November 29, 2024 - Friday - Danco Island

November 29, 2024 – Friday                         Day 65 of this journey 

Explore Antarctica – Day 4 – Danco Island 

What a beautiful morning. Some clouds, a little snow, but not like yesterday. Very very calm. We are sailing at crawl speed and headed towards Danco Island.

The zodiac gives you some perspective

Another day for zodiac landings. Ours is scheduled for mid-afternoon. And a SOB ride in the morning. 

The SOB ride is nice. Our guide is the resident ornithologist on board. Again, we are puttering through the ice. Then we get a message from the other SOB that they have spotted a whale. We gradually make our way to their location. Sure enough a single humpback is there. It hangs around for a little while, surfacing to breath, then going under again, then we lose track of it.

That is a piece of Tabular Ice

There are lots of penguins in the water. We learn that when a group of penguins is together in the water, it is referred to as “a raft of penguins”. When they are on land, it is a colony or a rookery. In the water, they look quite small, but these birds are 2’-3’ tall.

A "raft" of Gentoo penguins

We decided to cancel our landing. We just didn’t feel like trudging through snow in the heavy waterproof gear. I’m sure we missed the experience of seeing the penguins a little more up close. 

We did spot a giant petrel and a few other birds. 

Chatting with friends later in the day, comments were all very favorable for the landing and watching the penguins. Watching the landings from our room and using our binoculars, we could see that there were just a whole lot of penguins. I asked an Expedition Team member how many were in this colony. The estimate was around 1,500. 

At the Daily Briefing, Pablo informed us that this evening we will be stopping near an area that still has sea ice. We’ve seen glaciers and the Tabular Ice that are huge chunks of ice that have calved off the ice shelf that covers Antarctica. We’ve seen Bergy Bits (small icebergs) and Growlers (mostly submerged – very dangerous) and Brash Ice (the much smaller pieces.) I had to do some research to find out the differences between these things. These are mostly freshwater ice. “Sea ice” is sea water that has frozen. Almost all of the sea ice melts in the summer. So, few expeditions get to see much of it. Sea Ice is critical to the environment. 

Around 8:00 pm, we are in Wilhelmina Bay and it is packed with sea ice. So beautiful! The clouds part in the west and although we are still hours from sunset, it is a similar effect, and it is just stunning.

That little black dot is a seal. Popped up, then just disappeared

 

We watched a seal come up through a break in the ice and a humpback whale was feeding nearby in the open water.

 

November 28, 2024 - Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving

November 28, 2024 – Thursday                     Day 64 of this journey 

                                      Happy Thanksgiving 

Explore Antarctica – Day 3 – Brown Station 

And we have so very much to be thankful for. 

We awoke this morning to a winter wonderland. Even though we are in the land of ice, we have not had snow. Clouds and mist and sun, but it is snowing this morning. We are up and out early enough that we were able to get shots of the accumulation on windows and the exterior decks. But there isn’t a breath of wind. Yea!

This is a photo of the bridge camera on our TV. 
That is the bow and the floor is covered with snow.

Accumulation of snow on the Explorer's Lounge windows

The starboard side walking track.

The name of the game with true “expedition sailing” is flexibility. Conditions are constantly changing so plans need to be constantly changing. For over planners like us, it is a little bit of a challenge, but we are trying our hardest to roll with it. 

We’ve got an early landing this morning and start adding layers to make sure we stay warm. It is a short ride to the landing area. We crawl out of the zodiac onto the shore. There are so many staff there to help you. They never let go of you. They have cut steps into the snow and hand you ski poles to help you along.

This is Base Brown. An Argentinian base. Now only used
a few weeks a year.

The madhouse in the zodiac loading area.

As we landed, Pablo greeted us and explained that the path was very uneven and slippery as well as a fairly steep climb. He suggested that this was a strenuous trek, and you should consider carefully whether you wanted to do it. They have set up a flag nearby that you can take photos with. He said if we wanted to do the photo thing and then return to the ship, that would be fine.

That was our choice as well as several other people. A short visit, but we did set foot on our 7^th continent. Our driver pulled the zodiac in near the penguins, so we were able to see them. And then we were cozy as can be back on the ship.

Gentoo Penguins

Looking back at a zodiac unloading at the landing sight.

Neat small iceberg

In the afternoon, we were scheduled for a SOB ride. We are getting faster at suiting up in all the layers. We’ve only got a few more days before we head north again. We’ll get the hang of it about the time the journey is over. 

It is a pleasant ride. Judith is our guide, and we putter through the bay looking for wildlife. We see a few penguins and other birds, but no whales or seals. When we were in the Chilean fjords, the SOB drivers liked to drive at higher speeds which is a lot of fun. Here, they can’t do that because of the amount of ice in the water. They really have to pick their way through the constantly moving ice. The icebergs are fascinating. Each one unique in how the water and wind have sculpted it. We did see a glacier calve and it was very interesting to watch how the resulting tsunami tossed around the icebergs and other chunks of ice in the water.

                                Ice Sculptures

More than likely, this berg recently rolled over

A glacier that is probably actively calving.
The rough texture shows lots of movement.

As you see things in clouds, you see things in icebergs.
We didn't know they had iguanas in Antarctica.

But this is definitely the head of an iguana

We were back to the room in time to shower before going to the Daily Briefing. Pablo explained a little about how expedition ships in Antarctica get permission to stop in any location. Weather is a huge factor on where you end up going. Our Continental landing worked well today. And it is the only opportunity we will have for a landing on the Continent. 

Pablo had a surprise for us. Our next stop is very close by, but weather is good, so there is time to take a side trip to Lemaire Channel. It has been nicknamed “Kodak Gap” and is a bucket list for most itineraries in the Antarctic. It is a channel between an island and the peninsula. Only 11 k long and at its narrowest point 600 meters wide. It is lined with steep cliffs on both sides and is often filled with icebergs. We should be there about 8:30 pm this evening and Viking will be providing hot toddies. 

We are usually in bed by this time, but it sounds worthy. We found seats in the Explorer’s Lounge after dinner and settled in. We’ve got lots of daylight as the sun doesn’t set until 11:30ish pm. It also rises about 3:00 am. It is very dramatic scenery. We get most of the way through the passage before turning the ship around and heading back the way we came. 

Another amazing day.

The trip to Lemaire Channel: