Cierva Cove and Trinity Island
Our journey continued today in Antarctica with a return to the peninsula at a spot called Cierva Cove, and later, a visit to a small bay on Trinity Island. On this expedition, we have come to expect stunning scenery, great weather, and spectacular wildlife, and today did not disappoint. With monstrous glaciers, comical penguins, blazing sunshine, and so many marine mammals, today was a grand slam!
We awoke this morning with clear skies, surrounded by ice along the Antarctic Peninsula. As we entered Cierva Cove, we could see the many glaciers that were dumping ice into the bay. Minke whales welcomed us, with quite a few feeding amongst the icebergs, and a few even bowriding on the ship. We approached one end of the cove and dropped our fleet of Zodiacs for a closer look. The glaciers were very active today, with many large calving events. The resulting ice was important for our next excitement.
Upon some of the floes, many different seals were spotted. Numerous crabeater seals were lounging on large floes. Social in nature, they would congregate on some of the more convenient flat ones. Independent in attitude, leopard seals were also encountered. With a deservedly fierce reputation, all our leopard seals today had claimed their own pieces of ice, and none were too bothered by our intrusion to their world. It was exciting to be so close to such wonderful critters.
Our morning really was a special treat. Ice surrounded us while huge peaks loomed above us. The peace and tranquility were incredible. Rarely interrupted by the roar of a glacier calving, the cove had near dead silence except for the popping of ice. A surfacing humpback whale briefly interrupted the calm. A few of us were even lucky enough to enjoy a close approach.
The afternoon found us traveling north towards Trinity Island. Grand plans were laid, and then killer whales were spotted. We quickly detoured to enjoy the top predators in the ocean. At least five large males and a couple of distant females were spotted, with three of the males regularly surfacing close to the bow. These were not the classic black and white killer whale, but a special type, (or possibly even species) here in Antarctica. These were “big B’s”, known for having a taste for seals! We enjoyed close views and excellent photos as these animals traveled though the ice.
Finally, late in the afternoon we reached Trinity Island. Here, we explored a gentoo penguin colony and marveled at the interactions between adults and chicks. We also saw more seals, this time Antarctic fur seals, Weddell seals, and elephant seals. All of this, with sunny skies and more glaciers.
What a day!
