29.11. Neko and Paradise Harbour
I got up early at 5am and watched icebergs from the observation deck! Today I saw the first Adelie Penguin drifting on a huge iceberg! Those icebergs travel quite fast, maybe 2-5km per hour! Some of them are massive and bigger than a football field! With respect to penguins the only penguin we didnt see yet is the Emperor penguin! The only way to see them is on a floating iceberg as usually they are on the other side of Antarctica and more inland! So we have seen the following penguins: Rockhopper, Macaroni, Magellanic, Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo and King Penguin! ;-) They are all great, but I liked most the Rockhoppers! As the name says they are hopping on rocks! ;-)
We first went to Neko Harbour, where we landed for a short uphill walk to a Southern Gentoo Penguin Colony. Again there was snowfall and a bit foggy, but the landing was OK, the penguins as entertaining as always! Some are carrying stones to their nests, others are stealing stones from neighbours! I got some interesting shots as penguins are usually easy objects! As the weather stayed cloudy I skipped the Zodiac cruise today and went instead for the gym, as I am getting fat here on board with food in abundance! So 45mib cycling on an intense level with music.
We have seen some Chilean Buildings when leaving the Fjord from Neko Harbour! The flag is hissed, so there are currently people in these buildings. Heavy snowfall and fog on the way to Paradise Harbour! We are allowed to visit the bridge all the time! It is interesting to see all the instruments! The captain is from Ukraine and always smoking cigarettes!
Paradise harbour was our second excursion! It is an argentinian research station, but apart from gentoo penguins there was not a single person! First we hiked up a steep slope 100m to a viewpoint and as it stopped snowing it was even a nice experience! Then we had a great tour with the Zodiac boot to a spectacular icefall with 50m iceblocks! I had the great shots that I looked for: a kayaker/zodiac boat as foreground and the icefall with some huge caves right behind! A fantastic frame! ;-)
It is very funny to watch the Cinese photographing! Most of them always carry a tripod and one of them even has a large suitcase with him as though he expects a five star hotel somewhere on the main land of Antarctica! But it is full of lenses and camera bodies! A very funny picture! ;-)
Today evening there is a barbecue on deck! Also a competition who wears the funniest hat! Everything is allowed, we can also build a hat from things we find on the ship! Or cut off all our hair!
Tomorrow we plan to have another 2 excursions depending on weather conditions! I really hope for a sunny day. But overall we were very lucky on this trip, as only a single landing at South Georgia was canceled as of heavy winds!
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