Grytviken and St. Andrews Bay, 11/8/2023, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Antarctica
The ship awoke as we navigated along the north coast of South Georgia towards Grytviken. As the fog lifted, it unveiled 10-15 humpbacks feeding close to shore. Once at our anchorage, we were treated to a briefing by members of the South Georgia Heritage Trust before we were let loose to explore the historic whaling station.
After repositioning further south beyond some huge icebergs, we spent the afternoon Zodiac cruising to observe the largest king penguin and elephant seal colony in St. Andrews Bay.
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An early wakeup call from the expedition leader was appreciated by the guests who bundled up and headed outside for our transit through the Lemaire Channel. The narrow channel, towered over by snow-capped mountains, is one of the most picturesque places in Antarctica. After safely navigating our way through, thanks to the bridge team, we enjoyed breakfast as we arrived at Petermann Island. Guests had the opportunity to land and visit the gentoo and Adelie penguin colonies; we also had a Zodiac cruise around the island where impressive ice sculptures were grounded. On the Zodiac cruise, we saw numerous Weddell seals hauled out — but the stars of the show were the porpoising gentoo penguins, leaping out of the water as they travelled speedily back to land. Our journey then took us northbound, back through the Lemaire Channel, while conditions continued to improve with blue skies and calm seas. It made a perfect farewell to our time in Antarctica. Now we steam north into Drake’s Passage with our hearts full of memories and a mountain of images to sort through and share with friends and family.
We awoke aboard National Geographic Explorer to brilliant blue skies and glassy waters. Here in Cierva Cove our ship was completely surrounded by glaciers and enormous icebergs. We were all mesmerized by the beautiful blue ice sculpted by wind, water, and time. We spent the morning Zodiac-cruising amongst the ice, learning about the Argentine Base Primavera, and watching penguins porpoise. We also discovered a small island in the cove that is a nesting site to all three brushtail penguin species: gentoo, Adelie, and chinstrap! Just as we headed into lunch a leopard seal was spotted resting on an iceberg, and we all piled onto the bow to quietly observe. After we were all happy and with full stomachs, we took advantage of the calm conditions and set out for kayaking, while the undersea team went out for a dive. Everyone was full smiles when the kayaking finished, and we could excitedly jump into the freezing cold water for the polar plunge. We set sail out of the cove, heading further south through Bransfield Strait towards the Lemaire Channel. The waters in this area are so productive. We came upon an amazing sight: a single humpback whale blowing bubble rings! Only a small percentage of humpback whales in Antarctica (and in the world) utilize this feeding technique. And the day was not over yet! The amazing galley team cooked up a wonderful dinner for us — a delicious buffet of Filipino food, including a roasted suckling pig, and so many yummy desserts. To top it off we had a show-and-dance party by the world’s most traveled resident house band, the Spice Boys. A full and wonderful day was had by all!
Morning and it is lightly snowing! I jump into my Zodiac, getting it ready and I notice that there is a bunch of that fancy confetti all over the boat, the plastic kind that party-goers shoot out of poppers. What is this? They look like snowflakes! Ha, there, there are more of them. They ARE snowflakes that are melting very slowly because the Zodiac is cold. Take a picture. Today it is snow, ice, and penguins. First at Devil Island, then at Brown Bluff. Adelie penguins mostly, and a few gentoo. There are always a few gentoo, unless there are a lot! Gentoo penguins are pioneers… or at least they just want to know what is in your backyard. We have penguins on ice, just hanging out. We have penguins on nests, on the rocks out of the snow, and we have dirty penguins lined up on the water’s edge waiting for their turn to bathe. Waiting penguins are fun to watch. All of them are waiting for the front one to jump. The leopard seals can only take one. Sometimes the ones in back push the one in front into the water, and the others all follow. Great fun for all, almost… maybe not for the one in front!
