Pourquoi Pas Island & Stonington Island
Our Expedition Leader said it best on our first morning aboard the National Geographic Endeavour, "Antarctica is not going to fit in your viewfinder"... and he has proven correct. It can't, it won't and it isn't. However we are not handicapped in our appreciation of Antarctica as we are all fortunate to possess the capacity to explore with an inexhaustible sense of wonder and to capture in our mind and even deeper into our soul a sense of place.
It seemed so fitting to land on an island named "Pourquoi Pas." The English translation of this French tidbit is "Why Not?" Named after the ship Jean Baptist Charcot had built specifically for scientific Antarctic exploration. It would be fun to think Charcot had a bit of whimsy in his nature when it came to choosing this ships name, even though he had had a small sailing boat in earlier years by the same name . Think about when you first told your friends and family that you were going to spend vacation time exploring Antarctica. Did they ask why you would want to go there? Or did they beg you to take them with you? For the ones that asked the incredulous "why?", Pourquoi Pas would seem a justifiable response.
The Adelie penguin colony on Pourquoi Pas Island has not had a scientific census since 1984. It is not in an easily visited area, with the seasonal fast ice making it inaccessible to the majority of vessels for most of the Antarctic summer. As we strolled between the colonies, it would have been easy to anthropomorphize the inquisitive looks we were given by these crispy tuxedoed Adelie's as quizzical musings of "What is that? or Why is it here? and maybe even, Where did those come from?" People pondering penguins as the reciprocal, penguins perhaps perplexed by people stared at each other on a rocky beach. This is a completely athropomorphical statement, albeit a fun one to twist the mind and tongue around.
Upon leaving Pourquoi Pas Island we visited briefly at Stonington Island and then navigated a bit further south. We reached a new southerly record for the National Geographic Endeavour at South 68 degrees 18.12 minutes and West 67 degrees 25.03 minutes. At this point the soundings on the charts ended, so it seemed prudent to turn back and head north. Why did we venture south? Pourquoi pas?
Our Expedition Leader said it best on our first morning aboard the National Geographic Endeavour, "Antarctica is not going to fit in your viewfinder"... and he has proven correct. It can't, it won't and it isn't. However we are not handicapped in our appreciation of Antarctica as we are all fortunate to possess the capacity to explore with an inexhaustible sense of wonder and to capture in our mind and even deeper into our soul a sense of place.
It seemed so fitting to land on an island named "Pourquoi Pas." The English translation of this French tidbit is "Why Not?" Named after the ship Jean Baptist Charcot had built specifically for scientific Antarctic exploration. It would be fun to think Charcot had a bit of whimsy in his nature when it came to choosing this ships name, even though he had had a small sailing boat in earlier years by the same name . Think about when you first told your friends and family that you were going to spend vacation time exploring Antarctica. Did they ask why you would want to go there? Or did they beg you to take them with you? For the ones that asked the incredulous "why?", Pourquoi Pas would seem a justifiable response.
The Adelie penguin colony on Pourquoi Pas Island has not had a scientific census since 1984. It is not in an easily visited area, with the seasonal fast ice making it inaccessible to the majority of vessels for most of the Antarctic summer. As we strolled between the colonies, it would have been easy to anthropomorphize the inquisitive looks we were given by these crispy tuxedoed Adelie's as quizzical musings of "What is that? or Why is it here? and maybe even, Where did those come from?" People pondering penguins as the reciprocal, penguins perhaps perplexed by people stared at each other on a rocky beach. This is a completely athropomorphical statement, albeit a fun one to twist the mind and tongue around.
Upon leaving Pourquoi Pas Island we visited briefly at Stonington Island and then navigated a bit further south. We reached a new southerly record for the National Geographic Endeavour at South 68 degrees 18.12 minutes and West 67 degrees 25.03 minutes. At this point the soundings on the charts ended, so it seemed prudent to turn back and head north. Why did we venture south? Pourquoi pas?
