yesterday's adventures at Deception Island!

We have updated our January 2 page with many journals and photos! It was a spectacular day!

There will be much to explore and experience today. Neko Harbour and its surroundings is one of the most beautiful areas to visit on the Peninsula. Students will hike along the long, sandy beach - whales and seals abound here - and because the bay is very remote and tucked in against a glacier - it is remarkably quiet. There is the ambient sound of penguins of course and the occasional calving of nearby glaciers and icebergs, but all in all - this is a beautiful, still part of the world. There will be a hike up a large hill which overlooks the bay and surrounding area.

As usual, students will also be participating in some research activities, including plankton tows today. Between landings, Fred Roots will present an Antarctic Climatology lecture.

Stay Tuned for further updates!