Around the world

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 😁

Today the alarm went up, Orcas! They quickly deployed the zodiacs next to Enterprise Island and we raced across the water. There was a vortex of birds and underneath we saw fins. There were several Orcas feeding and the birds were trying to get the extra bits. You would just see these black fins slicing through the water in tight circles. Then the Orcas moved off and we redeployed in their path. They came so close! At one point one came within a meter of Matty and me, it was very hard to resist trying to touch it! At one point humpbacks also started popping up right next to the zodiac but all we had eyes for were the killer whales. These Orcas were the Type B Small sub species and are Antarctica natives. They are identifiable by the thin yellow sheen they have from diatoms growing on their skin. This was only the second time our guide had seen them on zodiac, first time this close, and we were their first expedition from our ship in 2 years! We were in awe, several of the guides and passengers cried. After that we visited a cool ship wreck and saw a Cormorant colony. It was an incredible morning.

That afternoon we visited Hydrurga Rocks to see a chinstrap colony. Snow was coming down heavy, occasionally sideways. One of the guides pointed a seal out to me that I’m still convinced was a rock, ha. The penguins were just having a grand ol time, tobaganing on their stomachs and doing their silly waddles. They are the most charming creatures! When the chinstraps walk they also bob their heads like they’re walking to music. We sat in the snow on one of the hill tops and were rewarded with many a curious penguin. One came up and studied Matty from less than a meter away for 2 minutes. You could see it thinking, “what the hell is that?!?!”. I also got a curious one and it was so hard, mentally painful, not to just grab one for a hug!

This morning we visited Spert Island, a craggy basalt formation surrounded by ice bergs. It was a “sporty” location with lots of ice to dodge, big swells, and a ton of wind. We saw a few chinstrap penguins but the main draw was the beautiful sea arches. I didn’t get very many good photos, hopefully Matt did. We then swang over to the leeward side of the island and got some beautiful cliffs, architectural ice, and lots of seals. We learned about black ice (clear ice) and fished some out for the bar that night. That afternoon we entered Cierva Cove, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The sea was covered in ice so thickly it felt like you could hop between the chunks all the way to shore. There is a large glacier calving constantly into the cove creating the winter wonderland conditions. While zodiac cruising the call went out, humpbacks. We went to where they were spotted and were in the middle of whale and ice amphitheatre. Everywhere we looked we could see whales, they were logging which means half sleeping and looking like logs. While in this half sleep they still swim and dive. Our guide took us in front of them and we were rewarded with a very close encounter, catching us all by surprise because she had swum past us without our knowing and came up right on the other side of the zodiac. Spectacular. After whale watching, we saw monolithic ice bergs, a leopard and crab eater seal, and of course penguins.

Today we visited the currently largest iceberg in the world, A-68A. It is about 100km long and larger than Delaware. It broke off from the Larson C shelf a few years ago and was hanging out. It is a tabular ice burg that stretched from horizon to horizon. At first I thought it wasn’t very tall until I saw tiny fish jumping out of the water under it and realized they were penguins and it was HUGE. It was so large the mind cannot comprehend. It is at least 100ft above the water, 500 below. We motored for a few hours watching its’ majesty flow by. At one point it was the whole horizon. That afternoon we had a zodiac ride to Eden rocks. Never saw the rocks but saw beautiful sea ice with wildlife wandering around. The sky was grey with a teal stripe at the horizon, the ice bergs their full glowing blue, and their foot under the water a neon blue splash of color. It felt surreal, like we were living in a painting. Magical. We saw lots of penguin and a seal out for a lounge. Suddenly we had to flee, the sea ice had picked up speed and we’d be trapped in the cove if we didn’t leave immediately. Mad dash by all the zodiacs to the ship and we made it out! Later that night we were all called up to the back deck in our gear. They had hung a giant orange buoy to symbolize the sun. Then the ship geologist gave four champagne toasts: to the sun, to the Earth, the Earth’s tilt, and finally penguins! After that the music kicked on, it started snowing, and we all just danced. I have never experienced anything like that, the energy was great, we had a wonderful group of friends, snow, and the dance. Eventually we had to go in because the snow was so thick and they didn’t want us to fall off, and the party picked up again in the lounge. Matt and I danced till 1(yes Matt!!!) and that was our Solstice.

Today was breathtaking. Spectacular. In the word(words?) of Dan, unbefuckingleivable!!!

We started the morning before everyone else with a panicked visit to the gift shop, our waterproof pants were decidedly not. After, sigh of relief, getting a pair each we went out on our first zodiac excursion to Kinne’s Cove. We motored around lots of floating sea ice. Depending on what I’m not sure, but some pieces would glow softly blue, it was surreal. Then we went to a small rocky island and saw our first up close penguins. There were many Adelie penguins and a singular Gentoo penguin. The Adelie are adorable with a black beak and a white ring around their eyes. The Gentoos have an orange beak with white splotches on their head, they also are a little bigger. We enjoyed penguin antics for awhile, amazing! They have such personality! It was fun watching them get into groups anxiously trying to get up the nerve to go in the ocean, where the leopard seals lurk. Once the first one went, it became an avalanche of penguins. We returned to the ship for a lunch and a warm up, then it was off to the continent. Brown Bluff was where we landed next by zodiac, on the Antarctica continent. The cliffs we’re formed by underwater volcanos giving it it’s brown color as well as continental plate dynamics. From there we could walk to the South Pole if we wanted to and had the dumb luck of the early pioneers, well at least until Darwin won. There were giant cliffs and a small Gentoo breeding colony. A few had chicks just days old and they would sit on them, completely covering them and protecting them from the cold. Walking down the beach, we then saw the Adelie colony, it was huge. Or so we thought, then we looked farther, and farther, and farther, it just kept going! Tens of thousands of penguins, so so many! We started by sitting on the beach by some penguins. We stayed very still and got rewarded with a walk by! We did this a few times and got quite a few curious penguins wondering why there were giant neon yellow blobs on their beach. We then explored the edge of the colony and the Adelie had hatched their young earlier so we saw many a dark gray youngster. They lay two eggs and if lucky, both make it to fledgling without being eating by a Skua, a predator bird. The little ones were adorable, fluffy and needy, mom or dad feeding them when they finally got loud enough. After that we went on a zodiac excursion, morning around icebergs and watching penguin antics on them. They are so funny when walking on ice, slipping and sliding. It was just so fun to watch, we really loved it. That night we came back and found out because of heavy ice, we would not be making it below the Antarctica circle but instead would be going to the east side of the Antarctica peninsula for a few days, a rare treat. We then hung out with our new best friends and watched the most glorious sunset of my life, it lasted 3 hours, the landscape painted in oranges and pinks with the ever present glowing blue ice bergs. Words cannot describe