Today’s theme is whales. Killer whales, humpback whales, and whale-of-a-tale type stories.
At 4:15am we were woken by the disembodied voice over the speaker in our room telling us that there were killer whales off of our port side. I almost didn’t go down because I had only gotten to bed at 2:30 after finishing the blog and the DER. The temptation to role over and go to sleep was strong, but it was the first good whale sighting and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I missed. I rolled out of bed, threw on a sweater and headed out with my camera. If I had been worried about what I looked like, all I had to do was look around at the others and realize I was fine! There was a mish mash of robes, penguin pajamas, bright orange jackets and sweaters all huddled around the front of the ship, trying to get a good picture while half asleep. Most of us had forgotten gloves in our haste to get upstairs and so it was a game to see how long you could last out in the cold. At first the pod of Type A (large) killer whales was far off our bow, but after a time they swam directly up to our boat and surfaced numerous times not 20 feet away from us! The challenge was predicting where they were going to come up next! When I could no longer feel my fingers (I lasted about 35 minutes) before heading back down to our cabin to try and sleep for another couple of hours.
At 4:15am we were woken by the disembodied voice over the speaker in our room telling us that there were killer whales off of our port side. I almost didn’t go down because I had only gotten to bed at 2:30 after finishing the blog and the DER. The temptation to role over and go to sleep was strong, but it was the first good whale sighting and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I missed. I rolled out of bed, threw on a sweater and headed out with my camera. If I had been worried about what I looked like, all I had to do was look around at the others and realize I was fine! There was a mish mash of robes, penguin pajamas, bright orange jackets and sweaters all huddled around the front of the ship, trying to get a good picture while half asleep. Most of us had forgotten gloves in our haste to get upstairs and so it was a game to see how long you could last out in the cold. At first the pod of Type A (large) killer whales was far off our bow, but after a time they swam directly up to our boat and surfaced numerous times not 20 feet away from us! The challenge was predicting where they were going to come up next! When I could no longer feel my fingers (I lasted about 35 minutes) before heading back down to our cabin to try and sleep for another couple of hours.
Type A Killer whale to start the day. (This is 4:30am)
Our first expedition of the day took us to a landing site at Orne Harbour. We had 1000 ft (silly American’s using feet not meters) walk up to a ridgeline that gave us an amazing view Francis Mountain on one side and glacier on the other. The glacier is actually one that is being monitored by cameras (placed by James Ballog of Chasing Ice). Our mentor naturalists, Eric Guth, aka Ice Man is actually helping out with this project and was hoping to be able to fix a solar panel that had been blown off by the extreme winds in the area, and there was a chance that I could go with! Unfortunately there wasn’t a zodiac available, but at least I can say I’ve seen that glacier with my own eyes! At the top there was also a penguin colony so we spent about an hour getting a variety of pictures and watching penguins. The best part about this whole experience was that I did it all in snow pants and a t-shirt! It was better than spring skiing! The temperature was probably around 10C today and with the reflection off of the snow it felt even warmer. Although I put sunscreen on and wore glasses, I still managed to get a burn. Only on the back of my right hand though, who remembers to put sunscreen on the backs of their hand! I have found that my favorite way to get off of any incline in Antarctica is just to sit down and slide. This one was the best one yet and I felt like I was shooting down a luge. The trick was to stop before you went straight into the water… don’t worry mom, I was safe.
View from one side of the ridge at Orne
View from the other side of the ridge. Photo Credit: Nina Page
At lunch, an announcement was made that it was going to be calm enough at Cuverville Island to be able to kayak as well as have a POLAR PLUNGE at 5:00!
We were in a group that spent 1 hour at Cuverville Island and then did our kayaking. At Cuverville we were given the choice of staying by the water and checking out the largest Gentoo rookery in Antarctica, or hiking up to the peak of the island (1000ft which is the highest one we’ll have a chance to hike up on this trip). Is there any question of which one I chose? We had exactly one hour before we had to be back at the zodiac so we kept a pretty good pace up a steep switchback trail. We were rewarded at the top by 360 degree views of the area, including the ridge that we had just come from. Again this hike was done in a t-shirt, only putting on my jacket to protect my arms from the sun on the ways down. Too bad my right hand didn’t get that same sun protection. Again, the descent was sitting down and sliding our way to the bottom, just in time to catch the zodiac back to where our kayaks were waiting.
We were in a group that spent 1 hour at Cuverville Island and then did our kayaking. At Cuverville we were given the choice of staying by the water and checking out the largest Gentoo rookery in Antarctica, or hiking up to the peak of the island (1000ft which is the highest one we’ll have a chance to hike up on this trip). Is there any question of which one I chose? We had exactly one hour before we had to be back at the zodiac so we kept a pretty good pace up a steep switchback trail. We were rewarded at the top by 360 degree views of the area, including the ridge that we had just come from. Again this hike was done in a t-shirt, only putting on my jacket to protect my arms from the sun on the ways down. Too bad my right hand didn’t get that same sun protection. Again, the descent was sitting down and sliding our way to the bottom, just in time to catch the zodiac back to where our kayaks were waiting.
Slope on the hike up to the top of Cuverville Island
I partnered up with Nichole and we head off to check out the bergs that were floating around the island. We were warned to stay away from glaciers and large bergs, and that rule was quickly reinforced by a berg breaking up near the place where we were boarding the kayaks and causing a big ripple of water to move towards us. We kept our distance, but kept our eyes peeled for any calving events (when a chunk of the glacier breaks off… not talking about cows here). We heard the thundering cracks repeatedly, but I’ve still yet to see the actual calving process. We did however spot some Type B killer whales swimming along the other side of the channel! We lost them for a while, but then they reemerged just off the bow of the boat as we were coming in. I couldn’t help but think how jealous my dad would be if he were here right now.
But there was no time to dwell on that; it was off to our room to put on swimsuits! It was time for the dreaded polar plunge. For my outfit, I decided to go with the flannel penguin shorts that Megan made me. They were perfect! Thank you Megan. I'll post pictures when I get them.
We were one of the last groups to go so we got to watch everyone come back from the platform on which it was being held. I would say it was a pretty even split of people who thought it was the coldest thing they’d every experienced, and people who thought it was amazing and wanted to do it again. When it was our turn, the four of us, Nichole, Mariam, Nina and I, all jumped together. I was smart and chose the inside spot closest to the platform. The shock of the cold water is instantaneous and it feels like a million pin pricks. My only two thoughts were “it’s sure taking a long time to swim to the top” and “grab Lisa’s hand because she’ll pull you out”! And just like that it was done. A few seconds later I was wrapped in a big towel, sipping on hot chocolate with an bit of something special and pepperminty in it to help warm us up. Although I had no desire to do it again at that very moment, I definitely enjoyed the experience and would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to jump into 1degree water!
The polar plunge was the perfect activity for Christmas Eve. The music, the excitement over our bravery, the “special” hot chocolate all worked to create a festive mood. This extended into dinner (which was a special Swedish smorgasbord, complete with meatballs, pickled cabbage and pickled herring) and the evening activity (a showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas). Of course, not to be forgotten, the humpback whales decided to put on a couple of displays for us, completing this whale themed day. It’s neat to see families here spending the evening drinking wine and playing games. Even though I miss my family at a time like this, I feel incredibly fortunate to be travelling with some pretty amazing people who have quickly begun to feel like family. This will definitely be a Christmas to remember and I’ve decided that my official Christmas present to myself will be being in bed by 11pm so that I get a full 8 hours of sleep, a true Christmas miracle. That is, unless I wake up earlier to watch as we pass through the Lemare channel. Knowing myself, that seems like a pretty likely thing, so I’ll probably have to settle for 7.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from the Great White Continent! I will be thinking of you all tomorrow.
Side note:
I am writing this as we cruise down a channel and I can’t tell you how many bergs we’ve passed with anywhere from one to a dozen penguins just hanging out on top. This is actually becoming commonplace, to the point where I no longer jump for my camera every time I see it. I think I’m becoming a little bit spoiled.
But there was no time to dwell on that; it was off to our room to put on swimsuits! It was time for the dreaded polar plunge. For my outfit, I decided to go with the flannel penguin shorts that Megan made me. They were perfect! Thank you Megan. I'll post pictures when I get them.
We were one of the last groups to go so we got to watch everyone come back from the platform on which it was being held. I would say it was a pretty even split of people who thought it was the coldest thing they’d every experienced, and people who thought it was amazing and wanted to do it again. When it was our turn, the four of us, Nichole, Mariam, Nina and I, all jumped together. I was smart and chose the inside spot closest to the platform. The shock of the cold water is instantaneous and it feels like a million pin pricks. My only two thoughts were “it’s sure taking a long time to swim to the top” and “grab Lisa’s hand because she’ll pull you out”! And just like that it was done. A few seconds later I was wrapped in a big towel, sipping on hot chocolate with an bit of something special and pepperminty in it to help warm us up. Although I had no desire to do it again at that very moment, I definitely enjoyed the experience and would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to jump into 1degree water!
The polar plunge was the perfect activity for Christmas Eve. The music, the excitement over our bravery, the “special” hot chocolate all worked to create a festive mood. This extended into dinner (which was a special Swedish smorgasbord, complete with meatballs, pickled cabbage and pickled herring) and the evening activity (a showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas). Of course, not to be forgotten, the humpback whales decided to put on a couple of displays for us, completing this whale themed day. It’s neat to see families here spending the evening drinking wine and playing games. Even though I miss my family at a time like this, I feel incredibly fortunate to be travelling with some pretty amazing people who have quickly begun to feel like family. This will definitely be a Christmas to remember and I’ve decided that my official Christmas present to myself will be being in bed by 11pm so that I get a full 8 hours of sleep, a true Christmas miracle. That is, unless I wake up earlier to watch as we pass through the Lemare channel. Knowing myself, that seems like a pretty likely thing, so I’ll probably have to settle for 7.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from the Great White Continent! I will be thinking of you all tomorrow.
Side note:
I am writing this as we cruise down a channel and I can’t tell you how many bergs we’ve passed with anywhere from one to a dozen penguins just hanging out on top. This is actually becoming commonplace, to the point where I no longer jump for my camera every time I see it. I think I’m becoming a little bit spoiled.
Penguins on a Berg
RSS Feed
