Barrientos Island, Aitcho Island group, South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula
Overnight the surface water temperature stayed very close to freezing. This is the true indication that we have reached the biological limits of Antarctica. With our first landfall this morning (which is actually just the first sighting of land) our Drake diet has ended and it’s time to begin exploring. Situated on the northern end of English Channel, our first footfall on biologically Antarctic ‘soil’ was at Barrientos Island. This exposed piece of rock in the South Shetland Islands is part of a small cluster of spires, columns and islets that make up the Aitcho Island group. Originally named for the British Hydrographic Office (HO, phonetically spelled Aitcho), these smatterings of dry land are a favorite nesting sight for several species of penguins.
As our Zodiacs were lowered alongside the anchored National Geographic Explorer, the faint aroma of something quite peculiar met our formerly pelagic noses. After a full day or watching albatrosses at sea, the smell of something much more ordure can hit you like a ton of bricks. The good news for those with a sensitive shnozz, is that the smell most often associated with a fertilizer means that penguin rookeries are at full swing which ultimately means chicks. Those little chirping gray fuzz-balls were the highlight of our afternoon on Barrientos Island. Some gentoo penguin chicks were so large that the parent could barely cover their offspring. Chinstrap chicks seemed to be not quite as far along, but still easily visible.
After a quick, late-afternoon look at two random macaroni penguins, it was time to head back to the ship for a Captain’s Welcome cocktail hour. With an action-packed itinerary ahead, we head to bed with anticipation running high as we steam northeast towards the Weddell Sea.
