Our last zodiac tour

Friday, January 8, 2016

So we thought yesterday was it.  But today was also incredible!!

We were anchored by the Nelchior islands and after breakfast went on our last zodiac cruise.  Again it was in beautiful sunshine under a gorgeous blue sky.  The wind was blowing a bit, so it was cold, but well worth it!

We toured in and out of little channels, then we were stopped by some “fast ice”.  But on top of the ice were about 30 seals!!!  What an incredible send off!

On our way back to the Europa, we saw a lone Gentoo penguin on an iceberg.  Looked like it was waving good bye…

We head for the Drake Passage right after lunch… Good bye Antarctica!

Stacy, Vet at Sea

Wow, just wow.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

As Joost so eloquently wrote:  Wow.  Just Wow.

Today was such an amazing day.  We have been so amazingly lucky to have the most incredible weather during our time in Antarctica.  Today was no exception.

Bright early morning had us surrounded by ice bergs, snow, glaciers and amazing sunshine and blue skies.  Breathtaking!

One of Peer's cartoons.
 If a glacier calves, it would cause a wave that could come way up on shore,
 so we were warned that if the penguins started racing uphill....

We took the zodiacs for our last shore excursion in Neko Harbor.   As we hike through Gentoo colonies, we were careful to step over the multiple penguin highways.  Although I have over a thousand photos of penguins (afraid that is not an exaggeration) I could not help but take more!  They are so cute and their antics are so entertaining that I cannot help myself!

We hiked to the top of the hill for incredible views of the ship in the harbor (she looks sooooo tiny from up there), over tops of glaciers, a skua nest and the line of trekkers.  We sat up on the rock for a long time.  With the sun shining on us we were pleasantly warm… until the wind would blow!  Whew, right through you!

On our way down we got to do some great slides!  The slide most of us took was bumpy and we got some air!  WooHoo!  (Also a bit of snow down my pants, yikes!)  Heidi, who has been climbing up masts and out on the bowsprit daily, was worried about sliding, but she finally did it!  Yay, Heidi!

It was really hard to leave the landing… our last landing in Antarctica.  But return to the ship we did.  It was Rosemary and Keith’s 44^th anniversary and they had champagne for everybody.  What a wonderful way to celebrate!

One of Peer's fun cartoons.

Captain Eric

Elisabeth, Heidi and I climbed up on the yardarm of the foremast for a group photo!  Elisabeth had not climbed before and she was worried.  But she did it!!  Great job, Elisabeth!

Annukka and Gordi, our two awesome guides!

Elisabeth, Stacy and Heidi out on the yard arm!

Some whales were in the harbor and an ice berg was calving.  Very exciting.  THEN the whales started feeding right next to the boat!  They were making the bubble net then coming up the center with their mouths wide open to scoop in the krill!  My camera card was full (OMG!!!) so I did not get photographs (oh no!) but Jeroen and Elisabeth shared a few of theirs with me (Thank you!) but most are memories in my head. 

The rest of these photos, including all of the whales, are from Elisabeth.  Thank you!!!!!!!

These gentle giants are right next to the ship!

The bubble net.

Gaping mouth to gather up krill "trapped" in the bubble "net"!

Open wide!

Almost feel like you can look down to his tonsils!

Waving good-bye!

What an amazing day, sensory overload, what an incredible experience.

Again, like Joost said, “wow, just wow”.

Stacy, Vet at Sea

The Penguin Post

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

We motored a short distance early this morning to anchor near Wienke and Goudier Islands.  Port Lockroy, on Goudier Island, is a station of historical importance as the earliest example of a British scientific research station in the Antarctic Peninsula region.  It was in operation from 1944-1962.  It now houses the (most southern!) post office, a lovely souvenir shop and a very nice museum.  Laura, one of four summer residents there, came over to the ship to give us a little history about the site and to invite us to visit (and shop!!).  The proceeds go to the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.  (I did my part!!)

Antarctic Shag and chicks

But before going to spend money, a group of us went to Jougla Point on Wienke Island to see the nesting cormorants, the Antarctic Shags.  The birds lay 2-3 eggs and many had two or three very large chicks!  They nest among the penguins!

Port Lockroy

After a nice little hike, we took the short zodiac ride over to Port Lockroy and enjoyed the museum and shop.  Bought a couple of post cards to send home, from the most southern post office in the world!  Unfortunately, I did not think to bring anybody’s home address, so I just had to send one to me!  LOL!!

In the museum

The most southern post box in the world!

The ship motored a short distance during lunch into Dorian Bay.  There we went for a hike to see the Damoy Hut which was a summer transit station established in 1975.  It was set up to support the airstrip on Damoy Point which had been in use since late 1973.  The 400 meter ski-way was marked out on the spine of the glacier on which a twin otter aircraft was able to land (OMG!!).  Then we trekked up to the “ski-way” (runway for crazy pilots!)  Had incredible views from up there!  Could see down to Wienke and Goudier Islands where we were in the morning!

In Davoy Hut, Dorian Bay

Some of the mountains that were hidden in clouds during the morning, were out in the sunshine this afternoon.  Stunning!

Tomorrow morning we do our last shore landing  : (   : (   then we start heading north again.  We hope to set sails tomorrow afternoon!

Well, off to get some much needed rest!

Stacy, Vet at Sea