Elephant Island

Each time we made a Zodiac excursion, it required us to dress warmly, then don waterproof pants, knee high waterproof boots, a heavy parka, glove liners and heavy gloves, a warm hat, and finally an inflatable life jacket. Sounds simple and it is with practice, but the first time I experienced a number of "sequencing errors" and "wardrobe malfunctions" before I got it right. After a little practice, I could do it in a few minutes and get it right the first time. During this Zodiac excursion, we did not land on the island but simply cruised the bay observing penguin colonies, lots of seals and the monument I mentioned above. It was a "light excursion" to give us all practice getting it right and to give us the feel of the Zodiacs.

The Antarctic islands are seriously rugged. Formed by volcanism and plate tectonics, they have been further abraded by glaciers. This photo is a great example of this tripartite ruggedness. During our trip we had few sunny days, but today fortune smiled on us and provided some sun and blue skies. Today, in this weather, Elephant Island makes a good first impression on me. This good impression is in spite of the smell created by the guano of thousands of penguins.

I have seen glaciers before but I was unprepared for this glacier flowing down the steep slopes of the Island. They say glaciers move, but until now I can't say I've ever seen evidence this is true. As this glacier moves, it pushes parts of itself off the land and over the water. There, the exposed parts calve and fall into the sea. It is obvious that this glacier is moving, and doubly obvious we don't want to be next to a part that falls into the sea. To give a sense of scale, the distance from the water to the top of the glacier face is, maybe, 300 feet. As tall as a 30 story building. When the ice cracks and falls to the sea, it sounds like tremendous thunder.