Running From the Storm Right to the Rarest Penguin Sighting!

 After everybody got back on board from their zodiac tours, the ship started moving again.  The plan was to move from Wilhelmina Bay/Foyn Harbor to Portal Point in Charlotte Bay.  At that point, we would do a land hike, stepping foot on the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time.  During lunch, the seas seemed to be getting rough again.  At one point, it felt like we were making a circle.  Soon after, Phil, the expedition leader, announced that Charlotte Bay was unsafe and that the other ship in that area had just bugged out of there and was seeking shelter in Wilhelmina Bay.  So, he announced we were turning around and heading back to the general area.  It's beautiful, and I've spent some nice time on the balcony, but the winds are too strong for another zodiac cruise here, so they looked around to try to find us a good excursion for the afternoon.  We are one of the newest and most technologically advanced and stable ship in the Antarctic right now, but these winds!

When we got away from the winds, and the seas calmed, we stopped for some humpback whales that were swimming between a couple of icebergs.  Some seals hanging out.  And one of the birding group, the Rock Jumpers, actually briefly saw an emperor penguin, but the critter scooted out of view quickly.  The picture he got indicated that it was, indeed, an emperor penguin.  

After a while of people getting their fill of the area we were hanging out in with the storm still threatening the area we were supposed to be in, our captain and expedition leader talked and decided to just go further down into the southern portion of the bay.  That decision ultimately paid off.  An emperor penguin was spotted and confirmed on an ice sheet beside an iceberg!  He was just a little thing, and initially, it was pretty far from the ship, but Cpt Jeremy slowly inched his way closer and closer.  He also instructed the crew to open a different observation deck off the Shackelton Lounge, where we usually have our briefings and lectures.

He was just a little dot. I'm surprised my picture was this clear! While we were all enjoying our sighting of the juvenile emperor penguin, suddenly, two of his friends decided to jump out of the water and onto the closer portion of that ice sheet! THREE EMPEROR PENGUINS!! The emperor penguin is usually deep in the Antarctic continent, seeming to prefer the harshest of weather. They are considered one of the ten hardest to spot species of bird in the world. AND WE SAW THREE OF THEM!!! This will be the high point of the cruise for many of us most likely! And all because of a storm that kept us from doing what we had planned! At one point, some larger animal made a splash in front of the lower two. We thought it was a seal. I accidentally got a picture of it. It was very difficult to tell, but those on the crew who would know these things finally settled on potentially a couple of fin whales based on the dorsal fin that partially appears in the picture.

After a while, the first one seemed to notice the others and started calling to them.  When they were finally reunited, they formed a circle and danced around for a little while!  It was so adorable!  The experts were saying that the first one was probably a juvenile, so our made-up scenario is that this was the reunion of junior and the parents!

For dinner, our group (Antarctica Travel Group) reserved the panoramic restaurant for a hot rock dinner.  I didn't take a single picture of the food or set up!  The company was excellent.  The food was excellent.  And the day had been excellent.  Who could possibly think of food pictures when emperor penguin pictures were so fresh!  Anyway, hot rock dinner is like a fondue/melting pot type of meal, but instead of a pot of oil, you have a hot rock in front of you for cooking your food, and you don't have to share it with anybody.  It was an amazing meal with amazing company and amazing atmosphere.  After dinner, we took a group photo.  

One of our guides, Kevin, put on a concert with his guitar. I was so tired, I could only listen to a couple of songs before I had to head up to bed. I mean, we expect the weather to clear tomorrow, and the plan is to do another zodiac cruise in the morning and a land excursion in the afternoon. I have to get my beauty sleep so I can be up for both! We're just a couple of days into this, and I already recommend an Antarctic cruise for anybody!