We Set Foot On The Continent- Visiting Danco Island and Neko Harbor

December 26- Happy Boxing Day! More than any other cruise we’ve been on, the nature of this cruise has attracted people from many countries, even though the majority come from the U.S.

Sunrise over the peninsula

Although the ship is listed as having a capacity to carry 148 passengers, this cruise had 146 with 119 crew making the ratio of crew to passengers almost 1:1. At mealtime we always elect to join a table rather than eat alone, and this has introduced us to some interesting personalities, many from foreign countries.

Approaching Danco

Sometimes there is a language barrier, particularly when Jane is speaking. Her New Orleans drawl confuses a lot of people, and she uses clichés and idioms that are lost to interpretation. Three time she could not explain that to lose weight, we would have to eat carrot sticks when we got home to a Belgian couple. Naturally, they interpreted "sticks" literally and thought she was foraging through the yard for something to eat! Capt. Larry just knew that this was being interpreted as carrot twigs or branches and it was producing a block!

Today our destination was Danco Island, Antarctica, for a wet landing in the morning, and the same at Neko Harbor in the afternoon. Danco Island is named after expedition geophysicist Emile Danco who died in Antarctica.

Hiking to the peak

The island has a peak approximately 600 ft. high and Gentoo penguins nest from the shore to the summit peak.

Jane one her backside

An earlier group departed for a strenuous hike to the top of the peak, but we opted to go ashore later for some penguin viewing along the beach. It is summertime and the snowpack is melting, making footing in the snow tenuous. We struggled to get to from the rocky shore to the demarcated walking trail, but once on the trail we would break through the snow’s supportive crust and stumble and fall.

Hey, this highway goes down

It took us 20 minutes to travel approximately 100 yards. The penguins nesting high on the island’s dome would travel to and from the water along ‘penguin highways.’ These paths are created by continuous traffic that compress the snow and facilitate the melting to provide the most efficient route between the rookeries and the ocean.

Heading down the highway

The trails would be so deep that often all one could see would be the penguins head.

Just like a little girl!

And there is a definite order to the trails with some used to go down and others up. Immature birds would often take the wrong trail and have to leave to find the proper trail as more mature penguins encountered them.

Crystal iceberg

As we were watching some of the strenuous hiking party descend from the summit, someone slipped and slid on their backside to the bottom. This set off a whole set of other sliders who didn’t want to miss the fun, and prompted Jane and a friend to hike halfway up the summit and slide down squealing with glee.

A smiling Weddell seal

We made our way back to the landing site and boarded a Zodiac. Our helmsman gave us a tour of the surrounding harbor. On this ride we saw a crystal iceberg, or one that had flipped over to reveal its clear ice underside. We were also treated to a sighting of 4 Weddell seals that were sunning themselves on the flat rocks. These latter treats made the Danco Island landing simply outstanding.

We weighed anchor and proceeded to our next landing destination- Neko Harbor. Neko Harbor would be our first landing on the continental mainland, as all of our earlier landings were on Antarctic islands.

A leopard seal on patrol

These islands are chosen for many of the wildlife landings, because they are often easier sites to access.

Stunning Neko Harbor

The mainland rises up from the ocean so abruptly that good landing sites are not available, unless one is into mountaineering. Aside from having a mainland location, Neko Harbor is stunning with its beauty.

And away we go!

It is a very special place and we agreed that it could be the most beautiful spot we had ever seen. We tendered to shore for another wet landing and were greeted by a colony of Gentoo penguins that were all standing on the shoreline facing the water, but with none of the penguins swimming.

A Gentoo tests the water

The reason for this behavior became apparent when a leopard seal surfaced in the shallows, obviously patrolling for dinner. The seal was huge and at least 10 feet in length.

Weddell seal and friends

We were told by one of the biologists that, although penguins are not very mobile on land, the leopard seal is even less so, and in the water a penguin with its speed, acceleration, and tight turning ability will always be able to out maneuver a leopard seal. But when they swim in large groups, the leopard seal can take advantage of ambush tactics.

Iceberg in Neko Harbor

We watched this standoff for a while with small numbers of penguins finally hitting the water for a swim. On the shore nearby was a lone Weddell seal that was lazing in the afternoon sun.

A skua finds a meal

We sat down on some rocks and watched the penguins, skuas, and seals while we soaked up the bright sun and amazing landscape. Capt. Larry suggested returning to the ship, but Jane did not want to leave this beauty behind. We enjoyed our view until the number of returning passengers started to grow and we figured it was our time to leave. Back aboard we had a fine meal while we watched some humpback, minke, and pod of Orca whales that were called out by the crew and passengers. It was the best day of the cruise we had experienced.

A skua watches nesting Gentoos

 

Doin' the backstroke