BT – Cruising the Lemaire Channel

I remember being impressed as we spent the first part of our fourth Antarctic morning cruising the Lemaire Channel (S 65°3′ W 63°54′), but selecting the photos to include here reminded me just how awesomely stunning it was.

I am not entirely sure which route we took (in fact, I think we may have turned back from the intended course because of ice), but this pair of peaks formed a distinctive landmark at the head of the channel. I think I can make them out on Google maps’ satellite view, but things become confused elsewhere because the amount of ice is so different in the satellite view from what we experienced.

The day was overcast, with occasional ribbons of blue along the horizon, and the yellow tinge that I now associate with Antarctic skies. The water was merely rippled, resulting in the kinds of reflections that are captured in oil paintings when the oil paint is smeared with a palette knife.

We knew there were other cruise ships in the area, but we saw them only occasionally and never up close.  I think this might be the part of the channel which was too choked with ice for us to proceed, leading us to take an outside route.

There were lots of icebergs in the area, of varying shapes and sizes, sculpted by the melting process.

It was a vast alien landscape; isolated, bleak, peaceful, and yet slightly malevolent. The illusion of being comfortable here was created by the mild weather and the security of our ship; it would be harsh and uncompromising in other conditions, and I could sense my own vulnerability even while happily snapping photographs and being in awe of this almost incomprehensible beauty.

To a certain extent, the place felt somewhat sterile and devoid of life, but there were many animals around. We encountered cormorants and seals on ice-floes, drifting by and seemingly stranded, but, of course, free to come and go in this place where they were at home and we were not.

As we made our way to our furthest point south I marvelled at the exploits of the early explorers who charted these areas, and were hardy enough to stay for the long dark bitterly cold winters. We, on the other hand, were here not long after summer solstice, with the temperature probably in the balmy positive single digits (Celsius of course) and no wind-chill factor. With non-frozen fingers, it was easy to be trigger happy on the camera’s shutter!