Sunday, February 17, 2008

THE LEMAIRE CHANNEL

Sunday, 17 Feb 2008, MS Nordnorge, Near Port Lockroy, Antarctica

LEMAIRE CHANNEL

We cruised through “The Kodak Crack.”
Scenery it did not lack.
Cliffs and glacier ice,
And also very nice
Was a seal on its back.

Actually, I saw a total of eight live seals, one by one, and a floating dead seal. Seven of the seals were on ice floaters. Some had been there long enough to have made quite a mess with there urine and feces. One was swimming right next to a piece of floating ice.

And I saw two whales.

And we met another cruise ship. (I can’t recall seeing another cruise ship all the while we’ve been on the Nordnorge.)

There were groups of penguins porpoising out of the water. And there was a rather large group of penguins standing on an ice floater which moved toward us and we toward it, but they jumped off into the water before they got close enough for me to take good pictures. I did get one shot at a distance.

Seemingly endless beautiful scenery again today. (Lots of ice.) Overcast, as usual. Pretty good day. Sometimes foggy. There is TV screen which periodically posts the temperature. The posted temperature is ALWAYS 39 F (4 C). I wonder if the temperature is truly constant or if “the needle is stuck.” It’s comfortable, but can get cold after you stand on deck for a long time. Helen watches from inside, doesn’t like cold. An acquaintance carries a handy thermometer, and she found the temperature outside this morning to be about 40 F.

From today’s handout: “The Lemaire Channel was first sighted by Eduard Dallman in 1873 and then charted and traversed by Adrien de Gerlache in 1898. He named it for Chares Lemaire, a fellow Belgian who explored the Congo for King Leopold III. Given the right weather, this eleven kilometer-long (seven mile) and 1.6 kilometer-wide (one mile) channel can be strikingly beautiful. The steep cliffs and glaciers of Booth Island to one side mirror the opposite shores of the Antarctic Peninsula. When protected from wind, the clear waters offer an extraordinary reflection of the mountains in the water; there can appear to be four different sets nudging each other. So many camera clicks can be heard during a traverse of the Lemaire Channel that it is known by expedition staff as the “Kodak Crack.” Navigation of the channel is dependent upon ice conditions but one doesn’t need to travel all the way down to experience its beauty.”

At 11:15 AM it was announced that we had reached the southernmost point in our voyage. We didn’t/won’t reach the Antarctic Circle. I think the degrees of latitude were given, but I didn’t catch it, expect to learn it later from a handout.

There is a man aboard who is constantly working with a big TV-style camera. He is providing the material for a Swedish documentary movie to be made of our voyage featuring the lady who told us about her four months of service at the U.S. base on the South Pole. Both are Swedes. He said the movie may or may not be available eventually in the U.S. on the Internet. If so, it may become available in December or maybe later He gave me the website http://www.svt.se/. He said there are many documentaries on the website, and you have to search for the one you want.

Sometimes it is impossible to use the Internet. (No connection with the outside world.) During these times a red light is on in the computer room. You just have to walk in a see the red light, and you know it is no use. But no one had told me this. Several times I’ve tried and tried to connect with no success. Very frustrating. And furthermore I was getting charged for wireless use while trying! Helen complained to the front desk, asking for a refund for estimated time lost. I thought that was hopeless. It seemed like she and the girl at the desk were in an increasing heated argument, and it would indeed by hopeless. So I walked away. But, amazingly, in the end the girl refunded us an hour’s worth of wireless time!

Next stop and next blog entry: Port Lockroy.

:-)

Bernie

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