Before doing anything, I had to wait for the waves to break after stepping carefully down the gangway of the cruise vessel. Taking one fast stride, I was seated in my rubber boat. Among the things our small tourist group bounced by in a matter of minutes were a napping seal and chunks of large striking blue ice. To get to the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula, I swing my legs over the zodiac as soon as the boat comes to a stop at a rocky beach.
As I walked along blocks of ice in the shore, my nose is struck by a stinging guano smell and a remarkable sight. Happy, waddling penguins reaching hundreds were surrounding me and it was nice to watch them. Their numbers stretch high up a rocky slope, about as far as I can see. It’s our first landing on this remotest of continents, and already the two day cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina, through infamously rough seas is paying off. Increasingly, tourists across nations learn how much this vast crystalline wilderness situated at the bottom of the world is worth all the hassles in traveling.
There is an increase of tourists every year and just last year, over 26,000 tourists came. Lectures on antics of sneaky penguins are able to break patterns of swirling blue off. The weather is extremely pleasant during the Decembers of the austral summer even as this continent is known to be the world’s coldest. Going beyond freezing point, temperatures even reach up to 40s while on the realm of the peninsula. The time when trips usually run is from November to March.
This cruise ship, 100 meters long, was built to traverse icy waters can carry around 100 travelers and it spends around 11 days at sea. The ship is not fancy at all, but it is extremely comfy. It has a cozy bar and lounge, plus an auditorium and library. Antarctica can be reached by small yachts. Friday is when we bid the port farewell. The next morning, we got the chance to behold a spectacle of marvelous southern sea birds as they glide, especially the remarkable albatrosses.
As they sail through the seas, the tour guides present creative ways to keep passengers excited such as experts led lectures about geology, birds, marine science, history and even creative visual arts that enable them to paint and draw icebergs and sneaky penguins. While global warming is always discussed, it came as a surprise that lectures on this did not surface during the trip.
The trip’s highlights occurred in nearby islands and even during continental landings. Listening to the stentorian cracking boom of a calving iceberg and watching an avalanche occur from a distance are truly once in a life time experiences. Much can be seen from the decks of the vessel. As the span of darkness is quite short this time of year, travelers get their money’s worth and much more.
Be sure that you are heavily dressed to keep the icy winds from making you cold as you gaze at the marvelous spectacle of beautiful wind carved iceberg sculptures that shimmer in shades of white or brilliant blue. Passing through breathtaking landscapes, high mountains brimming with jewel like glacier caught our eyes as they hang. Whales rising into view would be a pleasant rarity. A beautiful and long lasting sunset makes the sky its canvas of red and orange colors.
One elderly passenger needed to be evacuated soon after getting so sick and this shocked us as we got back on our cruise liner. This means we will make a long detour overnight and go back to the South Shetland Islands to get to an airstrip. Because of dire instances like this evacuation which really puts a great financial toll on the patient, it is wise to get medical evacuation insurance before hopping on board that trip.
As soon as the passenger was sent to Chile for his evacuation, we found our way to Ardley Island, where Gentoo chicks were being fed by their penguin parents. A penguin feeds its young by delicately taking the head of the chick into its mouth and regurgitates a krill into its young?s mouth, and a slimy strand from beak to beak is left.
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