We traveled on the ship below not the one pictured above that it was named after.
Both were specifically constructed to ply the Arctic and Antarctic waters.
We had safety training and educational lectures.
It is very important to understand how to don the survival suits if it became necessary to abandon ship.
Lectures were conducted for each of our ports of call, as well as information about seals, sea lions, penguins, other birds, the geology and history of the region.
Anja gave some of the lectures and would keep us informed about anything and everything that was coming up.
Every time a change in the planned itinerary was possible (say to add a point of interest)
or required (because of changes in conditions) she would tell us about the wonderful chance this afforded us.
Anyone who has ever been on a cruise will tell you about all the great food.
It was delicious and presented with a flair.
Here are two of the lounges and the dining area where we got to know our fellow travelers.
Spectacular views wherever you looked.
Christmas eve the crew put on a show.
They sang, danced, juggled, and did a quick step routine.
In this performance the poles were repeatedly and quickly struck twice down then together.
The trick was to step in and out without ever discovering that your ankle was between them at an unfortunate moment.
You may have to be airborne to avoid them.
It's not easy, as some of the other passengers can attest when they were invited to try it.
Our cabin was on deck 6 near the front of the ship.
Twenty four hours a day we could look out and enjoy the view.
It was never dark because it was close to the summer solstice and we were so far south.
You can see my GPS on the windowsill. I used it to check up on the captain.
We were offered a tour of the bridge.
I asked the captain about the most serious problems he had to deal with.
He said that a medical evacuation was about the worst and that he had never had a significant problem with the ship.
(See the Research Station link to learn about an evacuation that was needed during our trip.)
During the bridge tour we got these pictures of the chart showing our course.
A display in one of the lounges that showed the actual track of our ship and it's current location in greater detail than the captain's chart or my GPS.
To go ashore we were required to wear boots that were provided.
Coming and going we walked through disinfecting solutions and a water spray.
That was to be sure that we didn't take any contamination ashore or bring any back to the boat.
We were ferried ashore on polarCirkel® boats.
They were a lot like Zodiacs.
A couple of pictures of the Fram in it's native element.
We had a little snow while we were there
We disembarked from the ship on Christmas morning and left everything in good order, including this lifeboat.
The tour that left that evening had a little problem.
Three days into their cruise the ship lost power and drifted into a glacier.
No one was hurt but the lifeboat was crushed and some railings were bent.
With only one remaining lifeboat they couldn't continue.
They went back to King George island and then were escorted back to Ushuaia by another cruise ship.
I sort of wish that we had been on that trip but we would have missed so many great sights.
But we can imagine what Anja would have enthusiastically announced over the PA system.
"We are about to have an amazing encounter with an immense glacier."
"We will have the opportunity to get closer than any other tour has ever been."
and
"We may get to go into the lifeboat, an experience shared with only one other Antarctic voyage in the past 40 years"...
Always upbeat I am sure she would have pointed out
"Everyone will be warm because twice as many of us will be snuggling together in it."
