This morning at about 07:30 we crossed the Antarctic
Circle. How exotic and romantic
does that sound? The Antarctic Circle!
Crossing the Antarctic Circle is the stuff of which documentaries and
dreams are made. It’s not
something that one does one’s self is it?
You read about other people doing it but today we joined an elite group
of explorers and adventurers. We
are now proud members of an exclusive club and we even have a certificate to
prove it!!
At about 10:00 we started our landing at Detaille Island
which was a British Base called Base W and was in operation from February 21st
1956 until March 31st 1959.
Recently the British Antarctic Heritage Trust has been doing some
renovations to the interior and exterior of the main building.
We were fortunate to have blue skies once again this
morning which presented ideal conditions for an Antarctic plunge. 49 people took the opportunity to go
for a quick dip south of the circle.
After all, when will you ever again in your life have the chance to go
for a swim... ahem, dip, so far south?
Probably never.
We wrapped up our landing at Detaille at 13:30 and headed
further south in the hopes of being able to reach the Gullet. At 15:00 it became apparent that the
ice was too thick for us to make any more southerly progress. It was decided that we should have a
group photo on deck five to commemorate our crossing of the circle and our
furthest point south. It was only
when we we were out on deck that we realized that we had a special
visitor. It was none other than
HRH King Neptune.
King Neptune
was collecting payment for us crossing the Antarctic Circle. Anyone willing to pay the sacrifice had
icy water poured down the back of their neck. The consolation was a shot of rum right after! Surprisingly there was a lineup of
eager (crazy!) people anxious to have ice water dumped on them. Or was it the Rum they were after? The last person to be baptized was Rochel from the crew. Actually she wasn’t in line. She got dragged over!
We then turned to the north in search of a suitable
location to go for a cruise in the Polar Cirkel boats. There was a magnificent ice berg very
close to Detaille Island. Truly
this iceberg was a marvel. It was
worth launching the Polar Cirkel boats so that everyone could get a closer
look.
Now it is
20:00 and we are making our way north once again. Tomorrow’s plan is to attempt a landing at the Fish Islands.
