Drake’s passage is the foreboding gatekeeper that divides the last bit of south America from the Antarctic continent. That 400 mile stretch of water has some of the worst reported sea weather in the world, ad is a place where no speck of land big or small could cause the currents a moment’s pause in their collision course toward one another. I honestly only thought that I would see penguins and icebergs. I didn’t have any idea of what else to expect. I didn’t know much about the land’s geography, politics, nor imposing power.

Cruising toward Antarctica, we didn?t experience the terrors of Drake?s Passage in its entirety. However, it was not so on our way back up. Our first morning in Antarctica was calm, but gray and dreary. Your one-stop resource on antarctica cruise adventures is waiting for you.

We didn?t see the ice until after we?d see tall, hazy grey-brown mountains in the distance. Chunks of ice bobbed up and down like little marshmallows in a cup of hot cocoa. Everyone is issued a bold, red expedition parka when they arrive. I threw mine on and secured my camera inside it before I dashed out into the brisk, heavy air.

We were treated to lectures and slides from the ship?s naturalist, when we weren?t rushing outside to see dolphins, whales or penguins. Being so near the giant ice chunks was a rush; we were so thrilled to get into the little rafts on our way to shore. We could finally see the rocky, icy coast. The edge was rimmed by penguins thinking about getting in the sea.

Honestly, we were surrounded by them. There were even little baby gentoo penguins who were happy to share their Paradise Harbor island with a group of red-swaddled researchers. The penguins waddles in all directions, seemingly with a predetermined purpose. Some of them were standing atop rocks, observing the intruders in their red parkas who mingled amongst them while smiling and pointing at them.The majority of the penguin parents had left their chicks to be self-sufficient. Some of the chicks had not come to terms with this yet. These adolescents are given down-covered sacks of krill. This is a kind of food that the parents will often bring back from the sea, regurgitating it into the chick’s mouth to nourish them. Further resources about exciting antarctica cruises are located there.

Some of them were also at various stages int he process of losing their feathers – also known as molting. Most of the babies had cleaned up their coats, and were sporting the smooth, patterned feathers of their parents, but some still had a few clumps of fluffy gray down stuck to random parts of their body – like the tops of their heads, making them look like they were wearing fluffy hats. Of necessity, our trip back to the ship took us through the chunks of floating ice on the bay. One little mountain of ice sported a lone seal, handsomely stretched. Seeing him and his huge, pink tongued yawn [perhaps an editorial comment on how much he cared about us] was the perfect ending to a really wonderful day.

Penguins are always so very charming. They started to waddle. Those shockingly orange feet highly contrast the formality of their black and white feathers. The penguins were more clean than others because this particular area had more rocks than dirt. The thin black accent line under their chins makes them look like they all have chubby cheeks.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!