Drake Passage and Half Moon Island
The Drake has been very kind to us and we awake in the vicinity of the South Shetland Islands, which are shrouded in a dense fog, something quite common for this island group. Just after breakfast we are invited to go up on deck to sight land as well as ice and soon enough it appears wondrously before our eager eyes. We have arrived!
The ship sails through the English Strait, between the Robert and Greenwich Islands, and shortly thereafter we hear that humpback whales have been sighted. It soon becomes apparent that they are interested in us and gently set about checking us out.
For the next hour we are mesmerized by the beauty and synchronicity of this mother and her calf; every move is done together. The long white flippers, clearly visible under the clear waters, help us keep track of them even as they swam underwater. Then they would rise again allowing us to see the tubercles along the head and the splash guard just before the blowholes. They remained close to the bow of the ship, at times but a few feet away, then they would gently swim some distance away, turn and return again. They seemed totally at ease with our presence making the whole experience even more meaningful.
Once underway again we skirt around Greenwich Island on our way to our afternoon destination – Half Moon Island.
Shortly after lunch we are anchored off Half Moon and on our way to our first landing. The afternoon is spent enjoying close up encounters with the residents of the island and most attention is given to the chinstrap penguins and a Weddell seal that was vocalizing. The penguins were mostly on eggs; however there were all sorts of other behaviors going on and the one which may have entertained us most was the pebble stealing that was taking place. We were kept amused by the stealth displayed by some of the birds, as they gingerly approached the rear end of a unsuspecting penguin and then daintily stick out its bill and steal a pebble and head off back to its own nest site. On other occasions the victim becomes aware of the intruder and attempts to avoid the loss of a stone from its nest.
Having spent a splendid afternoon ashore and for many an opportunity to take a longer walk we head off into the Bransfield Strait in the direction of the Antarctic Sound and from there hopefully make into the Weddell Sea. Soon after dinner there are many big icebergs dotting the landscape and with these memories and those from our eventful day we head off to get some rest. It has been a wonderful first day in “The Ice.”
