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In 1911, Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole, wrote that the Queen Maud Range in Antarctica “is a land that looks like a fairy tale … the coldest, windiest and driest place on earth … wild as any on the globe … it lies unseen and untrodden.”
Some 114 years later, I, a tourist, shared that sense of awe while on the Peninsula of Antarctica—hauntingly beautiful, magical, a pristine place of otherworldliness on the Seventh Continent, the White Continent.
Our cruise began at Argentina’s most southerly town, Ushuaia, nicknamed “the end of the world.” There were 100 guests embarking on the ship named Le Lyrial and headed for the Falkland Islands and ultimately to be anchored in the glacial blue sea of the Antarctica Peninsula.
Penguins were on our collective minds.
West Point Island
We actually heard and smelled those beloved black and white waddlers first when we arrived by inflatable boat, also called a Zodiac, at West Point Island. On a nesting site, or rookery, nestled in tall grasses and perched high above the sea, were brightly plumed, agile rockhopper penguins. Alongside them, black-browed albatrosses nurtured their chicks. There were hundreds of both species.
Keeping a respectful distance, we spent hours observing the penguins’ behavior, especially their interaction with the adorable fuzzy gray offspring. I caught a rather comical, heated conversation between an albatross and a rockhopper who had “trespassed” on its nest.
All the animals we encountered appeared fearless since we were no threat to them. Falklands Biosecurity Measures decreed that we take stringent precautions not to contaminate ecologically sensitive areas. Each guest put on high rubber boots and waterproof pants and thermal jackets—all inspected and cleaned before and after each landing.
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