Day two in Antarctica is the type of day you cruise for, live for. I’ve already written about the critters, but the amazing part of it was the clouds that lifted showing the mountain peaks and providing a textured sky for a beautiful cruise day. There was no wind so the mountains and clouds reflected in the sea. The temperatures were in the mid-30s but with the sun it felt warmer. It was a great day to spend time outside, then go into the Crow’s Nest on deck 9 for a macchiato and biscotti, watch from inside and then out again.
Our route took us slowly through the 16-mile long Neumayer Channel, named for the German geophysicist Georg von Neumayer who organized the first international polar year in 1882/83. From there into the Gerlache Channel to Paradise Harbor, named by whalers and sealers who pulled in there to shelter at a time when Antarctica was more commercial and industrial than it is now. There are several different research stations there. In the last post I mentioned the Chilean Station at Waterboat Point.
Probably the most infamous station is Brown Station. At the time it was a year around station run by the Argentines. In 1984, unable to face an Antarctic winter, the base’s doctor burned it to the ground. No one was hurt. There were still ships in the area and the staff was taken to the nearby American Palmer Station.
After a slow sail through Paradise Harbor we reentered Gerlache Channel where we spent most of the night.
This post, and the next one, are a photo gallery of pictures from this glorious day.
Gorgeous photos!
Truly magnificent. You were very fortunate to get such a day in Antarctica.