My Veterans Day Was Amazing!

 So, I woke to fog, which cleared quickly.  Then some birds and porpoising penguins.  Then the wind picked up.  So, no zodiac cruising in Gold Harbour.  Landings are still being planned. My group goes first  this time.

The weather here is nuts! The winds got so bad, the zodiacs that had been off loaded were just bouncing and banging against the boat and each other, so they were craned back onto the ship and plans were made to cruise on up to Cooper Bay, returning to Gold Harbor this afternoon. Just as we got the zodiacs reloaded, the winds died down.  Captain Jeremy and Phil considered trying again, but decided it was just too spotty, so off we go to Cooper Bay.  I'm likely to be kind of irritated if I don't get to see any macaroni penguins!  So,we'll see!

Ab burst my bubble with this one.  I was sure it was a juvenile wandering albatross.  One second was all it took for him to tell me it was an Antarctic Fulmar!  Silly me!  Still a lovely bird!

So, we headed out to Cooper Bay, which was also too choppy for any landing or zodiac.  We saw some humpback whales that came right by the ship and some penguins were porpoising in the area.  The penguins were too far away for me to get a good shot of them, but based on their feet, they are different than any we had seen yet.  Neill identified them as macaroni based on their feet.  Other guides identified them as macaroni based on their location because macaronis are known to live on Cooper Island.  I don't consider that a sighting any  more than the adelies that were so far away on the Argentina research station.  If I wasn't close enough to see the identifying markings by binoculars or photograph (not just feet, unless feet is a major identifier that is commonly known), I wasn't close enough to see it!

When we got back to Gold Harbour, the water was much smoother.  Gold Harbour is one of the top destinations in South Georgia.  It's a black sand beach, and I think I heard somebody say it is volcanic sand.  I wasn't able to verify that, but there is a lot of volcanic rock in the island, so it maks sense.  It is the home to a massive king penguin colony.  And boy howdy, it's massive!  

We pulled up in the zodiac with very little space between the elephant seals for landing, but elephant seals don't particularly care about people.  Just don't step on them or get between them and an enemy (or concubine), and you're fine.  Groups of king penguins appeared to be coming to greet us.  Because of how densely the beach was populated, we had to walk across the stream, through the tussac grass, dodging the fur seals and taking care not to step on the elephant seals while trying not to slip and fall in the mud in order to get to the king penguin colony.  Because the seals like to lie down behind tufts of grass, we had to go in an almost exact footprint-match line behind the guide who picked out our path based on the location of the seals.  There was so much wildlife, the ship didn't have the staff and guides to do both a landing and zodiac cruising, so we just did the landing.

While we were waiting for a group to get together with a guide to lead us to the colony, a massive bull elephant seal decided he needed to venture a little close to another massive bull's harem.  It was really quite scary seeing those huge animals running straight toward us!  Hard-Core Sanna was between me and the bull being chased, and while she backed us up, she also managed to divert the seal.  It happened a few times with different people around.  

Pardon the messy camera work.  I was a little pre-occupied with safety stuff at times!

We were finally ready to head to the penguin colony.  It wasn't the longest walk we've made.  But it was by far the most challenging for me!  I tend to pick up a walking stick when we have landings, and I definitely relied on it this time!  There were a few gentoo penguins living along with the kings.  In the center of the colony was the chicks.  They are old enough that they no longer stay beside their parents, but until they have their first molt, their feathers are not waterproof, so they cannot get wet and can easily get cold.  Because of that, they tend to stay in the middle of the colony, huddled together while the adults hang out in the perimeter, keeping them safe and bringing them food.  This group of chicks (the brown ones) were estimated to be about 10 months old.

When we got back to the ship, I was spent.  I took a shower and a nap and used my TENS unit on my lower back and left hip and thigh.  I've been using the TENS unit and additional meds routinely, but this was the worst yet.  I had even determined what I was going to order for dinner and have it sent to my room.  Without warning, they announced that anyone in the blue or red group who wanted to take an extra zodiac cruise to see a leopard seal that had come up on a rocky spot just off the beach should come to the mud room.  I thought for a little while (just a little) and decided it was worth it.  I really didn't want to move, and it really hurt to do so, but I knew I would really regret not going.  So, I put on some pants and shirt, grabbed my waterproof pants and parka, and headed to the mud room with my camera.  This seal was wonderful.  I think I got some good shots, including some Grinch-style grins! I was so glad I went!

At tonight's briefing, Phil said we are planning to go to Hercules Bay to see macaroni penguins and to St. Andrew's Bay to see the largest king penguin colony in the world.  (You mean there's one larger than this one?!)  My group isn't first this time, so I can sleep in a little bit.  Hercules will be a zodiac cruise and not a landing, so hopefully, I'll get some good shots and won't be angry at missing macaroni penguins on Coopers Bay!  We shall see...