If today was an indicator of what 2015 will be like, all I have to say is watch out world, here we come. We rang in the New Year in good cheer. Throughout the night icebergs growled against our hull as we headed south and south and south. 100 years ago Shackleton struggled with ice floes closing in on him here. We had open leads with small bergs until just shy of 1 degree north of the Antarctic Circle. Then the ice said “No further merry wanderers”. It closed in ahead of us and it was time to turn around and head north. We spent the day in Grandidier Channel surrounded by ice. Some of the bergs were a startling blue color while others were flat pancakes floating on the silent sea. Kayaking and Zodiac tours got us out and into the ice. Two crabeater seals lounged on an iceberg with the most brilliant blue iceberg behind them. The clicking of cameras revealed the excitement of us all.
The afternoon followed similarly with kayaking and Zodiac tour options. My favorite part of the day was the sixty seconds that I and five others sat without the sounds of the outboard going. We sat perfectly still so that even our clothing didn’t break the trance of the natural sound. We heard near and distant icebergs crashing and rolling in the icy white world we sat upon. It wasn’t quiet nor tranquil. It was boisterous and dramatic and all without human sound added.
We entered the LeMaire Channel just after dinner for our last treat of the day. How could one day hold so much?
