Antarctica's White Wilderness Day 10

DAY 10 - Saturday, January 23, 2016 - Explore South Shetland Islands; Zodiac Excursions

Sunshine! Imagine that!!! We woke up this morning to sunshine, no fog, no precipitation, and calm seas with 33 degrees temperature – summer in Antarctica.

Although the tops of the steep mountains had cloud cover, we had great visibility at our anchoring site off of Wiencke Island and Damoy Point. As soon as we had breakfast we came back to our cabin to gear up for our landing at the Point.

Seba’s group was the first to depart on the zodiacs so we hustled down to flip our numbers and get our boots on. We were in the second group to land and visit the Damoy Hut.

The hut was outfitted for British explorers and now stands as a museum to the hard life and simplicity of those who worked at the airstrip on the island. Of course, the station and the airstrip were abandoned, but canned goods, tools, and personal items tell the story of their stay in this remote area.

After looking at the hut, we chose to hike to the top of the point, to have a fantastic panoramic view of Port Lockroy below. Because we were the first ten to climb to the top, the snow was not packed down and very treacherous.

Fresh snow covered the cracks or small crevasses, so we were diligent about following the poles set out by the scout team. Following the exact footsteps of the person in front of you was a must. If you stepped off the path, you would sink into the snow up to your knees.

Once at the top, we congratulated ourselves and all agreed the view from the top was well worth the effort. At the top, two brown skuas were just as interested in us as we were in them.

David from our group, brought an Argentinian flag for photos and one of the birds grabbed it in his beak and flew off with it. Diego, from the scout team, retrieved the flag, but the persistent bird was back - curious about the backpacks, ski poles, and especially any loose strings that she could use for nesting materials.

While Vic was photographing the nesting pair, a skua came right up to his hand and tried to pull his glove off. Remember the five-meter rule? We could not move to the animals but they were free to get very close to us.

We had our picture taken at the overlook with the American flag – a wonderful reminder of our trip to the White Continent. At 11:00 we took one of the last shuttles back to our Corinthian.

Having a little time to write and to sort photos during the day has been helpful in avoiding late nights. Today there was no Internet, so we worked offline and will post when we can.

After our lunch we stopped by the ship’s gift shop and Gennie bought a few remembrances from our trip. We had another shopping opportunity at British Port Lockroy this afternoon but there was not too much to buy.

One of the four British researchers who operate the Port Lockroy Historical Trust Station came aboard the Corinthian at 2:30 to give us a presentation of their work at this remote land.

Because the facilities at Port Lockroy Store and Post Office were so small, the group was divided and we did not go ashore until 4:30; first in the morning, last in the afternoon. Before Seba’s group went ashore we had a group photo taken up on the 5th Level with the mountains and ice fields in the background.

Gennie had her post cards all ready to mail before we left our ship; all they needed were the British postage. The mail goes from Port Lockroy, to the Falkland Islands, then to London, England and only then would it be distributed around the world. Disclaimer – the cards may not get to the USA for at least 6 to 8 weeks.

It was almost 6:20 when we returned from Port Lockroy. We took a quick shower and got ready for our evening that began at 6:50 with announcements about tomorrow’s activities.

Dinner was special tonight – the Chef’s Dinner! We had five courses, hot and cold appetizers, a passion fruit sorbet, then lobster tail as our entrée, and a scrumptious chocolate soufflé for dessert.

The sun was setting behind the mountains when we came back to our cabin at 9:30 - spectacular! The days are long on the White Continent in the summer. Because of the plentiful sunshine, the light was striking the mountaintops until way past 11:00 pm.

Thank you all for your comments and notes – we are so delighted that you are traveling with us and enjoying this adventure. Tomorrow is the Polar Plunge at Deception Island – be ready for a little cool dip in the Antarctic Ocean!

Accommodations: Corinthian - Meals: B, L, & D