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Published: April 21st 2024
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At 7am, we arrived at Portal Point on the Reclus Peninsula, on the west coast of Graham Land. I was in the Dome and it initially looked like bad weather, but it quickly cleared. The kayakers were taken out first, while the groups were sorted with their times. We would be back at the end of the first rotation. This was our last excursion and we were excited as this would be the time that we could set foot on the actual continent of Antarctica! No asterisks for those super serious people who judge your adventures in the future. Plus, it would be L's 7th continent and we would have the opportunity to pose for photos with the flags to make it "official".
We had 90 minutes at the site which was the perfect amount of time, as usual. They had cleared two walking paths, one would be about 1km out-and-back up a steeper hill, and the second a 400m loop on a smaller hill. When we landed and walked up the granite rocks, where we saw people posing for their official landings. There was a bit of a line, so we walked a little further where we encountered three
fur seals actively playing right in front of us! They must have been two large pups and maybe a mother, who was sometimes just annoyed with them and sat on her on a little further off. The seals just kept playing, with another seal out in the water behind them. It was really cool to watch. I don't usually care much for seals, but these ones were adorable!
As we started up the slope, a small path veered off where we could get closer to a Weddell seal. They dive deep down and for long periods of time to find food. However, the one we saw was a "giant blob of happiness" as he hung out on the slope, on his side (common position), and what seemed like a happy smile on his face. Also totally adorable.
We continued up the slope and got great views of the surrounding areas, including some glacial ice a little further on. There were some areas that did not seem perfectly stable, so sometimes they adjusted the paths as needed. We got some last photos at the end of the longer path and everyone just seemed in great spirits. We came back
down and waited our turn to pose with the Antarctica flag and L got his photo for his 7th continent.
Then we went up the smaller path, which I actually enjoyed more. It had the perfect views of the bay with the ship in the distance. Also, you could see the kayakers way out there and soon enough they were near a breaching humpback whale. I also saw a fur seal swimming near to the base of the slope here. I had a few minutes completely to myself and just truly contemplated this whole adventure. I still was in awe that I had actually come here and that it was all that I wanted and more. So much I did not know what to expect, but it never once disappointed. We had met a few people who had been to Antarctica a few times, and at first I had judged them. Now I understood that there was a certain pull to this place, that it will never be the same experience you previously had, and I was already mentally ready to return.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Antarctica in her beauty
I remember how we felt when we held this flag. Awesome.