January 10, 2024    

Wine, Penguins & More

Friday, January 5th was our last zodiac excursion day in Antartica.  We had two excursions that day, the first was an ice field bay cruise, including champagne.  The Capitan and crew were waiting for us in the bay with morning champagne - it was a special treat that made the cruise more fun as we searched the water for humpback whales - as usual, we were not disappointed and saw multiple whale pods.  We also picked-up some sea ice for margarita's once back on-board.  Enjoying any drink with 1,000 year old, crystal clear iceberg "ice" was a special experience.  

The afternoon zodiac excursion was to a nearby island for a hike/walk in the snow - the snow was not a "slick" as Danco Island, so the stroll was truly fun.  At the top of the hike, we were treated to a special experience because a juvenile Emperor Penguin was not a nearby island and we could see it clearly through the guides binoculars.  Since Emperor Penguins do not nest/breed in the Antartica Peninsula, but on nearby islands, we were quite fortunate to see one at all.  This again was the overriding theme of our Antartica trip in that we were lucky enough to see four different penguin breeds (not including the Emperor) as well as multiple pods of humpback whales - the onboard Discovery Team identified 37 different Humpback whales through photographs of the whale tails - by far the largest number of whales this entire Antartica season, to date.  We enjoyed daily seal sighting as well, so this truly was a bucket-list trip that far exceeds ones expectations due to the scale of the area, beauty, wildlife and simply enjoying an unspoiled environment.  

Saturday & Sunday January 6th & 7th, we again crossed the Drake Passage and returned to Ushuaia.  We are pleased to say we experienced the Drake "Lake" version of the Passage both directions during our trip.  With that being said, we did experience 3.5 to 4.0 meter waves on the return trip and that was fun, but makes us truly happy that we did not find the 20 to 30 foot waves that several recent Scenic trips faced in this area.  Enjoy the attached pictures and I hope this blog gave you a sense of the splendor of Antartica and perhaps adds the trip to your "bucket-list".  



Humpback Whale


One Last Iceberg Picture


Sea Ice for a Margarita


Checkout how "clear" the Ice is!


Notice the shades of Blue in the Iceberg


Humpbacks Up Close & Personal


Champagne Cruise courtesy of the Captain


One last group Pic in Antartica


Friends with Champagne


Enjoying Champagne, but not as cold as she looks!

Comments

  1. PAULA CLEMENSJanuary 10, 2024 at 4:40 PM

    Great job Jeff! I'm so happy you all had a fun trip and did not encounter the BIG waves that can be in the Drake passage. Hope the rest of your trip is just as exciting as Antarctica. Great memories!

    ReplyDelete

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