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| As far South as we are going to go... |
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| Mother and Baby Whale beside the ship |
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| Glorious Iceberg formations all around... |
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| Gentoo Penguins resting on a large iceberg... |
Drake Passage has been kind to us on the sail south towards
Palmer Archipelago on the northernmost tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. At 63
degrees latitude, it is – in that regard – comparable to the latitude of
Anchorage, Alaska. But there the similarities end…
Before us a vast expanse of ice and snow covered mountains,
sloping into the sea with miles of glaciers, which terminate in vertical cliffs
at sea level. The sea of white is interspersed with black towering cliffs
terminating in rocky peaks, too steep for a permanent snow cover, but veined
with traces of snow in crevasses and cliff ledges.
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| Una's Tits - yes, that what these twin peaks in Lemaire Channel have been named by a long gone explorer... |
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| Penguin Highway...the brown traces lead up to nests higher up the rocky cliff... |
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| A rare passage - we actually sailed through the entire Lemaire Channel, which for a change was ice free. We met this stately sail boat heading the opposite way.. |
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| A never ending variety of shapes and forms.. |
Everyone out on deck, despite bitter cold and a wind chill
factor to freeze even through the best layered outfits in minutes. People
gravitated to the lee side of the ship, and some of us discovered an unlikely
hot spot on the highest open deck – just beside the hot air vents of the ship.
Visibility was incredibly clear, unusual for Antarctica.
Humpback whales fed singly or in groups, Minke whales sped
through the crystalline waters, penguins porpoised along the surface, Antarctic
bird life soared and flapped all around the ship.
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| Seal Siesta on an ice floe |
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| Seals underneath swirls of clear water |
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| Clear waters show the shape of a small iceberg underwater - the other 90% |
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| Palmer Station Personnel heading back to their base...a long cold journey. |
Palmer Station, a year round Antarctic US research base, lay
a few miles ahead on Anvers Island, half hidden by icebergs and scattered
reefs. Researchers and Scientist from the base were on their way to the ship in
a black Zodiac, to board the ship for a rare ‘visit to civilization’, a good
lunch, and a presentation of their work in the Antarctic.
We headed off the Lemaire Channel, one of the most
scenically impressive passages on the Antarctic Peninsular with the Palmer Base
personnel aboard.
We were in rare luck, as the passage proved to be
‘passable’. A rare and precious occurrence indeed, as the passage is ‘plugged
up’ with icebergs most of the time, and a ship of the size of the Prinsendam
cannot maneuver between these giant obstacles.
So we glided through the utter silence, the pristine beauty
of the ice and rock of the shore. Seals basked on ice flows, digesting their
latest meal of fish or penguin. Gentoo Penguins obliged, posing on their ice
flows – and the sun started to break through the clouds and lighting up the icy
land scape with drama and indescribable beauty.
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| Gerlache Strait at sunset |
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| Evening Light striking snow covered slopes along Neumayer Channels |
We passed through the entire Lemaire Channel, a first for
me, after two previous attempts in 2007 and 2010 had to be abandoned due to too
much ice. Glorious, majestic….one cannot find adequate words.
By mid-afternoon we had returned to the vicinity of Palmer
Station and the researches left the ship and left a couple of large chunks of
glacier ice behind – for mixing with old Scotch. Unfortunately these chunks
made it to a display on a bar, but not into anybody’s drinks, as ship
authorities considered it ‘unclean’.
As daylight lasts long into the night there was plenty of
time left to pass through Gerlache and Neumayer Channels before heading out into sea for the night –
safer there, less chance to hit an iceberg.
The evening sun provided unexpected highlights on the
mountain peaks surrounding us, making for a spectacular sunset cruise.
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| Heading off into a frozen night... |
