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Cuverville and Danco, Antarctica

Cuverville, and Danco, Antarctica January 11, 2016

On Monday our ship took us to the Errera Channel to Cuverville, discovered by a Belgian expedition.

Leaving the Fram while it is snowing to go see the penguins.

Here, one of the largest known gentoo penguin colonies thrive….and you can tell it before leaving the ship by the penguin air scent.

WELCOME to Cuverville!!!!!

Taking a little dip in the cold water...brrrr
The ride through the icebergs was spectacular and the scenery was the best that we have had so far. The sun came out and glistened on the fresh layers of snow with huge mountain peaks that reminded us of Teton National Park.

With the nice temperatures of 34 degrees we spent an hour and half observing penguins bathing, making their rock nests, and mothers feeding their young. Larry and I never tire of watching these critters with their unending energy.

Yep, that is mama's flipper around that teenage looking Gentoo...so cute!

What stunning scenery!

The only green spot of summer in Antarctica that we found!

Around 5:00PM we visited Danco, a one mile long island that lies south of the Errera Channel, off the west coast of Graham Land, first explored in 1897. Surprisingly several passengers have purchased an excursion to spend the evening out camping here tonight.

The snow seems to get deeper and deeper the further south we go!

Gorgeous!

Following a penguin path

Let's go skiing

Fellow passengers enjoying a cool kayak ride

Deception Island, Antarctica

Deception Island, Antarctica January 10, 2016

On Sunday we arrived in Whalers Bay at Deception Island, a volcano.

A tender boat ride into shore...snow and steamy waters add to the adventure!

Natural black volcanic beach....Lava Beach

A portion of the volcanic caldera had collapsed, flooding the interior, making an perfect natural harbor. The ship entered through a 660 foot entrance known as Neptune’s Bellow (named for the winds that howl through). Whaler’s Bay was home to factory whaling ships as early as 1905. The British established Base B here during World War II in 1941. The last volcanic eruption in 1967 through 1969 destroyed the station.

Larry and I observed only one chinstrap penguin and one Skua (a big brown bird) while walking the flat black volcanic ash beach called Lava Beach. About 50 of the passengers choose to participate in a polar plunge…..brrrr.

An Irish friend....Fiona..... took the plunge!

This guy stood wet in the snowfall for a long, long time....he must have a great internal heater!

It snowed on us the whole time we were here…small puffs of steam rose from the water and the smell of sulfuric acid reeked in the air. We hiked up a tall hill and took a gander at a cave that was below the rocky cliffs.

I never dreamed that Antarctica would have such massive rock formations.

The fun part was slip sliding down the slope to get back to the beach.

Up, uP, UP...warmed us up!

Deep snow along the beach

Once back on board the captain directed the boat on a tour of the inside of the caldera, a series of magnificent stone formations that towered above us. Two whales sent us on our way after cruising the bay.

Dinner was sensational….Pods of humpback whales preformed right outside our dinner table window, flipping their tails at us. Can’t think of a better way to end the day!

What memories….cruising the inside of a sleeping volcano and humpback whales! Awesome!

Half Moon Island and Yankee Harbor, Antarctica

Half Moon Island and Yankee Harbor, Antarctica January 9, 2017

On Saturday morning we enjoyed a short tender boat ride to Half Moon Island, a crescent shaped island of picturesque mountains and glaciers of nearby Livingston Island. Here we spotted an old whaling boat left from long ago banked upon the beach.

Can't even begin to imagine going out in this size boat to get a whale!

The shoreline was very rocky to walk in....yet the penguins hopped about getting to the water.

What a great day!!!!

We hiked among a Chinstrap Penguin’s Rookery. These penguins are so cute with the black line of feathers that looks like a strap. Just a beautiful animal!

After a hike over a rocky hill we climbed up on top of a high cliff to observe the Chinstrap penguins protecting and feeding their young.

Some of the penguin mothers had a single fuzzy gray baby while others were sitting close to two hatchlings. We were told that most likely only one of the two would survive. It was so incredible to see the baby reach into the mother’s long open beak to get a mucus looking nourishment.

Larry brought ME to the end of the world... what a man!!!

We could have sat there all day enjoying their sounds and actions…..not so much their chicken-coopy smell….lots of penguin poo was all about. After about an hour and half our time was up to go back to the ship for lunch while the ship moved on to Yankee Harbor.

I could have stayed here all day. It was so cool to watch these little guys!

In Yankee Harbor at 5:00PM we boated to the shore and walked the graveled beach on Greenwich Island which falsely appears to be man-made with a protected curved spit.

These life jackets are a hoot...who would ever think about going overboard?

Our boat was one of the first to reach the shore.

Brrr....What chunks of ice!!!!

We enjoyed Gentoo penguins (4000 pairs) who were nesting on small rock nest. They laid flat across the rocky nests and would occasionally move about so that we could sneak a peek of the egg or eggs that lay there.