Our morning expedition was to Cuverville Island, and focused on penguins and hiking through the snow. The afternoon was mostly Zodiac cruising in Paradise Bay, and some of the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen.
Before we disembarked for our morning outing, we encountered the Zandaam, from Norwegian Cruise Lines. There are only a couple of major cruise lines that sail to Antarctica, and none of them include shore visits. On the other hand, if you want to see Antarctica and want a casino and a floor show, I guess that's the way to go.
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| The Zaandam |
After breakfast, we boarded Zodiacs and headed for Cuverville Island.
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| Cuverville Island from the ship |
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| Passengers on shore on Cuverville Island |
Cuverville Island has the largest colony of Gentoo penguins in Antarctica.
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| Our greeting party on shore. |
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| Observing some penguins |
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| Penguins and glaciers, oh my! |
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| A few local icebergs |
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| A Gentoo penguin |
Where there were penguins, there were separate pathways for the penguins and the people.
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| Penguin pathways |
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| Another Gentoo. Or maybe the same one as before. |
After visiting the penguins, we headed back to the ship, with some iceberg viewing along the way.
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| Ready to head back. |
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| An iceberg. Yes, it was really that color. |
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| Another iceberg |
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| The foot of a glacier |
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| Yes, it really was that color. |
During lunch, we sailed through the Errera Channel to Paradise Bay.
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| The view from the lounge |
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| The view gets boring after a while |
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| The boredom was remedied by some coffee |
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| An Argentine naval ship in Paradise Bay |
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| An Argentine station (Almirante Brown) |
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| Zodiacs in Paradise Bay near the station |
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| Part of Brown Station |
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| Pride of the Argentine Navy |
In spite of the objections from the navy, we sneaked onto a small island to see some Weddell Seals. These were smaller than elephant seals, but much more attractive, in my opinion.
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| A couple of seals enjoying the scenery |
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| What seals do |
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| On shore under the watchful eye of the Argentine navy. |
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| More seal action |
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| Another view of Brown Station |
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| A skua, chilling |
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| Some birds on shore |
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| An Icefall, and some copper deposits |
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| A skua(?) dismembering another bird |
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| Spotting wildlife from the Zodiac |
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| Wild Life in a Zodiac |
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| Master of all he surveys |
Then the sun came out, and things got even more spectacular.
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| Panoramic view of Paradise Bay |
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| Glaciers in Paradise Bay |
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| Yes, it was that blue |
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| Pam, our guide, takes a picture of us |
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| Pam showing the different types of ice in an iceberg |
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| Now, this is a glacier. Note the tiny Zodiac in front of the glacier. |
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| A wall of ice at the foot of the glacier |
The next several shots were taken over the next half hour. You can tell me which ones I should leave out.
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| Arriving back at the ship |
They were very careful about avoiding transmitting organisms between the ship and Antarctica. Every time we left the ship, we had to walk through a disinfecting solution, and when we got back on the ship we had to scrub down our boots and the bottom of our pants, and walk through the solution.
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| Scrubbing down |
It was possible to sign up to camp on shore for the night, but I declined the generous offer to pay $250 per person to freeze (and not be able to go to the bathroom). As the daily program indicates, the "happy campers" got early dinner and the "sensible folk" dined later.
After dinner, we had time for a few more photos.
Then it was time for the "happy campers" to head to their campsite, which was on a small island. In the picture below, you can see some of the campers on the island, while another batch heads for the island in a Zodiac.
Meanwhile, the "sensible folk" stayed on board and took more pictures...
And the semi-sensible folk hit the hot tub....
or the lounge...
While the campers camped out...
And the sun set...
Next -- Neko Harbor and Port Lockroy
