Devils Island

Woo Hoo! I would have never thought that a snow storm could be fun. Horizontal, blowing snow... wind gusts shaking your balance... Oh yeah! If you are dressed properly it is a blast!

It requires much more finesse to access the shore when there is ice in the water, as you will now remember from our first Antarctic landing. It was a surprise to both of us when we first heard that grating, roaring grind from the hull as we broke through the surface ice. Surely we are fortunate to be on such a magnificent ship, and have the best Captain in the fleet at the helm.

In our first afternoon in Antarctica we managed to add three new species to our list. Today we visited an Adele penguin colony. They are small, round, and very cute. Observing their living conditions, we are afforded a nice reminder of the life cycle of the penguin. These birds of the sea live in the ocean. They are only obligated to come ashore to breed. Laying an egg is not much trouble in South Georgia; but in the Antarctic, the nest must be designed for the egg to remain off of the snow, or it will perish. The Adele's use a pile of small stones; and it is quite comical to watch them re-position their prized pile, and steal from their neighbors mound at every chance. In a colony numbering in the tens of thousands, it is a marvel that they manage to find their mate amongst such masses.

While in the Zodiacs, we also caught glimpses of two of the famous inhabitants of these waters. The snake like patrol of the Leopard seal brought one close enough for a greeting. And we were numbered amongst only a few that were afforded a hello by the enormous, dog-headed, benevolent Weddell seal.

I hope you enjoy our little video, and remember to dress warmly.