Floating Rock

This post was intended to be automatically posted on the Spirit of Sydney blog by ships' satellite e-mail system, but never made it there.

It has been a week since we left Ushuaia. The crossing to Antarctica was 'uneventful' (as for sea state) for we experienced what is called "Drakes' Pond". A relative smooth passage brought us to the Melchior Islands. Along the way we saw hourglass Dolphins and breaching Humpback whales and Albatros. And first glimpses of all white coastlines, ice bergs and chinstrap penguins.

All the coastline is heavily glaciated; crushed by ice. There is only a few meters rocky 'beach' in front of vertical and sometimes overhanging ice cliffs. But those beaches would dissapear on high tide and would not be safe for landing for frequent cracking sounds and spectacular ice falls. Only the smaller islets have some opportunities for landings and safe lunch spots. But those sometimes are taken by fur seals. Very agile animals on land that sometimes rest on the patches of snow 20 meters up and far away from the water.

The floating ice looks all white and snow until one bumps into a foot size 'cube'. Hard, heavy and sharp as granite; floating rocks.