Today was the day of whales! It started in the early morning with numerous tall spouts way ahead of the ship. As we got closer, we identified humpback whales, fin whales, and finally, a blue whale. During the next couple of hours, four more blues were identified. At recap, we learned that the latest Antarctic blue whale abundance (2018) is 3,064 and slowly growing after they were hunted to near extinction in the previous century. The blues gave us some mind-blowing views just ahead of the ship. We heard the impressive blows and the even louder Wows! on the outer decks as we marveled over the biggest creature on the planet.
In the afternoon, we were all invited behind the scenes for tea, sweets, and drinks as we learned about the activities in other departments on the ship. A constructive, friendly feedback session for photos rounded off another great day in the Amundsen Sea.
