We have been sailing for two days on a blissfully calm sea. At 7:17 yesterday evening we crossed an imaginary line, 60o South latitude, and entered the area of Antarctica. There was nothing but white caps in the empty sea to mark the occasion and it will be several days before we set foot on the continent.
It was too rough on Elephant Island for whimps like us to land Zodiacs; Shakleton would have to laugh. Ha, ha! This is where he left his crew and sailed off in a 20-something foot whaleboat for a rescue party. Instead we cruised about on the mother ship, marveling at the mountains and glaciers. The sea was a bit calmer in the afternoon, smooth enough for a Zodiac cruise, but not a landing. We found colonies of chinstrap and macaroni penguins on the narrow shoreline stoically waiting out the blizzard-like snow squalls. We considered ourselves very lucky, as this would be our last chance to see macaronis. We continued to cruise in the polar twilight as humpback whales spouted in the distance and an iceberg loaded with Adelie penguins drifted by.
