Day 276: Antarctica Cruise Day 12 – Torgersen Island
Just when we think Antarctica can’t get any better…well, the weather *did* hold out for us, so we had a lovely sunny morning for our kayaking excursion around Torgersen Island – a small rocky island where a rookery of Adélie Penguins was just barely hanging on. The area was extremely familiar to the Expedition Team, as many had spent a season or two at Palmer Station – an American research facility within the same harbor. The compound was set up in the 1960s and hosts some 4 dozen researchers during the winter, with only half that number staying throughout the winter as well. Of the many on-going projects, Palmer Station monitors the local Adélie population (sadly, on the decline) and the impact of tourism on the environment.
Since Palmer Station is a small facility, it is only open to 12 tourist visit per year, and we were not one of them. So instead of landing on shore, today’s visit was limited to zodiac rides and kayak tours – lucky us! We had the 8AM time slot for our kayak tour. It was a nice change of pace to explore the icebergs from the water, although we were a bit disappointed we didn’t see more wildlife (we’ve been spoiled with all our onshore penguin encounters!).
Zipped up in our drysuits, we hop in the zodiac and wait on shore (Yay! Techically, that’s a landing!) while the Expedition Team arranges the kayaks
We slide into our sturdy kayak and paddle out into the calm waters of Aurther Harbor
Kayaking in ANTARCTICA!
Getting up close to the funky-shaped icebergs
This fluffy, cloud-shaped ‘berg looks like it might be grounded, as the bottom is getting worn away by the tide
More stripy icebergs
Apparently, icebergs are not just for looking at…they are for climbing! Lindsay squeals in delight at our first encounter with Adélie Penguins
While the Adélies are endlessly entertaining – porpoising through the water and hopping on icebergs – the Crabeater Seals and Elephant Seals continue to do what they do best: imitate rocks
After our kayak tour, we had a short 1hr break before our zodiac tour. During the interim, we got word that several Humpback Whales were feeding just off the starboard side of the ship! We were incredibly antsy, waiting for our turn to get back onto the water – luckily for us our patience was rewarded! As soon as we were seated, our zodiac floated over to the area where the whales were surfacing. There were a couple of pairs of whales in the harbor, each “hunting” for krill by creating “bubble nets” underwater.
We watched in awe as a whale’s fluke (tail) dipped below the surface about 50ft away from us. We scanned the horizon, trying to anticipate where the cetacean would pop up next, when all of a sudden the waters surrounding the zodiac started to fill with bubbles. O.M.G. THE WHALE IS DIRECTLY BENEATH US.
“Do they know we’re here?!?”
“Can they tip us over? They’re going to tip us over!”
Not even exaggerating – the whale surfaced less than 5ft from our zodiac – it was SO CLOSE that Igor’s camera was too zoomed in to capture it. Lindsay’s GoPro, however, was running and captured the whole encounter on video! (Once we get stronger Internet we’ll post it to YouTube – promise) It appeared that these Humpback Whales were very curious about us, as they proceeded to surface within a few feet of each of the three zodiacs in turn (and just for the record, no one’s boat got overturned).
A pair of Humpback Whales keeps surfacing just off the starboard side of the ship – we are getting so jelly of the previous zodiac group – we wanna get out there!
The Humpback Whales show off their beak, flukes, and dorsal fins as they repeatedly surface right in front of us!
Our feeble little Mack 6 zodiac is suddenly surrounded by bubbles as the Humpbacks hunt for krill directly below us. When one of them surfaces 5ft from the boat, Igor can’t capture the entire back in his viewfinder!
The whales pay a visit to each of the other three zodiacs floating in the water. See how close he is to that zodiac? That happened to us!!!
After the adrenaline rush of our whale encounter, we continued our tour around Torgensen Island, revisiting most of the places we already kayaked through. We saw more Adélie Penguins, more Crabeater Seals and more icebergs (one which calved about 60sec after we drove by!). By the time we got back on the boat we were wondering if there was anything left to see in Antarctica – we’ve kinda ticked off every box!
Crabeater Seals snoozing on an iceberg. Funny enough, these seals don’t eat crab – they eat krill (apparently the name is due to a mispronunciation of the German word for “krill”). Happily, the Crabeater population is incredibly heathly – at about 15million, it is considered the world’s most abundent seal
An Adélie Penguin stands in front of a Crabeater Seal and looks back at us as if to say, “Guys! He’s THIIIIIIIIS big!”
Tobogganing penguins sliding around the snow near the Adélie rookery on Torgersen Island. Sadly, these cute little guys are declining in the Antarctic Peninsula due to the warming temperatures in the area. Unlike the Gentoo Penguins, who can delay their mating schedule and/or move to more favorable nesting sites, the Adélies have a very rigid reproduction pattern – they always lay eggs at the exact same time every year (the last week of November) and they always return the same nesting area. Along with the Emperor Penguin, the Adélies are the only true Antarctic penguins, as they do not mitgrate north in the winter. They love the cold, and spend most of their time on the sea ice.
A tuxedo-clad Adélie Penguin dives off an iceberg and porpoises off in the waves
Cruising around in the zodiac, admiring the weird and wonderful shapes of the icebergs – some are fluffy like clouds and others look as sharp as broken glass
The “Blue Berg” – the stunning blue color is the result of the compacted snow and ice of the original glacier
As we return to the ship, we see several zodiacs from the Palmer Station floating in the harbor – looks like even the scientists got excited about the Humpback activity outside their window!
Once the zodiac tours were finished for the day, we sailed away through the beautiful Neumayer Channel where we were surrounding by towering peaks of snow. Around 5PM we got a surprise announcement on the PA – every Seabourn cruise to Antarctica hosts a “Caviar on Ice” event, and today was our lucky day! Lindsay immediately dropped whatever she was doing and ran out to the Patio deck to literally feast on delicious blinis topped with black caviar and guzzle champagne to her hearts content. Guys, I FUCKING LOVE THIS CRUISE!
Enough with the wildlife already, it’s time for some ridiculously decadent food! It’s Seabourn’s signature “Caviar on Ice” event! Igor gets in line as the staff dollop out heaping spoonfuls of black sturgeon caviar
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne, paired with Caviar Blinis topped with sour cream and egg salad – YUM!
A near-endless supply of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne sits nearby, plus a variety of vodkas for the Rusky-at-heart
LET THE CHAMPAGNE FLOW!!!
Damn, this would be such a classy event, if it weren’t for Lindsay running around in her hippie pants going back for seconds, thirds and forths of caviar. Seabourn’s Marketing Team is going to have to spend some time editing her out of their photos…
After filling up on champagne and caviar, we finally look up and remember we are surrounding by breathtakingly beautiful scenery
Ice-blue icebergs floating in the glittering Gerlache Strait
Scenic cruising through the narrow Neumayer Channel
We have company! Why, it’s the Holland America cruise ship! Guys, we were SO CLOSE to booking this cruise instead – it has practically the same itinerary but it costs about 2/3 less as the ship is too big to make landfall (oh, and booze is NOT included). Even though Seabourn had a huge price tag, we decided to “go big or go home” – if you are only going to visit Antarctica once, you better do it right and set foot on land, not just look at it from afar. Lindsay raises her champagne to the scenic cruisers: “So long, losers!”
Our streak of perfect weather continues as the wind dies down in the evening, giving us mirror reflections of the shoreline
Postcard-worthy landscape in the Antarctic Peninsula
Evening clouds roll in providing a dramatic ending to the day
We kinda overindulged on the rich caviar and champagne (OK, Lindsay did…), so we ofted to skip the fancy menu of the sit-down restaurant and call in for room service. Comfort food (cheeseburger and pasta) and comfort clothing (bathrobe and PJs) were the perfect end to a perfect day.
Five-star room service – we don’t even have to sacrific the breadsticks! Thanks, Seabourn!