An update from the Expedition Team on Ocean Endeavour, on our Antarctic Explorer voyage.
Deception Island was eerie and haunting.
Layers of low cloud rose and fell shrouding the scared landscape with pockets of light bouncing in between.
On the walk to Neptune's Window, dozens of fur seals played and jousted in the shallows, coming up to investigate our zodiacs, completely untroubled by our presence.
Upon our departure our keen eyed bridge team spotted a pod of Orca whales and as we approached we realized that there were more than one family group. It was difficult to accurately count the numbers of Type B, but there must have been around 20.
Captain Alexey again showed why he is such a master at the helm as the Orca were relaxed and we were able to get relatively close for quite some time before we had to make our turn towards the South Shetland Islands. But what a treat before lunchtime!
Aitcho Island was our final destination with a landing and cruise to meet up with the resident Chinstrap and Gentoo colonies. It was wonderfully chaotic with the chicks chasing the adults and checking us out to see how our boots and parkas tasted.
As the landing progressed the cloud formations became more dramatic and the wind started to build. Usually there is shelter to be found on the opposite side in the bay but not this time. But it did not dampen our enthusiasm, the fun we were having on our last excursion was too much for a bit of Antarctic wind to come in the way.
