South Shetland Islands
We awoke today to a sea quite different than yesterday, and some sightings of Minke Whales, which put everyone into high hopes. After a bit of a snow “flurry”, the skies opened and turned the sea a magnificent blue. Breakfast was noticeably less exciting than yesterday, as there were no coffee and orange juice cups becoming airborne. This morning we had a briefing on Zodiac safety and Antarctic wildlife regulations, followed by an extremely informative and interesting talk by naturalist Karen Copeland on the lives of our favorite little formal wear-ers, the penguins.
After another delightful meal, the icebergs started to appear; massive, perfectly flat tabular icebergs were flanked by gnarled wind carved ones, making a truly gorgeous site. Heather Lynch introduced us to the fantastic organization, Oceanites and the Antarctic Site Inventory, which does great things to help preserve this pristine wilderness.
Her talk was followed by our first landing, which had a population of Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, as well as Skua’s, Giant Petrels, and Kelp Gulls. Making sure not to disturb the molting birds, we had a marvelous tour of the island, which included penguins nesting on ancient whale bones. Only our second day and we are treated to such beauty and majesty, it only opens the door for more excitement! After a cocktail party hosted by Captain Dieckmann, we dined on yet another amazing dinner, and retired to bed, eager for tomorrow.
We awoke today to a sea quite different than yesterday, and some sightings of Minke Whales, which put everyone into high hopes. After a bit of a snow “flurry”, the skies opened and turned the sea a magnificent blue. Breakfast was noticeably less exciting than yesterday, as there were no coffee and orange juice cups becoming airborne. This morning we had a briefing on Zodiac safety and Antarctic wildlife regulations, followed by an extremely informative and interesting talk by naturalist Karen Copeland on the lives of our favorite little formal wear-ers, the penguins.
After another delightful meal, the icebergs started to appear; massive, perfectly flat tabular icebergs were flanked by gnarled wind carved ones, making a truly gorgeous site. Heather Lynch introduced us to the fantastic organization, Oceanites and the Antarctic Site Inventory, which does great things to help preserve this pristine wilderness.
Her talk was followed by our first landing, which had a population of Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, as well as Skua’s, Giant Petrels, and Kelp Gulls. Making sure not to disturb the molting birds, we had a marvelous tour of the island, which included penguins nesting on ancient whale bones. Only our second day and we are treated to such beauty and majesty, it only opens the door for more excitement! After a cocktail party hosted by Captain Dieckmann, we dined on yet another amazing dinner, and retired to bed, eager for tomorrow.
