Paradise Bay

Woken by Al at quarter to five we had managed to grab just a few hours sleep. The sun was already high in the sky as we layered up and undertook the familiar obstacle course; climbing down the small rope ladder at the back of the ship, across the zodiac and sliding into our kayak. We had anchored in Paradise Bay in front of the remains of Almirante Brown Base on the edge of the continental mainland. The base had been burnt down in 1982 by the station’s leader who didn’t want to stay another winter. The Argentinean flag was painted on the roofs of the small huts, but a colony of Gentoos were now its only inhabitants. As we paddled through the bay and around the icebergs we broke through the layer of surface ice, creaking and cracking and as we forced our way through. 

On the mainland

The only other sounds in the bay were the huge crashes from the avalanches of built snow precariously overhanging the ice and the squawking of the various Gentoo colonies. After a rest stop we navigated our way around the ice crammed into the bay, and headed back to the ship. The landscape changed dramatically we travelled up to the Melchior Islands. The packed ice flow and icebergs of every size gave way to larger stretches of open water with icebergs the size of the ship. The dramatic mountains of the peninsular were replaced with smaller hills, still covered in snow and ice. We got our kayaks ready for their final trip. Paddling across the open water we circled several of the smaller islands. The swell and surf took some getting used too after the glassy conditions we had been lucky enough to enjoy on our past few outings. Somewhat reluctantly we paddled back to the ship, sponged out our kayaks and hung up our dry suits. As the ship pulled up its anchor and set off for the long voyage across the Drake Passage we watched the final ice covered peaks disappear as we said goodbye to Antarctica.