I got to bed a bit later than usual last night because I was waiting for us to finish sailing by an iceberg so I could look around the far edge to the other side. It was no ordinary iceberg being large enough to have an official designation on the charts. Measuring 11 miles by 5 miles and with approximately 100 feet showing above the water, some quick calculations by some of my fellow passengers revealed it was approximately three times the size of Manhattan Island. We approached it at about the midpoint and turned right (starboard) to move along it. It seemed to take forever, measured in hours, to get past the huge mountain of ice. I simply had to stay awake long enough to see what the other edge looked like. Alas, after a long wait, as we got to the end of the seemingly endless length of ice, there was no edge to examine, but rather a point jutting out far enough that the rest of the topography of the iceberg will remain forever a mystery to me. I went to bed disappointed that I could not learn more but thrilled to see such an amazing manifestation of nature.
A very (!) small part of the large glacier we spent hours traveling along. Alas I did not get to see another edge….
We were headed to Elephant Island but when I woke up at 3 am and noticed how much the ship was tossing to and fro I suspected we would not be landing. At 7:30 am when I finally made it out of bed there was still very discernible motion and my fears were realized. The three meter swells that the ship was experiencing made loading the zodiacs too hazardous. After breakfast I was back at my perch on the bridge to watch the island go by as we traveled parallel to the shoreline. It was hard to imagine, looking at the extremely steep ice cliffs that formed the outer edges of the island that there was any one place that was accessible by boat. But our main goal for the day was to see the place where Shakleton’s crew had landed, set up camp, and waited in hope for rescue as he and a few others set out to South Georgia to find assistance.
It was a day of unexpected marvels. Fresh from seeing what I thought was the largest iceberg ever the night before, it was absolutely astounding to be confronted, in the distance off the starboard side of the ship opposite the island, with an even more massive block of ice, 20 miles on one side. From the bridge of the ship it looked like just another ice-bound island, but the sonar told a different story. So in the space of 24 hours we had the opportunity to see two of the three largest icebergs roaming around the Antarctic region. Amazing!
There were icebergs of all sizes wandering around everywhere.
To make the day even more special, we soon found ourselves in the middle of a pod of somewhere between 40-50 Fin whales feeding on krill near the surface. As we approached an underwater saddle between the tip of Elephant Island and another small island nearby, we found an area rich with wildlife. The relatively shallower waters in between the two landmasses drove the krill towards the surface bringing activity normally carried out in the unobservable depths close enough to the surface to give us a glimpse. As we approached the area we were constantly monitoring the blows of the whales and soon we could see large sleek brown bodies gliding across the surface as they came up for air and prepared to dive again. But the whales were not the only species feeding on the krill. Hundreds of penguins where also bobbing around on the surface, diving repeatedly to catch their fill. Circling in the air were tern and albatross vying for their share of the feast. Appropriately this amazing vista occurred around the time our lunch was scheduled but no one moved- the site before us was too enthralling. I chatted with the bridge crew later and was told this was the first time they had seen so many whales in one place. We were supremely lucky!
In the very small opening just to the left of the large rocky slope plunging into the water is the small beach where Shackleton left the bulk of his men when he sailed to South Georgia to get help.
After our cruise by Elephant Island we turned to the north-east to start the two day plus journey to the South Georgia Islands. I am looking forward to the next few days as we will be out in the open ocean, not necessarily in the center of the Drake passage, but near enough that we may experience some rough seas. Today’s swells were around 10 feet and that produced a noticeable roll in the ship. I am remain curious to see how bad it might get and whether or not I will get sea sick. So far, so good…..