When I told my friends I was going to Antarctica sometimes I got blank stares. “Why would you want to go there? Isn’t it just barren ice?” Why go on vacation where it ‘s cold?” When I said I was going to see penguins, that sort of made sense. Everyone has seen “March of the Penguins”. That part they understood. This trip was so much more than penguins, although seeing six different kinds in colonies that numbered in the hundreds of thousands was a thrill.
It took almost 24 hours and three separate flights to get to Tierra del Fuego. First I went to Houston. From Houston to Buenos Aires, then on to Ushuaia, the southern most port city of Argentina. In order to be sure we did not “miss the boat” my friend Andy Robertson and I went to Ushuaia three days early. There we stayed in a B & B and hired a local English speaking guide to show us the sights and of course the birds. Over the three days we explored the town which to me looked much like a Swiss village but on the seacoast. It was January, which is their summer and temperatures were about 45 to 55 F. We ticked off 35 species which was 33 for my life list.
From our B & B it was a short taxi ride to the pier where we boarded the Plancius, a research vessel which has been refitted to carry passengers. There were 100 of us on this trim 200 foot long ship on an expedition run by the Dutch organization Oceanwide. We covered over 3,000 miles and visited the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Falkland Islands
The views from the ship were constantly changing. Even when out at see there were birds, whales, seals, orcas, dolphins, icebergs, as well as incredible mountains, skies and waves. During days at sea there were also lectures about the region from one or more of the eight on-board naturalists. We spent several days at the Falklands as well at on South Georgia. Morning or afternoon trips to shore were on Zodiacs, the inflatable boats propelled by 40 horsepower engines. Weather varied a lot with sun, rain, snow showers, temperatures 30 to 60 degrees F.
Gentoo Penguin
Because the birds are not afraid of people they often approached close enough for me to get good pictures even with my little “point & shoot” camera. A Caracara swooped by close enough that its wings touched my hand. Often there were reminders of an industry that no longer exists on these islands. One beach was full of bleached whale bones where the Japanese were harvesting whales up until 1965 on a regular basis. On one evening cruise, the sun dipped down toward the horizon at about 10 pm with a colorful sunset that lasted over an hour. Another cruise brought us into a narrow fiord where glaciers were “calving” into the sea. And yes of course I counted the life birds. Some were species I hadn’t even heard of before – Fairy Prions, Flightless Steamer Ducks , in all 67 species for me in 19 days on the ship.
The size of much that we saw was memorable. Albatross dipped down on wings that spread over 10 feet. Tiny storm petrels dangled their feet among huge waves. Orcas immense and powerful followed along the side of the ship like dolphins. Fin whales displayed their long black backs as they came up for air. Mountains jutted up thousands of feet from icy coves.
Rockhopper Penguins and Black-browed Albatross -- Falkland Islands
I took 400 pictures, some more spectacular than others. In November I will be giving a program for North Fork Audubon, and I promise to get it down under 100 pictures, although that will not be easy.
King Cormorants and Fur Seals, Falkland Islands