Silver Cloud #1001 - Ushuaia RT via South Georgia - January 4, 2020

[jpalbny]

I figured I'd put up a few animal pics as well. I have barely begun organizing all of my pictures - all of the ones I've posted so far have been cellphone snaps (except the whales' tails). I did bring my DSLR and a 170-500 mm lens, and I took a lot of animal close-ups. So I took a look at them yesterday and found a few to share.

 

These are all from our first landing on South Georgia, January 8th, at Grytviken.

 

I was amazed by the sheer number of fur seals that were all over the place at this site. They are pretty cute, too. They were busy, either fighting with each other, or snoozing. Some of them wanted to challenge us as well.

 

This guy on the right looks like he's going a little above his weight class. The guy on the left doesn't seem too concerned about it. The spectators are asleep. They already know the outcome.

 

 

These two are more evenly matched. The guy facing the camera looks like he's had a rough night, though. He looks a little like me, if I were up too late in the bar on board Silver Cloud...not that such a thing ever happened...

 

 

Youngster, looking for someone to challenge?

 

 

Even when they are resting, they are still pretty cute. Love the upside-down whiskers on this guy. And he's not sleeping; he's got an eye on us.

 

 

The elephant seals couldn't care less about us, or the fur seals. They were slugs. But cute in their own way.

 

 

The superstars of the beach, though, were the pups. Absolutely adorable. If they could have fit in my backpack, I'd have wanted to take one home (just kidding - I think). Big eyes, cute ruffled fur, and adorable baby teeth. And completely fearless. You really had to keep an eye out or they would sneak up and get right next to you.

 

 

This pup put on a show with a blade of dried grass. Teething ring?

 

 

The pups almost made you forget that there were king penguins on South Georgia. We saw a few here at Grytviken. More of those later...

 

 

More to follow as I continue to organize. Hopefully I will be done by 2021.

[Stumblefoot]

Thanks Rachel.  Much appreciated.  BTW... love your pics!  Such great memories.

[jpalbny]

For the afternoon of January 8th we relocated down the to north coast of South Georgia, to Fortuna Bay.

 

This was a beautiful area! The landscapes really popped. And look at that blue sky!

 

 

Absolutely gorgeous mountain views awaited us after lunch. We walked the deck and took it in.

 

 

Even the dirty glaciers were pretty.

 

 

The water was really this green. If you ignored the glaciers, it could have been the tropics.

 

 

Unfortunately, even though it was calm and there was very little wind, the waves were too strong to attempt a landing here this afternoon. We were supposed to go hiking to a colony of king penguins here, but we had  to settle for a zodiac ride. Not too shabby.

 

Being in this gorgeous place was still a nice treat. We saw plenty of birds along the way. A cormorant - the South Georgia Cormorant aka South Georgia Shag.

 

 

I think this was a Southern Giant Petrel. No matter how many expedition cruises I take, I can't remember one bird from the other. They all taste the same to me... 😉

 

 

 

I was amused by this guy. It looks like he's trying to hold back the crashing surf with sheer willpower alone. Maybe some wing-power too. They remind me of the ornery geese that I grew up with on the farm. A few seconds later, he admitted defeat and flew away.

 

 

The fur seals though, were another highlight this afternoon. They were incredibly curious about us! They followed the zodiac like stray dogs, swimming along nearby, occasionally popping up to look at us more closely. I have a lot of pictures of ripples in the water but I got this one, where he's staring right at me. They are so cute.

 

 

I must confess that I knew very little about South Georgia before this trip, other than its historical significance from the Shackleton story. So far, it's been pretty spectacular. And the weather is cooperating - somewhat.

 

 

[Louby-Lou]

5 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

So keep these points in mind should you choose to go on your own. If you want to do this to be more flexible, and to see other parts of Chile besides Santiago, that may be a good reason to do so. If you want to avoid the charter flight because you think that you can find a better flight down to Ushuaia, that may be more challenging.

 

Thanks for the advice. We were hoping to use air miles to BA as there are more flights available for us than to Santiago, then fly to Ushuaia and stay a few days there. 

 

It's definitely easier to take the included flights but have loads of air miles so were examining other options.

 

Lou

 

 

[alithecat]

Question about dressing for the cold. I know we will have the Silversea parkas for the outer layer. I purchased Uniqlo Heattech t-shirts and leggings for the base layer. I purchased the extra warm version. What should we wear for the middle layer? I know the Silversea shop sells fleece or "expedition stretch" or "Kyanite". What did you all find that worked best? Thanks.

[jpalbny]

Depending on temperature and wind:

 

On bottom, synthetic pants from Eddie Bauer or equivalent. I brought a few different ones of variable thickness, and tailored what I wore to how cold I thought it would be. I also brought some thicker cotton pants though some will advise against cotton because it doesn't wick as well.

 

On top, I usually wore a long-sleeve T-shirt or a turtleneck as a base layer. Middle was a light synthetic button-down synthetic shirt for warmer days, or a sweater, or a fleece for colder days. 

 

We were only cold once and that was on a zodiac ride where there was intense cloud cover and lots of wind. If the sun was shining even weakly, and/or you were walking, it was fine for us.

[Stumblefoot]

59 minutes ago, alithecat said:

What should we wear for the middle layer?

If you’re wearing a parka, you don’t need a middle layer because it is integrated in the parka.  The only time you need a middle layer is if you just wear a light weight raincoat.  When I did this, my middle layer was just a fleece vest over a Spyder medium weight ski shirt.  In the parka, I wore a Spyder super lightweight ski shirt.  

[RachelG]

I wore the uniclo under layer.  Then on top, a sweater or turtleneck then my parka.  On bottom, jeans or fleece pants the. The water proof pants.  I wore 2 pairs of socks, one regular, and some fleece on top.  The only time I was cold was on one zodiac ride, but you are basically sitting in ice water then.

[alithecat]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like our regular sweaters and turtlenecks are fine on top. We just need another layer to wear under the waterproof pants.

[kathy16]

We are on our way to Atlanta- then Santiago for our cruise leaving January 29- so excited!

[jpalbny]

January 9th, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia.

 

We couldn't land in the usual spot due to swells coming down from the north of us. So we had to land further away from the colony, in a protected corner of the beach. The fur seals had already claimed that spot. Not all of them were happy to see us! Nothing like fresh seal breath first thing in the morning, to make you glad that you didn't eat any breakfast.

 

 

So we scurried off through the tussock grass, away from the beach. You still have to be careful, though, because you never know what might be hidden there. Elephant seals look pretty vicious from close up. Even though they are huge, they can hide pretty well.

 

 

This group of guides seemed pleasant enough, and led the way to the colony. They are juveniles; you can just see some remnants of their brown fluffy coat here and there, like the mohawk on the guy at the far right. Almost completely converted to adult plumage. Just a bunch of teenagers out for a walk on the beach.

 

 

The adult king penguins are really beautiful birds. It was hard to stop taking pictures. I have hundreds. Many hundreds, in fact. Here are a few of my favorites.

 

 

Classic penguin, walking along the plain.

 

 

These two are awfully close.

 

 

 

 

It is amazing how pretty they become as adults, because they look so weird as chicks. And when the chicks transition from their juvenile plumage to the adult plumage, it's not all at once. So they look so awkward, caught in between the two plumages. 

 

 

This guy looks like he's a throwback to the '80s, with a bad mullet. Not that I ever had one...

 

 

This chick was following an adult - probably one of its parents. The adult was scurrying along as fast as he could, to get away. The chick was persistent, but eventually got the message and went back to the nursery.

 

 

Just a massive colony of birds here. So many juveniles! This is a tiny slice of the whole.

 

 

Lest you think the penguins are so cute that you could approach them...they wield a pretty fierce beak! They sit almost within reach of each other on their nests. And they go after anyone or anything that gets too close. The cacophony is intense from up close.

 

 

After soaking in the noise (and smell) of so many penguins in close proximity, we headed back to the boat. We finally found a friendly fur seal, who didn't want to show us his teeth.

 

 

And a cute pup, to close out the day.

 

 

I really want to take one of them home!

[Stumblefoot]

54 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

I really want to take one of them home!

You and Silver Princess!

Edited January 27, 2020 by Stumblefoot

[jpalbny]

January 10th. Stromness and Fortuna Bay.

 

We had been scheduled for a zodiac ride on the afternoon of the 9th, but we couldn't get into Hercules Bay to do that because of swells. So we moored overnight near Stromness and had a lazy afternoon.

 

The morning of the 10th, we went for a hike to Shackleton's waterfall. Drizzly, and mostly landscape pictures, so only one animal shot. This was our welcoming party in the morning.

 

 

It was a great hike, and then we got even better news before lunch time. The swells were so much better compared to two days ago, that we could re-attempt the landing at Fortuna Bay!

 

Soon we were on shore with the penguins. I wonder, has this scene changed much since the days of black and white photography?

 

 

Or the dramatic landscape?

 

 

The tussocks of grass made nice beds for the fur seal pups. The more you look, the more you find. But of course, they aren't all resting. They took turns chewing on the flagpoles along our hiking route.

 

 

The landscape looks spectacular, with a fresh dusting of snow that wasn't here when we visited two days prior. The king penguins aren't as numerous at this site as they were yesterday, but still an impressive stop.

 

 

These two were having some kind of discussion... either that, or they were getting ready for a sumo match.

 

 

And these two wanted a private place to discuss matters.

 

 

This one had a horrific-looking open chest wound. RachelG has commented on this earlier in the thread. Amazing that it managed to escape whatever put that mark on it, and it seems to be healing somewhat. Looks uncomfortable, though, and it didn't really move much while we were there.

 

 

We climbed a hill for an overlook of the colony, set against this dramatic backdrop.

 

 

An unexpected treat - a skua family sighting! Normally we are not excited to see skuas, because they steal eggs and kill penguin chicks. But this was a family, and it was within range of my big lens! The parents took turns with the chick. Here, one is flying off (left) and the other stays behind (middle); the chick is the big puffball on the right.

 

 

Eventually they left the chick unattended. They must not have any predators? I wonder what would stop another skua from grabbing that chick, though.

 

 

The skua family was a cool sighting.  Now back to the landing beach, where we almost tripped over this fur seal, hiding under a ledge. You really have to watch every step here. Walking through fur seal territory is a bit like playing whack-a-mole. They pop their heads up everywhere!

 

 

Back on board, we prepared for another 2+ sea days, as we make our way to Elephant Island. It's the reverse of Shackleton's route, though I think our boat is a bit more comfortable than the James Caird.

 

It was an incredible three days of animal sightings here on South Georgia. I'm really glad we made the effort to get here, and even more grateful for the weather which cooperated enough to get on shore four times.

Edited January 27, 2020 by jpalbny

[rloke]

11 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

It was an incredible three days of animal sightings here on South Georgia. I'm really glad we made the effort to get here, and even more grateful for the weather which cooperated enough to get on shore four times.

 

Fantastic photos...

 

Guess the weather god saying sorry for the Icelandic tantrums during your previous expedition and to make amends? 😀

[FauxNom]

I'm so enjoying your photos, JP. Two of my favorite guides on our Greenland trip said South Georgia would be their top pick of all expedition destinations. I can see why!

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

...though I think our boat is a bit more comfortable than the James Caird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would have to agree, although I hear they made a mean Dark & Stormy on the Caird. 😁

[Tothesunset]

Fantastic photos. 

[RachelG]

Loving the pics, JP.  And since we are in the land of fast internet, here is a picture of the penguin sushi.

[jpalbny]

4 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

I would have to agree, although I hear they made a mean Dark & Stormy on the Caird. 😁

 

Stumbles, you're confusing the weather forecast with the drink menu for the James Caird, I suspect?

Rachel, thanks for taking that penguin sushi picture. I loved that display, and didn't take a picture of it. Actually I didn't take very many food pictures this trip. Don't worry, I'm still carrying a lot of that food around...

 

TTS, FauxNom, and rloke - thanks! I would take storms in Iceland any day, in exchange for our conditions here in South Georgia. I hope you get to visit in similar conditions.

[jpalbny]

January 13th, Elephant Island

 

After two full sea days we reached Elephant Island. We'd heard that landing here is near-impossible, and even zodiac rides here are less than 50-50, given its unprotected location in the Southern Ocean. The weather looked grey and foreboding when we arrived early in the morning, but the first group managed to get out in zodiacs, so we were confident that we could follow in the second group.

 

There were lots of chinstrap penguins. This desolate rock looks like a really hard place to live. The surf was relatively calm for us, otherwise we would have never been able to launch the zodiacs. Yet it was crashing up against the island like crazy. Imagine if the seas had been rough!

 

 

The island is not conducive to landing for a second reason. There is almost no flat land! Most of the island is sheer rocky sea cliffs, with glaciers in between. This little spit of somewhat flat land is called Point Wild. This is where Shackleton's men set up camp, under an overturned lifeboat, and overwintered here while Shackleton went to South Georgia for help. Just unbelievable!

 

 

But after our zodiac ride, the weather turned - and the clouds lifted. The views kept getting better. Furness Glacier, right across from our "parking" spot.

 

 

And more blue sky. This place almost looks hospitable!

 

 

As the clouds continued to lift, the mountain tops came into view. The snow packs and glaciers on top were beautiful in the bright sunshine.

 

 

What looks more dramatic? Black and white, or color?

 

 

 

After the last zodiacs were hauled in, we set sail for Antarctica proper. So we looped around the east side of Elephant Island, at its narrowest point. I doubt that Shackleton's men had weather this nice. It was so warm in the sun that we barely needed our jackets.

 

 

A selfie. I'm on the left.

 

 

Cornwallis Island, a little speck of rock a few miles to the east of Elephant Island.

 

 

Clarence Island. Rugged terrain and snow-capped mountains, hiding in the distance, almost obscured by clouds. Beautiful and desolate.

 

 

It was a privilege to see this place, and the weather could not have been better. What a gorgeous day!

 

 

Next stop - somewhere along the Antarctic peninsula! That is the cool thing about expedition cruising - you don't always know what tomorrow will bring, but with luck, it could be spectacular.

 

 

[WesW]

Outstanding snaps JP (with Chris in direct support), thanks for continuing to share.

[Daveywavey70]

Amazing pics JP. What a fantastic adventure.

[jpalbny]

January 14th. Spert and D'Hainaut Islands, Palmer Archipelago.

 

These were places I'd never heard of. We didn't visit them last time and I wondered why we were going here this time. We soon found out.

 

Spert Island was fairly exposed so it's hard to visit unless the seas are unusually calm. So we did a zodiac ride around here, looking at wildlife, rock formations, and ice.

 

First I had to try to catch a few penguins in flight. When they swim, they transiently jump out of the water. It's called "porpoiseing" and it's fun to watch. It's also annoying to try to photograph. They are really quick! But I got a few gentoos in the act.

 

 

 

Chinstraps on an iceberg.

 

 

The zodiac ride was neat. We went through sea arches,

 

 

Saw interesting ice formations,

 

 

Wildlife (I think this is a Cape Petrel?). It looks comfortable in the water. In a few days, I have to swim in this water. I will not look so comfortable, methinks.

 

 

Another cave. We went through this one twice for good measure.

 

 

The fissures in the icebergs were particularly blue today. 

 

 

After we warmed up and had lunch, we had an afternoon walk on D'Hainaut Island. It is a tiny speck of snowy rock, that from the ship looks like a dirty snowball plunked down in Mikkelsen Harbor. Why would they be taking us here?

 

Well, it turns out that the "dirt" is actually penguin guano. There were some Gentoo colonies on the island. And they had chicks! They can be hard to see and photograph clearly because they hide underneath the parents. But much better than last time. When we were in this area in December 2009, we only saw a handful of adelie chicks. The gentoos only had eggs. This was later in the season, and the viewing was great!
 

 

The chicks were big enough to poke their heads out a fair amount which made photography possible. Every once in a while you'd get a clear shot, if you were patient.

 

 

This picture was taken seconds after a skua swooped by the colony. The adults are wary, and they are following its course. The chick doesn't know better.

 

 

It must have been a good season so far. A good proportion of the nests had two chicks.

 

This was a funny scene. Penguins will bring rocks to their mates to use in building the nest. Usually they are smaller pebbles. This guy was bringing a boulder back to the nest! It was having trouble holding on to such a large rock, but it persisted. I hope its mate is duly impressed!

 

 

Talk about dedication.

 

Another day of fun stops. Tomorrow, we touch the "mainland" for real, so we can say that we've officially reached the continent. The weather continues to cooperate. The food and company on board are great. What more could we ask for?

Edited January 29, 2020 by jpalbny

[Stumblefoot]

13 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Another cave. We went through this one twice for good measure.

 

I’m impressed!  It was full of ice when we came by and couldn’t go through on the outbound or inbound either.

[jpalbny]

8 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

I’m impressed!  It was full of ice when we came by and couldn’t go through on the outbound or inbound either.

 

Stumbles, our zodiac was driven by Federico the iceberg tamer. He plowed through that ice like it was nobody's business!