During the night we sailed through much of the Gerlache Strait en route to our next destinations. By the time we hear the dulcet tones of the wakeup call we are in the vicinity of Cuverville Island. It is a gray day, the surrounding islands and mountains are shrouded in low cloud and some sleet, however there is little wind and so a stillness hovers over the waters. The stillness means that it will be possible to offer a kayaking option to enrich the adventure in Antarctica. To be able to partake of this activity it is necessary to attend the briefing, which takes place immediately after breakfast. Not long afterwards the yellow kayaks slither quietly into the water and the paddlers head off to enjoy the unique quiet and grandeur of the White Continent.
There is also the chance to go ashore on Cuverville Island, home to the largest number of gentoo penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula. The chicks have not quite reached the crèche stage and still need the protection from one of the parents at all times. Skuas and kelp gulls fly over the colonies waiting for any opportunity to be able to scoop down and take off with an unprotected chick. The penguin highways crisscross up the snow slopes to the upper colonies and there is constant traffic along these as birds come and go to their feeding grounds.
During lunch we sail through the Errera Channel and into Andvord Bay en route to our afternoon landing at Neko Harbour. Along the way we pass some large icebergs, some are like multi-turreted ice castles. We land on a lovely sandy beach and then head off up to a rocky promontory some 650 feet up an ice slope. From there we get commanding views over the glacier down below as well as across the beautiful bay with its impressive coastline of heavily crevassed rivers of ice cascading down to the waterfront. Everybody who made it ashore is delighted for this is a continental landing.
The areas visited today were explored a long time ago by the Belgica Expedition lead by Adrien de Gerlache (1887-1889) and the places named after members of the expedition or after important people who were somehow linked to the expedition. They were the first expedition to overwinter in Antarctica. During that long winter the men faced many hardships, including some serious health issues. Two men, Frederick Cook, the physician, and Roald Amundsen, one of the officers, are credited for solving these by getting the men to eat fresh meat from seals and penguins.
After dinner the IT officer was able to get a live stream feed going and even though the service was a bit patchy, many of us were able to watch the Superbowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The game was exciting and the last few minutes were nail biting as the final result came down to the wire.
