Neko Harbour & Skontorp Cove

Another All-Star day in Antarctica!! We got up early and had breakfast delivered to our suite. We are getting so spoiled for wildlife sightings that when 3 humpback whales were frolicking and feeding mere yards off our ship directly outside our veranda, it never even occurred to us to grab cameras to video them. We just sat eating our eggs and enjoying the wonderful antics outside the window!

The early start for us was most welcome. We were down in the boot area with all our gear on shortly before 8:00. Neko Harbour has strict landing maximums and only 100 passengers at a time are allowed on shore. I took full advantage of the wonderful views up the steep climb to the second look out with a brief stop at the upper gentoo rookery. The views of the glacier and ice-filled bay were breathtaking.

We were greeted upon beach landing by dozens of penguins, who continued about their day without the slightest of interest in us. We humans travelled along our well-marked path, parallel to the clearly defined penguin trail. Interestingly enough, penguins make switchback trails on steep pitches as do we. Take a close look at the picture of their pathway to see the abundance of tiny penguin footprints.

When arriving back to the beach, I headed over toward Eric, one of the expedition team members, where I enjoyed walking among the little gentoos. All penguins have the right of way, but they don’t need much space. They pass by within a foot or two of you if you stand still. They are well adapted to the humans who come to see them. I challenge anyone to stand among these darling creatures and not have a huge smile on your face!!

Walking back to the zodiac, I was ever mindful of the glacier which was calving (as usual) today. The Expedition Leader, Adam, as well as all the articles you read, emphasized the importance of being aware of the potential risks should a large piece of ice be calved. “The glacier calving may produce dangerous waves. Avoid the beach or be prepared to quickly evacuate to high ground.”

My zodiac transfer back to the ship became a mini whale-watching expedition. As the only passenger, Gabor, the driver, ensured I saw the many humpbacks we were passing by. (I will post the video of the tale disappearing.) It was amazing to see all the ice that had moved into the harbour during my two-hour visit.

During lunch, the Captain moved us up the coast to Paradise Bay, where we stopped in Skontorp Cove for kayaking, submarineing, and polar plunging! Having promised both my boys not to go on submarines, and having already kayaked, the only thing left to do was polar plunge.

The plunge was exhilarating! The anticipation was nerve-racking. The crew did such a great job as you went down to make the experience into a party atmosphere that was fun and relaxed you. We doffed our bath robes and slippers/flip-flops, handed our cameras over to crew members, dawned a life belt, were roped to the ship, then they counted down for us to jump in as a pair and off we went. Both of us had a moment of shock and breathlessness, Lindsay was close to the ladder and was a bit breathless from the plunge, which is absolutely to be expected, so she got three steps out and stopped to catch your breath, but I was still in the water, so below her was yelling, “Get out, get out, get out,” and then when she cleared the ladder, I went to get out only for my bathing suit to drop below my boob line and had to go back in to readjust the sisters and then came out. The crew greeted us with warm towels and shots. There were six choices. Lindsay chose Jäger Meister, and I chose spiced rum. We had our shots and our pictures, then scurried on up to the fifth deck to go into the pool first and then the hot tub to warm up.

All in all, we had a fabulous day with great memories and so many pictures. Just an informational update: the wonderful wildlife pictures will transform into life on board a cruise ship, as we have left Antarctica headed briskly towards the South Georgia Islands to beat a storm that’s forming that will bring pretty high waves and wind. The captain has strategically chosen to leave early as opposed to trying to wait it out given the forecast. They have announced to secure all breakable items, and we have sufficiently nested and will keep you posted, but the thought is for the most part we will beat the worst of the storm to the South Georgia Islands and have two mostly enjoyable days at sea.もっと詳しく