This afternoon, the weather steadily worsened until we were under the impression that we would be unable to make a second landing. Our expedition leader and captain set us on a course to try to get out from the weather system, and in the meantime, hosted a lecture on Scandinavian polar exploration history. We learned about the critical role that Devil Island, where we had been that morning, and its surrounds played in helping early explorers survive their expeditions.
Late in the afternoon, it was announced that we would have a small weather window to make a landing at Gourdin Island. It was still gray and misty, but the wind had lessened, so they loaded us onto Zodiacs and we made our way to the rocky island. And we were immediately surrounded by hundreds of penguins!
Until this landing, I had been...not disappointed, exactly, because it’s Antarctica and everything was amazing, but perhaps a little underwhelmed by the scattered, grouchy adelie penguins we had seen so far - a sentiment I heard whispers of from other travelers as well.
That was remedied here.
Everywhere you looked, penguins. This island was home to a huge colony of gentoo penguins - I didn’t get a number, but the hills of the island that rose up and disappeared into the incoming fog were full of them, as far as you could see. Since they hadn’t begun to moult yet, the gentoos were active, too: chasing each other over the trails they’d made in the dirt and snow, hopping up and down the rock piles in their clumsy waddles, diving into and leaping out of the sea.
I could have sat and watched them play for hours, but the storm was catching up to us, and we couldn’t even see the ship’s lights through the fog. The guides navigated us back expertly, though, and we sat down to dinner just as the sleet started to fall. While no one can see the future, I was continually impressed by the crew’s extensive knowledge and experience that allows them to make just the right decisions to give us the best experience!
Adventure Life has a great team. They were very knowledgeable and responsive and helped us choose the right Arctic Expedition for us. We would recommend them.
Kbear
4 months ago
Friendly representative, ease of booking and bountiful information along the way.
Gary Brodarick
5 months ago
Erin was really helpful during the booking process! She met with me, answered all my questions and made the booking process really easy!
Adrianne Trogden
6 months ago
This was a life changing trip of a lifetime and exceeded my expectations. No details were left out during the planning of this trip by Adventure Life. The entire crew on the ship could not have been more helpful and kind. Everyone went out of their way to make this trip as pleasurable as possible.
Charles DeVito
7 months ago
The team at Adventure Life is amazing. From the planning process to the support once on the road, it's flawless. Highly recommend that you use them to plan and support your trip of a lifetime!