Cuverville/Paradise Bay
If ever the importance of flexibility was put to the test it was today. In our continual push south along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula we came to an anchorage known as Cuverville – a site which afforded us not only the expected but the unexpected as well.
Nestled between Ronge Island and the continent proper Cuverville Island is known for its extensive Gentoo penguin colony, moss covered cliff sides and a consistently impressive iceberg collection. Ringed with shallow water the island is located along an iceberg highway better known as the Gerlache Straight. As the bergs pass by on their unique clockwise journeys around the continent there are always a few large, wonderfully shaped specimens that grind to a halt on the shallow bedrock and stick around long enough for us to explore them via kayak or Zodiac.
Today we had the fortune of a perfectly calm day and took to our inflatable paddling crafts, to the hills of the island and to the penguin colonies along its shore for a look at the expected. None of this took place, however, before a lucky few were witness to one of the most impressive feats in the animal kingdom – breaching cetaceans (unexpected)! Due to the luck of the draw about thirty guests who were headed to shore had a water level view of a lone humpback whale who decided to breach – throw its 40-ton frame out of the water – time after time within a hundred yards of their boats. Accompanied by pectoral slaps and lots of rolling at the water’s surface, the display was seen by many whether near or far.
Following Cuverville our plan was to motor a little further south to a place called Neko Harbor and attempt our first continental landing! While the weather heading out looked promising we soon faced wind gusts into the thirties and diminishing prospects for a landing. Not to be thwarted, the captain pressed southwestward and took a chance at a place called Paradise Bay. While the name seemed too good to be true, Paradise lived up to its name – and then some.
As we pushed further and further south into the bay the winds slackened until we reached an abandoned Argentine research station named Almirante Brown. Here, at the southern end of Paradise, we found ourselves in glass smooth water surrounded by castlesque glaciers, unabashedly blue skies and a multitude of marine mammals. Leopard, Weddell and Crab eater seals were on practically every iceberg and the sun’s glare off the water – if not the most remarkable we have seen yet – might just have been too much for the eyes.
For those not on zodiac cruises, a 300+ foot hike to a lookout above the station proved breathtaking. With the ship a mere bathtub toy from this vantage point and the surrounding landscape sprawled out in all directions, our perch from atop the continent of Antarctic could not have been more memorable!
