At Sea
Endeavour has turned her stern on Antarctica, and heads North Across the Drake Passage; a bitter-sweet moment for some, as we have had an incredible 7 days in the Antarctic Peninsula, experiencing as much as our sleep-needing bodies would allow. As the ship gently rolls with the sea, the sun dips and ducks behind the clouds, sending diamond sparkles across the water. Our escorts of petrels and albatross have found us once again, soaring above us and below us, and sometimes right at our side, where it feels as we could reach out and stroke their soft plumage.
Antarctica holds many distinct treasures, one of them being the undersea community. Lindblad Expeditions, true to its goal of continuous exploration of new frontiers, has made a point to not only explore the terrestrial side of Antarctica, but also the aquatic world. Antarctica as a whole has one of the least studied benthic communities in the world. Through diving and using an ROV (remotely operated vehicle), Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo is able to get to the bottom of things (pun intended), and take a close look at the wonderful, yet strange creatures that live below the surface.
It is a special community indeed that can live at -2ºC (28ºF) thriving with the rampaging currents and relentless ice.
Pictures here is an Antarctic whelk, an Antarctic mollusk, that is widely distributed in both depth and area. This whelk was seen in Neptune’s Bellows, Deception Island on a bottom mixed with rock and mud, however it can be found in a variety of seascapes from barren rock to sludge. It is a scavenger, and will eat almost anything, usually preying on other dead or damaged mollusks. However, it is not without its own worries, as it has been found in the stomachs of fish.
For the guests of Endeavour, this past week has been spent like the first explorers arriving on the continent: everything has been new and exciting. We have taken it in, and gained a much better understanding, but still it is impossible to learn and experience all Antarctica has to offer. For many though, this will not be the last time they will visit the white continent; the polar fever has started, the want and need to know more is a hunger not to be satisfied, until getting back in the ice.
Endeavour has turned her stern on Antarctica, and heads North Across the Drake Passage; a bitter-sweet moment for some, as we have had an incredible 7 days in the Antarctic Peninsula, experiencing as much as our sleep-needing bodies would allow. As the ship gently rolls with the sea, the sun dips and ducks behind the clouds, sending diamond sparkles across the water. Our escorts of petrels and albatross have found us once again, soaring above us and below us, and sometimes right at our side, where it feels as we could reach out and stroke their soft plumage.
Antarctica holds many distinct treasures, one of them being the undersea community. Lindblad Expeditions, true to its goal of continuous exploration of new frontiers, has made a point to not only explore the terrestrial side of Antarctica, but also the aquatic world. Antarctica as a whole has one of the least studied benthic communities in the world. Through diving and using an ROV (remotely operated vehicle), Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo is able to get to the bottom of things (pun intended), and take a close look at the wonderful, yet strange creatures that live below the surface.
It is a special community indeed that can live at -2ºC (28ºF) thriving with the rampaging currents and relentless ice.
Pictures here is an Antarctic whelk, an Antarctic mollusk, that is widely distributed in both depth and area. This whelk was seen in Neptune’s Bellows, Deception Island on a bottom mixed with rock and mud, however it can be found in a variety of seascapes from barren rock to sludge. It is a scavenger, and will eat almost anything, usually preying on other dead or damaged mollusks. However, it is not without its own worries, as it has been found in the stomachs of fish.
For the guests of Endeavour, this past week has been spent like the first explorers arriving on the continent: everything has been new and exciting. We have taken it in, and gained a much better understanding, but still it is impossible to learn and experience all Antarctica has to offer. For many though, this will not be the last time they will visit the white continent; the polar fever has started, the want and need to know more is a hunger not to be satisfied, until getting back in the ice.
