Today we set foot on the continent of Antarctica. Although we have been steeped in its beauty, ice, ocean, wildlife, and island geography for days, we had not yet set foot on the continent itself. This morning we made that dream come true with a visit to Neko Harbour. Our captain pulled the ship right up the beach, and we only had to weave through the icebergs for a short distance to reach shore. Gentoo penguins greeted us there. We watched them swim beneath the surface of the clear water to arrive back to shore where they marched on to the colony.
Our path left the beach and took a left through two different patches of nesting Gentoos. Many of us walked steadily uphill, past the chorus of penguins, and up into the clouds. We had fog this morning which made the sounds of birds and shifting glacier seem even louder. At Neko Harbour there is a trail that leads up a ridge to a granite outcrop that looks down at the curve of a glacier. Though we didn’t see much of the glacier, we could hear it cracking and calving. At one point, a large icefall sent a surge of water over to our landing beach. We stayed safe and dry, but the mass of that ice made itself known.
Some of us opted to walk down the ridge the way we came, while others chose a faster route: sliding! We cleared a smooth path down the soft snow to enable guest after guest to aim for the speed record. It was a tough competition, and though there were many competitors from the USA, it was the Commonwealth countries, particularly New Zealand and Australia that won the day.
This afternoon we had a presentation about ice coring from Chris Harig, and I gave a talk about the arts inspired by Antarctica. Throughout the afternoon we enjoyed the whales, seals, penguins and icy panorama of Dallman Bay.
By day’s end we’d taken our last looks at the Antarctic islands and set off for South America.
