New Year’s Day
started with cruising Antarctic Sound. The huge tabular icebergs were stunning.
There was also a variety of shapes and sizes of icebergs making for the most
awe-inspiring scenery. Plus, it was a bright sunny day!
Adelie Penguin
Adelie Penguins
en route to Paulet Island
ice around the ship
This morning
we missed Paulet Island because there was too much ice. Lots of floe ice and
our ship pressed on through lots of it. Then we hit a spot where the ship just stopped.
The captain pressed on and rammed it again. No luck. It was quite interesting
watching the smaller ice break up around us. There were a few Adelie penguins
and Weddel seals to keep us entertained as well. It was great fun “playing in
the ice”. We had a group photo taken in front of the Island. We made it as far
as 65.17*. Sooooo close! (66.5* is the Antarctic Circle) Then we backed out and
passed through the Sound again on our way to Brown Bluff.
Nikita assisting the captain with navigating
We could go no further.....
group photo with Paulet Island in the background
I'm behind Will just left of the bell and Greg is to my left
we played in the ice a bit with the ship and then backed out.....
Greg's feet off the side of the ship
Snow Petrel
The Adelie
Penguins are very busy penguins, they move about with great purpose. They were
very interesting to watch. Oh, and seriously cute!
We were also
rewarded with over 40 Orcas playing in the ocean. There were whale blows
everywhere. It was estimated that there were at least 40 to 50 whales all
around us. Orcas everywhere with a few Humpbacks mixed in. Amazing!
Orcas
Orca
Humpback
Adelie Penguins floating by
Humpback
It was now lunch time. So, we took a break from our long and exciting morning. I will break this into 2 posts since there was so much to see and this one is already long......and the afternoon will be too!
