In the afternoon, the like-minded wildlife lovers who had been on the S. Georgia trip grouped together and shared a zodiac ride with the former Cheeseman's staff member and the new ship doctor, who was very into photography. I was really hoping to see a leopard seal, a crabeater seal and Adelie penguins, species that we hadn't encountered yet. Mostly, we saw ice, but we did find some wildlife. It was peaceful to be away from the rest of the group and once again settling in with nature. The ice was really interesting, with a variety of shapes and colors - lots of deep blues. The sky and light in Antarctica are hard to describe - lots of pinks and yellows and immense varieties of depths of color depending on clouds, sun, etc.
 |
| A Weddell seal in the water next to the zodiac; skeptical of us |
 |
| Fascinating patterns in the ice |
 |
| This iceberg was gorgeous |
 |
| The blues deep, hidden under the snow |
 |
| A Weddell seal on an iceberg |
 |
| Weddell up close |
 |
| The Weddell with something to say |
Although I love this photo of the Weddell, it was actually getting upset and stressed by another zodiac that landed on the other side of it, and passengers poured out and began going closer and closer for photos. Our guide tried to stop them, but theirs did not. Some Chinese passengers were particularly aggressive, getting closer- our guide intervened, explaining the animal was getting stressed. He made sure both groups left, but once again, it was a sad contrast. It is a shame to travel so far to see nature and then disrupt it rather than admire it and leave it in peace.
 |
| Crab eater seal, one of a pair on an iceberg |
 |
| Gentoos with something to say to one another |
 |
| It was amazingly hard to time photos to try to catch a jumping penguin |
 |
| Blue-eyed shag |
 |
| Stunning ice and sky |
Comments