24 December 2010

After breakfast our first landing today was at 9am on Danco Island. The island is covered in a thick snow which we had to crunch our way through to the top. But since the island is a common landing spot for the ship there were several trails for us to follow. There were also several “penguin highways” giving them access to the sea from their colony on top of the island and to the colony on the side of the island.

Penguin colony

Penguin Highways leading to the top

From the top of the island you get a majestic view of the mountainous peninsula and surrounding islands as well as the icy waters of Gerlache Strait. At first the air was calm but a sharp fast wind quickly blew in from off the peninsula. Katabatic winds, cold air dropping back to the earth from high in the atmosphere and rushing down the slopes of the hills and icebergs near the peninsula and towards us. I stayed for about twenty or thirty minutes before I made my way back down. Not long enough to see all the Israeli guys strip to their underwear and brandish the flag of Israel. 

View from the top of Danco Island

Penguins on the Highway

All the Israeli guys stripped to their underwear

Hiking down was a lot easier than hiking up. I practically slid the whole way down in my rubber boots. On the ship I finished watching La Mala Educación huddled up in bed.

We commenced our second landing of the day after lunch at 2:30. This time they divided the group in two according to the numbers on our assigned life jackets. One group landed on the peninsula while the other group did a tour of Paradise Bay in the zodiac boats. This landing was our first actual landing on the continent of Antarctica. It was pretty anticlimactic. There’s an old abandoned Argentine research station which the penguins have surrounded with their seasonal breeding colonies. We hiked a few meters up above the station but we didn’t follow the trail to the top of hill overlooking the whole area because of reports of hidden crevasses in the glacier underneath the snow deeming it unsafe. We waited at the landing site for almost half an hour before the boats returned to take our group on a tour of the bay.

View from the top with the research station

Paradise Bay was named so by whalers because of the calm nature of the water. We navigated our way along the edge of the mountains and between icebergs, seeing the most spectacular sights: cormorants nesting high up in the cliffs, blue patches of ice, mineral deposits seeping bright colors through the rocks, the jagged ends of glaciers extending of the land and floating in the water. The sounds of birds overhead and the crackle of unseen avalanches filled the air. Each avalanche sounded like a large cracking storm on the backside of the mountains. Once we turned in time to see the face or a wall of snow crumble into the ocean. Our helmsman stopped twice to collect huge chunks of clear ice for use on the ship. We found a lone weddell seal asleep on an iceberg but everyones attention was diverted as soon as a whale was spotted.  We  watched it surface a few times and did our best to followed its trail but lost it and then it was time to return to the ship. Everywhere was a beautiful picture waiting to be taken. It seemed pointless to even attempt to capture the stark regal beauty with which we were surrounded.

 

A penguin had hopped into Sebastian’s Zodiac and was having trouble jumping out so we went over to ogle the silly bird until he finally jumped back into the ocean.

While on land I took a rock to give to my sister Courtney. If anyone saw me they didn’t say a word. If I see a better rock I think I will do a trade. Tomorrow we may get to visit an Ukrainian research station if ice and weather conditions permit. We will be able to send postcards from there.

Dinner was a barbecue with chicken, lamb, and sausage. At my table this young German girl, Carolin, and a man from Maryland, Mark, began wondering how many different nationalities were on board. Once we got it figured out they then had all the tables guess the number with the winning table receiving a bottle of champagne. Mark was going to have the bottle charged to his account but the chef convinced the ship to donate two bottles because there were two winning tables. The answer was 24. 

Later Mark approached me asking if I would sing Christmas songs but I don’t know any so instead I lent my iPod which had a Bright Eyes Christmas album. I hadn’t even listened to it but it wasn’t too nontraditional for everyone. Though it does feel awkward to participate in any celebration of Christmas since I do not celebrate the holidays.

While writing this entry a whale appeared off the side and then the bow of the ship and we all ran out to watch it surface. Also earlier today it was exceptionally sunny and we took a group photo on the bow of the ship. My roommate did not participate though because he did not hear the announcement. This was right after lunch.

I was playing cards with the Israelis and some other new friends, one who happened to be the sixteen year old son of the ship’s geologist, when his dad came over and discreetly told him and us about a party happening later on in a secret location. He told his son to follow him so he could see the location and then return with us later. The crew was having a Christmas party. When we arrived they were still playing secret santa and passing out gifts. But then the music and dancing began.  One guy handed me a cup of foul smelling fruit pulp that was really a strawberry daiquiri. Suddenly the music stopped. A call from the captain saying he was coming down. They rushed us out of the cramped room and around a corner and back upstairs. Finally all was clear and they came to get us and now they had a black light and a strobe light and more music and dancing. But the captain showed up there too. He wasn’t displeased at all but wished all a Merry Christmas and then left. The music and dancing continued for a few more hours. I left an hour later and the party was still happening. The sun has not set. It is the color of an early morning. The color of the sky makes it seem as if we were partying all night and its only 1 am.