We cruised all day and night after departing Ushuaia and today we take advantage of the day at sea to attend some great lectures and enjoy the down time. We arrive in the Antarctic Penninsula early on Saturday. We are treated to gorgeous icebergs of all shapes and sizes. The sea gods have continued to be on our side as we come to Anvers Island, home to Palmer Station. The clouds have parted and the views are magnificent. We are treated to a visit by a team of scientists from the research station who give us a brief glimpse of life at the "fin del mundo". They are just happy to load up on "freshies" (fresh fruit and vegetables which are scarce around here). An afternoon lecture on the race to the pole, another one on Shackelton's expedition, and throughout the afternoon we just cruise down and up the Lemaire Channel and back out to sea. The sheer number and diversity of icebergs is numbing (as is standing out on deck taking hundreds of pictures!).
Today we awoke to Deception Island which is home to a very large penguin rookery. The landscape is hard to describe; harsh and inhospitable, everything is a different shade of white, black and every grey in between. Not much time is spent there (or is it that we kind of overslept?) and we're soon sailing again, this time en route to Hope Bay and Esperanza Island (home to the Argentinian research station).
We arrive at the bay as we are finishing our workouts and suddenly, over the loudspeaker, we hear: "whales on the starboard side at 2 o'clock". I had had the foresight to bring my camera and cold weather gear to the gym; Blake had not. We dash out of the gym, me donning my hat, jacket and gloves, Blake in a t-shirt and shorts.
I was totally unprepared for the spectacular beauty of the place - the sun broke through the clouds and we discovered that there were thousands upon thousands of Adelie penguins on the bay. Everywhere. On the icebergs, on the ice shelves, in the water. I saw a couple of sea lions cavorting next to the ship and finally... whales. We spent hours on deck and were treated to at least eight humpback whales. I was lucky to get some pictures, even one of a tail. I had been despairing about seeing any whales (a few people had already seen some on previous days) but nothing had prepared me for the sight of the whales coming up for air, blowing a few times and finally diving back down showing their tails. At first we thought they were Orcas hunting the penguins but soon realized they were Humpbacks (who do not eat penguins) who were just having their meal alongside the penguins.
It has been a most exciting day, I cannot see how it can get any better. Have I mentioned how awesome it is to look out your window and see an iceberg the size of a football field passing by? Tomorrow, Admiralty Bay and Elephant Island.
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