Thursday, December 8--we
landed at Brown Bluff, which is on the Antarctic Peninsula, this morning with
practically no wind and a beautiful blue sky. Tom and I didn't try to climb
this time! We watched the Gentoo and
Adele penguins. The Gentoos are slightly
ahead of the Adeles 
Click on the image above to watch the penquins.
in that
they have more chicks already hatched.
Some of the Adele males were bringing rocks to their mates to build the
nest--or improve it. They make a noise
that almost sounds like a cat purring. It's a very contented sound. When we were ready we loaded back on the
Zodiacs and rode around the icebergs we
saw a leopard seal and the carcass of a seal that had lost the front part of
its body--probably to the leopard seal.
There were a few other seals on top of some of the icebergs. We even saw an elephant! After lunch we tried to land at an Argentine
science station in Hope Bay, but the wind was too high. We went back past Brown
Bluff on the way to another landing site and there was another ship there. I
think Cheli said that it was a Renaissance ship. It was not being able to
disembark because the wind had picked up there again. We were very lucky. I've
been connected to the wi-fi on the boat with my iPhone a couple of times. It
seems to be a very random thing and never lasts more than a few minutes.
Friday, December 9--There was a debarkation at Bailey Head on Deception Island at about 6:30. We didn't go on it because it was so early and because they said only the most "fit and able" should go. It turned out that about 80 people went so we missed a chance to see chinstrap penguins in mass. After that group returned, we moved through Neptune's Bellows to the inside of the caldera that is Deception Island. It turns out that this is one of the most popular spots in Antarctica and we saw several other ships while we were here. There was another debarkation at Whaler's Bay inside the caldera. Whaler's Bay is the first bay inside
Port Foster as you pass through Neptune's Bellows. There is a flat cinder beach and the remains of a Norwegian whaling station as well as those of a British Antarctic Survey team. There are remnants of barrels and boats and bones of whales along the beach. We also saw three chinstrap penguins. There are still vents in the volcano here and the water at Whaler's Bay is hot and smells like sulphur, but the water in the middle of the bay is cold--as those who took the Polar Plunge would attest! We walked up to Neptune's Window, a break in the caldera wall, where you can look out and on a clear day see the Antarctic Peninsula. It wasn't a clear day. As we disembarked we were told that the Sea Spirit was grounded--which wasn't a surprise because we had seen the sand stirred up as it was anchoring. The tide was going out and we would have to wait for it to come back in before moving. That meant that we would not be able to land at Half Moon Island later this afternoon. While we were grounded the expedition team decided to start the Polar Plunge.
A total of 51 passengers attached a harness and jumped into the water. Neither Tom nor I did. Many of them went to the hot tub afterwards and said that the hot tub was almost as uncomfortable at first as the ocean water. There was a little bit of drama as we were grounded. Cheli, the team leader had taken a small group out on a special Zodiac cruise that they had won. They went outside the caldera, and while they were outside, the sea ice inside the caldera blew down to make an ice pack in Neptune's Bellows, which acted as a stopper. They couldn't return to the ship because the Zodiac could not get through the ice pack. Luckily another ship, the Silver Explorer I think, started in and Cheli was able to follow it as it broke through the ice. When the Sea Spirit floated off the sand bar and we left, it also had to break through the ice.
Saturday, December 10--
Sunday, December 11--
Monday, December 12--
Returning to Ushuaia
Tuesday, December 13--