The Antarctic Circle
Our day began with excitement and anticipation. Expedition Leader Tim had mentioned the previous evening that we were intending to try to cross the Antarctic Circle at some point today. Ice conditions permitting, this would be a milestone for many of us.
When we awoke, the National Geographic Explorer was making its way south, toward the Circle. Shortly thereafter, we entered some of the floating sea ice that many of us associate with this remote, cold destination. The sky, too, was divided into varying degrees of light and dark, making for an eerie seascape outside on deck. We were visited by many different sea birds throughout the morning: snow petrels, Antarctic petrels, Wilson’s storm petrels, and giant petrels, to highlight a few. As the ship drew closer to the invisible line of demarcation, our expectation began to build.
Mid-morning, we assembled on the bow, complete with flags of the countries of our shipmates. We formed a sea of red parkas, further disguised with hats, gloves, and sunglasses. The ship’s whistle blew as we crossed 66¢ª32’S latitude, and cheers were heard throughout the bow.
In the late morning, Karen introduced us to the finer details of life as a penguin and after lunch our photographers gathered again to give suggestions and assistance with our cameras and photo techniques. Throughout the afternoon, we enjoyed a relaxing cruise back toward the Peninsula, Pendleton Strait, and the northern end of Crystal Sound.
We arrived in the vicinity of Extension Reef and Mudge Passage in the late afternoon for a spontaneous Zodiac cruise. We were greeted to beautiful, flat seas, no wind, and ever-changing cloud cover in the distance. Numerous, small islands were host to blue-eyed shags, Antarctic terns, nesting kelp gulls, and all three species of brushtail penguins: Adélie, chinstrap, and gentoo. Beautiful ice formations crested the rocky islets, forming natural ice bridges and caves on many sides.
After a wonderful Argentinean-style buffet dinner, our ship began to move purposefully back into the pack ice near the coast of the Peninsula. Many of us returned to the Bridge or even out on deck to marvel at the ship’s movement through multitudes of floating bergs. As far as the eye could see, we were immersed in huge, flat, discs of sea ice. The National Geographic Explorer had no difficulty moving through, and it was amazing to witness the navigation on the ship’s Bridge. Just as we prepared to retrace our course through the pack ice, a large, penguin was spotted in the distance. It was quickly confirmed that we were seeing our second Emperor penguin of the voyage! The ship quietly crept closer and closer to the bird, until it was possible to see its beautiful orange head with the naked eye. Camera shutters clicking, we watched the penguin watching us carefully, as a few crabeater seals lounged in the backdrop.
As the light began to set…..or rather, as the light remained relatively high in the Southern Polar sky, we returned to our beds, simultaneously exhausted and invigorated by another magical Antarctic day.
