Wednesday November 19th, 2008
Our big morning plan for today was a visit to a beach to have a final
look at King Penguins, which we wont see on the continent on
Antarctica. But when we arrived, the seas were too rough to land.
Next, we visited a cove with a birds eye view over a rookery of
Macaroni Penguins. We had not yet seen this type of penguin, so we were
looking forward to it. However, during the time between when our Zodiac
staff landed and the first expeditioners arrived by Zodiac, it became
clear that the fur seals would not allow any landings there. There were
three infant fur seals nursing on what was a very small beach, and the
males were protective. Our team was surrounded, and the male fur seals
would not give way or stand backand definitely would not allow us to
land. Instead, we just hung offshore about 20 yards and were able to
see and hear them.
We knew The Captain had a special treat in store for us this afternoon,
and it surpasses our expectations in splendour and beauty. We travelled
through a field of icebergs first, and then straight into a fjord, with
an active glacier at the back. We were able to hear the ice crack and
saw several explosions of ice falling. Penguins and seals swam through
the calm waters. All around the fjord were high, jagged snow and
cornice-topped mountains. It was unlike anything most of us had ever
seen.
After this, we set course for Elephant Island.
Pat Falvey,
Expedition Leader
PHOTO: A shot of the glacier at the end of the fjord. Our ship flies
the Irish and Munster flags, which can be seen here.
