Antarctic Peninsula (Day 4 – 7)

~ youkyong

November 2019  [by Bill]

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On the morning of November 25, we were now in the Antarctic, as you could see small ice formations in the water, icebergs, and land. After sailing for 2 1/2 days, to finally get into the Antarctic, well, the excitement on board was very apparent, including myself.  I was pumped up.

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It took all day and into the early morning to navigate and finally set the anchor off of our first landing area.

Cruise route

November 26

Today we took a Zodiac rubber boat, which holds 10 people, from the ship to the first of 2 different locations.

In the morning, we heading to Orne Harbor (kinda like a cove/bay type of area), where we hiked 25 minutes, zigzagging/switch backing up to the top of a moderate snow covered hillside.

From this vantage point, the views were amazing, looking over the 2/3rds protected cove area, plus we could also see the next place we’d be going, Cuverville Island.

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One of the rules you learn about is not to block or get too close to the penguin highways, which are basically pathways penguins follow after each other creating a clear natural “highway”. We were told to give the penguins at least 15-feet of space, but if the penguins come closer to us, that was fine, as they are naturally curious.

The weather was fairly nice today, not very windy in the protected 2/3’s cove area, ideal for a day on the snow and ice.

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November 27

We took the Zodiac boat to Paradise Harbor, visited Brown Station Base, hiked straight up to the top (with a fun slide down to the bottom), and Skontorp Cove.

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November 28

Went to Port Lockroy. Visited Britten’s old Port Lockroy Research Station which is now a museum & contains the most southern post office in the world. Visited Jougla Point, Damoy Point, and Dorian Bay.

Tossed a Frisbee around – 7th continent for this frisbee (former property of Diamond Comic Distributors) and my 132nd country visited…so far!!!

Turkey and ham for dinner to celebrate the US Thanksgiving Day

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Antarctica Voyage by Bill: 2019

  • The Ship
  • Getting There: the Beagle Channel & the Drake Passage (Day 1 – 3)
  • Antarctic Peninsula (Day 4 – 7)
  • South Shetland (Day 8)
  • Return Journey (Day 9 – 10)