After a bit more cruising around, we went ashore. Oh yeah, while the Minke whales were swimming around us at one point, they swam under the zodiac and through the crystal clear water you could see the whole whale. It was really amazing. So we landed and this was our first landing on the mainland. Previously we’d just been on islands. Still Antarctica, but islands. Now we’re on the mainland. There were gentoos all around and they were very funny by the seaside splashing around, swimming or just laying there molting.
We were in a huge bay with a very actively calving glacier so there were cracks and booms the whole time we were there.
I did see 2 small calvings. The sound is amazing loud for the seemingly small amount of ice that falls down. I walked to the top of a hill to overlook the bay and it was lovely.
There were penguins at the top too. I hiked down, took a few more videos of the penguins on the beach and headed for the zodiac landing site to head back to the ship.
Now, this morning Keith had asked Dutch if there would be a swimming opportunity today. Dutch said he’d bring towels. I actually thought they were kidding, but then when I found out they were serious, so I just thought they were nuts! By the time I got back to the landing beach, Anders and Keith had already gone in, Mark and Erin were going in and Peggy and Mary were stripping down. Peer pressure….all I needed was a little nudge, and I figured, what the heck and went in with them.
It was really really cold in the water, but once you were out, it really wasn’t that cold. I even stood around in my wet clothes taking pictures. Will, Mike and Thomas and George went in nude. It was a very funny scene. The worst part was the cold feet on the ice while you were getting dressed. My feet still hurt at 3pm!
We got dressed and hopped in the zodiac. Duncan saw a leopard seal feasting on a penguin so he took our boat over. That was quite a violent site. He was crashing the penguin around to skin it so he could eat the fatty parts. We watched him for about 10 minutes then went back to the boat commenting on the frighteningly short amount of time between our swimming and the leopard seal episode!
Back to the boat, scrub the boots and head for a hot shower and a hot lunch. We were all still flushed with pride at our idiocy and tonight we’re camping! Ha ha ha. So during lunch the boat moved to Paradise Bay where there’s a Chilean air force base that Dutch had arranged for us to visit.
One group went on a kayak excursion and we hit the zodiacs to the base. The sun was still out and Paradise Bay was truly an amazing site. Still waters, beautiful reflections in the water. A quick pleasant ride over to land, and then the smell hit you. There were penguins everywhere, and thus penguin poop everywhere. The smell was all pervasive. It was alarmingly disgusting. The base consisted of 3-4 very small buildings, a decrepit little dock and a concrete path between them. Oh yeah, and billions of penguins.
This is a Chilean base with the soul purpose of holding their spot in Antarctica. No research, no function, just a way to say MINE that left a dozen or so men engulfed in a horrible smell watching the same DVDs over and over for 4 months. Fun!
So we went into their little Museo/gift shop and had books and wine and penguin statues (made in China!) for sale. We mucked around in the guano stench for 15 minutes, laughed a bit and headed out. Cullum took us the long way home past some really beautiful icebergs.
The blues are amazing. Today was the first time we could see the icebergs well under the water. There is 4 times as much ice under the water as there is above, and the color in the water is really pretty. So we’re cruising back to the boat in gorgeous paradise bay and just as you’re marveling at the grandeur and glory of the scene, a few penguins porpoise by in typical goofy penguin fashion.
This is my kind of place. A little silliness mixed in! So tonight we camp. The Antarctic swim club are threatening to sleep on deck if the weather prevents us from camping tonight.
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