Antarctica Days 8-9
What a superlative day! In the morning, the ship stopped at Recess Cove and we headed out in zodiacs, fully suited for the cold. We had 2 naturalists with us who specialized in geology and wildlife and we found ourselves in the middle of pods of humpback whales, including mothers and their pups. I am meaning a lot of whales – estimated at 50 or more. Later in the day, our expedition leader said this was a once in a decade event, to have so many whales at one time in one place.
Everywhere we looked were the black backs of 1, 2, 3, 4 whales who would turn and dive showing their individual fin designs as they descended to catch krill. These did not breach because there was no need for them to dive deeply to obtain the nourishment they needed. But everyone on this cruise saw and took numerous photos of many arising and disappearing tail fins.
The whale’s heads with their pronounced knobby protrusions or tubercles used for receiving sensory information would come up briefly and then return to their resting position in the water. Every tail fin is different, like a fingerprint, so each of these magnificent mammals can be identified. It was a definite highpoint of this expedition cruise to be in a zodiac surrounded by so many humpback whales.
We had learned of and saw again and again the bubble circles which the whales create as a form of net for the krill. The bubbles force the krill upwards to make them more concentrated and easier to catch in large numbers. This behavior is seen as a rare cooperative endeavor where these large mammals help out their companions to obtain food. It was hard to leave this white blue and grey world but all of our hands and feet were cold and a hot lunch awaited.
The afternoon adventure was a zodiac cruise around Graham passage in light snow and wind. The original plan was for the ship to drop us off at the South end of the passage so we could cruise up on our own zodiacs and then meet in the North. But the direction of the wind made that more difficult so the plan was reversed and we embarked on our crafts at the top and then motored down, stopping off at some coves and moving past some amazing large icebergs. The water was calm but the snow, which became more like sleet as time went on, landed on us in large flakes and visibility lessened.
We had the head of the expedition team and the team scientist in our zodiac who were die-hard antarctic researchers and were waiting for one of us to speak up and suggest we head back to the ship – which I eventually I did and which was followed by enthusiastic affirmation from the others in our vesssel. I asked how many people were still out when we returned and were checked back in — and were told 26 people were still on the water, including the kayakers who must be hardy souls to deal with these weather conditions. We were out 1.5 hours and were glad to unthaw our hands and feet back in our warm and cozy cabin.
Our evening talk was, of course, about the whales we had seen and details of the physiognomy of these largest of earth’s mammals. There is much known and so much more unknown about these impressive creatures of the sea.
This morning Pat and I are sitting at the front of the beautiful top observation lounge, while snow falls outside, building a covering of white on the railing and on the deck. Large icebergs move past as we cruise at a slow pace North-East. Our zodiac outing this morning was cancelled due to weather and I am glad to have some down time, the first of this cruise, to catch up on this blog and a few personal chores. Winter, I think, is here and I am thinking of all those little penguins still molting and needing their cold weather feathers to survive. And the whales may begin to make their way toward their winter havens along the coast of South America, Africa and Australia/New Zealand.
Each meal is a buffet of excellent food and it is hard to avoid overeating. The head waiter personally attends to me each meal, providing me a menu of the next lunch or dinner and asking what I would like — and then arranges to have it prepared without dairy or salt. Amazing service!
The ship has shifted locations and the weather has cleared up somewhat so that we can go out once again in the afternoon in our zodiacs, this time into Lindblad Cove and Charcot Bay.
It is grey and the main visual beauty is of the astounding icebergs, big and small, and many fur seals each resting solitary on its own frozen piece of this continent. Our expedition team member, a woman from Aberdeen Scotland with a strong accent, shuts off the motor so we can sit in the complete quiet for a few minutes and hear the water lapping and ice cracking. The water is moving gently and some of the ice bergs are rocking back and forth to the extent where it is possible they will quickly flip over and create potentially strong waves, so we keep our distance from them. The markings on the ice from development over time are remarkable and could hardly be conceived of by the most creative avant garde artist.
Our cabin is compact and perfectly suited for our needs, with a couch by our verandah looking out of floor to ceiling windows, where we often sit and watch the flow of this white world go by.
Only one more outing before we begin our journey home through the Drake Passage and Chilean Fjords. We are hoping for a smooth journey.