ODO: 334,053
Mikkelsen Harbour’s penguin colony is on the site of an old whale graveyard. The landing area is covered in whale bones, and the carcass of an old wooden boat. This was a much smaller colony than the rest so we circumnavigate it quickly. Most of these penguins are molting, so there is very little waddling. Molting is when penguins loose and replace all their feathers, and cant get in the water while they go through this yearly change. This also means they cant eat for the three to four weeks it takes to complete this process. There are a lot of hungry penguins here. Our second morning activity is a harbor cruise where we find chinstrap penguins, a lot of seals, and a colony of sea birds.
Our afternoon is spent cruising Curtiss Bay. We find a couple of leopard seals, several whales, and even a synchronized show of three whale flukes (tails). This was a pretty exciting moment, and gets us extra zodiac time again. Back on the boat, we met our boat friends for dinner at our usual table. Yes, we have a usual table. In the small side dining room, there is a table for seven that the server reserves for us every night. There was a joking misunderstanding between the server and our friends early on that led to this. Our server has a great time with this the entire cruise. Whale sightings are at an all time high during dinner tonight. The seas are a little rough tonight, and the increased rocking sends most people to bed early.
Our fifth and final day of excursions is our first day of typical Antarctica weather: very cold, aggressively windy and snowing sideways. Up to this point we have been enjoying warm sunny days, or warm days with moody clouds, but no wind. For today’s adventure, we have sailed into the crater of an active volcano. Our first activity is a bridge tour where we get a Q and A with the officer on duty, and get to wander around all the navigation equipment.
Our second morning activity is to hike to a viewpoint then hike to an abandoned whaling station. The snow is coming at us hard and sideways as we land on the beach. Our hike takes less than ten minutes up to Neptune’s Window. Along the trail we are told to have a buddy and watch each other’s backs. There are young male fur seals all over the place that are practice fighting for when they are big enough to go for dominance. Sometimes they try to practice on people.
We safely arrive at our viewpoint, and the view is moody. The visibility is low, with the snow still driving into us fully sideways. We snap a few freezing pictures, and head through the storm to the whaling station. On the way there we pass a lot more fur seals, and a handful of penguins standing on the not sheltered side of some small shelters. Once we have had enough of the weather, we head back to the boat to enjoy a warm lunch, still in the caldera of an active volcano, followed by naps.
Our afternoon, and final outing is to Half Moon Island, which is full of chinstrap penguins. It is also home to an Argentinian base. We go on another small hike as the weather clears into perfect outdoor weather. Our plan to hike all the way to the base is thwarted by the massive numbers of fur seals blocking our path. Better safe than sorry. We say goodbye to the penguins, and the continent and head back to the boat.
It’s the first day of the return crossing, and the seas are rougher than they were on the way over. KoKo is back in bed, using all the seasick aids possible. Berne is starting to get sick too, cold and flu sick. To no ones surprise there is a bug going around the boat. We are currently caught between two storms, according to the Captain, so we are hustling back to port. He thinks we might get there a day early. This sounds great to KoKo. And if we do arrive early, we can still enjoy our last night on the boat moored in port!
It’s here. Our last day on the boat. We have settled in so much, it feels like we have all always lived together on this boat. The waters have calmed down significantly, so KoKo can enjoy this final day. The Captain slows our pace so we don’t need to spend the night in port. There are lots of farewell activities throughout the day. There are several slide shows and much picture and contact information sharing. We eat with our boat friends at every meal and get treated to dolphins during dinner. Being the last night, there is a big (unofficial) party in the bar. It feels like everyone has stayed up late. The bar closes at midnight, but the party continues until the wee hours of the morning.
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