We have reached Antarctica!
How does one capture this most remarkable day in a few words and pictures? At dinner last night a naturalist was asked if it would be worth getting up early the next morning. Going way out on a limb, the naturalist replied that 5:30 AM would be a fine time to be up and about. It was! By sunrise we had reached the area of the Danco Coast, on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The early morning light illuminated first the peaks and then the ice-covered slopes of Brabant Island to the west and the Peninsula to the east.
Just as we were catching our collective breath from that stunning view, the morning light shone through the mist of the exhalation of humpback whales: the tall blow of an adult female and, by her side, the smaller blow of her calf, both blows hanging in the still air. We had encountered several cow-calf pairs of these great mammals. The young were born in the warm waters of the tropical Pacific, off the coast of Central and South America. Now the females have brought the young to productive Antarctic waters where both will gorge on swarms of krill. The krill feed on microscopic diatoms, and this link forms the foundation of Antarctic food chains. Numerous Antarctic fur seals were leaping from the water as they, too, dined on the banquet of krill.
We continued to our morning destination and first landing on Danco Island, in the Errera Channel. Our Zodiacs were met by a greeting party of gentoo penguins. A walk up the snowy slope brought us to the breeding colony, where still-downy young raced against the impending onset of the Antarctic winter to complete their development. The successful few will join the breeding population and contribute to the population increase of gentoo penguins that is occurring along the Peninsula. Some adults, probably those who were unsuccessful in their attempt to breed this season, had entered their annual molt, exchanging old and worn feathers for a new set.
Conditions were just too good to go elsewhere so we remained in the Errera Channel and launched our fleet of yellow inflatable kayaks. We know that there are friends and family at home who might question that you really would paddle a small boat in frigid waters around Antarctic icebergs, but indeed you did just that. And for those choosing another form of transport there were our ever-trusty Zodiacs.
We found sinister-looking leopard seals resting on ice, seemingly oblivious to our approach. A Weddell seal with its perpetual smile graced another berg, and an elephant seal put in an appearance bobbing in the water among chunks of ice. Minke whales, smaller and more frenetic than the humpbacks, quickly broke the surface as they rose to breathe before returning to exploit the rich krill layer below.
It was as full a day as we might dare imagine, capped with a fine meal and an evening stroll about the decks as our ship traversed a narrow, ice-lined passage on her way south toward the Antarctic Circle where further adventures await us.
How does one capture this most remarkable day in a few words and pictures? At dinner last night a naturalist was asked if it would be worth getting up early the next morning. Going way out on a limb, the naturalist replied that 5:30 AM would be a fine time to be up and about. It was! By sunrise we had reached the area of the Danco Coast, on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The early morning light illuminated first the peaks and then the ice-covered slopes of Brabant Island to the west and the Peninsula to the east.
Just as we were catching our collective breath from that stunning view, the morning light shone through the mist of the exhalation of humpback whales: the tall blow of an adult female and, by her side, the smaller blow of her calf, both blows hanging in the still air. We had encountered several cow-calf pairs of these great mammals. The young were born in the warm waters of the tropical Pacific, off the coast of Central and South America. Now the females have brought the young to productive Antarctic waters where both will gorge on swarms of krill. The krill feed on microscopic diatoms, and this link forms the foundation of Antarctic food chains. Numerous Antarctic fur seals were leaping from the water as they, too, dined on the banquet of krill.
We continued to our morning destination and first landing on Danco Island, in the Errera Channel. Our Zodiacs were met by a greeting party of gentoo penguins. A walk up the snowy slope brought us to the breeding colony, where still-downy young raced against the impending onset of the Antarctic winter to complete their development. The successful few will join the breeding population and contribute to the population increase of gentoo penguins that is occurring along the Peninsula. Some adults, probably those who were unsuccessful in their attempt to breed this season, had entered their annual molt, exchanging old and worn feathers for a new set.
Conditions were just too good to go elsewhere so we remained in the Errera Channel and launched our fleet of yellow inflatable kayaks. We know that there are friends and family at home who might question that you really would paddle a small boat in frigid waters around Antarctic icebergs, but indeed you did just that. And for those choosing another form of transport there were our ever-trusty Zodiacs.
We found sinister-looking leopard seals resting on ice, seemingly oblivious to our approach. A Weddell seal with its perpetual smile graced another berg, and an elephant seal put in an appearance bobbing in the water among chunks of ice. Minke whales, smaller and more frenetic than the humpbacks, quickly broke the surface as they rose to breathe before returning to exploit the rich krill layer below.
It was as full a day as we might dare imagine, capped with a fine meal and an evening stroll about the decks as our ship traversed a narrow, ice-lined passage on her way south toward the Antarctic Circle where further adventures await us.
