JANUARY 15. 2011 Wake up call at 6.00 this morning! Yep, we had planned a Polar Circle boat cruise in the Lemaire Channel with our guests. We were all eager to go out as the weather forecast I downloaded the night before called for a sunny day. And there was no surprise: when we launched the boats at 7.00 the sky was blue, the sun already warm and the reflections of the mountains and the icebergs in the sea were just gorgeous. We spread out the boats to take pictures and then came the first call over the VHF radio: seals on an ice floes! We spotted quite a number of crabeater seals and also a leopard seal feeding on penguins. Poor little guys, they put all their energy trying to escape, but one became lunch... Further south, close to Petermann Island, we spotted two humpback whales, just before they dived, showing their fluke. Then we spent the rest of the morning on this beautiful island, watching the gentoo and the adelie penguins. Its high season now, and there is two chicks in almost every nest. Parents go back and forth between the roockery and the ocean, searching for food. I was "on duty" at iceberg alley, explaining people the colors of the icebergs, why they ended up in the bay, and how long it will take before they melt away. Later in the afternoon we visited the Ukrainian research station Vernadsky, were we got a lot of informations on climate change impacts and the ozone hole. This was a great day, with lots of sun cream to avoid burning, and now its time for a good dinner on board FRAM (http://mvfram.blogspot.com) More infos in the next days |
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CatégoriesABOUT THE BRICJEAN-LOUIS' TRAVELLINGS
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