Prince Gustav Channel, Weddell Sea, Antarctic Peninsula
Today we made a morning stop on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, in Prince Gustav Channel. There was a shelf of fast ice separating us from the land, so Captain Skög docked the Endeavour against the ice and we put down the gangway. We then disembarked directly onto the ice and walked ashore, passing sleeping Weddell seals and Adelie penguins tobogganing across the ice to get a better look at us. We had a very nice hike across a small peninsula, which was comprised of beautiful folded shales, on top of which sat granitic and volcanic glacial erratic boulders carried by the ice from farther inland in the Antarctic Peninsula. We also launched our kayaks directly off of the ice shelf and paddled around the peninsula where we saw a leopard seal resting on the ice. The morning was a perfect combination of observing the seals and the very active antics of the penguins, geology and lichen biology, and physical activity. Both our hikes and our kayaking allowed us time to be alone with the beauty of Antarctica and to contemplate its mysteries.
Today we made a morning stop on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, in Prince Gustav Channel. There was a shelf of fast ice separating us from the land, so Captain Skög docked the Endeavour against the ice and we put down the gangway. We then disembarked directly onto the ice and walked ashore, passing sleeping Weddell seals and Adelie penguins tobogganing across the ice to get a better look at us. We had a very nice hike across a small peninsula, which was comprised of beautiful folded shales, on top of which sat granitic and volcanic glacial erratic boulders carried by the ice from farther inland in the Antarctic Peninsula. We also launched our kayaks directly off of the ice shelf and paddled around the peninsula where we saw a leopard seal resting on the ice. The morning was a perfect combination of observing the seals and the very active antics of the penguins, geology and lichen biology, and physical activity. Both our hikes and our kayaking allowed us time to be alone with the beauty of Antarctica and to contemplate its mysteries.
