Today we continued north, bound for Ushuaia, Argentina from where we set off to The Ice some nine days ago. In the early hours of the morning, we crossed one of the major ecological boundaries on the planet: the Antarctic Convergence Zone. This is an area in the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica where the sea temperature changes rapidly from 2 degrees Celsius to the south to 7 degrees Celsius to the north. As we leave the frigid waters behind, we are greeted by a different species assemblage of birds and mammals. Hourglass and Peale’s dolphins (both endemic to the southern seas) both came rushing-in close to the ship to briefly ride in the bow-wave. Such fleeting glimpses are difficult to photograph, but are more easily etched in our memories.
As land emerged from behind a veil of clouds, we were treated to views of the fabled and infamous Cape Horn. This major promontory juts out towards the Southern Ocean dividing the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Large phalanxes of sooty shearwaters exploded into view all morning, zipping past our bow. This bird is an incredibly accomplished flier, covering tens of thousands of kilometres on an annual migration that takes it from here to the northern seas: either to Alaska or Britain. Among the thousands of shearwaters, black-browed albatrosses and white-chinned petrels made short work of the stiff wind. It is mesmerising to watch them wheeling against the sky - banking steeply into the wind to gain lift before dropping down to within a whisker of the sea’s choppy surface. This way of travelling is known to ornithologists as “dynamic soaring”.
As we entered the Beagle Channel, some of us were out on deck feasting on the rich smell of the land. It was a scent of pine and earth, something that we have not smelled for over a week… and indeed a smell that we scarcely notice by us land-lubbers, until we leave it behind for some time. Although a sheltered body of water, the Beagle Channel was being whipped up by a strong wind, adding to the dramatic landscape of snow-capped mountains and forests of Tierra del Fuego. Now it is time to recall our amazing adventures together at the Captain’s farewell cocktail party. It is difficult for us to part ways, having gotten to share so many memorable moments together: the crackling sounds of the ice, the smell of the plankton, the haunting and other-worldly call of the Weddell Seal.
