James Ross Island and Brown Bluff
It was another glorious sunrise as we awoke in the Weddell Sea to find Vega and James Ross Islands off our port beam this morning. The breeze was crisp and the sky was clear, offering a big reminder for sunscreen today in this bright world of ice and snow. Passing by Vega Island, with its enormous waterfalls cascading off the volcanic cliffs, we dropped anchor for our morning activities: a hike up to an overlook on Cape Lachman of nearby James Ross Island and a Zodiac cruise to some beautiful grounded ice bergs north of the cape.
The hikers put ashore at the base of the Martian-like, volcanic cape, and slowly meandered upward, ever upward, to a high lake, and then an even higher prominence. From here, the overlook was fantastic, spotting the waterfalls of Vega Island to the East and the glacial, white peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West. A soft descent and a tidal beach walk to our Zodiac pickup offered us a terrific opportunity to stretch our legs and burn off some of the Thanksgiving turkey from the night before! The Zodiac tours enjoyed bopping around the cape to observe the Adelie penguins on sea ice cliffs, a Crabeater Seal, and amazing ice features of ice bergs just off shore.
After lunch and a fine lecture by our naturalist Steve MacLean, our day finished with another chance to overload our cameras with pictures of penguins – this time Adelies and Gentoos! Our landing was Brown Bluff, a fantastic site literally right on the north end of the Antarctic Peninsula proper. The volcanic coast was covered with colonies of the penguins lying directly beneath the giant, brown cliffs that beetled overhead. Approaching the coast in the bright sunlight, the penguins looked like little shiny, white jewels amidst a dark, rocky landscape of boulders and stones.
We weaved our way through a network of growler bergs and splashed ashore to walk down and watch the penguins in their colonies. What a surprise we had to discover that the Gentoo colonies already have little chicks! Perhaps born only four or five days ago, it was a special treat to watch the little floof balls nestled under their parents’ tummies and reaching up for food with hopeful, hungry cheeps. Adelies marched back and forth, and in and out along the shore, while others practiced their balancing skills atop the rocking growler bergs floating just offshore along the coast.
It was penguin heaven out on Brown Bluff, and we enjoyed them to the last before we headed back for a fine evening of recap and a well deserved dinner!
It was another glorious sunrise as we awoke in the Weddell Sea to find Vega and James Ross Islands off our port beam this morning. The breeze was crisp and the sky was clear, offering a big reminder for sunscreen today in this bright world of ice and snow. Passing by Vega Island, with its enormous waterfalls cascading off the volcanic cliffs, we dropped anchor for our morning activities: a hike up to an overlook on Cape Lachman of nearby James Ross Island and a Zodiac cruise to some beautiful grounded ice bergs north of the cape.
The hikers put ashore at the base of the Martian-like, volcanic cape, and slowly meandered upward, ever upward, to a high lake, and then an even higher prominence. From here, the overlook was fantastic, spotting the waterfalls of Vega Island to the East and the glacial, white peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West. A soft descent and a tidal beach walk to our Zodiac pickup offered us a terrific opportunity to stretch our legs and burn off some of the Thanksgiving turkey from the night before! The Zodiac tours enjoyed bopping around the cape to observe the Adelie penguins on sea ice cliffs, a Crabeater Seal, and amazing ice features of ice bergs just off shore.
After lunch and a fine lecture by our naturalist Steve MacLean, our day finished with another chance to overload our cameras with pictures of penguins – this time Adelies and Gentoos! Our landing was Brown Bluff, a fantastic site literally right on the north end of the Antarctic Peninsula proper. The volcanic coast was covered with colonies of the penguins lying directly beneath the giant, brown cliffs that beetled overhead. Approaching the coast in the bright sunlight, the penguins looked like little shiny, white jewels amidst a dark, rocky landscape of boulders and stones.
We weaved our way through a network of growler bergs and splashed ashore to walk down and watch the penguins in their colonies. What a surprise we had to discover that the Gentoo colonies already have little chicks! Perhaps born only four or five days ago, it was a special treat to watch the little floof balls nestled under their parents’ tummies and reaching up for food with hopeful, hungry cheeps. Adelies marched back and forth, and in and out along the shore, while others practiced their balancing skills atop the rocking growler bergs floating just offshore along the coast.
It was penguin heaven out on Brown Bluff, and we enjoyed them to the last before we headed back for a fine evening of recap and a well deserved dinner!
