What do you call a group of cows?
Herd
What do you call a group of chickens?
Yep – flock
What do you call a group of penguins?
Answer tomorrow!
Memories are the best souvenirs. ~ Unknown
The sunrise today is at 0232 and sunset is at 2252. It is 2:15 AM and it is still very light which is amazing. Remember, seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis (23 ½°). On December 21, the North Pole is tilted away from the sun and at the same time, the southern hemisphere is receiving more direct sunlight than the northern hemisphere. It is the start of summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the northern hemisphere. Temperatures have been fluctuating a couple of degrees above and below freezing. The wind is normally blowing, though so that needs to be factored into the full effect.
THE BRIDGE
I managed to make it to the bridge on the ship. Now the bridge is where the captain and the first officer and other navigation specialists are stationed. The bridge is the top layer of the ship and there are a plethora of instruments. It was amazing to me all the factors to consider when planning a route. Those include the ice –sheet, broken into floes or bergs, depth of channel, and other ships. Captain Kruss and his team work out the details, including communicating with other ships.
EXPEDITION AT ORNE HARBOUR
Last night, we made our way toward the Errera Channel while traveling through the Gerlache Strait. Adrien de Gerlache was a Belgian explorer who, in 1897-1899, was beset in the ice and was the first exploring ship to winter in the Antarctic. The water was very rough last night, although once I was asleep, I didn’t wake up at all. Our destination today was Orne Harbour and Danco Island. There were two expeditions planned for those wanting to get off the ship. I chose to hike up the ridge with about 1000 ft. elevation gain. The trails are a soft snow with intermittent ice. If we make large holes (where are feet sink down to beyond our knee), we are to fill them in with snow because penguins can get stuck in them. Immediately upon disembarking from the zodiac, I saw Gentoo penguins and saw rookeries scattered along the slope. Ellie and I made our way up the steep incline and the wind blew ferociously at the top. The scenery was beautiful and well worth the exertion. There were Gentoo penguins scattered throughout our hike on the day down.
EXPEDITION AT DANCO ISLAND
I opted to take the longer hike to the top of a ridge and view the channel and beautiful mountains with glaciers. Of course there were the brilliant blue bergs floating in the water with their variety of shapes and we had seen those on the journey to Danco Island. I did learn that the tinges of yellowish color in and around the ice are caused by a biological component – diatoms, which are unicellular organisms. In addition, the sea ice that extends out from Antarctica every year, causes the surface of Antarctica to double each year.
A highlight for me was asking about, what appeared to be a geological marker. Upon further inquiry, I found out the marker is plotted with the GPS coordinates and then measured again either annually or biannually. Because Antarctica was separated from South America by the Scotia plate, the spread continues and there are minor plates that are moving. The reason this stake is measured regularly is the coordinates can be recorded and the differences calculated to provide evidence of the speed and which direction the plates are moving. I thought this was cool! Of course there were more Gentoo penguins and they are truly a delight to observe. Gentoo penguins mate for year, not necessarily the same place and the female lays two eggs, three days apart. These parents are from the modern world where the workload is shared so they both take turns caring for the eggs. One of the funniest things is how the penguins steal rocks from other nests to take to their own nests. I took several videos to illustrate this behavior. Meanwhile, the skuas and terns are waiting patiently for an egg to be revealed so they can have dinner.
This evening, after a lovely dinner (I had Mahi-mahi) we had the opportunity to visit Port Lockroy, which is an Antarctic Post Office, museum run by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust and of course a gift shop. The ship literally broke through a huge ice floe and we walked all over the floe while waiting for a Zodiak to take us to Port Lockroy. The museum was very well done and explained how this has been home to explorers, whalers, scientists and sailors, all of who have made valuable contributions to Antarctica.
Unless stated, all photos were taken by Beth Thomas.