Early this morning National Geographic Explorer cruised north toward our destination for the day’s activities, Mikkelsen Harbor. This protected bay lies on the southeast side of a large island, just off the Antarctic Peninsula, named Trinity Island. Early whalers of the 20th century made use of this area for hunting whales. There is a great deal of remains of this activity left in the area, as well as an Argentine refuge hut on the small island at the back of the bay.
The bay itself is surrounded by glaciers that calve often, and this morning we find a lot of brash ice floating in the area near the landing site. This however, does not stop, and barely slows down our Zodiac operations getting guests ashore to walk amongst gentoo penguins, seals and whale bones!
Two other options were given this morning – kayaking and Zodiac cruise. So soon after the first group is ashore the kayaking starts in the back part of the bay. Next it is the cruises off to explore a little further afield, finding icebergs, fur seals and chinstrap penguins.
After another round of shore-goers and kayaking, and after the cruisers returned, it was time for the final event of the morning: Polar Plunging from the kayak platform next to the ship. A large group of intrepid plungers filed out of the side gate to jump into the frigid waters of the Antarctic Peninsula! Like penguins working their way to the shore to head out to sea, our fearless plungers jumped one-after-another into the icy water! The reward was a hot drink, possibly juiced up with a little alcohol to get the “old heart” pumping again. A fun time was had by all, even the non-participants.
During lunch Explorer headed across the Bransfield Strait toward Livingston Island to make an attempt to pick up a researcher, and then it would be off across the Drake Passage, heading back to Ushuaia and the end to our fabulous expedition to Antarctica!
