We woke up this morning after a day and a half crossing the Drake Passage to the sight of land. Because of relatively calm seas, we made much better time and were greeted to the sight of the South Shetland Islands off the northern edge of the Antarctic peninsula. Already the views are breath-taking and this is just the "tip of the iceberg."
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| Chinstrap Penguins |
The fast progress also gave us an unexpected bonus --- an afternoon zodiac landing with the potential opportunity to see penguins and seals. And the even better bonus? We were in the first group to make the landing. Seabourn has us divided into six groups and we will rotate the order in which we do the various excursions. It was total luck that our group went first, and we're not complaining.
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| Gentoo Penguin |
Our first shore landing was on Half Moon Island, a very small island that is home to a chinstrap penguin rookery. We put on all of our layers, headed to the mud room to put on our boots and loaded up in the zodiacs. The ride to shore was maybe two minutes. Once there, we were not disappointed. Not only did we see the chinstrap penguins we were expecting, but we also saw a few gentoo penguins as well as three different weddell seals.
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A sleeping Weddell Seal pup
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The weather was fantastic with a temperature of about 33 degrees Fahrenheit, with bright sun and blue skies. Here's hoping the rest of our days here are just as wonderful.
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| Chinstrap Penguin |
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| Half Moon Island |
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