In the early hours, National Geographic Resolution arrived at the mountainous island of Pourquoi Pas. First discovered by the 1908-1910 French Antarctic Expedition led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the island was named in honor of his expedition ship by Australian Polar Explorer John Rymill, in the 1930s.
Pourquoi Pas is home to an Adélie penguin colony, and the guests watched as the birds constructed their nests for the summer. Sat between two glaciers, the island also hides many geological curiosities – on the beach are hundreds of igneous rocks broken by cryoclastic action (the extreme cold) and covered in crustose lichen species. Offshore, bright blue glacial ice floated around, often providing a handy hop-out point for penguins and seals. On a rocky outcrop, a small colony of imperial shags set up home, constructing nests from the scarce organic materials available and feeding their young hiding within.
After lunch, and a chance for the guests to experience the infamous polar plunge, we set sail for northern waters again, passing through the dense sea ice that surrounds the Antarctic Peninsula’s west coast and blots out the sea water. By dinner time, we were once again in open water, heading towards tomorrow’s adventure.
