Highlights: Watching and Hearing the Ice Crack and Break (Calve) at the Glacier - Cuverville Island Touring
A rough night at sea. We went through the Bransfield Strait enroute to the Gerlache Strait. The winds were high and the seas rough, so the ship was crashed forward in the waves and pitched back as well as rolling side to side as the Captain navigated through the high waves. The ship movements kept waking me up so I didn't get much sleep.
We had left the cabin window curtains open with only the sheers covering the windows and it never got dark outside, so I kept thinking that it was morning and time to get up. We awoke around 8 am to a beautiful clear day with blue skies and either side of the ship was surrounded with majestic snow covered mountains. Words just don't describe the beauty of this place - nor does anything that you have ever seen on TV - you just have to be here and see it to appreciate it. There are also blow spouts from whales in the channel this morning.
We had breakfast and Tim and I discussed how well educated and traveled this group is - Harvard, Wharton, Princeton, Berkeley, etc. Hmmm - yes, they are well off too!!!!
We went to t talk in the morning by Jean Kenyon on the trip staff on penguins - she focused on the adelie, chinstraps, gentoos, and macaroni species that we'll see on this trip. We have already observed up close many of the behaviors she described. Fascinating. Then John Frick - the tour director (and also a PLU) - gave a talk on ice - many of the words are French words adaped for the English language - glacier, avalance, moraine, crevasse, etc. Very educational and informative. While everyone else rushed off to lunch, we walked on the deck and talked to Steve (RI) and Helena (Lake Tahoe and Norway) and took in the beauty of the mountains, ice, and snow on each side of the Gerlache Strait. Helena joined us for lunch and we relaxed until time to go out in the Zodiacs at Neko Harbor.
We were the 3rd of 4 groups to go ashore but we were there waiting with our boots on - we called ourselves the Eager Chinstraps. While waiting, large chucks of ice fell into the sea with a loud boom - called calving of the ice. We landed on a sandy beach at Neko Harbor - there was a lone seal lying in the sun on its back. There was a gentoo colony here with their nests all over the hill. We saw a skua with a penguin egg in its moutn - stolen from a nest where the parents weren't watching. It was sad but we decided the birds need to eat too!
We watched the penguins for a while and then walked all along the beach to the base of the glacier that overlooks a cove. It was beautiful. Tim and I were the first to arrive so it was exceptionally quiet and we could hear the ice cracking and groaning and breaking all over the cove. We saw a small chunk calve off and lots of little ones.
We sat in awe watching the glacier and then took a hike up the path to the top of a smaller hill for a spectacular view. Tim decided to tobaggan down with the others (kids) and he said that was fun. I met him at the bottom and we headed back to the ship for tea and cookies. It was SO HOT at the cove today that we had shed our coats, gloves, and warm hats and we got lots of sun. My lips started to burn and I eventually paid for this! We need more sun screen.
Underway again, we traveled a short way to Cuverville Island - yes, it is an island surrounded by water on all sides! (This was one of the really stupid questions asked by one of the "oblivions" from New Jersey!). Sailing out of Neko Harbor, we saw huge icebergs that were a few short feet from our ship but much taller and longer. As we went into the channel leading to Cuverville Island, the scenery was spectacular. We watched in awe at the mountains and icebergs. Spectacular.
The water was still as we took the Zodiacs to shore at Cuverville Island - a short ride. Two private sailing yachts were at anchor there. Cuverville had rookeries all over. We sat on a rock and watche the gentoo penguins move about. One curious one walked right up to us to check us out. Seems that they are more apt to do that when we are sitting rather than standing so we are not so imposing. We then walked to the end of where we were allowed to go and watched a penguin taking rocks from another penguin's nest. We didn't see any chicks here yet since we are further south and they aren't that far along in the breeding cycle - so they were all nesting patiently on their eggs. I believe they told us it takes 19 days for them to hatch - then another 40 days in the nest with their parents (away from the skuas) and then they are off to fend for themselves. Skuas were close by and we saw the remnants of 6 eggs in the ice and snow where the eggs had been stolen from the nests. While we were watching the penguins, Ben, Steve (RI), Tommy and Victor (NYC) went swimming in their underwear in the freezing Antarctic waters - brrrrrr! They didn't stay in long. We took a Zodiac ride all of the way around the island where there were also rookeris way up high in the rocks. A beautiful sight.
Back on board we showered, had a drink at the bar, and went to dinner with Roger and Pat (England) and John Harwood who no lives in Brazil in the Amazon - he has interesting stories from his travels. We learned that Trevor Potts who is one of our guides is the only peron to recreate Ernest Shakleton's 1916 voyage to Antarctica - both land and sea. After a brief time in the cluub, we went to bed to rest. Another fantastic day!
Larry and Tim
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