Paradise Bay, Lemaire Channel, Booth Island
Early this morning, Endeavour departed Port Lockroy, sailed across the Gerlache Strait and into the aptly named Paradise Bay. Surrounded by glaciated peaks towering thousands of feet straight out of the sea, Endeavour certainly seemed to have entered an unearthly paradise. Despite a stiff wind blowing down the Gerlache Strait, we had calm clear conditions for our landing at the unoccupied Argentine base, Almirante Brown. This tiny station occupies one of the few ice-free bits of land along the Danco coast where a landing can be made, and everyone streamed ashore, happy to be setting foot on the Antarctic continent itself. Taking in the visual glories of Paradise Bay from shore is one thing, but an added treat (courtesy of the fine weather) was the chance to kayak along the shores of the bay, under the watchful eyes of the cliff-nesting Blue-eyed shags and Pintado petrels.
This afternoon, the powerful north wind helped us along on our way south, through the stunning, narrrow Lemaire Channel with its impossibly steep sides and gorgeous hanging ice sculptures. We made our way into the anchorage at Booth Island for yet another Antarctic adventure, complete with howling wind and blowing sea-spray.
Booth Island looms large in the annals of exploration as the base of the French Antarctic Expedition of 1903-05. It was here that the ship Francais, under the command of the splendidly named Jean-Baptiste Etienne August Charcot, passed the winter of 1904. Known as the 'gentleman explorer,' Charcot made two very successful expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula (the second 1908-10), and ultimately discovered and charted hundreds of miles of coastline. Not unlike those of us aboard Endeavour, Charcot did not believe in unnecessary suffering and brought along plenty of fine food, an ample wine cellar, and a well stocked library on his expeditions.
For those of us who are here to count penguins and other wildlife, the visit to Booth Island was essentially a free afternoon. Not that there wasn't plenty to count - all three species of brush-tailed penguins breed here, but the driving rain and howling wind prevented us from collecting any meaningful data. But for everyone on board, Booth Island was particularly eventful in the bird department. Not five minutes from the landing site stood a fourth species of penguin. A juvenile Emperor, one of the most seldom seen birds in the world. This exceptionally large penguin was undergoing its molt, exchanging old feathers for new. The days just get better and better, kayaking in Paradise and visiting with Emperors!
Early this morning, Endeavour departed Port Lockroy, sailed across the Gerlache Strait and into the aptly named Paradise Bay. Surrounded by glaciated peaks towering thousands of feet straight out of the sea, Endeavour certainly seemed to have entered an unearthly paradise. Despite a stiff wind blowing down the Gerlache Strait, we had calm clear conditions for our landing at the unoccupied Argentine base, Almirante Brown. This tiny station occupies one of the few ice-free bits of land along the Danco coast where a landing can be made, and everyone streamed ashore, happy to be setting foot on the Antarctic continent itself. Taking in the visual glories of Paradise Bay from shore is one thing, but an added treat (courtesy of the fine weather) was the chance to kayak along the shores of the bay, under the watchful eyes of the cliff-nesting Blue-eyed shags and Pintado petrels.
This afternoon, the powerful north wind helped us along on our way south, through the stunning, narrrow Lemaire Channel with its impossibly steep sides and gorgeous hanging ice sculptures. We made our way into the anchorage at Booth Island for yet another Antarctic adventure, complete with howling wind and blowing sea-spray.
Booth Island looms large in the annals of exploration as the base of the French Antarctic Expedition of 1903-05. It was here that the ship Francais, under the command of the splendidly named Jean-Baptiste Etienne August Charcot, passed the winter of 1904. Known as the 'gentleman explorer,' Charcot made two very successful expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula (the second 1908-10), and ultimately discovered and charted hundreds of miles of coastline. Not unlike those of us aboard Endeavour, Charcot did not believe in unnecessary suffering and brought along plenty of fine food, an ample wine cellar, and a well stocked library on his expeditions.
For those of us who are here to count penguins and other wildlife, the visit to Booth Island was essentially a free afternoon. Not that there wasn't plenty to count - all three species of brush-tailed penguins breed here, but the driving rain and howling wind prevented us from collecting any meaningful data. But for everyone on board, Booth Island was particularly eventful in the bird department. Not five minutes from the landing site stood a fourth species of penguin. A juvenile Emperor, one of the most seldom seen birds in the world. This exceptionally large penguin was undergoing its molt, exchanging old feathers for new. The days just get better and better, kayaking in Paradise and visiting with Emperors!
