Go With the Breeze: Travel Blog

Stretching from the tip of South America to Antarctica, Drake’s Passage is some of the world’s hardest water to cross. Currents collide in this 400 mile stretch of water.  The weather is impossible, and there is no land in sight to calm the water. Other than penguins and icebergs, I had no idea what I would find. Because I didn’t research Antarctica, I knew nothing about its geography or its history.  I didn’t know what to expect, and I certainly wasn’t thinking the continent would amaze me like it did. You will find that further information on antarctic cruises is on that site.

We were well warned about the horrors that Drake’s Passage could hold, but the vengeful old sea gods were merciful to us on our way down. It was the return trip that we would have to spend clutching at our beds while we slept. That first morning in Antarctica was calm and gray all over.

At first, I saw grayish mountains with some brown peeking through. However, it wasn’t long before I saw the ice. Little ice chunks bobbed like crystallized marshmallows near the boat. I snatched up my camera and zipped it securely into the brilliant red expedition parka which all passengers are provided upon their arrival and hurried into the frigid Antarctic morning.

Given a menacing sky and a gun metal sea, we occupied the day partly by hurrying outside upon the announcement of whale, dolphin or leaping penguin sightings and partly sitting at slide presentations by the naturalists who had accompanied us. We were so excited to set off the cruise vessel in a little inflatable raft.  It was thrilling to be so close to those giant ice floes. Soon we came across a little island where penguins were pondering whether or not they ought to jump on into the water. This site teaches you about antarctic cruise ship.

Honestly, we were surrounded by them. Bedraggled, little gentoo penguins occupied this outcropping of land in Paradise Harbor with a team of researchers. They waddle around in a giant hurry; they look as though they have too many things to get done and not enough time to do it in. A few of these birds stood a bit apart, watching the funny red people who invaded their land. Most of these penguins had already been left by their parents, and were expected to fend for themselves. Some of the chicks had yet to accept this fact. These adolescents are given down-covered sacks of krill. This is a kind of food that the parents will often bring back from the sea, regurgitating it into the chick’s mouth to nourish them.

They’d also started to molt. Most of the babies had cleaned up their coats, and were sporting the smooth, patterned feathers of their parents, but some still had a few clumps of fluffy gray down stuck to random parts of their body – like the tops of their heads, making them look like they were wearing fluffy hats. We neared some of the ice on the bay when we were heading back to ship. The driver approached a large, irregular chunk of ice where we saw a solitary seal stretching regally. As we passed by he gave a long, pink-tongued yawn as if to say that he didn’t care what we were up to and that our business was probably unimportant anyhow. was the perfect ending to a really wonderful day. |He gave us a giant tongue-filled yawn; maybe he was telling us how boring we were to see. |Maybe he was commenting on how boring we were when he gave us a giant yawn. |Evidently we bored him because he gave returned our stares with a huge yawn. |He yawned, exposing his enormous pink tongue. His lack of concern for our presence belied the unspoiled characteristic of this beautiful land where we’d spend a perfect day. |He presented us with a large, pink-tongued yawn, by which he could have been indicating just how impressed he was that we were there, but which certainly was an ideal manner of concluding our day. ]

The penguins were completely and utterly charming, and every bit as irresistible as their pictures made them seem. They started to waddle. Those shockingly orange feet highly contrast the formality of their black and white feathers. Since the island was composed more of rock than dirt, these penguins were more generally dapper, tidy and respectable than others. There was even a thin little black line under their chinny chin chins that gave them a jaunty little dash of style which made their cheeks look chubby and cute.