Antarctica - Part 4

December 1 - 5

December 1 was another wonderful day filled with more penguins, seals and other seabirds, beautiful icebergs and steep cliffs, and in the afternoon a bit of fun cruising around in the zodiacs with some rough seas.

I really cannot get enough penguins. In the morning we visited a colony of chinstrap penguins at Hydrurga Rocks. It was fun watching them walk back and forth from the water, where presumably they were going to catch some fish. But it really looked like they were just interested in a bath. The penguins walking towards the water were very dirty from lying on their nests, while those those returning from the water were clean and white.

We also went on a nice Zodiac cruise with some beautiful blue icebergs.

The afternoon zodiac cruise was something quite different from our previous excursions as we explored the steep-sided cliffs and beautiful icebergs of Spert Island. One of the things that made it special was a tunnel in the rocks. The sea was quite rough at that spot, and we waited until we could shoot through the tunnel in a fun roller coaster-type ride. On the other side were some beautiful icebergs with caves and tunnels. Nacho, the ship photographer, was having a great time taking pictures of everyone.

The next morning we headed to Robert Point in the South Shetland Islands, where we saw something new - a colony of elephant seals. The expedition team intended to take us on a long hike, but unfortunately, we were not allowed to land out of precaution to avoid bird flu, which is highly fatal to seals. Nevertheless, it was fun to see the elephant seals. It was mostly females and young males, but no older males with their large proboscises that give the seals their name. The young males were practicing their wrestling, which they would need later in life to win over the females.

In the afternoon we visited a nearby research station. The research station was the Great Wall Station, the first Chinese research station in Antartica, opened in 1985. It wasn't certain we would be able to visit, but we finally got the okay and headed there. It might have helped that we had one expedition guide from China and a group of Chinese passengers.

The next morning, December 3rd, we headed back north across the Drake Passage. Once again, it was smooth sailing. We had prepared ourselves for the Drake Passage, both psychologically and chemically; we had quite a large supply of Dramamine, but as luck would have it, it was unnecessary. The return trip to Ushuaia was relaxing, and we enjoyed visiting with the many friends we had met onboard. The last evening we had a beautiful sunset over Cape Horn, the bane of many a seafarer in the past. We fell asleep that evening with many fond memories, and woke up the next morning moored at the dock in Ushuaia.

This was a trip of a lifetime for us. We have many fond memories of the landscapes and wildlife that we experienced, and the many good people that we met. We have deep gratitude that we could afford such an experience, and deep gratitude to the crew and expedition team on the ship. And again, I thank Atlas Ocean Voyages for sharing their photos with the passengers, some that are included in our blog posts - especially thanks to Nacho for his photos and sharing photography tips with us.