Whales, seals, and glaciers, oh my! What a glorious day, indeed!
Icebergs and ice floes dotted the horizon as we awoke for another spontaneous day aboard the National Geographic Orion. Dr. Peter Carey told tales of old as he presented the excursions of Swedish Antarctic Expeditions in the 1900s and we proceeded to embark on our own excursions. Just before we explored the bellows of Chef Lothar’s delicious delicacies, we came upon two humpback whales enjoying their own lunch! Diving for mouthfuls of krill and then recovering with boisterous blows at the surface, these humpbacks were a treat that could make anyone forget about their own appetite as we all watched in awe. Playful penguins rocketed through the sea like little torpedoes, most likely enjoying the tastes of crunchy crustaceans as well.
As the afternoon progressed, our fearless expedition leader Shaun called upon the expert navigation of Captain Martin to make our way into the unchartered waters of Brialmont Cove. Small ice chunks transformed into large pancake ice floes before our eyes as we ventured deeper and deeper into the cove. As our scout boat went out into the snowy seascape, our captain nosed up right next to a gigantic iceberg. One of our officers radioed “4 meters, 3 meters, 2 meters, 1!” until our lovely ship was kissing the snowcapped iceberg’s edge. It was difficult to put our cameras down as we passed through an array of beautiful, natural ice sculptures bobbing and flowing in our wake. We came across many seals and got a close look at a leopard seal and Weddell seal propped up upon their own solitary, icy thrones. The white sky blended in with distant frosty protrusions and the water began to slowly dissipate as the ship became surrounded in fragmented white.
Finally we reached our destination, the Cayley Glacier, looming ahead in the foggy white vista. The sun began to shine through clouds above and large snowflakes floated onto parkas and an occasional outstretched tongue. We all looked up upon the great wall of ice, not three ship lengths away, in wonder. Brilliant blue fissures and caves that carved into the ice’s face captivated everyone’s attention for the rest of the afternoon. Hot cocoa and cookies fueled us all to stay out on deck and simply be in the presence of such a magnificent natural beauty to behold. Occasionally crackling and rumbling would lead to the glacier caving as large chunks hurtled towards the sea below. Rolling pressure waves formed and sliced away openings of unobstructed sea for all to see. Sea birds and naturalist Adam Cropp’s, drone took flight and circled the ship from up above as a lone Zodiac was deployed onto the ice. After watching so much wildlife and natural architecture with their own eyes, guests were enticed to see the National Geographic Orion staff present several multimedia productions at tonight’s recap. What tomorrow holds in store, not a soul can know for sure, but tonight visions of a whimsical white continent dance in our heads with anticipation for adventure, ice, and penguins tomorrow.
