As we continue to follow the route of Shackleton’s Endurance journey, some 100 years later, we arrived at Elephant Island before breakfast. Point Valentine, where Shackleton’s party first made landfall after their harrowing row out of the Weddell Sea, was visible through the windows of the dining room as guests finished their breakfast and headed straight out to the back deck for a Zodiac cruise. Chinstrap penguins and fur seals watched us from shore as we marveled at the meager shoreline that served as a blessing one century ago.
As we left the point, to round the corner to the north side of the island, we were greeted by a large group of fin whales—more than five were feeding together off the bow. We had time to spare and we marveled at these creatures. It was a spectacle to see so many together.
We continued on to Point Wild, the landing that would serve as the only land for Shackleton’s crew for over four months. Disembarking on Zodiac tours, we spotted the strip of rocky, wet, guano-speckled land where the men camped under the overturned lifeboats, awaiting rescue. The chinstrap penguins have since recovered the ground they lost to Shackleton’s party and spent the afternoon busying themselves on the island and avoiding a suspicious-looking leopard seal just offshore.
Now we begin the next leg of our journey to South Georgia, still following the route that Shackleton took as he left his crew on Elephant Island and went to look for help over 200 miles to the northeast.
