6:19 PM
i'm not doing so well with the journaling this trip. so many interruptions that can't be ignored. last night, it was the elusive emperor penguin sighting that dragged me away (three times) and had the whole ship riled up. champagne for everyone! i haven't even mentioned petermann island, charlotte's bay, and devil island, each one more amazing than the next.
11:13 PM
En route to Elephant Island
almost too tired to write. lots to catch up on though. the seas are choppy, the stablizers are not in place, and i've yet to put on my sea-sickness patch. let's hope for the best. today was much less eventful than yesterday, so here's a 48-hour recap.
after our exciting morning at esperanza, we had an "expedition afternoon" yesterday, meaning we had no set itinerary, we were just sailing around exploring, looking for the best landing spots. we parked the ship at devil island. thousands upon thousands of adelie penguins, but for the first time the natural scenery may have trumped the wildlife. the sky, the clouds, the ice. so perfect.
also for the first time, i sat with the penguins, just watching them for an hour or so. there was a leukocytic adelie in the mix — all white (sorta). observed the "changing of the guard" routine at the nests, mom and dad swapping egg-sitting duty. little pengy picking up rocks bigger than his head to bring to his lady on the nest. it was fun, and a great learning experience to just watch how they live.
(notice the oversized rock in the mouth of the penguin on the left)
we went on a short zodiac cruise before heading back to the ship. sea ice and pack ice all around, looking ever-so spectacular under the bright blue skies. penguins on the ice floes added a very hallmark effect.
after our recap, briefing, and dinner, the search was on for the emperor penguin. such is the fun of an open expedition — we just set a course south through the weddell sea, basically on a wild-penguin chase, looking around every iceberg to find the little bugger. you see, emperor penguins, while not "rare" per se, nest deeply inland, seventy miles or so from the sea (remember the march of the penguins?). at this time of year, the chicks are fully fledged and the adults are returning to sea to feed. a new emperor penguin rookery was recently discovered further down the weddell sea, so our fearless expedition leader and captain were banking on a few of those adults swimming this far north by now. we had 'round-the-clock watchmen, and they vowed to wake us up even at 4 AM should an emperor be spotted.
lucky for those on watch, one was spotted relatively soon after dinner, during our flaming bananas foster dessert party.
jonathan our resident ornithologist was the one to spot him, perhaps as it should be. he's seen upwards of 7,000 birds in his lifetime (and he's only 38), but never an emperor. i don't know the odds of actually finding a lonely bird sitting on some ice in this giant sea, but there he was and it was pretty amazing. the ship just erupted in commotion, announcements over the loud speakers, cameras blazing. i'm surprised the ship didn't tip since all 100+ of us were leaning over the one side. he was just a tiny little speck far out in the ice, but in reality, he's about 3-4 feet tall weighing 90-100 lbs.
(find the emperor penguin)
our little friend didn't stick around long, however, as he tobagganned and slid into the water. alas. oh, but wait... there's another one. not long after our brief encounter with the first guy, another emperor was spotted napping on an iceberg, dead ahead of the ship. this was the winner. this little pengy just lazed on the ice, despite a monster hunk of metal creeping up on him with one hundred red-jacketed weirdies with cameras staring at him. he really paid us no mind until olaf, our captain extraordinaire, gave the penguin's berg a gentle nudge (well, as gentle as a six-deck iron ice-breaking ship can be). the emperor instantly stood up, to the delight of our cameras fifty feet away. proof again that i need a zoom lens.
like i said, today wasn't nearly as exciting as last night, perhaps due to the fact that i'm completely exhausted (went to bed around 3:30, up at 7:45) and hungoverish. the weather is poopy, too. paulette island was today's stop, and it is COVERED, absolutely COVERED in the shit of 100,000 pairs of penguins. really disgusting. lots of cute baby seals, though. thomas got some great underwater film of them.
after lunch and a nap, vanessa and i went out again, for some reason, for a zodiac ride around goulan (sp?) island. very foggy, very misty, got cold very quickly. spectacular berg formations, though. geoff the geologist was aboard for color commentary again.
