Crystal Sound
The National Geographic Endeavour has been our home in the southern latitudes for a week now. We continue to marvel at our luck with the weather. Again today, we were careful to apply ample amounts of sunscreen before spending time on deck. Bright sun, flat seas and blue skies defined the day. During the morning we entered Crystal Sound to the north of Adelaide Island. Splendid scenery along the coast drew us on deck before breakfast.
Captain Skog and his officers were focused on maneuvering the ship through the pack ice. The foredeck and the wheel house were crowded as we marveled at the skill required to weave a 300' ship amongst the maze of ice bergs. We scanned the first year ice floes for seals and snapped images of the seascape all around. At last, we arrived at our destination for the afternoon's activities, Prospect Point and the Fish Islands.
Directly following lunch, eight Zodiacs were deployed and we clambered aboard. We had but an hour to explore, but what an hour it proved to be. Wool hats and mittens were stuffed into backpacks and coats were left unzipped on this warm and pristine afternoon. Several seals were discovered lounging on ice floes. An Adelie penguin colony was a short distance away and many were seen in the water and ashore. The ice took a multitude of forms. Crystal castles drifted past. Multifaceted sculptures glistened as polished stone. The richest of blues seemed to be lit from within floating white glass. A simple Zodiac cruise became a Magical Mystery Tour. We all managed to set foot ashore to take the requisite photograph. In spite of our other excursions, this was our only true landing on the continent.
The remainder of the day we steamed north, wending our way through more pack, counting seals hauled out on floes, and watching the ice being shouldered aside by our bow. And now, for many of us the seed has been planted. The spell of the South has taken hold! To visit Antarctica is to become a part of it as it becomes a part of you. It may be the glorious days of endless sky or the evening glow of distant mountain peaks. It could be the raucous sounds and pungent smell from thousands of nesting penguins. Or perhaps it is the ice itself that will lure us back. Whatever the voice, the call to return will be strong and sure.
The National Geographic Endeavour has been our home in the southern latitudes for a week now. We continue to marvel at our luck with the weather. Again today, we were careful to apply ample amounts of sunscreen before spending time on deck. Bright sun, flat seas and blue skies defined the day. During the morning we entered Crystal Sound to the north of Adelaide Island. Splendid scenery along the coast drew us on deck before breakfast.
Captain Skog and his officers were focused on maneuvering the ship through the pack ice. The foredeck and the wheel house were crowded as we marveled at the skill required to weave a 300' ship amongst the maze of ice bergs. We scanned the first year ice floes for seals and snapped images of the seascape all around. At last, we arrived at our destination for the afternoon's activities, Prospect Point and the Fish Islands.
Directly following lunch, eight Zodiacs were deployed and we clambered aboard. We had but an hour to explore, but what an hour it proved to be. Wool hats and mittens were stuffed into backpacks and coats were left unzipped on this warm and pristine afternoon. Several seals were discovered lounging on ice floes. An Adelie penguin colony was a short distance away and many were seen in the water and ashore. The ice took a multitude of forms. Crystal castles drifted past. Multifaceted sculptures glistened as polished stone. The richest of blues seemed to be lit from within floating white glass. A simple Zodiac cruise became a Magical Mystery Tour. We all managed to set foot ashore to take the requisite photograph. In spite of our other excursions, this was our only true landing on the continent.
The remainder of the day we steamed north, wending our way through more pack, counting seals hauled out on floes, and watching the ice being shouldered aside by our bow. And now, for many of us the seed has been planted. The spell of the South has taken hold! To visit Antarctica is to become a part of it as it becomes a part of you. It may be the glorious days of endless sky or the evening glow of distant mountain peaks. It could be the raucous sounds and pungent smell from thousands of nesting penguins. Or perhaps it is the ice itself that will lure us back. Whatever the voice, the call to return will be strong and sure.
