26 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 13, Renaud Island to Danco Coast, via Lemaire Channel and Petermann Island –

At breakfast we saw a humpback whale showing off his tail.  Mealtimes are going to be very mundane after this.  Our landing site for today was Petermann Island, which features an Argentine refuge hut, and a large colony of Gentoo penguins.  There is a memorial cross to a group of expeditioners who tried to cross to the mainland over the sea ice, back in the early 1980s. 

There was a track to follow up to a saddle, with a nice view, but the footing was slippery in places, being icy rather than snow.  The snow and ice were rose pink, thanks to the penguin poo. On the way up, we stopped to watch a penguin which was trying to come down a rock face.  It had got itself stuck, and was awkwardly trying to figure out a way down – a disadvantage when you have no hands, and tiny feet.  It scrutinised all the options carefully, before teetering on the edge for a bit, then finally taking a leap of faith down onto the snow.  I knew exactly how it felt – it looked exactly like I do sometimes when orienteering! I decided maybe I was a penguin in a former life.

Other penguins were slowly climbing up the snow slope.  They waddle along for a while then suddenly they belly flop onto the snow, and have a nap.  I have decided to adopt this style of hill climbing from now on.  Not very fast, but it conserves energy.

The other track took us across to a large group of penguins.  We watched with interest as one penguin picked up an ice chunk in its beak, tossed it around for a while, and eventually swallowed it.  I guess that’s how they get water.

Two curious juveniles decided they were heading off on an adventure, so of course we named them Bill and Ted.  They set off purposefully and excitedly, exactly like two boys exploring.  We had a great time following along behind and smiling at their antics.

Back on board ship, we’d just had showers, changed into our onboard clothes, and had lunch, when we learned we would be cruising through the Lemaire Channel, and we might want to be out on deck to watch.  So it was back on with the outdoor gear, grab cameras, and head out to the observation decks.  The channel is less than 2 km wide, with towering rock and snow cliffs either side.  We discovered how much colder it is when the wind is up – faces and fingers chilled rapidly.

We spotted a 3-masted tall ship nearby; a google search reveals it is the Bark Europa, built in 1911, and currently on a 3 week Antarctic sailing.  It would offer a more historically authentic experience, but we decided we like our comforts. At the northern entrance to the Channel are two distinctive basalt buttresses, officially called Una Peaks, but known to all as “Unas’ Tits”.  Una was a secretary in the Governor’s office in the Falkland Islands.  There was a push to change the formation’s name to something more politically correct, but someone said “well let’s ask Una what she wants them called”.  Una’s response was “they’re my tits and I’m happy with that”, so the name has stuck. Or so the story goes.