The Far Side of Antarctica Continued
South Georgia: December 5, 2007
Another morning of blue skies and sunshine! We arrived at Grytviken around 7AM. The setting was magnificent. The first top was the cemetery where Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried. We had a great speech from Bob and we drank the obligatory toast to the "Boss."
We walked along the shore to the remains of the old whaling station. There is a lot of construction on the hillside where a road has been built. The authorities are restoring an original Norwegian lake and building a new hydro-electric power station. The station will reduce the island's dependence on diesel fuel.
"Gold Harbour was the best landing in all of South Georgia."
Erika Wikander
The museum is looking very good and has some interesting exhibits. I spent more time looking at the exhibits than writing postcards, before our walk to King Edward Point. We encountered many small elephant seals on the track, on the rocks beside the track, and even in the shallow water. There were lots of Pintails. We heard their melodious quack - nothing like other ducks I have heard.
After lunch, we headed for Gold Harbour. The perfect weather held for what I thought was the best landing in all South Georgia. There was so much going on right at the beach. Elephant seals of all different sizes were lying everywhere. One of my fellow adventurers was lying on her tummy and very soon a little pup had moved right on her back and was cuddling to get warm. There is a specific distance we are told to keep from the animals we encounter, but the animals have never read the regulations!
There was a shallow stream between the beach and the Gentoo Penguin rookery where it was possible to sit on some rather large rocks and watch the activity of the Gentoos as they came from the sea in groups. We had to tear ourselves away to make the last Zodiac back to the ship!
At sea: December 6, 2007
We woke this morning to find ourselves once again in fog, en route to the South Sandwich Islands. The sea was calm and there was very little wind, so the larger seabirds, that need wind to glide, did not accompany the ship on the crossing.
Photography and art workshops were followed by Bob describing the events of the 1982 Falkland Islands War. He has a personal interest as he was taken prisoner by the Argentine Navy while he was stationed on South Georgia, during the war.
S.Sandwich Islands, December 7, 2007
We reached Zavodovski Island around 8AM. It looked spectacular in the morning light. Chinstraps porpoised around the ship. Many different types of Petrels and Southern Fulmars were aloft in the wind.
The swells were too high to permit a shore landing. So we cruised in Zodiacs along the shoreline of the largest Chinstrap Penguin rookery in the world. The island is also home to a small Macaroni Penguin colony.
After lunch we sailed southward to Candlemas Island, anchoring the icebreaker in the early afternoon. This time we were able to go ashore. The glaciers looked spectacular under the sun. Chinstraps were busy and noisy. They sound somewhat like small dogs barking.
S. Sandwich Islands, December 8, 2007
The morning began with a call at Montagu Island, an active volcano. The lava began flowing to the sea in 2006. Now the outpouring of lava is much slower. However, from the ship we could see the old lava runs which showed red against the dark brown of the cliffs. Huge glaciers tumbled down to the sea. Much of the island was covered in ice. The ice and glaciers were streaked with brown debris. Some of the icebergs floating around the ship had the same patterns of brown stripes. It was easy to tell from where they had originated.
I chose to watch the morning's events from the ship. After they had all been out about an hour a katabatic wind came up which turned some of the sea to white froth. With careful driving all Zodiacs returned, and the ship was once again alive with stories being shared.
During lunch the Captain changed course, as we had reached the edge of the pack ice. It is extraordinary to encounter the ice edge so far north. Soon we were back into the familiar Klhebnikov movement as the ship plowed through the ice. We felt occasional lurches as the ship encountered thicker pieces of ice.
By 5:30PM, were were drawing close to Thule Island. The density of the ice made a Zodiac operation impossible. While we were stopped, Bob climbed to the Fly Bridge. He invited us all to join him to hear the story of how the Brits demolished the Argentinian Base, which had been secretly established on Thule Island, during the Falklands War.
At the end of his account, the ship reversed out of the ice, and we were off to the Weddell Sea.