Macaroni Penguins! And More

 So, Phil is safe.  No mutiny is necessary.  We pulled into Hercules Bay this morning to nice calm seas.  Therefore, our zodiac to see the macaroni penguins did, in fact, happen.  And what a wonderful sight it was!  This time, Phil was actually my zodiac driver.  He took us around and gave us not only information about the fur seals, elephant seals (with one male), shags (cormorants), petrels, and other birds, but he also talked about the geography and geology.  He talked about the pressure that was exerted on the sediment that pushed the rocks into diagonal or even horizontal positions.

He did talk to the captain about doing the polar plunge, so even though we weren't able to do it in the Antarctic, we do still plan to get into the southern ocean!  It won't happen today, though, because there's still three hours to get to our afternoon stop.  I asked about potentially touring the bridge, and he said Cpt Jeremy is very happy to accept bridge tours and that those have previously happened.  They suspended these tours because of COVID.

Beautiful little baby fur seal

They were nesting all the way up the mountain (and down the other side), often hiding behind the tussac grass.  Believe it or not, the macaronis are the most numerous penguin on South Georgia, even though there are three massive king penguin colonies.  They just tend to nest in the less hospitable areas and are difficult to see.

Take note of the beautiful blue feathers around this shag's pretty brown eyes!  That orange thing over his nose and pretty pink feet mark him as a good candidate for breeding! 

This penguin picture won picture of the day on our ship!

After lunch, we dropped anchor in St. Andrew's Bay.  This is the largest king penguin colony in the world with an estimated population of approximately 150,000 breeding pairs plus their chicks and whatever singles are hanging out.   It is also situated at the feet of two large glaciers that have receded significantly.  When Cpt James Cook first came here in 1775, these glaciers both extended to the shore.  You can see how far back they are now.  The nutrients left by that recession has been wonderful for the penguins, and the elephant seals seem to enjoy the beach, too.  Walking along the beach, you can see how difficult life is here.  There were carcasses that had been picked clean, probably by the shua and giant petrels, though there were a few pintailed ducks around, too, and they dig in there right along with the other scavengers.

This wasn't an easy landing.  Those glaciers give rise to what are called katabatic winds.  Folks, you ain't seen wind till you've seen these winds!  I had difficulty standing!  And coming down off the glaciers, they are icy!  I tried to capture how the sand just blacked out the scene in front of you when it decided to gust, but the camera didn't do it justice.  It “dehazed” to pick out what was behind the sand.  Before we left, they announced that we could have nothing hanging from our necks and that everything had to be in dry bags.  I thought they meant binoculars or cameras that literally hang around your neck, so I put the chest harness on with the action camera under my life jacket.  They made me take it off and either leave it in my locker or put it in my dry bag.  They also made sure everyone's life jackets were still tight, and many were not.  St. Andrew's is one of the hardest landings in the rotation, and the drivers said this wasn't the worst they've negotiated.  They did say the weather can change in a second and that they have (rarely) had some accidental polar plunges when the wind hits at a particular severity.  My zodiac going to the beach was pretty dicey.  We tossed so much that I am actually surprised Ab was able to keep us upright!  Coming back, it wasn't quite as bad, and Sanna took us along the shore to see the far end of the colony.  Then we turned to dock at the ship.  The waters weren't so calm anymore.  Two strong deck hands and our driver, who we have dubbed “Hard-Core Sanne” because she's just so bad-ass, had difficulty holding the zodiac at the boarding dock, but they did manage to get us all back on the ship, though it was an interesting feat!  I felt sure I was going to slam against the wall, but they kept me on track and got me in safely.

We jokingly called this David Attenborough's summer home.  Sanna said she did see Frozen Planet staying there once, though!

It was a good picture day, too.  At the daily recap, I got an honorable mention for picture of the day with my macaroni penguin picture!  And Dede, my stateroom attendant, has hunted down a shower chair for me!  It's been a good day all around!  Of course, he also made me promise, again, to not fall overboard from my balcony!