Day 1
Elephant Island
This island got its name from the Elephant Seals often found
on its beaches. Some say it is because
when looking down on it from above it looks like an elephant head with a trunk. Either way it is part of the South Shetland
Islands so named because they are on an equal latitude point as the Shetland
Islands off Scotland. We have continued
to follow the steps of Shackleton, and this small island is where they washed up. It is here that Shackleton and 3 others left
the rest of the crew while they went off in search of help. The ones left behind stayed on a beach that
no longer exists, but you can tell where they were because the caves that were
behind them in photos are still there. We
rode the zodiacs around the island. We
saw a statute in honor of the Chilean Sea Captain who rescued the men left
behind. It is pretty and desolate all at
the same time.
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| Caves that appear in background of Shackleton’s crew |
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The Chilean sea captain who rescued the 22 stranded crew members of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, Piloto Luis Pardo Villalón |
Of course there is wildlife.
We saw several sea birds, penguins and elephant seals. There are colonies of gentoo and chinstrap
penguins here. We always saw just a single
chinstrap at a time, but know there are colonies on the island. As we rode around watching the wildlife and
taking photos, one chinstrap got a little too curious as in he ended up on one
of the zodiacs. He chose the one with
the ship’s photographer on it so maybe he wanted to be sure he was
photographed. By chance, our zodiac was
right by that one when the penguin jumped in so we got some great photos of him. He left on his own after a couple of minutes. In addition to wildlife, it was the first
time we would see lots of small pieces of ice floating in the water with us.
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| Mug shot of the stowaway |
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| I think he wanted to lead the expedition |
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| Only hospitable to Penguins and seals |
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| Elephant seal coming ashore |
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| Note how small the zodiac on the right is before the glacier |
Cruising
Our expedition leader studies whales so he had told us the
night before to be on the lookout for them because the strait we would be
following is known for whales. After
lunch, we all started looking. Jeff and I wandered
the outer deck a little and then ended up in one of the cubby holes on the side
of the ship with our parkas on and legs wrapped in a blanket. Close to us someone did see a whale quite
close to the ship; we unfortunately missed it.
However, we did see many spouts but always too far away to see whale
body. At dinner that night we grabbed a
table by one of the windows. Good move. We would see several spouts, some close some
far. And then – yippee – I see whale
body and a little tail after one spout. Of
course, when I have no camera. We would
see another whale’s back after a spout.
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| There she blows! |
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| Mountains suddenly appear out of the mist |
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| Sunset was a little after 10pm |
Day 2
Ardley Island
This was not a planned stop for us, but rather we had a
critically ill crew member onboard and we needed to get him to better medical care than the
onboard clinic. It is an interesting
place. The reason it was a good spot to
drop off the sick crew member is that this is where many nations have research
stations. I suspect the Russian one is
the biggest because they have a hospital.
In addition to the SH Diana, there are a couple of other cruise ships –
first we have seen in a while. There is
a Silverseas ship and we learn that this is where people who fly to Antarctica
to avoid the Drake’s Passage fly to.
There is an airstrip here with regular flights. Well regularly scheduled, we learn that
between the wind and fog the plane’s only make it in 2 out of 3 tries. There is also a National Geographic Cruise Ship here
and I notice that their zodiacs are going to the area with a concentration of
research sites. Guessing that is part of
the cruise’s itinerary.
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| One of four sailboats |
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| National Geographic and Silversea are in port |
In addition to seeing all the research stations from a distance, we see a Russian Orthodox church, more penguins (gentoo and chinstrap) and an impressive glacier. It was a nice ride around the island.
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| Russian Orthodox Church |
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| They invest a lot of time for a view |
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| Fluffy and grey, these Genntoo chicks are cute |
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| If you think you see a flying Penguin it’s really an Imperial Cormorant |
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| Chin Straps, might be my favorite Penguin |
Fort Point, Greenwich
Next stop is close to Ardley Island and one I think they visit more. It was not an easy island to explore. It was challenging to get off and, on the zodiacs, and there are round river rocks everywhere so challenging to walk too! We explored for a while and saw more penguins and seals. The seals that were in the water were fun to watch. It was also the first time I noticed the stack of supplies that the ship brings ashore. I remembered our expedition leader saying how to cruise in the Antarctic the ship must be self-sufficient and that when we go ashore, we must be prepared to be stuck there. This is one island I would not have wanted to be stuck on.
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| It’s hard to tell where sky and land meet |
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| Seals and Penguins seem to get along |
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| Though abundant, it’s the only Wendell Seal we see today |
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| Camera made the sea appear as foam |
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| Wave welcoming us or sending us away, we will never know |
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| Adult and chick Gentoo |
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| We observe Penguins often in a group of three for some reason |
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| Fur seal |
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| Lichen on the rocks made them colorful |
