Our first full day along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula started off as expected. Beautiful, glaciated peaks spawning massive tidewater glaciers surrounded us as we entered Cierva Cove early this morning. The location of an Argentine research station, this amphitheater-shaped coastline was inundated with icebergs born both from this location and other, much larger glaciers around the continent. We spent the morning in Zodiacs, winding through a veritable sculpture garden of sapphire blues and virgin white ice, punctuated from time to time by low, bushy whale blows as two humpbacks busily fed around us. With the winds continuing to calm throughout the morning the power of what was about to come could not have come as more of a surprise.
From Cierva Cove we motored west then south into the wide lane of the Gerlache Strait. With nothing to buffet the cold induced winds of Antarctica this 30 mile long, north/south oriented thoroughfare is often windy. What we encountered was out of the norm however. Within minutes of leaving the protection of Cierva Cove the winds built to 40mph and soon sustained themselves at 50mph with gusts into the 70s. For three hours we battered our way south into the onslaught of the wind while backlit waves exploded over helpless icebergs, slowly continuing the sculpting process that formed the gems we had so recently been admiring from more protected waters up north.
With little hope for an afternoon outing we took refuge behind a small island group known as the Enterprise Islands. To our surprise this little dot of land in the middle of the Gerlache was enough to secure our anchor and offer enough protection to drop our Zodiacs once again. So, what do you do when the weather is wild? Go play in it! For the rest of the afternoon we motored around more spectacular shapes set aglow by the filtered light of a sky filled with sea spray and fast moving clouds. At the back of the bay is the hulk of an old whaling ship named the Gouvenoren, which apparently caught fire and went aground during the early 1900s. What remains is a handsome frame of rusted metal backed by wind-carved cornices and nesting Antarctic terns.
With little interest in testing the Gerlache Strait again after two successful outings we settled in nearby for the evening. As the evening light began to throw strokes of pink and blue across the mountains around us pestering call over the loudspeaker guilted us into coming out on deck once more for one last spectacle. Two humpback whales we seen blowing bubble rings around krill swarms and lurching up through the middle, mouths agape, as the light continued to soften, adding a patina to the skin of their bizarre shaped heads. For an hour we shouted and pointed as ring after ring was set, followed by the birds, followed by a flood of water and surfacing whale mouth.
An action-packed way to end an action packed day!
