Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, Antarctica

We got to see Antarctica today, and it did NOT disappoint!! We woke up and we were in the Gerlache Strait, and we got our first view of land. We saw some icebergs, orcas, penguins (Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie), crabeater seals, and a leopard seal! It was incredible!! It was like a wildlife overload! Everywhere we turned there was more wildlife popping up to say hi. There was also talk of Minke whales showing themselves, but we never got close enough for me to see them, so I don’t believe it.

We headed into the Lemaire Strait, which was absolutely stunning. The strait was really narrow, and it didn’t really look like we were going to be able to fit through in our ship because there was so much ice in the way. It turns out most of it was just fast ice that was pretty thin and we were able to push through it. On the last trip they took with this ship about a week ago, but they weren’t able to get through any of the ice and had to turn around at the beginning of the trip.

We were planning on stopping at a couple of islands at the end of the Lemaire Strait, but we weren’t actually able to reach the islands. There was so much ice that there was no where for the zodiac boats to be lowered into the water, so we ended up having to turn back and go out of the strait the same way we had come in. It wasn’t ideal, but that’s what happens down here. The scenery was so beautiful down here that it was fine just staying on the ship. We had perfect weather. Not too cold, not too windy, no snow, it was perfect!

Since we were in the straits and near land, the sea was completely still, so the ship was totally stable and people weren’t being sick anymore. It was good for them, but a little boring for us. We liked seeing stuff fly off the tables and waiting for people to fall over. We had another nice dinner with Reuben and Ainsley, and we met a woman named Sarah, who is the niece of Simon, the bird guy. She’s really funny, so the five of us had a good time at dinner and then went up to the bar to hang out afterwards.

It turns out that Jonathan Chester was set up to speak about American Royalty at another fireside chat, which Ryan was keen to see, so we went up to the bar and got our normal table and listened. Shockingly (not really), the whole story ended up being about Chester himself and how he took Bill Gates to Antarctica. It sounds like it could be a good story, but he made it pretty boring. Good thing we had alcohol. The best news it that tomorrow we will be doing our first excursion out to land, and I will finally get to step on the seventh continent. Very exciting!!