Antarctica - Gerlache Strait/Whilermina Bay, Enterprise Island

March 16, 2011

The perfect slice of Antarctica. My first three days in and around Antarctica had been amazing and more than I could have hoped for, but Day 4 was the day to top them all, one that defies description and will surely remain etched in my memory for a long time to come.

The day actually began with a bit of a letdown, as we awoke to find a low-hanging fog blanketing the area, meaning that we'd have to forego our scheduled excursion just after breakfast due to the low visibility. We had already been fortunate enough with the conditions to have two or three outings every day, so it was hard to complain. Instead of making the stop, the ship continued on, and that's when things began to change. The low hanging clouds turned out to only be a thick fog and not an entire cloud bank, so as a few of us made our way to the top deck to see what we could in the haze. Slowly, bits of light began to break through as the fog burned away, revealing glittering white snow and tantalizing bits of blue sky above the thin layer of clouds hanging barely above the water's surface. Soon enough, layers of the fog were disappearing, unveiling magical views of the morning light reflecting off the jagged horizon of white mountains for as far as we could see.

As the views continued to clear, we could see that we were traversing a somewhat narrow passage lined with the majestic, sharp ridges of mountains on each side. Passing slowly through the Gerlache Strait, passengers began to pour out onto the top, side and front decks, taking in the vast beauty. Cruising at low speed through the calm water, there was little wind, and the bright sun warmed up the day a bit more, feeling something like 40 or 50 F degrees (5 to 10 C), making it a joy to be out admiring the views and the fresh air. The glassy water, dotted with random pieces of ice and icebergs, reflected the shining white mountains and glaciers for a fabulous mirror effect. Along with the pristine blue skies, the scene was far beyond beautiful. With weather being so variable in this part of the world, we couldn't believe our luck to have such a perfect morning, and each of us took full advantage of it, basking in the warming sun and natural majesty.

In addition to our surroundings, we also found a few small groups of penguins swimming around, seals laying around on the occasional iceberg, and a few passing humpback whales. February and March were said to be the best time for spotting humpback whales, and this was also an area known for them, so our fortunes continued as sets of one or two whale could be seen breathing at the surface and then diving below, leaving their signature whale tail in the air for a moment before heading down into the deep water. We were now moving from the Gerlache Strait into Whilermina Bay, making our way very slowly, so that our engines wouldn't scare away the whales. A few different pairs were spotted off the side of the boat, but before long, we had two incredible sightings. Each time was a pair of humpback whale floating at the surface, seemingly oblivious to our presence, as our boat seemed to pass only about 30 yards away from the massive mammals. With the clear water, you could see the entire creature, leaving a huge, beautiful outline just below the surface. I had never thought I cared much about whale sighting trips, but these massive creatures obviously have a sublime beauty with most of the passengers staring and snapping pictures just over the side of the boat as we silently slipped by.

In Whilermina Bay, we encountered a few larger icebergs of various shapes, and the shimmering white backdrop of rolling mountain ridges and reflections off the water remained, as did the many passengers on the decks. I was in absolute awe of the entire scene, the vast beauty of the epic landscape, moving from front to back, side to side of the ship, trying to take in every different angle of the view. As the hours passed, we continued slowly sailing forward, always flanked by the marvelous vistas. I couldn't help but smile and try to take a step back and appreciate how incredibly fortunate I was to be in such a stunningly beautiful part of the world, treated to a perfect day there.

The crew also had a great day planned for us, choosing today for the traditional Chilean barbecue. They brought the large grills outside and cooked huge quantities of beef, pork and chicken out in the fresh air as the icebergs and mountains passed by. Along with a nice accompanying sauce called pebre, with diced tomatoes, onions, peppers and seasoning (sort of like pico de gallo salsa), the meats were quite good, fairly comparable to the world-famous Argentine grilled meats. Even after a huge meaty lunch, I fought the instinctive urge to sit down and rest on the comfortable chairs, following my much stronger desire to run back outside and take in more of the spectacular scenery. As before, the splendid blues and whites mixed together perfectly forming one idyllic scene after another in this icy paradise. The crew had now arranged rows of chairs outside along the side decks, so most of us simply sat and chatted or just stared off into the distance, amazed at the views passing by on either side.

Eventually, our guides decided to take us out on another Zodiac excursion that afternoon, after having spent the better part of four or five hours admiring the views and perfect day. We took a Zodiac cruise out around Enterprise Island, finding a few more closeup icebergs, and another very close encounter with a leopard seal. This large one was laying out on an iceberg not much larger than its own size, presumably taking a break from hunting or possibly also enjoying the nice day. Fortunately, this one wasn't aggressive, so we were able to coast up within just a few yards of the small iceberg, getting perfect views of the seal, dark grey on top with a white underside covered in dark spots. These seals have a bit of a prehistoric looking face (sometimes even resembling the plesiosaurus of the dinosaur age) with huge, dark eyes and a massive mouth stretching around the side of the face to create a slightly evil looking grin. Circling around the seal, we soon moved on, coming to a long-lost shipwreck. The Governoren was one of the whaling ships back in the days of whaling on the continent, sometime around 1910 or 1920, and it hit an iceberg and began to take on water. Realizing that the ship was unsalvageable, the captain made the decision to intentionally run it aground in the bay instead of letting it sink in the deeper water, allowing them to save some of the cargo. With the cold, dry climate, the ship has rusted a bit, but remains in fairly decent shape, sitting with its bow still protruding from the water in the small cove surrounded by a small ridge of snow. Arctic and Antarctic terns, small white birds, flock around the area, along with a few other cormorants and gulls that followed our boat for a short time. The Arctic terns literally fly the length of the globe, moving from one pole to another to follow the weather. Finishing up our Zodiac, we sped after a few humpback whales, finding them when seeing their huge sprays of water when exhaling at the surface. An up-close encounter at their level would have been incredible, but the whales decided to dive down as we got closer, and given that they can stay underwater for 20-30 minutes per dive, longer if necessary, we chose not to wait around too long to find out.

Back on the ship once more, the magical day had one more surprise for us. As the sun dropped down to the edge of the horizon, a few vivid colors began to appear. The white edges of the continent glowed in the warm evening light, portraying a soft white that was then topped with a rim of pink and orange crowning each of the peaks as the last rays of the afternoon reflected back at us. I was again on the top deck, having it mostly to myself as others scampered around trying to get a few more pictures of whales or penguins near the boat. It was beginning to get a little colder, but it really didn't matter at that point. The scattered clouds on one side of the boat picked up the last bits of light and reflected them over the water for a beautiful sunset, while the peaks and valleys on the other side shone with the remaining bits of orange and pink, fading slowly off into dusk. Even after the last bits of sunlight faded away, I couldn't bring myself to leave the splendid day behind, so I simply laid down on the surface of the top deck for another 20 minutes, looking all around a few more times to make sure I took in every last piece of the moment.

The evening progressed with another good dinner, and all of the passengers were in a great mood after such a wonderful day. Speaking with the researchers who had lived on Port Lockroy for four months, we were extraordinarily lucky to have such great weather for the entire day, especially at this time of year. Each day of our Antarctic cruise had been incredible, each day blowing me away. Yet, with our luck, each day somehow managed to better the previous days, providing something new and spectacular at each turn. The trip had already far exceeded any of my greatest expectations for this place, and this day was far and away the most memorable. The perfect combination of lasting sunshine, pure blue sky, shimmering white glaciers, snow capped mountain ridges lining the horizon, wonderfully shaped icebergs floating by, close encounters with humpback whales, beautiful reflections off the glassy water and capped with a spectacular sunset and stunning pink fringes along the mountaintops made it a truly perfect day for us.

I knew to expect something spectacular and unique when coming to Antarctica, but I never realized it could be this amazing. For me, the most unexpected aspect of it all was the vast scale of everything. You can see pictures of glaciers, snow capped mountains, sculpted icebergs, and groups of penguins, but after seeing the place firsthand, those don't come close to capturing the essence of the place. You can even experience glaciers or penguins in other spots around the world, but for me, those can't compare to this. Here, these epic landscapes continue in every direction for as far as the eye can see (or as far as the sun chooses to shine). Untouched, raw, unique beauty is all around, and that's what makes this continent so special, so much more than just a cold, icy spot at the bottom of the world for a few adventurous travellers. We had the perfect day to experience what has to be one of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen, and my fond memories of that day will surely stick with me forever.

(Early morning in the Gerlache Strait, low hanging clouds made us cancel our first Zodiac excursion in the morning, but things soon starting clearing up to reveal some incredible scenery.)

(As the clouds floated away, massive mountains covered in snow and ice appeared in all directions.)

(Though we couldn't do our Zodiac cruise earlier, we simply cruised through the strait in our ship, treating us to incredible scenery and a few bits of wildlife along the way in the form of penguins, seals and whales.)

(When the sun came out, the reflections off the glassy water were marvelous. By this point, many of the passengers, including myself, couldn't help but stand on the open decks of the boat and just stare at the beauty.)

(Massive icebergs floated by our boat, though the incredible scale of everything on this continent is hard to grasp in pictures.)

(Another massive mountain providing great views for all of us on the boat.)

(Ditto.)

(After a few sightings of humpback whales common to Whilermina Bay, we got a close up encounter as we quietly floated by two massive whales, literally just over the side of our boat. Look closely and you can see the whole outline of the gentle giant. I guess they're gentle; I didn't have a chance to talk to him/her.)

(Along with everyone else on the ship, I couldn't stop taking pictures of the unreal beauty of this place and with such perfect weather. Speaking to a researcher who lived near there for four months, we were very, very lucky to have an entire day of great weather at that time of year.)

(Another large iceberg floating by, this one with four crabeater seals on top. The hint of red is actually reflecting from the red underside of our boat.)

(Iceberg, mountains, reflections. It never gets old.)

(With the warm sun, temperatures that day were probably a little above freezing, so it really wasn't that bad, plus it didn't matter, as we were all enthralled by the surroundings. And the hole in the ozone layer around there makes the sun a little more powerful, too. See, killing our atmosphere can be helpful.)

(Every day in our trip seemed to get better and better, and this combo of scenery and weather was almost too good to be true.)

(Leaving the ship in the afternoon, we took a Zodiac cruise around the area, coming upon this crabeater seal hanging out on a small iceberg.)

(A little less friendly is the leopard seal. These predators are quite fierce, even killing at least one scuba diver in the area. Fortunately, as they are seals, they aren't much competition on the ice, though we did circle within just a few feet of this seal-sized iceberg.)

(The leopard name presumably comes from both the spots on its underside and its predatory prowess. Check out the size of its mouth. Perfect for chomping and posing for pictures with big smiles.)

(The cruise then took us around a few beautifully sculpted icebergs.)

(Around the corner near Enterprise Island is the wreckage of the Gouvernoren, a whaling ship that was intentionally run aground when it began slowly taking on water, realizing that they could still salvage their cargo this way. Now it sits in a small bay, slowly rusting away and serving as a perch for a number of terns, cormorants and other birds.)

(The afternoon began to come to an end, though a few whales made some final appearances, though we weren't able to get all that close in our Zodiacs, as they dove out of sight when they felt us coming. And yes, that is the fin of a whale in the dark water.)

(Striated iceberg. Not too bad.)

(As a fitting end to a perfect day in Antarctica, we were treated to a wonderful, prolonged sunset, offering bits of orange and pink reflecting off the white snow.)

(Just before the final bit of light left us, I caught this whale tail as one of them was diving off the side of our boat.)

(The colors of the day fading away...)

(Finally the sun passed behind the mountainous horizon, leaving behind some spectacular colors before the night set in. As you can see, this day was unbelievably amazing, and the whole boat was in a good mood after such a spectacular display by Mother Nature. This perfect day was truly unforgettable and the obvious highlight of our incredible trip.)