We started the morning early at 6:00 am with coffees in hand. A gorgeous sunrise lit up the largest iceberg currently in existence. Angelic ice archways stretched as far as the eye could see along this solid ice island. National Geographic Explorer cast her shadow against A23A as we cruised alongside the iceberg. Fin whales surfaced in front of the ship with prions and black- bellied storm petrels fluttering along the wall of ice.
After leaving the iceberg, we headed towards Elephant Island, entertained by talks and views of the glassy ocean. Anders, the Hotel Manager, organized Swedish pancakes for afternoon tea, a decadent treat to tide us over for our afternoon stop.
The fog drew in during our approach to Point Wild and eerily covered the landing site. The bleak campsite once held twenty-five members of Shackleton’s Expedition. Adelie penguins covered the campsite, and an active glacier calved in the bay. We stopped briefly, and it was interesting to reflect on the time the explorers spent on the land from the safety of our ship.
