adele penguins

Half Moon Island, South Shetlands

This Quark Expedition is sailing back north, heading toward the Drake Passage and Ushuaia, Argentina. This is our last landing for Antarctica. Tomorrow we will be reluctant tourists, leaving this unique, beautiful place.

But for now we will enjoy Half Moon, a 1.2 mile long island  between Livingston  and Greenwich Islands in the South Shetlands.

IMG_3026

beautiful lichen

The Argentine Camara station is located at one end

IMG_5683

Argentine Camara Station

and a Chinstrap penguin nesting area at the other.

Blue-eyed Shags nest on top of orange lichen pinnacles against glaciated mountains beyond. IMG_3040 (2)

Before landing, we bounced in the zodiacs over choppy waters, checking out seals, shags, and this very cheeky skua who landed right next to me.

IMG_5696

not sure if he wanted to be friends

On land, amongst the rocks, broken penguin shells led to a mother skua snuggling with her chick.

IMG_3095

A single Adele penguin approached me with a tilt of the head and a confused look in its eyes. “How do I get back home?” The poor thing was obviously lost, speaking in penguin before wandering off in search of a more appropriate friend. IMG_3104

An old whaling craft remains on the beach, another testament of history in this part of the world. IMG_5698

Half Moon Island is the breeding site of approximately 3,300 Chinstrap Penguins. Since this is our last landing, I spent time enjoying their antics and reflecting on all I’ve seen and learned.

I must admit to wiping a tear away, thinking about how much more there is to experience in this vast land.  This little penguin expressed my emotions back at me. IMG_3074

Before I left home, my friends asked strange questions . “WHY do you want to go there?” or “Where is that place….North or South pole?”

I hope my words and pictures have explained the wonders to be found here. More important, I hope I’ve inspired YOU to experience this adventure.

Good-bye from Antarctica.

This leaves a great big question—“Where shall I go next?” —trust me, I have a long list! Stay tuned. IMG_3068 (2)

 

 

Giant Step Onto The Seventh Continent

In my head, I heard the music from 2010 a space odyssey as I finally stepped onto the Antarctic continent.

Brown’s Bluff is a tuya on the northeast side of the Tabarin  peninsula jutting out of the top of the Antarctic Continent. ‘Tuya’ is today’s fun word for the day. Here from Wiki is the definition: “a distinctive, flat-topped steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are somewhat rare worldwide….” Gracias Wikipedia!

When there’s a glacier, the lava bursting through can’t travel far, building up to form tall cliffs. There are all kinds of yummy volcano things happening here: Basalt, volcanic pillows, and rock bombs standing on the beach like sentinels.

We had a wild zodiac cruise (please don’t ask me to repeat this part of the trip) before landing and climbing up to see a couple of precious snow petrels sitting on nests under a huge boulder.IMG_2515

Adele penguins and their babies crowded the lower slope. It’s interesting to see the overall psychology of penguins on each landing. Some groups are fairly quiet with occasional trumpeting and squawking. This crowded beach was one for anger management counselors and perhaps jail. Adult penguins would harass babies with their mothers. Other birds ran around, carelessly pushing and jumping over others. Fights broke out with two or three chasing each other up and down the slopes.

My heart felt sad for one Adele parent. That poor bird tried over, and over again, to pick that big egg up in it’s  small beak. Each time  she tried a rescue attempt, the bloody thing rolled downhill even more. I watched as the adult shifted around, studying the situation, but unable to correct the problem. IMG_2533

Gentoo penguins are also on this beach in large numbers. Big fluffy babies waddled about after their parents, begging for more and more food.

IMG_2476

 

 

 

 

The Adele babies (below left) are just so darn cute but check out weird penguin tongues on the Gentoo!

That hook with backward barbs is perfect for snagging slippery krill or other fish. In the meantime, on this active beach, penguins continually march to the sea in groups. IMG_2565

Circling overhead the predators fly silent. Waiting. Watching.

Immense Tabular Icebergs, Kinnes Cove

Located on the SW end of Joinville Island, just off the Antarctic Peninsula, Kinnes Cove is named for the owner of an 1892 whaling expedition. Look at the beauty of these icebergs the ship had to carefully navigate through:

Our morning zodiac cruise was an exciting look at masses of blue ice in geometric formations.  Curious Adele penguins gathered on the floes, pausing to watch us as we watched them.

We passed what appears to be a rare albino whale. Not quite Moby Dick, which was a sperm whale, and this guy was traveling fast in the opposite direction of the ship. The albino condition can affect any mammal and a tell-tale sign is pink eyes. Albino Right Whales were filmed off the coast of Chile and South Africa last year, which theoretically isn’t far away from here.  We also saw Crabeater and Weddell Seals napping on the ice.

along a steep hill, penguins climbed as far as the eye could see. Nesting here are Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adele penguins.

Gentoo penguin and chicks
Adele penguin
adele penguin and chicks