Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil
Antarctica, Prospect Point
On the morning of our third day in Antarctica, we landed at Prospect Point in Crystal Sound. This landing was a big deal to me—we were actually setting foot on the continent of Antarctica. Until now, our landings had been on islands just off the coast of Antarctica. Coming this far without setting foot on the continent was to me the same as not actually having been in Antarctica—near Antarctica, but not in Antarctica. It would sort of be like landing on the Farallones and claiming you had been in North America (my friends in the San Francisco Bay Area will understand the reference).
Here are some photos:
We made our landing at Prospect Point on the western tip of the Velingrad Peninsula of Antarctica. Normally the views from Prospect Point, I read, are spectacular, but that morning they were subdued. Low clouds, light snow, and so-so visibility conspired to limit how far we could see and cast a grayness over everything. Gloomy? Certainly not my mood!
Yes, that’s me, standing on Antarctica! The weather wasn’t the best, but I was thrilled to be there!
Thank you to my fellow traveler for taking this photo. I am sorry to admit that I don’t remember your name.
After hiking to the top of the hill, I looked to the bay just to the north of Prospect Point. It was filled with glacial icebergs. I heard that while the World Voyager’s expedition team was scouting a landing location for us, a large calving event happened in the bay, filling it with ice. The team’s first choice for a landing site was on the bay side of the Point, but they had to quickly find another site as their first choice filled with ice.
The British Antarctic Survey maintains several meteorological observation and research stations in Antarctica. In the 1950s, they established an outpost, Station J, at Prospect Point. In the 1970s, after it had been unmanned for over a dedade, the BAS removed the building, replacing it with remote meteorological observation equipment. The foundation of the original building remains.
As our time ashore at Prospect Point drew to an end, our landing site became more and more surrounded by small glacial icebergs, filling in the spaces between the larger tabular icebergs. The ice that had fallen into the bay to the north of Prospect Point was quickly filling Crystal Sound.
As I was starting down the rocks to leave Prospect Point, I glanced over and saw someone watching me. That someone was an Adélie Penguin. Adélies are smaller than the Gentoos and Chinstraps that we had seen previously, but they have a broader distribution across Antarctica than do either of their cousins. All Adélies have a characteristic pale ring around their eyes. This guy’s rings were a stunning blue.
I’m looking at you, hooman!
This leopard seal watched and followed the Zodiac immediately before ours. Leopard seals are the apex predators of the Antarctic and are not to be trifled with! As we passed through his ice, he glared at us threateningly.