The weather improved more and more as the day went on. By the time it was announced that we should prepare for the Zodiac, most of the clouds had disappeared and it was sunny and warm. One of our guides said that he had never seen a day that was warmer in Antarctica than Punta Arenas. It was very rare and we were extremely lucky.
Our group donned life jackets and gathered on the beach to await our boat. As often happens in a group, some people started to complain when they felt the wait was too long. Just as some of the grumpy ones began to verbalize their displeasure, we spied a little black head coming toward us in the water. Then a little black head and torso emerged and we realized it was a lone penguin. He looked at us a moment, decided it was safe, and waddled in that adorable penguin way up onto the beach. It was a Chinstrap Penguin, the one with the black stripe around the mouth that looks like a great big smile. He just stood there with his little arms outstretched and it broke the tension immediately. It was almost as if he’d been hired to come out and shut up the big impatient Americans. After a few minutes he turned and dived back into the water and just then the Zodiac appeared.
It was about a ten minute ride across the bay to Ardley Island. We passed a huge iceberg that was the true definition of ice-blue. It was gorgeous. The first thing you notice as you reach Ardley is the odor. It’s the penguin perfume. Thank Heavens the nose become accustomed to odors or we wouldn’t have been able to stand it very long. The next thing you notice is thousands upon thousands of penguins, both Chinstrap and Gentoo. They cover every surface; the beach, the hills, the rocks. Babies are chasing their parents squawking to be fed. Others are standing still in the process of molting. A “kindergarten” class of juveniles is being guarded by a group of adults. It was totally fascinating to watch.
A fur seal was hiding behind a rock and all we could see was his enormous head. Betsy warned us to keep our distance as fur seals are known to be dangerous. She approached him a little to try to draw him out but he stayed put so we walked on and came to a couple of young elephant seals sunning themselves. They are just big lugs who are lying on top of each other and have snot running out of their noses, but their soulful eyes are so beautiful that it makes you believe that they are a lot more intelligent than they look.
Sadly, our time was up and we had to get back on the plane for the flight back to Punta Arenas. But we were a happy group walking that mile back to the airstrip. We’d been to Antarctica, we’d seen the penguins and we’d had the most beautiful weather the Chileans could ever remember. We certainly couldn’t complain about anything. On the plane back we had a wonderful king crab dinner, which is the main export of Punta Arenas. There was open bar and a champagne toast and we arrived back at the ship completely exhausted but absolutely exhilarated.
Our group donned life jackets and gathered on the beach to await our boat. As often happens in a group, some people started to complain when they felt the wait was too long. Just as some of the grumpy ones began to verbalize their displeasure, we spied a little black head coming toward us in the water. Then a little black head and torso emerged and we realized it was a lone penguin. He looked at us a moment, decided it was safe, and waddled in that adorable penguin way up onto the beach. It was a Chinstrap Penguin, the one with the black stripe around the mouth that looks like a great big smile. He just stood there with his little arms outstretched and it broke the tension immediately. It was almost as if he’d been hired to come out and shut up the big impatient Americans. After a few minutes he turned and dived back into the water and just then the Zodiac appeared.
It was about a ten minute ride across the bay to Ardley Island. We passed a huge iceberg that was the true definition of ice-blue. It was gorgeous. The first thing you notice as you reach Ardley is the odor. It’s the penguin perfume. Thank Heavens the nose become accustomed to odors or we wouldn’t have been able to stand it very long. The next thing you notice is thousands upon thousands of penguins, both Chinstrap and Gentoo. They cover every surface; the beach, the hills, the rocks. Babies are chasing their parents squawking to be fed. Others are standing still in the process of molting. A “kindergarten” class of juveniles is being guarded by a group of adults. It was totally fascinating to watch.
A fur seal was hiding behind a rock and all we could see was his enormous head. Betsy warned us to keep our distance as fur seals are known to be dangerous. She approached him a little to try to draw him out but he stayed put so we walked on and came to a couple of young elephant seals sunning themselves. They are just big lugs who are lying on top of each other and have snot running out of their noses, but their soulful eyes are so beautiful that it makes you believe that they are a lot more intelligent than they look.
Sadly, our time was up and we had to get back on the plane for the flight back to Punta Arenas. But we were a happy group walking that mile back to the airstrip. We’d been to Antarctica, we’d seen the penguins and we’d had the most beautiful weather the Chileans could ever remember. We certainly couldn’t complain about anything. On the plane back we had a wonderful king crab dinner, which is the main export of Punta Arenas. There was open bar and a champagne toast and we arrived back at the ship completely exhausted but absolutely exhilarated.
Sounds like a wonderful, memorable day.
ReplyDelete