The Plunge!

Jan 13, 2016 - In the morning we went to Cuverville Island. Here there is a large Gentoo penguin colony. Have you noticed a trend? Everywhere we go there are Gentoo penguins. I’ve probably seen a billion in the 4 days I’ve been in Antarctica. A couple Chinstrap and Adelie penguins have been seen intermittently amongst the Gentoos, but we did not see one of their colonies. Cuerville Island also has huge cliff faces with nesting birds, and glaciers tucked in amongst the mountains. Here we circumnavigated the island. We saw some incredible ice and glaciers. As we came around the backside of the island there was a sailboat anchored near the shore. We looked up to see 5 people mountaineering up the side of the mountain. Very intense.

After kayaking for a couple hours we went to the landing site. There was another Gentoo penguin colony. Here we took a different approach to viewing the penguins. Kyle sat down by one of the penguin highways (That is the path the penguins carve out to get from their nesting area to the water). He set up the GoPro to watch the little guys waddle back and forth to and from the sea. I went to another area to just sit and observe. The penguins will get very close to you when you’re perfectly still. While we were there a baby penguin hatched. Some friends of ours caught it all on camera. I was there just after its birth. Lots of penguins throughout the trip had baby chicks with them. They are so cute and fuzzy!

That afternoon we went to Danco Island. Here we kayaked on one half of the island. There we observed a seal swimming in the water along with a few on the ice as well. Those were all Weddell seals. Then we got a call on the radio that a zodiac had seen a leopard seal! We paddled over there and watched it for a while. It lifted its head a few times, but otherwise he didn’t move. Still it is an elusive animal that was really cool to see. There were also some really neat glaciers in these waters.

Once back onboard the ship it was POLAR PLUNGE time. We changed from our kayaking dry suits into regular swimsuits. Apparently it doesn’t count if you jump in wearing a dry suit. Kyle, some of our friends, and I were the first ones to go. Just standing on the stairs waiting for my turn I was shivering. I tried to videotape a friend of mine who went before me, but the footage is really shaky (Sorry Michelle!). Then it was my turn. They put a belt around my waist that has a rope on one end (incase you go into shock and can’t swim). I didn’t count to three. I tried not to think. I just jumped. Anyone who has seen me try to get into a cold lake in Maryland or Canada probably can’t imagine me doing this, but I did, and there is video evidence (that unfortunately I cannot share here). It was incredibly cold. The water is about 1 degree Celsius. Just above freezing. Icebergs are floating around, and snow covered mountains are the backdrop. Instantly when I plunged in I wanted out. I scrambled for the rope to pull myself in (I couldn’t even think clear enough to swim), and scampered up the ladder. Once out of the water I went to get a towel, but instantly I was significantly warmer in the air than in the water. Kyle went right after me. He was much more calm and collected so he made a great pose while jumping off. Then we watched from one of the higher decks as our other friends took the plunge. Even some of the staff did it.

After a hot shower we went to dinner and the ship started to sail back to Argentina. That evening we watched as the last glimpse of the Antarctic Peninsula faded further and further away. I reflected on our time here, and how incredibly lucky we have been. First for having the opportunity to come to Antarctic, a place so few people see, and secondly for the amazing weather and animal sightings we had while we were down here (it made up for the terrible day on the Drake). I hope I can come back someday. It makes me sad to think I may never be here again. It is truly a magical, and beautiful place.