Day 7 : Pourquoi Pas island

This island is named after the famous ship of Commandant Charcot.

During the night we sailed south from Detaille island, along Adelaide Island and reach Jenny Island in Marguerite Bay, which was discovered by Charcot in 1909. The Bay was name after his wife "Marguerite" and "Jenny" was the wife's name of his second lieutenant. I guess that when you are far from home on a dangerous trip, this is a nice gift to bring home to your wife...

We wake up surrounded by a heavy fog, but the icebergs absolutely look beautiful on the pale gray background. But we are lucky again and the weather clears up quickly, and although it's still -5 degrees, the wind is quite weak so outside temperature remains bearable. We get into 3 layers of thermal clothes plus the wetsuit, and slide into the kayaks to explore the coast, paddling between the floating ice, even spotting some sea elephants on the shore of Jenny Island. The full reflection of Jenny Island in the water smooth as a mirror is just stunning.

Heading to Pourquoi Pas Island

Time to sail to Pourquoi Pas Island, just an hour away and while we enjoy our lunch onboard, we quickly reach our second destination for the day. The island is home to a large Adelie Penguins Rockery, it is always a great sight. The island was discovered by Charcot during its 1909 expedition, but the island was charted more accurately during the mid 30's and was then given the name of Charcot's ship. It is home to about 5,000 Adelie Pingouins. We stay about 2 hours on shore.

As we get ready for dinner, the helicopter takes off to recognize the ice condition.

There is a fundamental difference between "ice pack" that is floating ice, and that ice-breaking ship can navigate thru, and "fast ice" which is still attached to the land and that can't be passed thru. The helicopter plays a vital role that early explorers did not have, in finding the best route, which save time and energy. Since daylight is very long beyond the Antarctic circle, the helicopter will take off one more time at 22:30 and decide which route to navigate overnight. This is the magic of cruise, you wake up in a different place every morning.