Antarctica Day 6

64°41.000'S, 062°38.000'W, Cuverville Island

64°50.000'S, 062°33.000'W, Neko Harbor

Last night we could see snow blowing in the flood lights pointing towards the water off the ship's bow. We would hear the thump, thump of ice against the hull. 

This morning after breakfast we bundled up for the ride to Cuverville Island, around small icebergs and onto a rocky shore. The Gentoo penguins were plentiful and inquisitive. We are supposed to stay about 15 feet away from any wild life as we are walking around. If we stand still or sit down then the penguins will come up to us. I sat down on my knees and two penguins came up and tapped on my jacket and on my sleeve. The young penguins are molting and sported funny combinations of adult plumage and downy feathers. A few were having very bad hair days. There were whales bones on the beach which provided scant cover as the winds picked up. Some penguins would turn their backs to the wind or lie on their bellies to keep warm.

In the afternoon we went to Neko Harbor, an area full of icebergs, large and small as well as calving glaciers. Rich stayed on board and took pictures while I went on shore. There were hundreds of Gentoo penguins. It was impossible to be 15 feet away from any of them. On the beach area, it is covered with guano with quite a stench. We had to stay on the upper beach because the glacier nearby was calving and sometimes cause waves to cover the lower shoreline. I used a walking stick to help prevent slipping. I certainly did not want to fall in this area (eeyuu). A few of the penguins would come up and try to bite the backer at the end of my stick. Farther up the hill I found a clean patch of snow to sit on and to watch the glacier. You could hear a sharp sound of a crack, like a rifle shot and then see part of the glacier fall and the water ripple away. Afterwards I rode the zodiac for a tour of the harbor but very little wildlife to be seen except for some swimming penguins who would leap from the water like dolphins. More and more icebergs were filling the area. 

This evening there was a barbeque on the aft deck of the ship, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob and berry cobbler. The catch was you had to make a hat to wear. Rich bought a small stuffed penguin and poked it through the top of one of his hats. I made an iHat, with an Apple symbol on the front, a wifi symbol on one side and the word iHat on the other. Some folks were very creative, others, not so much, but it was all fun. We watched as the ship passed icebergs larger than our ship. One was castle like. We are definitely not in Kansas, Toto.

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