Nordenskjold and his team spent nearly two years living in this hut and exploring the peninsula and surrounding islands. This group of explorer/scientists was the only group to do any interior investigations of the Antarctic Peninsula during the Heroic Era, and their geological and palentological collections have been of great scientific import. Their story of survival and amazing rescue continues to intrigue people over 95 years later.
Many of us hiked up the steep slopes surrounding the hut for spectacular anoramic views, while others explored the valleys for fossils. The photo shows a fossil ammonite from the cretaceous period, roughly 65 million years ago.
We spent the afternoon maneuvering around enormous tabular icebergs reflected in the placid waters. Brown Bluff, a towering mesa surrounded by glaciers, beckoned us for a late afternoon landing. This area has thousands of nesting Adelie penguins as well as nesting gentoos, Cape petrels, skuas, and snow petrels. Fledgling penguins played among bergy bits and chased their parents begging for a meal. Reluctantly we left our amusing friends and sailed into another gorgeous sunset.
