I’ve seen a navy sea. Not black, or grey, but navy – rich and dark, like a tube of French Ultramarine paint. Everything about yesterday called for watercolor. My cameras weren’t enough. Billows and streaks of cloud in hues of grey and soft white. Sunlight glinting on seawater and ice. The lustrous shine of Adelie penguin feathers. The brooding shapes of snow covered Brown Bluff.
Khlebnikov is garaged in the ice between James Ross Island and Snow Hill Island. We have returned to attempt, once again, to reach the rookery. The bar was almost empty last night, because Shane had called for 6 AM breakfast, and a day at the court of the Emperors. The 3 hour landing at Devil Island earlier in the day may have had something to do with it too.
The icebreaker couldn’t anchor, demanding the best from our Zodiac drivers and sailors as we boarded the landing craft in slightly choppy seas. At the landing site, the Expedition Team members helped us ashore onto a snow and ice covered beach. The thousands of courting and paired Adelies dotted the landscape like razor stubble. They waddled along the beach in small groups, flippers extended for balance and cooling. Hopping over small indentations, they then belly-flopped to toboggan for a short distance. Frenetic activity was everywhere.
We had a choice of routes, along the snow covered beach or up a steep incline for a view. I took the low road, while others took the high road. None of us were disappointed with our choices.
We returned to the ship, and began to steam southward. As we dined, the sunlight changed. It was warm and intense. I was drawn to the window, and there were tabular icebergs and pancake ice floes glowing in the late evening sun. Shadows were sharp. The photographers left the dining room en masse to grab their kit and go topside.
We chose our favorite spots – the bow or the flying bridge. Mine is the flying bridge. From there I had a 360 degree view. Where to look became the challenge. I had to force myself to leave my camera hanging around my neck, otherwise I would have missed the humbling grandeur.
Cheli, one of the members of the Expedition Team, pointed out the sundog. It is a rainbow effect without the bow. The sun hung low to the right of the sundog, leaving a trail of liquid gold across the water and memories to last a life time.
