I’mabouttoenddinnerwitha deconstructed
vacherin,resemblinga tinymeringueiceberg,whena
nowfamiliarvoicecommandsattention.“Dearguests,
thisis yourcaptainspeaking.”Somethinghasdisturbed
Daher’scustomarysangfroid.“Wehavehumpback
whalesperformingsomenicemovementsahead.There’s
a lotofflipper-flappingbetween 10 and 11 o’clock.”
“Ohlà là!”exclaimthedinersnearus,andhalf
therestaurantracesportsidetowatcha podofwhales
flipper-flappingandfeeding.Thismightbethe
onlyFrenchrestaurantintheworldwhereservice
is routinelysuspendedtoallowwhale-watching,and
thestaffmanagethesenightlyinterruptionswith
grace.Likemanypassengers,I headtothebridgeafter
dinner.Daherhasanopen-bridgepolicy;apartfrom
periodsoffoulweatherortrickynavigation,passengers
arewelcometostandbehindthebankofmonitorsand
watchthecrewat work.They’rejustasexcitedbythe
presenceoffeedingwhalesortabularicebergsasthe
passengers.“Theideais tosharethesemomentswith
guests,”Dahertellsme.“Notonlydiscussionsbut
thesekindofemotionsweallfeelinsucha place.”
HegrewupinLebanon,ina fishingvillage
inhabitedbyPhoenicians,theworld’sfirstsailors,
andmovedtoFrancetostudy.“I hada dreamtocross
thehorizon,”hesays.It’shiseighthAntarcticseason,
thoughnovoyagehasbeenthesame.“I reallylovethis
dynamiclandscape.Nothingstaysthesame– theice,
theweather,thewildlife.Thismakesit challenging,
butalsoanincredibleprivilegetobe here.”Latitude 64°48.68’S
There’sa raresightingnextmorning– fivehumans
inhabitinga rockyoutcrop,alongwith 1100 gentoo
penguinsand 400 chicks.GuillaumedeRémacle,a
31-year-old adventurer from France’s Massif Central,➤whiffofa penguincolony,andwewatchgentooparents
labouringalongpenguinhighwaystotheirpebblynests,
thenregurgitatingfishsoupfortheirhungrychicks.
Whilemanypenguinspeciesareseriallymonogamous,
thegentoois themostfaithfulofall,Nivet-Mazerolles
tellsmeontheridehome.Thosewhosepartnersfail
toreturntotheirhabitualbreedinggroundhaveto
consolethemselvesat theendofthematingseason
witha similarlylonelywidow.
IndailylecturesdeliveredinFrenchandEnglish
welearnmoreaboutthefidelityofpenguinsand
theGameof Thrones-stylematinghabitsofseals,the
mysteryof“watermelon”snow(colouredbya redalgae)
andthesecretlifeofglaciers.Westeamthroughfog
duringa morninglectureoncyanobacteria,butthe
weatherclearsbymid-afternoonandthesceneondeck
is dazzling.CiervaCoveis ascalmasa pond,a mirror
imagehingedat thewaterlineofsawtoothmountains
cleavedbymightyglaciers.Thebayintheforeground
is a textbookoficeformation:theslurryofbrash
ice,graduatingtoEsky-sizedgrowlers,thenbergybits
andthenicebergs.Someareshapedgeometricallyin
pinnaclesandcubistwedges;othersarefree-form,like
braincoralorfrozenclouds.Somebergsareasclear
ascutcrystal,ormilkywithairbubbles;othersso
vividlysapphiretheymightbelitfromwithin.
TheicecrunchesbeneaththeZodiacsaswenose
gentlythroughtheslurry.A humpbackthreetimes
ourboatsizesurfacescloseby,scaringuswitless.We
spya femaleleopardsealrollingluxuriantlyona floe,
holdingherflipperslikea fan.A bigleopardvaults
his300-kilogramheftupandontoa floeinfrontof
us,andthenwespyanotheryoungmalewitha fresh
tailwound.Heyawns,exposinga half-headofteeth
andscratcheshisbellyontheice.Hestaresat us.And
thenheopenshismouth,closeshiseyesandstartsto
singina high-pitchedwarble.Ourastonishedguide
BarbaraPost,anAustrianzoologist,hasn’tseenor
heard the likes of it in her five Antarctic seasons.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 125