The zodiac cruising and land visits continued on our third day in Antarctica, 11 February, beginning with a visit to Port Lockroy. Formerly a British Antarctic research station, it’s now an historical museum staffed by the UK National Civic Trust and open four months a year, in summer. As well as the exhibits there’s a gift shop and post office from where visitors can send post cards stamped from Antarctica. Outside there are plenty of penguins to keep the staff company, although inside in an old recipe book displayed in the museum it’s clear that in days past penguins weren’t just cute company – they were on the menu! Of course it wouldn’t be PC these days to enquire about, say, the succulence of Gentoo breast, or what spices best complement roast Chinstrap drumsticks. The staff would probably run you off Port Lockroy if you asked, although it wouldn’t surprise me if they full well already knew the answers to these questions - meat deliveries would be few and far between in these parts. Just joking – I’m sure they have no idea, and no desire to find out either.
From Port Lockroy we zodiacked (is there such a word? – there is now!) to nearby Jougia Point, the site of another Gentoo penguin rookery. A little more noteworthy here is a colony of blue-eyed shags. And after lunch we were out on the zodiacs again, this time making our way around some fantastically shaped icebergs to landfall at Tongersen Island where we inspected a large rookery of Adelie penguins, a species we’d not seen before. They had faces a little like the black crow. Many of the adults had two chicks and were chased relentlessly by their fluffy hungry offspring seeking regurgitated food from their parents. It was serious business but looked quite comical.
Polar Plunge – Brrr!
But that wasn’t the end of the day’s activities. As soon as everyone was back on the ship the much-touted Polar Plunge got underway. All passengers had been invited to strip off and plunge from the zodiac embarkation platform into the Antarctic ocean, the temperature having been officially measured as 1 degree C, and any floating ice chunks having first been cleared away. Dr Barb was standing by to lend any assistance required, no doubt with a discreetly placed defibrillator close at hand. The Cruise Director, young quirky witty Brit, Hadley, urged participants to prepare themselves fully; physically, mentally and emotionally. Thirty or so hardy souls (crazies?) rose to the challenge and one after another had their breath whipped away on impact with the freezing Antarctic waters. Leetuan and I chickened out but Dylan rescued the family honour by hurling himself from the platform, to the cheers of the crowd gathered on the balconies above.
