Hi—

We arrived early into the Antarctic Sound.  This is Antartica proper.  We arrived early and the first groups were to get off as soon as we arrived.  We were suppose to hike Brown bluff which is the landing site, but whenever we arrive to a landing area, there is an expedition team that goes out to land to check for dangers before we head out.

Today, unfortunately, when they got to land, they found evidence of Avian flu going through the penguin colony so we could not get off and hike. I love the safety and security they have here.   They truly do everything possible to protect us. 

Brown Bluff is located on the Tabarin Peninsula in the Antartic Sound.  It is a huge, ice capped volcanic cliff.  It was formed by an extinct volcano .  

So because we could not hike, they pivoted to zodiac cruises around the waters of the area.  We went through icebergs and pieces of ice to get close to land.  We saw tons of penguins on the icebergs and on the glacier.  It was quite foggy so we could not see to the top of the glacier but we could see thousands and thousands of penguins in their colonies covering the glacier. 

It was truly amazing.  It was lightly snowing and cold but worth the trek out.   After about an hour 15 on the water, we returned to the ship where we departed for Hope’s Bay.  In the interim, we were able to dry off our outer layers and get ready for the afternoon.  

We arrived in Hopes Bay and on the way, we saw Tabular Icebergs and penguins swimming in the Southern Ocean.  When we arrived, we were able to see the Esperanza which is an Argentinian Research base.  Since the glacier is filled with penguins, we were only going to cruise through the bay on our Zodiacs.  It did rain 90% of the time we were out there but who cares.  Rain, cold, ice….we are still in Antartica.

Our guide gave us a history of the area and took us through nooks and crannies close to land so we can see the wildlife, ie:  Penguins.  We caught a couple of birds but mainly penguins.  We saw them jumping into the water, swimming close by, and fighting with each other.

We cruised around to the Research Base and there are a number of Argentinians who live there in the summer and conduct research.  There were several structures built to house the scientists.  

We cruised through the rest of the area and headed back to the ship.  It was an amazing day filled with great views, great company, new friends and terrific and knowledgeable guides. 

When we arrived back to the ship, we dried off, warmed up, and headed to the daily briefing and recap.  They are quite interesting to listen to.  

Dinner was delicious.  We went to the fancy restaurant and everyone tried something new.   Caviar, Lobster salad, lobster bisque, goose pate (not me).  The restaurant was incredible and the servers were sweet.

Marti signed up for kayaking, which is lottery based.  As it turns out, she was selected for it tomorrow morning.  There is also a hike in the morning and a zodiac ride in the afternoon.  

Cici from Sea signing off……..