Monday was a very successful day. Cuverville offered us the
perfect conditions for a beautiful landing and activities around the island.
The Expedition Team went ashore in the morning to prepare the routes that led
passengers to several viewing points with stunning views over (amongst others)
“Iceberg Alley”. On the way, people were able to see several Gentoo penguin
rookeries. They were particularly active, building nests to incubate and
walking back and forth to the water to take a bath. It's very entertaining to
watch and one could do this for hours. One of the paths led to the top of a big
hill where people were able to go down a snow slide. Our Chinese passengers
were by far the best at doing this!
The conditions were also perfect for kayaking. Our Expedition
team members Tessa and TJ took our passengers on a beautiful trip around the
area and were therefore able to see remote parts of the island and icebergs
from a unique perspective. An other activity passengers could join were the polar
circle boat cruises that took them on a jaw dropping 2 hour tour of the area
with our team member and bird-expert John. This very eventful morning was
definitely one of the best experiences we had on the cruise and everybody went
back on board with a smile from ear to ear.
In the afternoon, we were able to visit the Argentinian
Almirante Brown Station on the Antarctic continent in Paradise Harbour. Gentoo
penguins were once again present and activities like boat cruising were
available. Those joining the cruises were able to see Cormorants nesting on the
cliffs. Right next to the base is a very steep peak that passengers were able
to climb to get amazing views over the bay and the surrounding glaciers and
snow-covered mountain tops. Since the snow sliding was such a success in the
morning, Expedition Team trainee Tom was in charge of making a slide for
everyone to come down once they made it to the top of the hill. Many brave
passengers and crew members dared to tackle the wild descent and several went
for a second or third time! Once everybody was back on board, we continued
sailing towards Damoy Point where 18 lucky passengers camped outside on the
snow near the penguins. They all carried their own equipment and belongings to
a flat area where they set up their camp and got their tents ready. After a
nice hike around the island with the beautiful midnight sun, it was time to go
to bed. A unique experience, according to those who got to spend the night in
the pristine nature of Antarctica! Except for the campers, we had three very
lucky passengers. A couple from Germany and one other passenger were enjoying
the views outside when suddenly they spotted an Emperor Penguin swimming
amongst the ice! Even though we guaranty penguins on this cruise, a swimming
Emperor Penguin in the Antarctic Peninsula remains a rare sight. These are the
largest of all penguins and mainly have their colonies in places rarely visited
by cruises/expeditions. One of the three
passengers managed to take a picture of the penguin that you can see down
below. All credit for the picture goes to Kristina Klug and we thank her for letting us
put it on the blog!
Picture by Kristina klug
