Hydrurga Rocks
How is a visit to Antarctica like an English lesson?
On this first full day of the southern summer we experienced the seventh continent in all its grandeur, and in the word 'grandeur' we find the beginnings of the lesson. But first the details of the day. Having experienced blustery winds during the night the Endeavour steamed southwards into the Gerlache Strait. The winds seemed to drop at the same time that our anchor did. We'd arrived at the small island group called Hydrurga Rocks. As we made our landing via Zodiac the day warmed and many of us shed our parkas. Deep snow frosted the hill tops and the sculpted crust defined the contours of land. Our focus here was a number of Weddell seals, nesting blue-eyed shags, Wilson's Storm-Petrels and the welcoming band of chinstrap penguins.
Back aboard for lunch we continued cruising south and found a pair of feeding humpback whales. We watched and photographed for more than an hour. The blows hung in the stillness and flukes streamed water before disappearing against a backdrop of snow and mountain. It seemed the entire ship's complement was on deck to bask in what our Expedition Leader, Tom Ritchie, called the finest day of the season. Brilliant skies smattered with occasional clouds crowned dramatic peaks with majestic glaciers all about. And herein we find the English lesson. Our collective best efforts failed to find the adjectives or descriptive phrases to do justice to the moment. While our cameras captured the visual images it remains difficult to relate the total experience because familiar words fail. With all our senses simultaneously on parade, a day like today can be recorded only in our individual memories.
How is a visit to Antarctica like an English lesson?
On this first full day of the southern summer we experienced the seventh continent in all its grandeur, and in the word 'grandeur' we find the beginnings of the lesson. But first the details of the day. Having experienced blustery winds during the night the Endeavour steamed southwards into the Gerlache Strait. The winds seemed to drop at the same time that our anchor did. We'd arrived at the small island group called Hydrurga Rocks. As we made our landing via Zodiac the day warmed and many of us shed our parkas. Deep snow frosted the hill tops and the sculpted crust defined the contours of land. Our focus here was a number of Weddell seals, nesting blue-eyed shags, Wilson's Storm-Petrels and the welcoming band of chinstrap penguins.
Back aboard for lunch we continued cruising south and found a pair of feeding humpback whales. We watched and photographed for more than an hour. The blows hung in the stillness and flukes streamed water before disappearing against a backdrop of snow and mountain. It seemed the entire ship's complement was on deck to bask in what our Expedition Leader, Tom Ritchie, called the finest day of the season. Brilliant skies smattered with occasional clouds crowned dramatic peaks with majestic glaciers all about. And herein we find the English lesson. Our collective best efforts failed to find the adjectives or descriptive phrases to do justice to the moment. While our cameras captured the visual images it remains difficult to relate the total experience because familiar words fail. With all our senses simultaneously on parade, a day like today can be recorded only in our individual memories.
