PolarQuest’s guides are blogging from Ocean Nova on the trip Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.
Enveloped in mist and fog, legendary Elephant Island welcomed us with open arms this morning, peaceful seas and no wind, almost unheard of in this place mercilessly exposed to the fury of nature’s storms. As if by the same hand that offered deliverance to those hardy men long marooned here, the veil of mist lifted on arrival, revealing virgin snows on voluptuous mountainous peaks and black brooding cliff faces, their crevices dusted with ice crystals, delineating their fractured forms.
Beautiful blue icebergs in layered azure wandered and waltzed the eddy currents around Point Wild. Sea had sculptured recognisable patterns; a blue whale and a lion resting. We dropped our trusty fleet of Zodiacs and went in for a closer look.
Colourful Cape petrel’s or pintado’s, patterned snowflakes on chocolate, swirled above our heads, to find sanctuary in nesting holes in vertical rock walls. Chinstrap penguins in their hundreds nested on impossibly elevated icy platforms, high above the often raging, untrustworthy breaking tide and beyond the prowl of hungry leopard seals.
Hot breakfast and steamy coffee fuelled us for Morten’s illumination on identifying cetaceans in ‘What’s that whale?’, so relative to our amazing last two days of sightings of fin, blue and killer whales.
As every minute ticked by, we sailed more deeply into the inner sanctum of Antarctic waters. Now in the ‘screaming sixties’ wind speed rose as our Ocean Nova gallantly maintained her line and balance, securing a safe passage south.
Raw fury, brilliant greens and blues, white capped waves, distant island summits bathed in pure snow reflections, dramatic gleaming icebergs released to drift direction less in the maelstrom. We came here to experience wildness and Antarctica was delivering!
