Everyone in the Zodiac was very quiet, carefully avoiding eye contact. The odor was overwhelming. “Do you know what that smell is?” I asked. When nobody answered and after a couple of funny looks, I pointed out that it was in fact the fault of the humpback whale that had just surfaced and dove under our Zodiac. It was his breath that smelled.
How many people in the world are lucky enough to know that whales have bad breath from a firsthand experience? How many people have had the pleasure of wiping oily whale blow from the lens of their camera? Being that close to one of the largest animals on the planet is a moment you will remember for the rest of your life. And on board National Geographic Explorer today the lucky guests made that very memory in Cierva Cove, Antarctica. On glassy water surrounded by cascading glaciers and brilliant blue bergs a group of five humpback whales lolled at the surface alongside our Zodiacs, periodically diving under, only to reappear a short distance away. When they exhaled at the surface in such close proximity, the bellow nearly made your bones vibrate. To say it was a magical morning would be an understatement.
The whales appeared for us again in the afternoon at Enterprise Island. This time they were feeding, spy hopping and fluking! The Zodiac cruisers were grinning from ear to ear when they returned to the ship. At Enterprise Island, however, the water was so calm that several people decided to venture out and explore via kayak, for a more quiet adventure. The tranquil coves were set amongst towering blue ice and in the center of one was the wreck of an old whaling vessel, the Gouvernoren. She wrecked here in 1916 and though she is very rusty, she is still well above the waterline and absolutely full of Antarctic terns.
After a long expedition day on the water we returned to the ship for recap and dinner. Here on Explorer, however, there is no rest for the weary. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went ashore after dinner at Danco Island for a hike to the summit and some leg stretching. The hike entailed weaving through groups of nesting gentoo penguins and the hillside was riddled with penguin highways. Being awake at midnight with light snow and falling light was really wonderful. We watched two avalanches cascade down the face of the opposite cliff and when an iceberg thundered in half a cheer went up from the top of the ridge. There may be no rest for the weary but the weary were all smiles tonight.
