Neko Harbor and Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula

January 15. We arrived at Neko Harbor on a cloudy but “warm” (36F) and calm day. We are organized into 6 Zodiac groups with departure times rotated among them. Our time was early today, room service breakfast at 6 am with Zodiac departure at 7 am. The wet landing was a rocky slope. Jan felt it was too risky for her new knee so she stayed on the Zodiac to return to the ship, getting a very nice tour of the harbor with the expedition staff member Cameron from Bangor, Maine. Dave did go ashore and walked up a snow covered hill to see a colony of Gentoo penguins nesting and feeding their young, many of them about 2 weeks old.

The ship repositioned during lunch to sheltered Paradise Bay, surrounded by glaciers and mountains. Dave was one of the winners of the kayak lottery to kayak in the Bay. After donning the full body dry suit and special boots and gloves, the group of 12 plus 2 guides toured the bay. The water was crystal clear. They saw crabeater seals on ice bergs, minke whales close to the kayaks, and penguins on the shore.

In the late afternoon, the ship sailed out of the Bay headed to Lemaire Channel. We were very disappointed, Jan especially, when dense fog rolled in and the Captain decided not to risk it. The Channel only became navigable about 2 weeks ago, because it is frozen all winter. Good visibility is needed to navigate around the ice bergs. Read January 16 entry when Lemaire Channel reappears. 🐧