The Lemaire on the Amsterdam

Let me first begin by saying that this has been one of the most beautiful days in Antarctica so far, which strikes me as a perfect way to begin saying goodbye.  Another routine cruise ship visit was slated for today, one very similar to the Veendam, but what an incredible experience it turned out to be.  Our two zodiaks greeted curious faces on the upper decks of the Amsterdam this morning, which is on a four-month "grand voyage" around the world.  Today their destination was the Lemaire Channel and we were all thrilled for the chance to see it in the blue sky weather window that surprised everyone this morning.  A statement I have heard echoed throughout the station is that the Lemaire on a clear day is the most coveted and sought-after Antarctic experience.  Now I can say that there is definite truth to those words. 
       You know the distant mountains that are the subject of many of my photographs?  Well, we got up close and personal with them, where their height and majesty truly left me speechlessly smiling.  They are just so big, so spectacular, and yet so unassuming - they have existed for hundreds of millions of years and here they still are for us to gape at.  Midway through the cruise, the captain announced the location of a penguin colony to eager onlookers that immediately dashed to the port side of the deck to see them.  One of the more normal-seeming passengers that was standing next to me was having difficulty spotting them.  I said, "See that lighter-brown, backwards 'C' shape?"  She was following me.  I then said, "See those ants dotting the path?"  She couldn't believe that they looked so small on the rocks.  Yep, the mountains are just that enormous.  There is a particularly large, dark rock pinnacle near the entrance of the passage and Alice commented that it reminded her of those giant statue men that line the river in Lord of the Rings. This idea definitely conjures a bit of the magic that you feel being there.  But, at the same time that your eyes don't believe the scenery, it also feels almost natural to be experiencing it at this point in our adventure. 

         Once we had sailed well into the channel, the captain announced that we would soon turn around and retrace our route so that they could return the scientists and keep to their timetable.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but making that turn was totally surreal from the bow!  The captain even did an extra 360 that made me feel like I was in some sort of movie or magnificent snowglobe.  The way out of the channel was just as beautiful with the sun playing with the curves in the distant glacier mountains.  It is incomprehensibly expansive, with mountains and slopes and piedmonts extending as far as you can see, with the additional bonus of the earth giants in the foreground.  We did not see nearly as much wildlife as last week on the Veendam, but the mountains stole the spotlight anyways.  Alice and I found a fantastic spot on the lower walkaround deck where we could enjoy the view on the way home while staying out of the ferocious wind. 
         I cannot speak about this day without describing certain oddities about this particular group of passengers.  Yes, there are the slouched, bedecked women in too much make-up and yes, there are the "regular" people that you hold your breath for, but there is also something strange that happens in the middle of the spectrum, and it seemed concentrated in this group.  As soon as we got out of the elevators, passengers were wide-eyed and started asking to take our pictures.  We graciously consented, but after a while, I started to wonder if the crew had somehow built us up to quasi-celebrity status! 
        The most annoying part, however, was this group's insistence that we were underfed.  These comments are pretty typical because everyone wants to know what and how we eat, but I cannot tell you how many times I was told to make a doggie-bag and smuggle some extra cookies to our "poor friends" back at the station.  Usually we can change their minds, but this group was verging on insulting!  That said, we did thoroughly enjoy their buffet.  Sitting at lunch with a group of the support staff that don't usually venture out was one of the day's highlights.  Everyone took advantage of the salad and sushi bars and the ice cream that practically came with Bailey's on top (I had never been exposed to this apparently well-known practice).  Despite the good quality of our food at home, the ship did send us back to station with about twenty boxes of much-appreciated fresh fruit and vegetables, so much so that our taxi zodiaks' call names became "grocery carts one and two."  Lots of happy faces (and clean-cut and shaven!) came back to the station where we enjoyed cocktail hour and an italian-themed dinner.  A wonderful Saturday.