Crystal Sound, Detaille Island
Well, I never thought that I would be sailing as far south
as I have. It all depends on the
ice conditions on where the Explorer
is actually headed. I can now officially say that I have crossed the Antarctic
Circle, 66 degrees 33 minutes south are the exact calculations. The crossing
last night was slowly around the area north of the Gullet, which is formed a
series of passages that lead further south.
Emperor Penguins |
After the spectacular showing, Jason one of the naturalist,
gave a talk about some aspects of the geology of Antarctica Peninsular, ice
forms, & glaciology. It was very interesting. I listened to it from my
cabin as I was I was editing my photos. Antarctica was once in the position of
where present day Alaska is & the continents all changes from continental
drift & plate tectonics. Also, researches referred to Antarctica as the
“ice” when they say “I’m going to the ice” rather than saying Antarctica. It’s definitely
the land of the ice!
British Base "W" |
I quite enjoyed myself on shore at the British Base. It’s
amazing to see how a working base in Antarctica was or still is. It is
preserved very well & fun to look around at the items that were abandoned. The Explorer is kind enough to pick up
the researchers & give them a lift back. From time to time the Explorer is known to do acts of
kindness. I had a chance to play in the snow after checking out the base with a
hike up to a look out to check out the Adelie Penguins. I did notice that the
snow had penguin feathers in it tho.
I also had an opportunity to take a Zodiac cruise with Bud the EL, where
I got to check out the Adelie’s swimming in the ocean & a few seals too.
Overall it has been another enjoyable day in the ice. I’m looking forward to
hearing more about this place from the researchers we just picked up. Adventure is always around the corner…
“The ocean is everything. It gives us oxygen & food, it
makes out lives possible, & it makes us dream of worlds unimaginable.
Without the ocean we would not be human.”
~Enric Sala