I woke this morning at dawn, rubbed my eyes and sat up to the windowsill – land! Giant, sheer faces of ice surrounded the ship on all sides, and big chunks of ice floated past my window. The sun barely shone through the mist and clouds, giving the entire scene a feeling of twilight in a different dimension.
At 8:30 AM we geared up in ALL of our layers and headed for the mudroom for our first kayaking excursion. Anchored in icy Fournier Bay, we took off in our sea kayaks, encountering two napping humpback whales in the first few minutes! Sleeping at the surface, or “logging”, is a very common behavior for humpbacks, and allowed us to get very, very close to the leviathans without waking them up.
We all stopped paddling about 500 feet from the two black masses resting at the surface, and we listened. Every 30 seconds a huge, deep hiss would echo off the ice, occasionally from the two whales in front of us, but also from both sides and behind. there were whales everywhere. At one point it seemed we were surrounded by deeply breathing whales. We also saw crab eater seals lounging on various ice bergs as wells as two leopard seals, well over 15 feet long. We paddled farther into the bay toward Mt. Frances, while shrouded in clouds we were told it is the tallest peak on the peninsula, 9,628 ft coming straight out of the ocean. As we entered the brash ice, three minke whales popped out of the water, seemingly charging each other for sport. A crab eater seal became quite curious of us, and poked his head out of the water at the bow of one of the kayaks and then dove directly under mine, the water so clear that I could see his whole body gliding and spinning under the surface. This afternoon we visited Cuvervlle Island, the largest Gentoo Penguin rookery in the world.
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 hours ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
1 day ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
2 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner
Fiona Lonsdale
3 days ago
I spoke with at least a half dozen other travel companies, looking for a Galapagos cruise that fit our schedule and budget. Some companies could manage one or the other, but Erin was the only one who could do both. She found us the perfect cruise, at a fantastic price! And she has been quick and patient with responses to my many questions. So far, Adventure Life has been a fantastic company to work with!