Weddell Sea
Yesterday we made our first landfall in Antarctica, the third geographically distinct destination of this voyage after the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. After passing through the massive tabular icebergs of Antarctic Sound, we arrived at Devil Island and encountered a colony of Adélie penguins – our seventh species of penguin of this voyage. If the impressive ice was not enough, seeing a new species upon arrival reinforced the transition we have made as we arrived in Antarctica.
Today, the landscape further reinforced that transition. The snowfall and limited visibility of yesterday had passed. The clouds cleared and we began to appreciate the Antarctic landscape. The snow had left its mark; the hills and mountains were dusted with a fine coating of fresh snow. But the hills and mountains were so very different to those we have seen so far. In any direction, all we saw was rock and ice. An estimated 98% of Antarctica is covered in ice, the remaining 2% is bare rock. None of the tussac covered slopes of South Georgia. No evidence of vegetation. A few hardy plants, mosses and lichens cling to a meager existence here but theirs is truly life on the edge.
The day was devoted to the search for sea ice – the frozen ocean that expands around Antarctica each winter season effectively doubling the ice-covered area of Antarctica. Each summer the sea ice retreats, but early in the season we can find sea ice and, on occasions, sea ice that is still attached to land – fast ice. In a remote corner of Duse Bay, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, we found what we were looking for. Once the ship was securely berthed in the ice we took a walk on the frozen ocean. Nearby, a landing on an exposed headland of rock was notable for some as a chance to walk on the continent of Antarctica. But equally unusual was the chance to walk on a frozen ocean and to share the hike with the locals - penguins and seals.
After leaving our ice dock, a chance sighting of killer whales would have seemed to be a perfect way to round off an exceptional day. But it is never over, and after dinner while heading further south into the Weddell Sea we encountered a rare prize in the form of the largest of all penguins – the Emperor – on a drifting ice floe. Antarctica is beginning to show us why this location is such a sought after destination and why it is worth the long journey to be able to experience it.
