But back to the Antarctic. Our first day we didn't have any landings. The north tip of the peninsula was pretty stormy so the crew took the ship further south than normal. They said they usually go to 62 degrees. We made it as far as 64.5 degrees. I swear, there is no 'we can't do it' with this crowd. They won't take us anywhere dangerous but they are watching the weather all of the time and if they have a day's warning (which isn't always the case), they adjust the itinerary as needed to basically anywhere they think we can land.
We were supposed to land on Mikkleson Island in the morning but it was too windy. Then in the afternoon, we managed that zodiac excursion I talked about in my last post. People were getting antsy. We now only had one day in the Antarctic and no guarantees of a landing. But once again, the gods of stupid tourists and good weather graced us with another perfect day.
We started at Cuverville Island. A Gentoo colony. Jonathan told us we were there at exactly the right time. Most of the colony arrives over three days and we were there for that. We walked beside a penguin highway (they have paths they follow) so they were coming in from the sea fast and furious and just waddling along beside us. King penguins are majestic and beautiful but the little Gentoos are just so relatable. They fall down, they lay down and rest mid-stride, they bump into each other and stop and have little conversations. Endlessly entertaining.
The island was covered in snow. Apparently this is an affect of global warming, warmer air means more precipitation. Normally the Gentoos are arriving to start rock-nest building but the rocks are 10 feet under snow. This does not bode well for them this season since they won't be able to lay their eggs until later than normal. Fortunately, Gentoos are not endangered.
I forgot about this guy. I think a humpback hung around the ship while we were having dinner the night before. No jumping but lots of bubble circles while he fed.
Back to Cuverville Island
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| Hmm, maybe I'll try the people highway instead of the penguin highway. These giant red penguins seem to think it works.... |
There was also a polar plunge for the completely insane. Amy and I did not partake but Julie did. They had to dip to their necks to get the polar plunge certificate!
Then, big excitement. John had spotted a leopard seal on an iceberg with a baby! Even the Polar Plungers who were probably freezing wanted to go see that instead of heading back to the ship.
We arrived in the second wave of zodiacs. By then the ice had shifted and the baby was not visible. But it was pretty exciting anyway. Mostly because the three zodiac drivers there decided to shove an iceberg out of the way by using their zodiacs as battering rams, all in order to get a better view. It worked somewhat but still no baby.
While we were there, the ice moved in behind us so fast, it blocked our exit. It happened in minutes. Fortunately, they were able to get out a different way. But one zodiac that came a bit later got stuck in the ice! They had to do a rescue where the passengers had to leave their zodiac, climb over an mini-iceberg and climb into another zodiac. Just thinking about this makes me so happy to have not been on that particular run! How terrifying. Those little icebergs can flip really easily. But they all got to zodiac number 2 safely. I understand it was quite a job to get that trapped zodiac out of there. You can't just abandon those things to float around the antarctic.
Here are some photos of the icebergs as we were pushing them around. They were so close I reached out and grabbed a handful of snow!
I could show you a million pictures but let's move onto Herrera Channel. To get from Cuverville Island to Neko Harbour, which is on the actual peninsula, we were able to pass through this channel that is usually impassable due to ice at this time of year. We got an announcement that the current weather conditions were Wind: 0 knots!! Unheard of. So we all stood on the deck to see this amazing area. I keep thinking at each place we land or visit, that this is it, this is the most beautiful place on earth, and the they outdo themselves each time. The sea was so calm, we could see down under the icebergs. The blues! Stunning.
We also spotted another leopard seal on a flow. He was on and off that flow so many times, he must have been hunting.
Then onto Neko Harbour. Cuverville Island was difficult to walk along because of all of the snow, but it was easy compared to Neko Harbour. There were more adorable Gentoos so we did the best we could but it was hard slogging. One of the things they stressed a lot was that if you leave a deep enough foot print in the snow, a penguin can get caught in it and die there if it can't jump out. So, if you sink down, you have to fill in your hole. Well, there was a lot of sinking! And then as you would try to fill in the hole, your other foot would go down! I fell once on the very narrow path and the guy behind had to haul me up. Very graceful. Amy didn't even bother to go to the end of the trail. She almost lost a boot in a deep sink! But more Gentoos so you get more pictures.
We had to climb ice steps off the beach to get to the trail. Jonathan met us on the beach and said, get up the steps as quickly as possible. If the glacier calves, there will be a tsunami and the beach will be a DEATH ZONE!! So dramatic. Everything here will kill you.
Avert your eyes if you are sensitive, there is some penguin sex in here somewhere
Amy and I left a bit early, what with the impossible walking conditions. That meant we got a bit of a zodiac tour. No wildlife but John, our driver found a very cool iceberg to show us.
Then back to the ship. We pulled up to the landing apparatus, which is a landing and staircase that leads into the mud room. It basically hangs off the side of the ship, I'm not even sure how they secure it. You step on the stop, then the side of the zodiac, then onto the landing where a couple of guys are there to guide you in by both hands. Here is what it looks like:
We were ten on the zodiac coming back from the beach to the ship. I was in the last position. I think 4 or 5 had gotten off. When we hear a great crash. I happened to be sitting in the right direction to see a giant hunk of the glacier crash into the ocean. Cool!!! But not cool! Before I had really registered what was happening, John was yelling "GET OFF THE BOAT!!! GET OFF THE BOAT!! GO GO GO GO!" The last five of us set a record for getting onto the landing. Actually, I could hear John telling me to get back in just as the two crew were hauling me up onto the landing. I don't think my foot was a centimeter off the zodiac before John sped away at top speed! Then the guys hauled up the landing so fast, just as the tsunami hit the ship and sent it rocking in otherwise calm waters.
All I could think about was that DEATH ZONE on the beach! We had been standing around on the beach while we waited for the others to get on the zodiac. What if someone had been on the beach! We talked to someone later who had been there. They were loading a zodiac. They had nine on, she was to be the tenth. The zodiac took off and she had to scramble up those ice stairs. Fortunately, the beach was further away from the calving than the ship so she got up in time. She said, there were three waves, the third one completely covered the beach and up the show shelf. She said if anyone had been on the beach, they for sure would have been washed out with the waves! So, I guess, DEATH ZONE was not too dramatic, it was just a statement of fact.
Two near disasters on our last day!
Then more whales. a pod of Fins this time, during dinner again. And one last iceberg as we turned north to leave the Antarctic!
The Antarctic was cool and it definitely has the cache of nonchalantly saying, 'Ya, I've been to the Antarctic' but really people, South Georgia is where it is at! Go there! Go there now!. Get a camera without spots!
We saw literally millions of animals and birds in S. Georgia. So many species in such vast numbers. In Antarctic we saw two Adelies, one Chinstrap, many Gentoos, and a couple of leopard seals. It would seem enough if I didn't know what was right next door (if going next door involved two days of rough seas).
We left Antarctic that night, and onto two days of me dying. My zappyzappy did not stop me from feeling crappycrappy. But today, we hit the continental shelf and the boat stopped rocking and I felt instantly better.
The crew had a nice goodbye for us with a montage of photos by the ship's photographer. It should be on the trip website so I will try to link it later (when i get wifi!)
Just so you believe me about the storm in the South Sea, here is the ship's flag after we got to Antarctica (on the right) and the one that replaced it (they were auctioning them off). That flag was ripped to shreds!
Tomorrow morning we land in Ushuaia and I will have wifi once again. I have no idea if any of those posts saved, at all, or partially, or fully. We'll all find out tomorrow.
Back to real life in just a few days.
I am going to have to do my last post from home. We leave today and I don't want to spend my last day in Argentina on my computer. See you back in Canada!
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