After almost two weeks, it was finally time to truly “hit the ice” on my Aurora Expeditions’ Sylvia Earle journey. In a rather curious way, after the Falkland Islands, but even more so, South Georgia, were huge successes despite the weather and seas, arriving in the more “expected” Antarctica brought a feeling of calm and, actually, a sense of home.
We eventually arrived at a new place for me, Recess Cove, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. I had one of the best zodiac cruises for just looking at the glaciers and snow. It offered the epitome of “the photos don’t do it justice.” Everything was too big, too textured, too many shades of blue; really just too much.
It was the perfect place for the expedition team to arrange a landing on some fast ice. (FYI, which doesn’t mean the ice is fast, but rather it is fastened to the land.) Having done that before, I preferred to stay on zodiac and cruise around some more. I literally could feel my heart slowing down.
The afternoon landing was at Danco Island. It is my least favorite landing as, for me, it is just a relatively steep hike up a hill to see pretty much the same view I can see from Deck 8 of the Sylvia Earle, so I stayed onboard, soaked in one of the two hot tubs admiring the view and then relaxed in the oceanview sauna. The guests that did the hike did enjoy it, as I did when I previously had done it.
This was one of the areas where I have seen a lot of whales. However, this time of year is really very early for them and seals, who are still migrating. It was disappointing not having close encounters with humpback and minke whales or crabeater and leopard seals. But that is the tradeoff of going on an expedition in October or November and being blown away by the elephant seals and more in South Georgia.
We then repositioned to one of my favorite places: Paradise Bay. This is where guests can sleep overnight on the ice. (Why, I am not sure. But they all loved it.) As we were sailing in, the sun began to set, and it was nothing short of spectacular! The colors changed, the clouds and ice gave texture, and the silence of the water allowed for mirrors to form. Guests and expedition team were out on deck, mesmerized, with some folks on excited video calls while on Facetime or WhatsApp.
Paradise Bay, Antarctica
Paradise Bay, Antarctica
I was either on deck or in the Observation Lounge on Deck 8, right by the windows, with a cocktail and taking in Antarctica, just bragging about how beautiful it is.
The next morning, the plan was for a zodiac ride followed by a landing at Brown’s Station, a pretty much abandoned Argentinian site. Once again, I opted to skip the hike up a hill for more time in the zodiac. Snowy came through again by visiting areas that hadn’t really been explored by zodiac before, and it was breathtaking.
Then, in stark contrast, Aurora Expeditions always has a deck barbeque. However, it includes funny hats and blaring music. I know most guests really enjoyed it. But for me, the beauty and tranquility of Paradise Bay juxtaposed with it just seemed wrong. An hour and a half of it, and it was over. Whew!
More importantly, we were headed to my absolute favorite place in Antarctica: Neko Harbour. The skies were overcast, there was a lot of snow, and the number of gentoo penguins seemed much lower than in previous years, but the utter beauty of standing straight across from a beautiful glacier while above this tranquil harbor as you listen and watch the gentoos’ early season courtships just gave me chills…again.
And then, little things like a calving here and an avalanche in the distance reminded me of the vulnerability of humans in Antarctica, even in this most peaceful of places.
With that, Post Polar Depression set in. It was now to be two days crossing the Drake Passage to Ushuaia. But Ashley, our intrepid and determined Expedition Leader, had a surprise. In the morning, on our way back to Ushuaia, we would make an early morning landing on Snow Island. It is another rarely visited site. And it quelled my depression…at least for a while.
Up early, it was a long, cold, zodiac ride to Snow Island, where we were greeted by a harem of elephant seals, including the big males and newborn pups.
As picturesque as it was, what charmed me was an elephant seal weaner (just weaned) that just wanted a cuddle. He/she couldn’t take its eyes off of me and would give out a little bark and move closer. I’d move away to the left and it followed me; same to the right. In fact, it followed me right to the shoreline. Precious and priceless.
With one and half days crossing the Drake Passage with the full day being the “Drake Lake”, depression set in, but so did some thinking back at how this expedition started with huge storms, a total reversal of our itinerary, skipping some stops, sailing north and west before heading south to Antarctica. And, of course, how nonetheless Aurora Expeditions provided a truly awe-inspiring experience throughout.
Next up: The Ship and Reflections!
