Port Lockroy & Damoy Point
One thing that is assured when traveling in Antarctica is change. It is also important to learn to assume nothing. When dealing with weather and wildlife, it is rare to know what is going to happen next. And while it is always possible to make the best of any given circumstance, there are some days when it is impossible to fail to do so. Today was such a day.
Early morning low grey cloud cover suggested that the weather for the day would be similar to yesterday. Weather forecasts, of questionable accuracy anywhere, are perhaps even less useful here. Most of the weather on the Antarctic Peninsula comes from the west, and there are very few people out to our west in the Southern Ocean to tell us what is coming our way. Weather satellites can fill in some of the gaps, and we are undoubtedly better off today than those who came here before us, but the truth is it is impossible to know what each day will bring.
As the morning at Port Lockroy progressed, the mountain peaks surrounding the former British Antarctic Survey base slowly shed their clouds in a seductive striptease. Even the lofty Mount Francais, the highest peak on the peninsula at a little over 9,000 feet, showed herself. Before the morning ended we were surrounded by a 360 degree vista of snow capped peaks and massive glaciers that defies adequate description. The day continued in similarly fine style at nearby Damoy Point, where it was sufficient just to pull up a relatively comfortable and preferably guano-free rock and marvel at the view.
The day ended steaming north through the Gerlache Strait, the evening sunshine casting an alpenglow on the peaks to our east. There are days when everything comes together in a way that cannot be planned, only dreamed. When dreams and reality come together, this is why we come to Antarctica.
One thing that is assured when traveling in Antarctica is change. It is also important to learn to assume nothing. When dealing with weather and wildlife, it is rare to know what is going to happen next. And while it is always possible to make the best of any given circumstance, there are some days when it is impossible to fail to do so. Today was such a day.
Early morning low grey cloud cover suggested that the weather for the day would be similar to yesterday. Weather forecasts, of questionable accuracy anywhere, are perhaps even less useful here. Most of the weather on the Antarctic Peninsula comes from the west, and there are very few people out to our west in the Southern Ocean to tell us what is coming our way. Weather satellites can fill in some of the gaps, and we are undoubtedly better off today than those who came here before us, but the truth is it is impossible to know what each day will bring.
As the morning at Port Lockroy progressed, the mountain peaks surrounding the former British Antarctic Survey base slowly shed their clouds in a seductive striptease. Even the lofty Mount Francais, the highest peak on the peninsula at a little over 9,000 feet, showed herself. Before the morning ended we were surrounded by a 360 degree vista of snow capped peaks and massive glaciers that defies adequate description. The day continued in similarly fine style at nearby Damoy Point, where it was sufficient just to pull up a relatively comfortable and preferably guano-free rock and marvel at the view.
The day ended steaming north through the Gerlache Strait, the evening sunshine casting an alpenglow on the peaks to our east. There are days when everything comes together in a way that cannot be planned, only dreamed. When dreams and reality come together, this is why we come to Antarctica.
