Saturday, January 2, 2016
Today we did a lot of traveling to see sites. We cruised into Graham Passage early this
am. We saw Humpback Whales!!!! WOW!!!
Incredible to be so close to these magnificent giants of the sea! Cameras were clicking like crazy amidst the
ooohs and aaaaahs!
After breakfast we cruised into Foyn Harbor to see the wreck
of a whaling ship. From a distance I was
impressed that the masts were still intact… turns out there were two sailing
yachts anchored behind the ship! It was
their masts we were seeing. Fooled many of
us! As we were leaving the harbor we saw
more whales and penguins on ice burgs!
How did those little guys get up there?!?!
Later in the morning we cruised into Wilhelmina Bay where we
saw LOTS more humpback whales! I hope I
got some good photos and videos. The
whales were putting on quite a show!
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| The ring of bubbles "net" to catch fish! |
Orne Harbor was the location of our afternoon landing. Many participated in a hike up a steep
mountain to see a large colony of chin strap penguins. It was a bit of a work out to trek up the
steep, snowy trail, some deep spots and some slippery spots. Areas of melt and icy conditions. Once we reached the “top” we were on a narrow
precipice and the winds were becoming quite strong. We were balancing on rocks and snow and ice
(and avoiding stepping on the mosses!).
The views were excellent, but the high winds made me very uneasy.
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| Emma at the top of the summit. |
I finally said I was not comfortable going over the next
ridge, but there were penguins using their highway along the path we were meant
to take. Since we are not to disturb the
penguins, we all turned back. The
highlight of this excursion was to get to slide partway down the mountain! What a blast!
Many people agreed that the hike (and the wet clothes) was worth the
slide down!
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| Penguin highway. |
When we returned to the ship, we peeled out of our wet
clothes and worked on warming up. Of
course, dinner helped! We had steak,
potatoes and salad with ice cream for dessert!
That galley crew is amazing!!!
After dinner, we donned our (still damp… or wet!)
layers. Off to Couverville Bay to see
more penguins, do more hiking (well…some folks!), and admire more glaciers and
ice bergs. When I saw the mountain we
were meant to climb, and at a fast pace (have to be off the land by 10pm) I
decided to pass on the hike. Probably
half the group stayed to watch the penguins and we got to enjoy lots of
chicks! I got some great photos and
videos of the chicks being fed by their attentive parents. Very special!
The group that climbed the mountain got to do some long slides on the way down! I was sorry to miss that, but just did not have any more hiking in me at that time!
As we returned to the Europa, the winds were picking up. We got cleaned up, warmed up and most of us, including yours truly, hit the hay! What a day! Good night!
Stacy, Vet at Sea
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