Drake Passage
Last night, which for many extended well into this morning, was beyond spectacular. The grandeur of the landscape was such that we should never be able to forget the white continent. The towering peaks of Brabent and Anvers Islands were in full view with unlimited visibility. As the ship made her way out through Dallmann Bay, we found yet another humpback whale mother and calf. They seemed quite at ease as the Captain slowly moved the ship in a circle. The calf was probably six months old, born off the western coast of South America, some 9000 kilometers away, making his or her first visit to Antarctica with its mum. To cap it off, just past midnight the sun set and with that came the much heralded green flash.
Today found the National Geographic Endeavour returning to the open sea, again enjoying a gentle passage through the Drake. The gray skies and mild rocking as the ship sailed north encouraged a number of us, at last, to sleep.
The energy on board turned introspective, many guests curled up with books and journals in between the presentations on seals, survival and climate change. Even the wildlife seemed to be taking the day off, with relatively little bird and mammal life visible in the intermittently foggy sea. However, some astute observers on the bridge were lucky enough to see a small group of Southern Bottlenose Whales and there were albatross, including the majestic Wanderer, following the ship, emerging from the fog like a ghost.
Late in the afternoon we had an invigorating Lex Forum, a discussion about climate change whilst others enjoyed an invigorating game of Monopoly. Rested and refreshed, we turned our minds to the National Geographic Bee. Many questions had visual components, and while some seemed quite easy (most of us are now krill experts!), others proved quite challenging (which is further east - Santiago or Miami?). We viewed more underwater footage from our undersea specialists, (including some spectacular dancing by an isopod) and learned about the gear necessary for successful polar diving. Today we crossed the Antarctic Convergence, the biological boundary of the Antarctic and passed north of 60 degrees, leaving the political entity of the Antarctic.
As naturalist Kim Heacox so eloquently wrote: “Like light passing through a prism, a person who goes to Antarctica is changed.”
Last night, which for many extended well into this morning, was beyond spectacular. The grandeur of the landscape was such that we should never be able to forget the white continent. The towering peaks of Brabent and Anvers Islands were in full view with unlimited visibility. As the ship made her way out through Dallmann Bay, we found yet another humpback whale mother and calf. They seemed quite at ease as the Captain slowly moved the ship in a circle. The calf was probably six months old, born off the western coast of South America, some 9000 kilometers away, making his or her first visit to Antarctica with its mum. To cap it off, just past midnight the sun set and with that came the much heralded green flash.
Today found the National Geographic Endeavour returning to the open sea, again enjoying a gentle passage through the Drake. The gray skies and mild rocking as the ship sailed north encouraged a number of us, at last, to sleep.
The energy on board turned introspective, many guests curled up with books and journals in between the presentations on seals, survival and climate change. Even the wildlife seemed to be taking the day off, with relatively little bird and mammal life visible in the intermittently foggy sea. However, some astute observers on the bridge were lucky enough to see a small group of Southern Bottlenose Whales and there were albatross, including the majestic Wanderer, following the ship, emerging from the fog like a ghost.
Late in the afternoon we had an invigorating Lex Forum, a discussion about climate change whilst others enjoyed an invigorating game of Monopoly. Rested and refreshed, we turned our minds to the National Geographic Bee. Many questions had visual components, and while some seemed quite easy (most of us are now krill experts!), others proved quite challenging (which is further east - Santiago or Miami?). We viewed more underwater footage from our undersea specialists, (including some spectacular dancing by an isopod) and learned about the gear necessary for successful polar diving. Today we crossed the Antarctic Convergence, the biological boundary of the Antarctic and passed north of 60 degrees, leaving the political entity of the Antarctic.
As naturalist Kim Heacox so eloquently wrote: “Like light passing through a prism, a person who goes to Antarctica is changed.”
