We were awoken early today to traverse the Lemare Channel. Huge cliffs towering on both side with calving glaciers coating the sides, it was magnificent. Brash(sea) ice and ice bergs clogged the channel’s water with the occasional penguin or seal hauled out on. We moved slowly through the channel leaving the water mirror calm creating the most entrancing views. Matt and I skipped breakfast because we could not stop watching. Once we reached the other side we went for a zodiac cruising by Pleneau Island, weaving between fast moving icebergs that could crush us like a bug. After unsuccessfully trying to make it through the ice to shore, we abandoned the plan and went to the other side of the bay and got up close with some seals hauled out on some sea ice. We spooked them accidently and we got to see one of them slide into the water and then come back when they realized we were no threat. They just pop out of the water so effortlessly unlike the penguins which can often miss!
The time had finally come for camping. I had been excited/dreading it for the last few days. We don’t get tents, just a bevy sack. At our briefing we all got introduced to Mr Yum Yum, our toilet if needed during the night. That blue canister filled me dread. All the men had to swear oaths a couple times to pee sitting as to not contaminate Antarctica. We landed at 10pm and were greeted by a snow covered island surrounded by calving glaciers and tranquil ice filled water. Matt and I hiked through thigh deep snow, completely stripped of our parkas and jackets, it was hard work just getting to the site and we had been told to avoid sweating at all costs because it would make us cold when we tried to sleep. Matt and I both tried to use My Yum Yum for the experience but we both chickened out. Luckily we had been dehydrating that day for that very reason so were fine. Once achieving our camp site we had to make a bed. We walked in little steps tamping down the snow over and over again until success, we had a shallow grave, haha. Then we rolled our parkas to make pillows, inserted our boots into each other to keep snow out and add another pillow layer. We then put our camping pads on the bottom of our sleeping bags but still in the bevy sack. Then getting in the bevy sack. It has never taken me so long to go to bed, it took like 15 minutes with all the layers we had to squirm into. Finally, you’re there in your python grip laying in your shallow grave and it’s bed time. We slept great! Haha. Throughout the night you’d wake up to huge cracks as the glacier calved or a bird fight. At one point it started snowing and my first thought as the flakes hit my face was there was a leak in the cabin above until I opened my eyes and remembered where I was. Sleeping on land was amazing. We were the only people they had to wake up 😁
