Friday, February, 21 2014
Hmmm.....it's Friday. But wait, I'm on vacation in Antarctica......everyday is like Friday!!!!!
A look at our room. It got a little tight if all of us were trying to get ready at the same time but it usually worked out that we were staggered. Never spent a lot of time in the room anyway so no complaining here. Plus we got daily maid service and nightly turn down service as well so it suited me just fine.
Our little bathroom. It took some figuring out how to shower and keep the entire floor from flooding but nothing got destroyed and that's all that matters.
Waking up this morning was the usual routine with our nice breakfast buffet followed by a meeting to see what we would be up to today. The weather did not look as nice as other mornings but with calm seas it would seem we would get both our planned landings in today.
Our first stop was at Port Lockroy, which happens to be home to what claims to be the Southern Most Post Office in the World. Some of you may have lucked out with a post card from here. Port Lockroy is a former British research base. It is now run by the Heritage Fund as a tourist stop 6 months out of the year. In fact if you are looking for a job, check this out. Antarctica-post-office-job-port-lockroy-application although they have filled the positions already for this year.
Anyway, at this location the group needed to split into two, one half going to Port Lockroy and the other half going to a nearby spot called Jougla Point. Jeff and I were in the group that headed to the post office first.
Looking a little gloomy as we headed from the ship to the shore.
I quickly made my way up to the gift shop, bought a few things and wrote my post cards (that some of you would have received...sorry I couldn't sent to everyone). Sometimes it takes a while for postcards to actually get anywhere from Antarctica (can't imagine why). Mail doesn't actually leave the Port that often so sometimes it actually sits there for 6 months. Lucky for us we visited close to the end of the season so I think everyone got them in pretty decent time.
There is also a small museum on the site. Lots of original items from it's early days as a whaling station and then research base. The site is in fact a Historic Site....well at least half the island is. The other half is a penguin sanctuary and no one (not even the keepers of the post office) are allowed to venture there.
The original sleeping quarters. Not a bad spot. Lots of natural light although I have a feeling the heat is a lot better now than it was before.
A few other items in the museum. The board in the centre tells the story Edouard Lockroy, for who the site is named. He arrived in 1904 and helped Jean-Baptiste Charcot get government support for his Antarctic Expedition (1904 to 1907 and again in 1908 to 1910).
A few of the old tools from later years. It was very neat to see all the old stuff here.
Once my shopping was done I headed outside to checkout the little Gentoo penguins that also call the area home. As always, lots of little fluffy chicks waiting for their parents to come back and feed them.
So fluffy!!!!
This is where the keepers of Port Lockroy live. The site is attended by 4 people (currently 4 women) from November to March. It is fully stocked with provisions however they do rely on the tourist boats for things such as fresh food.....and showers. There is no running water and is powered by a generator only. Surprisingly enough though there is enough power to run the credit care machines. Of course all money raised goes to the foundation in support of the research and preservation of the site.
Jeff having a seemingly stimulating conversation with a little penguin chick.
Hmmm....maybe it wasn't so stimulating.
You can see the boat in this picture. A BBC film crew was living on the boat. They spent the summer filming the penguins and other animals in the area. If you're able, check out this clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0230zns Gives you a bit of an idea of what I mentioned in an earlier post about pooping penguins. These are the ladies we met when we visited the post office.
Once my shopping was complete, I took my turn on the zodiac over to the other stop at Jougla Point on Wiencke Island. Just a small little area, but as always a few things to see.
Some more of the beautiful coloured ice.
That doesn't look comfortable....but clearly they are.
This doesn't look comfortable either.....but he wasn't complaining.
In behind me you will see penguins and whale bones. The whale bones are all messed up now after a wave caused by a calving washed ashore. But you can still see how massive this whale was. I think this is one of my favourite pictures from the whole trip.
No idea what Jeff and this penguin were saying to each other, but clearly it was an animated discussion. Seriously, Jeff always had something to say to the penguins.
This one is just about to slip into the water.
Heading back to the ship, looking all comfortable among the ice.
Back on the ship.
A few of the sights as we travelled to our next location.
Those black dots.......penguins climbing up and down the hill.
The afternoon was relaxed as usual. Debrief from the morning. Plan for the afternoon. Lunch. Nap. Back to the zodiacs. As always, the group was split and after the first group was taken to land, we loaded up in the zodiacs to go on a safari around what they call the Iceberg Graveyard. It is called that because it is an area where icebergs basically go to die. The wind and currents take them into this cove....and then they run aground and they can't get out.....so they just sit there......could be for years (maybe 100 years) until they melt. It was pretty amazing to see so many large icebergs in such a small area. Seriously, many of them were much larger than the ship.
Sitting at water level approaching these giant icebergs is pretty cool.
Of course, as I mentioned in previous posts, we have to be careful when we approach as you never know what the ice looks like below the surface.
This is actually one big iceberg, just melting in an interesting pattern.
No, this is not totally to scale and the ship is not totally as little as it looks next to that iceberg, but the iceberg is very very big.
Seals like the icebergs too. Make nice little sleeping spots. As you can imagine, these guys do not move very well on land. Good thing their food source is in the water.....because they move pretty well there.
I love how seals always look like they're smiling. This one looked genuinely interested in making sure we got good pictures.
See, smiling......he must be having a good nap. This is a leopard seal. In cartoons these are always the mean ones chasing little penguins. He doesn't look very mean here however they have been known to eat young crabeater seals as well as penguins.
Peak-a-boo!
He looks so fat and happy and cute.
After about an hour on the safari we headed to land at Port Charcot. It was most definitely a cooler afternoon but we had the opportunity to climb up a giant hill to keep us warm.
Jeff and this penguin seem to think it's "over there".
The M/S Expedition looks a little lonely out there.
Making our way to the top of the hill.
You will find this at the top of the hill. It is inscribed with the names of the members of the French Expedition. They spent winters in the area (Pleneau Bay).
Just going for a walk with a little penguin.
As always, I eventually had to say goodbye to today's penguin friends and head back to the ship for a debrief, shower and a bit of relaxing before dinner. It appears we picked the coldest night to do so but it was BBQ night on the M/S Expedition. Really good but had to bundle up a bit.
Nothing like eating outside in the cold Antarctic air. It was some very good BBQ.
The sun heading down. Might have been a bit chilly at dinner but certainly was a great view.
There it is.....my Antarctica stamp (next to one of many Saudi Arabia stamps that now decorate my passport). Obviously not a real immigration stamp (and probably should not have put it in my passport....at least that was Jeff's thoughts....but what does he know? Canadian passports are only his job), but I do not know a lot of people who can say they have one of these.
On this night many guests from the ship actually spent the night camping (well camping is bit of stretch, mainly they crawled into tent and slept because you cannot interfere with the ecosystem at all so cannot eat or have a fire or anything like that) on Booth Island. This was one of the extra excursions you can do, however, Jeff and I didn't realize you needed to sign up BEFORE we got on the boat. Most tours allow you to do so along the way but in this case for insurance reasons all that had to been done before we left. So unfortunately I do not get to say I actually spent a night sleeping on the Antarctic continent but I'm ok with that.
And that concludes yet another amazing day in Antarctica. Time is just flying by but still more days to come.
Julie
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