ANTARCTICA: Neumayer Channel and Gerlache Strait

We awoke to sunny blue skies as we entered Neumayer Channel and the scenery was spectacular as usual! The ship’s bridge offered warm respite from the crisp morning as the breeze came across the frozen mountains.

The icy carapace offered numerous crumbling avalanches as we motored passed.

The sun’s angle offered wonderful contrast across the rugged peaks, called nunataks. Nunatak is an Inuit word that describes the mountain tops that rise above and were never covered by glacial sheets, thereby keeping the sharp, pointed shape rather than the rounded, glacial worn peaks.

Soon after passing a pair of humpback whales we anchored and deployed the zodiac in hopes of having a lower angle opportunity to view the whales again. However, the zodiac I chose to enter had engine problems and we could not keep up with the rest of the craft.

So we enjoyed the surrounding landscape as we looked for a place to land and walk.

We came across a lazing Crabeater Seal and the ever numerous Gentoo penguins. Then all heck broke loose!