A Gentoo Penguin Surveys Zodiac Operations from High Atop Cuverville Island
What a day! Bright sun and air so crystalline that with a blow it might shatter!
We woke approaching Wilhelmina Bay, cut into the side of Nansen Island. We dropped Zodiacs and explored the quiet water around the Enterprise Islands. This archipelago was so named for the efficient work done here - killing whales, and rendering them into oil and fertilizer. It seems that few quiet bays are free of remnants of the bloodier periods of Antarctica's history. Here evidence was particularly clear. The ship Guverdoren, a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse, caught fire nearby in 1915. It was run aground and partially sunk in order to save the ship and its cargo of oil - to no avail. We viewed the rusting hulk of the factory ship. While parts of the area's history are grim, our experience otherwise could not have been more delightful. We saw Antarctic terns, marvels of grit and elegance, swooping about the wreck. Blue-eyed shags peered at us from a promontory, and gulls called from the islets. Bergs, sculpted into endlessly fanciful shapes, challenged our imaginations.
Underway before lunch, we found a humpback whale and then a crabeater seal, taking a cozy break on an iceberg.
By afternoon we reached Cuverville Island and went ashore. Once again, we were reminded of the region's grizzly history - whale bones littered the beach. But Cuverville's present teams with life. Gentoo penguins met us at the beach, and were scattered in colonies all over the hills. Oddly, the colonies were "painted" pink. This color, the sign of krill eaters, is usually reserved for Chinstrap or Adelie colonies. These penguins are fussy eaters, and live on a restricted crustacean diet. Gentoos, more catholic in their taste, typically whitewash their surroundings. But here, in characteristically flexible Gentoo style, the birds seemed to dine in the fashion of their congeners, and to anoint their environs accordingly.
Many of us walked up steep slopes to view the berg-studded bay. Much of our climb was over rocks polished to an obsidian-like sheen. But the polish was biogenic. The rocks we scaled have been buffed by thousands - or thousands of years - of penguin feet. The expression "a bird's eye view" calls to mind eagles, falcons, or at least the sprightly wren. But never penguins. Yet here, hundreds of feet above the bay, were Gentoo nests. While some might guess that the penguins scale the slopes to enjoy the view, we, experienced Antarctic travelers, knew better. Higher nests, of course, are free of snow earlier. And while lofty nests require a laborious commute, they offer a much longer nesting opportunity.
Underway again, we passed more seals and whales, and made our way by evening to the Lemaire Channel. This waterway is perhaps the most beautiful and dramatic of the Antarctic Peninsula. Narrow and berg-choked, it is lined with soaring peaks, most of which are topped in meringue-like snow and ice. A stunning spot to end a stunning day!
What a day! Bright sun and air so crystalline that with a blow it might shatter!
We woke approaching Wilhelmina Bay, cut into the side of Nansen Island. We dropped Zodiacs and explored the quiet water around the Enterprise Islands. This archipelago was so named for the efficient work done here - killing whales, and rendering them into oil and fertilizer. It seems that few quiet bays are free of remnants of the bloodier periods of Antarctica's history. Here evidence was particularly clear. The ship Guverdoren, a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse, caught fire nearby in 1915. It was run aground and partially sunk in order to save the ship and its cargo of oil - to no avail. We viewed the rusting hulk of the factory ship. While parts of the area's history are grim, our experience otherwise could not have been more delightful. We saw Antarctic terns, marvels of grit and elegance, swooping about the wreck. Blue-eyed shags peered at us from a promontory, and gulls called from the islets. Bergs, sculpted into endlessly fanciful shapes, challenged our imaginations.
Underway before lunch, we found a humpback whale and then a crabeater seal, taking a cozy break on an iceberg.
By afternoon we reached Cuverville Island and went ashore. Once again, we were reminded of the region's grizzly history - whale bones littered the beach. But Cuverville's present teams with life. Gentoo penguins met us at the beach, and were scattered in colonies all over the hills. Oddly, the colonies were "painted" pink. This color, the sign of krill eaters, is usually reserved for Chinstrap or Adelie colonies. These penguins are fussy eaters, and live on a restricted crustacean diet. Gentoos, more catholic in their taste, typically whitewash their surroundings. But here, in characteristically flexible Gentoo style, the birds seemed to dine in the fashion of their congeners, and to anoint their environs accordingly.
Many of us walked up steep slopes to view the berg-studded bay. Much of our climb was over rocks polished to an obsidian-like sheen. But the polish was biogenic. The rocks we scaled have been buffed by thousands - or thousands of years - of penguin feet. The expression "a bird's eye view" calls to mind eagles, falcons, or at least the sprightly wren. But never penguins. Yet here, hundreds of feet above the bay, were Gentoo nests. While some might guess that the penguins scale the slopes to enjoy the view, we, experienced Antarctic travelers, knew better. Higher nests, of course, are free of snow earlier. And while lofty nests require a laborious commute, they offer a much longer nesting opportunity.
Underway again, we passed more seals and whales, and made our way by evening to the Lemaire Channel. This waterway is perhaps the most beautiful and dramatic of the Antarctic Peninsula. Narrow and berg-choked, it is lined with soaring peaks, most of which are topped in meringue-like snow and ice. A stunning spot to end a stunning day!
