We awoke this morning to blustery winds and snow on the deck of the National Geographic Orion as we headed to our first landing on Cuverville Island at the northern end of the Errera Channel. Like many of these islands, Cuverville is home to a wealth of breeding birds including a large Gentoo penguin colony. We wound through large icebergs on the way to our landing on a rocky shore sprinkled with beautifully sculpted chunks of ice. Onshore we were met by thousands of Gentoo penguins, many of them following our own path from the beach to the snow above.
Climbing a small hill along with the Gentoos, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the penguin colonies with the beautiful blue icebergs and the National Geographic Orion beyond. The light overcast day made for superb photos in all directions. On the way to our next stop we passed through the dramatic scenery of the Errera Channel with towering cliffs and many wandering icebergs and flat sea ice.
A recap will follow our day’s events with a fine dinner to follow. We are now headed for Flanders Bay in our search for fast ice and the hope of walking and cross country skiing on the ice itself!
Our next stop was landing on the continent of Antarctica itself!! We found a suitable landing spot and all who landed got photos taken with the Lindblad/National Geographic planted firmly ion the snow.
After another excellent dinner we had a special treat about 10 p.m. when about a dozen killer whales were spotted in front of the ship to the port side. We followed them for some time as they cavorted in Gerlache Straight, splitting into two groups before they headed into the distance. It was a magical experience at the end of another wonderful day.
