Antarctica - Day 4 - Mist, Snow, Ice and Paradise

Position: Lat. 64° 53’S, Long. 62° 52’W Speed: 10.8 knots Course: 250° Barometer: 986.6 hPa steady
Wind: 5 knots NE Air temperature: 0° C Sea temperature: 0° Celsius

Penguins are beautiful, interesting and funny. They are a pleasure to watch even though they do smell and their voices are not melodious. —George Gaylord Simpson, Penguins Past and Present

I woke to the words “Iceberg ahead!”. How excited we were as we quickly dressed and began our morning’s occupation. Looming from the mist grotesque shapes in ice, enriched with blues and mauves, delicate clear sculptures of birds and seahorses drifted by amongst larger sculptures, and then it was the turn of the whales. 

A lecture from Keith seemed to conjure two humpback whales close to the ship and then we heard Captain Yury call “Orrrrcas”. Over the next few minutes we saw pairs and small groups of orcas speeding their way in the opposite direction, perhaps explaining why there were so many penguins perched on their temporary drifting homes.

“Four hours until Paradise,” someone called. We filled the time cruising to the much anticipated Paradise Harbour, marvelling at the bergs through snow flurries that at first drifted and then were driven on icy winds. 

For some reason this seemed the ideal time for morning tea outside on the bow. Everyone donned their cold-weather gear and enjoyed rich, hot chocolate and warm, freshly baked Chelsea bun in the snow. 

Our Zodiacs approached the rocks and bright rusty red buildings of the abandoned Argentinean base, as if on cue the mist lifted, it stopped snowing and we enjoyed the next few hours in increasing sunshine.

The climb up the steep hill behind the base was supposedly to take in the magnificent view of our little ship floating on a mirror littered with ice, but we all know the real reason was so that we could slide all the way to the bottom again. After the first few bottoms had moved the snow out of the way there was so much fun and laughter for the rest of us as we accelerated downhill. 

No words or pictures can truly explain what happened next. We cruised in our Zodiacs through a mystical world. Slipping through newly formed slushy ice, bumping over brash ice, gliding around and through exquisite shapes and colours, drifting close to hanging glaciers, marvelling at enormous fissures of impossible blues, and then the sun broke through and recreated the scene all over again, painting it with magical light. 

We had two hours of bliss before returning to a warm ship and an equally stunning cruise along the Neumayer Channel. In amongst all this we managed to wrap gifts, decorate Christmas trees, listen to an excited Eva talk to a friend over the radio at Port Lockroy and eat delicious meals.