Paulet Island & Antarctic Sound
In the wee hours of the morning, the National Geographic Explorer entered Antarctic Sound which separates the Antarctic Peninsula from a group of three large, ice-capped islands to the north. The sound, popularly known as Ice Berg Alley, was named for Capt. Larsen’s ship Antarctic, which was beset and crushed by ice in the Weddell Sea in 1903.
Early risers found our ship’s decks covered in a fresh layer of snow which continued to fall until breakfast time. As we left Antarctic Sound and entered Erebus and Terror Gulf, the snow stopped and the ceiling of low cloud lifted; we were able to see Paulet Island ahead…the focus of our morning’s activities.
Our captain anchored a stone’s throw from our landing beach which made our Zodiac operations quick and easy. While half our compliment of guests went ashore to see the ruins of Larsen’s castaways’ hut and experience the site’s sounds and smells of 100,000 plus pairs of nesting Adélie penguins, the rest of us explored along the shore and among the jostling ice floes by Zodiac. Halfway through the morning, we switched positions so everyone got to engage in both options.
By noon, all were back on board comparing experiences and enjoying Chef Daniel’s Mexican-styled lunch. Soon, we were headed back around the tip of the peninsula to be dwarfed between massive tabular ice bergs aground in over 7000 feet of water. Capt. Kruess deftly navigated our ship as if it were a small pleasure craft through the narrow canyons created by these impressive frozen giants.
Slowly we made our way back through Antarctic Sound and out into Bransfield Strait for a night of smooth sailing toward whatever adventure tomorrow will bring.
