This morning we awoke to the sound of Expedition Leader Lucho’s voice giving us a gentle good morning greeting. We quickly donned our orange parkas and went onto the bow to witness the National Geographic Orion navigating through the spectacular Lemaire Channel.
After soaking in this breathtaking location for just over an hour we quickly went down to the dining room to enjoy Assistant Cook Christian’s famous pancakes and walnut butter with a heavy dose of maple syrup to give us all the energy we needed for our exciting morning ahead at Booth Island.
After a quick Zodiac ride ashore, we were greeted by all three species of brush-tail penguins waiting for us on the ice edge. We watched the endless line of penguins navigating the penguin highway from our landing site to their nests high up on the top of the nearby hill. Those of us who decided to hike up to the top of the mountain were rewarded with a breathtaking overview of the surrounding mountains and the many icebergs that filled the bay.
All too soon it was time to head back to the landing site and join one of our naturalists for a scenic Zodiac tour of the bay and we were definitely not disappointed! During our ride, humpback and minke whales played beneath our Zodiacs. Thousands of penguins formed ”rafts”
between the icebergs and could be seen porpoising in every direction. Not to be outdone, a group of crab eater seals sunned themselves on a nearby ice floe, while a trio of leopard seals hunted penguins below.
What a spectacular morning in Antarctica!
We can only wonder what adventures lay in store for us tomorrow below the Antarctic Circle.
