Home » Antarctica » A Blustery Morning January 7, 2004

Expedition cruising means everything is subject to change. Itineraries are vague and flexible. Everything depends on the weather and ocean conditions. The staff motto must be: "The itinerary exists only for us to deviate from."

A Blustery Morning January 7, 2004

Ttrealtravels
2005-12-25 00:10:54

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Expedition cruising means everything is subject to change. Itineraries are vague and flexible. Everything depends on the weather and ocean conditions. The staff motto must be: "The itinerary exists only for us to deviate from."

Our first day was wonderfully clear and got everyone's hopes up. But the next day was foggy, and the Antarctic Sound was clogged with ice. Actually, the Weddell Sea has been ice-bound all this summer, and ships can't get into it. So really, the idea of heading into the Sound and towards the Weddell's mouth was something of a pipe dream.

Instead, we sailed to King George Island, the biggest of the South Shetland Islands. It was named for King George IV of England and is known as the unofficial capital of Antarctica.

We experienced two landings as alike as night and day. Our first day's blue skis transformed into heavy gray clouds with intermittent rain. Stinging winds beat at our exposed cheeks and noses. The zodiacs had a farther and wetter trip from boat to beach.

We landed at Turret Point on King George. A small colony of elephant seals made an icy lake their home. Adelie penguins had a rookery nearby, and some Great Southern Petrels -- almost as big as albatross -- nested too.

Penguin Decision Making

Adelies are the "classic" penguin -- what everyone imagines when you say the word. They have the typical black ties and tails with starched white shirts. Their heads and beaks are entirely black, and their eyes are rimmed in white.

Penguin behavior, no matter the species, is a hoot. One group of a dozen or so Adelies waddled across the snow. They tend to walk in neat single-file, playing follow the leader, although no one penguin seems to posses great leadership qualities.

This line of penguins came to a small crevasse in the snow. They stopped and gathered for a conference. They squawked a little, shifted around, and assessed the situation. But they couldn't come to a quick consensus. Finally, one walked up the crevasse a bit and realized that the chasm thinned out. This intrepid penguin easily jumped across the narrow spot and continued on his way. It took a few minutes for the others to realize what their pal had done. They conferred again, and a few followed the first bird across. The rest figured it out and crossed, trotting to catch up. Penguin decision-making at its finest!

Elephants on Parade

Nearby, the elephant seals wallowed in the shallow water of their inlet, occasionally flopping about and braying. Pairs would engage in half-hearted shouting matches, then relax back into the cold water. They didn't want to bother with a real argument in such drecky conditions and who could blame them.

The Katabatic winds began to edge their way toward the island, which cut our landing short. Even the experts can't tell when these winds will kick up or stop, so better safe than sorry. The giant petrels enjoyed the wind though. I watched as these huge birds caught the wind currents and used them as shortcuts to flight. I saw two low-flying birds shoot straight up, using the wind to catapult themselves through the air. They're very efficient at conserving energy that way.

Thunder and lightening don't exist in Antarctic. But from the shore, we heard deep rumbling. Somewhere in the distance or behind us, ice was moving.