A storm has forced us to change course so we will not be taking on the circle first thing. We will land at Cuverville Island and then at Neko Harbor in the afternoon. Wade saw his first iceberg today. Yesterday, Chelsea and I saw a small one pretty far away. The ones today were spectacular. We could see several at once and their shapes were so irregular. I am so excited!
It was beautiful like the sea meeting the snow covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains and there, on the beach, were several hundred Gentoo penguins. Many of them still had their downy coat. We had been told that they are curious little guys so if you sit still they may come over to you. This idea excited Chelsea very much.
As we were still near the shore one young penguin got one of the life vest straps around its neck. He took off running. At first it was funny. Then, as time progressed, we realized that he was trying to go faster and faster, repeatedly tripping and falling onto his belly. I started up the beach but one of the other passengers got to him first and freed the little guy. I think the only thing he lost was his pride and composure.
We ventured farther in. Wade sat down trying to attract the attention
of some penguins. Several penguins came up pretty close. Well,
Chelsea had to try next. I think that may be the longest she has
ever sat still. Nothing happened. The wind had picked up and
she was starting to get pretty cold. She was coaxed to get up but
she was crushed. Daddy had done it, why not her?
I convinced her to add her down jacket and try again. She did and Wade and I backed way off. We were saying "come on guys just one please go see Chelsea." She had not been there long when one of them came in from the side. At first she did not know he was there but soon she felt eyes watching her. She turned slightly and there, only a few inches away, stood a young (adolescent) penguin checking her out. She could have gone home happy, even if we had left that instant.
We also heard a rumble and saw an avalanche on the continent across the Gerlache Straight.
We enjoyed watching the penguins hop down the rocks. One even
tripped over a rock and landed flat.
This time, we went right past icebergs and pack ice to a little beach. There too the Gentoo penguins were waiting. these were a little more grown up and less curious but still cute. We watched as they jumped in and out of the water na walked between the bergie bits stranded on the beach. We patiently watched the nearby glacier to see if it would calve. We even saw a seal resting on a small iceberg. On the way back in the Zodiac they literally had to push the pack ice out of the way with a paddle.
Trying to clean up, Chelsea squirted her camera and it is impossible to tell how much damage was done. I know there is some. Dinner consisted of a barbecue on the aft deck with burgers and chicken and such. While we were waiting for dinner we saw an iceberg float by with half a dozen penguins on top. I just love these guys.
The weather has been great! I got a slight sunburn on my face and the water has been like glass. Chelsea and I gave up seasickness remedies and Wade is fully recovered although perhaps not without medication. Chelsea saw her first snow fall from the sky.
Many of the passengers have traveled extensively. The Galapagos
islands seem to get high marks as does Alaska, Nongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Petra in Jordan was also listed. An interesting bunch of people,
to be sure.
As soon as they saw Chelsea they went crazy. They gave her a chocolate bar, a postcard, and a pin that was to show their research. They also gave her a little picture to color. They tried to give her an orange and another chocolate bar. They were so sweet. I did not think to get their pictures or names. I guess I just don't do that well in impromptu situations.
I also thought that they got visitors all the time but it turns
out that they only get a few ships per year. I had nothing to give
them. One of the women had an eight year old daughter that she had
not seen in 14 months. It will be almost 3 more months until she
can see her again. My heart went out to her because that would be
so hard.
One young Adelie had fallen into a crack. Since they have no climbing capability it was just stuck there until the man on our tour lifted it out. Poor muddy dazed bird. I don't know if he will make it but his chances are better than they were this morning.
While I am writing this I looked out the window and snow was falling.
Really big snow. I mean some of the pieces were the size corn flakes.
The ship has quite a bit of show on it. I should probably try to
take a picture of it on the bridge but I opted for out of my window.
Now it has stopped. Unpredictable -- that is the only word for Antarctica's
weather. I hope we still get to make a landing below the circle tomorrow.
As soon as she was ashore, Chelsea stepped in a hole and a sharp rock cut into her waders. She did not seem to be bleeding so we went on. We went over the snowy hills to the place where some penguins were standing. As we stood on the ridge admiring the view and trying to get a few pictures, my lens would not focus. I was out of battery power. We changed batteries with great difficulty because you needed gloves but they were incompatible with fine motor movements needed for performing these tasks.
Finally, Chelsea began to complain about her feet being cold and I got tired of the struggle. We headed back to the Zodiacs. As we were doing this, the wind picked and started blowing already fallen snow about. Visibility dropped. It felt dangerous.
As we were waiting to get down the rocks to the Zodiacs, Sue was trying to board. She did not want their help. She slipped -- they grabbed. They caught her by the feet and her head narrowly missed the rocks. Her camera, which was hung about her neck, still dangled from her neck but now over her head in the water. She was soon righted and came up smiling. A tough lady. It made me all the more glad that we had not waited until we were too fragile to do this safely.
When we were all on ship again I was relieved. We rested most of the rest of the day with a short break for a history lesson on Amundsen and Scott.
Tonight at dinner Chelsea complained of an earache. We put her
to bed early with a cotton ball in her ear. I will again visit the
doctor if she is still bad tomorrow. I am glad to have him along.
This was put together by Wade Guthrie