Drake Passage & Halfmoon Island
As we awoke this morning to calmer seas in the Drake Passage, we were treated to an incredible show of seabirds following the ship and performing spectacular maneuvers. A wonderful surprise occurred with the appearance of a number of Antarctic petrels in the mix of our avian escorts. These beautiful birds, which look similar to Cape petrels, are rare to see in this area of Antarctica and even rarer out in the Drake. Many of the photographers were out on deck trying to capture all these magnificent birds.
Late in the morning the first land was seen in the distance and you could feel the excitement grow as we knew we were getting close to our goal and our first landing. Just after lunch we entered English Passage and got to our proposed landing site in the Aitcho Islands. After taking a Zodiac in to scout the landing, it was decided that the tide was too low and it would be very difficult to land on Barrentos Island. A quick decision was made to reposition to the other side of Greenwich Island and attempt a landing on Halfmoon Island. This turned out to be a very good decision; the weather was absolutely perfect and made for an easy landing site. Right around three o’clock we headed ashore, with a high level of excitement running through the National Geographic Endeavor. It seemed like everyone wanted to stretch their legs after being on the ship for almost two days, about half of the guests signed up for the long walk. It was a little difficult walking in some areas because of the amount of snow still present, but everyone stuck with it and we had a great, if not adventuresome, hike! Lisa made a decision to head back so that we would have ample time left to see and photograph the chinstrap penguins that were nested above our landing site. Some of us also decided to continue over to where seals had been spotted by Ryan. A lot of photos were taken during our three hours ashore, and a wonderful time was had by all!
Back on the National Geographic Endeavor, we quickly got ready for the captain’s cocktail party and dinner. After much good cheer and a lot of fun conversation, we settled in for the night and wondered what kind of magic would await us tomorrow!
As we awoke this morning to calmer seas in the Drake Passage, we were treated to an incredible show of seabirds following the ship and performing spectacular maneuvers. A wonderful surprise occurred with the appearance of a number of Antarctic petrels in the mix of our avian escorts. These beautiful birds, which look similar to Cape petrels, are rare to see in this area of Antarctica and even rarer out in the Drake. Many of the photographers were out on deck trying to capture all these magnificent birds.
Late in the morning the first land was seen in the distance and you could feel the excitement grow as we knew we were getting close to our goal and our first landing. Just after lunch we entered English Passage and got to our proposed landing site in the Aitcho Islands. After taking a Zodiac in to scout the landing, it was decided that the tide was too low and it would be very difficult to land on Barrentos Island. A quick decision was made to reposition to the other side of Greenwich Island and attempt a landing on Halfmoon Island. This turned out to be a very good decision; the weather was absolutely perfect and made for an easy landing site. Right around three o’clock we headed ashore, with a high level of excitement running through the National Geographic Endeavor. It seemed like everyone wanted to stretch their legs after being on the ship for almost two days, about half of the guests signed up for the long walk. It was a little difficult walking in some areas because of the amount of snow still present, but everyone stuck with it and we had a great, if not adventuresome, hike! Lisa made a decision to head back so that we would have ample time left to see and photograph the chinstrap penguins that were nested above our landing site. Some of us also decided to continue over to where seals had been spotted by Ryan. A lot of photos were taken during our three hours ashore, and a wonderful time was had by all!
Back on the National Geographic Endeavor, we quickly got ready for the captain’s cocktail party and dinner. After much good cheer and a lot of fun conversation, we settled in for the night and wondered what kind of magic would await us tomorrow!
