Day 5

                    March 13th     Cuverville Island (64˚41’S, 62˚38’W)

                                           Waterboat Point (64°49′S 62°52′W)

         Paradise Bay

In the morning we visited Cuverville Island. Cuverville Island lies in the Errera Channel, between Rongé Island and the Arctowski Peninsula. Cuverville Island was discovered by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897-1899) under Adrien de Gerlache, who named it for J.M.A. Cavelier de Cuverville (1834-1912), a vice admiral of the French Navy.

This 2 km by 2.5 km island is a steep-sided dome, two-thirds of which is covered by a permanent ice-cap. The northern shore is a beach of cobbles and boulders, approx 1.5km long, backed by steep vegetationcovered cliffs toward the east and gentler slopes to the west.This small rocky island has vertical cliffs measuring 200m (650 ft) in elevation with extensive mass cover.

 Beside its dramatic scenery, Cuverville Island is home to the largest Gentoo penguin colony in the region (4,800 breeding pairs), along with Southern giant petrels, kelp gulls, Antarctic terns, Snowy sheatbills and south polar skuas.

At Cuverville Island we had the opportunity to take our zodiacs and visit impressive ice formations.

 We continued with the crossing of the Bransfield and Gerlache Straits to disembark at Waterboat Point the chilean base G. Gonzalez Videla. J. Cope and aviator H. Wilkins intended to bring 12 airplanes to Antarctica and make the first flight to the South Pole in 1921. Without funds for even one plane, they set out on a whaler boat from Deception Island and landed close to Paradise Bay. Unabel to carry out their surveying plans, Cope and Wilkins decided to return home. But the two other members of the expedition, Lester and Bagshaw decided to stay and carry on with their research. They camped under an abandoned waterboat and performed meticulous observations until they were picked up one year and a day later by a whaling boat. Now, there is a chilean base called G. Gonzalez Videla.

Paradise Bay

We arrived at Paradise Bay in the afternoon. The landscape was impessive. Towering mountains, huge glaciers, and wildlife filled our vision.