South Shetland Islands, 11/22/2021, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
After a long journey, having braved days of travel, weeks of anticipation, and the full brunt of the open sea, we arrived today in Antarctica. Today the South Shetland Islands, lying north of the Antarctic Peninsula welcomed us and we made a landing, our first of many, onto Barrientos Island. Here we finally met them – penguins, the ambassadors of this land. Seals rested here on Barrientos too, and after admiring them, we continued on, an expedition truly underway.
Kayvon Malek is an underwater videographer whose work as an expedition guide and in the wildlife documentary industry have taken him pole to pole. After taking a scuba course on a whim in college, Kayvon’s newfound obsession led him to working as a r...
It was a day for reflection. Our journey was coming to an end as we left the Falklands behind and National Geographic Endurance steamed towards South America and Ushuaia. The seas were kind to us, and despite low winds, we had black-browed albatross, among other birds, around us. In the morning, we listened to the naturalists onboard as they presented on different subjects in the ice lounge. Land-ho! Mid-morning we had land in sight, South America was appearing on the horizon. Upon entering the Beagle Channel, we saw possibly a hundred sei whales. While the seabirds were waiting for the wind on the surface, the whales were feeding a short distance from the ship. As our vessel waited for the pilot to arrive, we could still see whale blows in the distance. We enjoyed a teatime extravaganza with Chef Sara and her team. Cheese and wine brought most of the ship’s inhabitants to deck 8, and while sipping wine we watched sea lions, dolphins, and stunning views of Tierra del Fuego go by until it was time for Captain Aaron’s farewell toast. As much as we are reflecting on our expedition today, it has also been a day of celebration! It has been an incredible journey of many miles, great people, and wonderful experiences. Thank you all!
What a fabulous day we’ve had for our last expedition day of this incredible adventure! We arrived at West Point Island’s sheltered settlement harbor after a windy night off the coast of the Falkland Islands. The colony at Devil’s Nose was a spectacular sight and we were so thrilled to get our fix of albatross up close after seeing them following us at sea for so much of this voyage. Black-browed albatross chicks were sitting patiently, waiting for their parents’ return, and rockhopper penguins were quietly completing their molt. In the afternoon, we made our final landing at Marie-Paul and Luc’s beautiful piece of the Falklands, Grave Cove. It was an easy, although windy, walk to the beach on the opposite side of the headland to see thousands of gentoo penguins on one of the Falklands’ most picturesque sand beaches. The waves were crashing, the sea lions were hunting, and Johnny rooks kept us entertained among the penguins coming and going to the sea! It was an absolutely fabulous final spot for our last taste of the Falkland Islands.
We arrived in the morning at the beautiful Saunders Island, home to the family of Expedition Leader Russ. It is always very special to visit this island, and the welcome we get is absolutely amazing. Today we visited the settlement and got a tour of the farm. The working dogs of the island met us on the beach and gladly joined our Zodiacs for a tour around the bay, happily barking at the many Commerson’s dolphins playing around us. In the afternoon we tried to go to the rookery on the other side of the island for a chance to see rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatross. The weather was not on our side, and halfway through the landing operation we decided to change our plans. It was an adventurous Zodiac ride back to the ship and the joy of being greeted with a warm beverage from our bar team was enormous.
