After our fairly smooth crossing of the Drake Passage we were all anticipating a landfall in Antarctica. This morning we could see the faint silhouettes of the South Shetland Islands. These volcanic barrier islands to the Antarctic Peninsula are some of the youngest geologic material in all of Antarctica. They were formed just a few million years ago in response to a small geologic plate being was produced as the Scotia Arc was extending east. The erosion of one of these islands has left behind a crescent shape that makes for a protected bay with a healthy population of nesting chinstrap penguins. As we made our way towards our anchorage, a great view of humpback whales was available in one of the sounds between the islands. The whales were moving quite slowly as we paralleled them and seemed to be quite comfortable with our presence.
After lunch, one group of intrepid hikers made off for the hills near an abandoned Argentine base. They then made their way through the snow to the penguin colony. The other group chose to maximize their time with the penguins, other birds, and seals near the landing. A Weddell seal lounged nearby and posed for many pictures. The penguins won the day though. While the main colony are chinstrap penguins, noted by the dark line of feathers seeming to keep their black caps on, there were other species present. The “peninsular” penguins are known as the pygoselids or brushtail penguins. These birds, all about the same size, have different feathery configurations from the neck up. The chinstrap is very obvious, the gentoo has visible white earmuffs and brightly colored “lips,” the Adelie is feathered all the way to the edge of the beak with just basic black and white. While views of all three “pygos” can be made on an expedition of several days to the peninsula, we had a rare treat – all three on the same beach and next to each other. The moment was short, but many guests were able to compare all three and see the differences and similarities.
Once back aboard it was time to sail further east towards the peninsula proper.
