Yesterday we had a stunning day, setting foot on mainland Antarctica as opposed to the islands we've been visiting, and then cruising Cierva Cove among the icebergs and glaciers. The visit to Port Lockroy ended a perfect day with the girls learning to drive zodiacs at 10.00pm in calm seas and broad daylight. Amber was the speed queen and Lyn got really into it but failed to master the stop control!! Mairi, Laura and Michelle all proved proficient so we want to add zodiac driving to our skills courses next year with obligatory field experience in the Southern Ocean.
Today we woke to overcast skies which gave different light and textures to the amazing scenery as we ship cruised the Lemaire Channel, and then anchored at Petermann Island. We stepped out through the snow and sat down to observe the black headed Adelies on their nests of stones, some with eggs and some with newly hatched chicks - so cute. Then it was into zodiacs to cruise amongst the ice the 5 miles to Vernadsky Station - it was formerly a British station called Faraday but was sold to the Ukrainians in 1998 for one pound (cheaper than dismantling the whole place). The ice looked so blue today and we got close to Weddell seals and Antarctic terns. We had a tour of the Ukrainian station where they have the Dobson spectrometer for measuring the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere. It was here that they first discovered the hole in the ozone layer. The station was warm and cosy with good working conditions but the men had been there since last March and told us gleefully that it was only 68 days until they would be going home - it's a pretty quiet life down here. They were very welcoming. Back to the ship and settle down because now we must prepare for the Drake's Passage which is so unpredictable. We realise how remote we are in knowing that we are now leaving Antarctica yet it will be almost five days before we get home.
It will take some time to digest the whole experience but we hope you have enjoyed sharing it with us so far. We have a lot of photographs which we hope you will enjoy too.
Many thanks to everyone for all your support for this unique adventure, and a Merry Christmas when it comes.
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1 comment:
kl sounds fun just came on to see what was happening !! u must be glad to leave cause of the cold lol !
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