Our morning was spent making way to Elephant Island. Cold and dreary. The island is at the northernmost tip of the South Shetlands. The shape of the island looks a lot like an elephant’s head and many think that is where the name came from. Others attribute the name to the sightings of elephant seals by early explorers.
The Seaventure did a cruise along Point Wild. It’s beautiful in a stark way with rugged cliffs and glaciers. The sea is pretty rough so we can’t get too close.
Point Wild is where Shackleton and crew found refuge after the loss of his expedition ship the Endurance to pack ice, an incredible voyage across open sea in lifeboats, and months of drifting on the ice. Shackleton sailed in one of the lifeboats to South Georgia with 5 companions and organized a rescue of the remaining crew at Point Wild after four months. The Chilean rescue ship with Shackleton on board was commanded by Luis Pardo. A statue to Pardo was erected by the Chileans on the point. The point itself is named after Frank Wild who was left in command of the stranded party on the island.
All along the coastline of Point Wild are chinstrap penguin colonies. This is the first time we’ve seen them. The coast is very rugged and it’s interesting how high up on the rocks the colonies are.
After cruising the Point Wild waters the boat aims south and heads out for our next stop – the Antarctic Peninsula. We’re getting into colder waters now and whale sightings are on the rise. A group of Fin Whales followed the ship for a while. We were also able to see a Southern Right Whale. They are extremely rare in these waters due to overharvesting by whalers. The expedition crew was really excited!
Since we will be in Antarctica tomorrow, we have another ‘Mandatory Bio Security’ lecture and inspection. This one is to be really rigid.
We have an engaged couple on the ship (Lauryn and Josh) who are planning to get married in Antarctica should conditions permit. Some of our fellow travelers have arranged for a bachelorette and bachelor party for them this evening after dinner. It turned out to be quite entertaining.
Penguin count: 2,500 (Chinstrap)
Total trip penguin count: 635,650