Sunday December 16, 2007

Today was our last day on the Peninsula. We spent the morning at a Polish research station on King George Island called Arctowski. It was very interesting to meet the researchers, many of who were working on penguin projects. They were monitoring the penguins and looking at what they eat, how long they dive, and the success rate of their young.

In the afternoon, we anchored around the corner and went to an island just off of King George called Penguin Island. The wind was blowing hard and the seas were rough on the cobble beach, so the landing was difficult. However, we did manage to land all of the passengers there. At first, I went on a hike all the way up the hill to the rim of an old volcano. It was an amazing hike, with incredible views. It was hard trudging up through the snow, and sometimes, when I took a wrong step, I found myself buried up to my thighs. When I came down from the hike, I was lucky enough to still have time to walk around the corner to see a colony of nesting Chinstrap penguins. In addition, there were Gentoo and Adelie penguins there, as well as a group of Elephant seals and a few Weddel seals. Amazing! To see so many different species of animals in one location sure was a treat. I will add photos later, as I am unable to send photos from the ship right now, but check back in a few days and I will send them as soon as I can.

An Adelie penguin comes out of the sea at Penguin Island



A Weddel seal sleeps on the snow