Andy's Travel

We make it through the Drake Passage and are now in the South Shetland Islands.
Francine is now vertical.
he excitement to finally get onto land is overwhelming. We all hurry down to the zodiac boarding area to take the short ride to the island. We are going to see the penguins up close and personal. We were warned about the smell so we are somewhat prepared. The worst part was falling down through the softening snow and land in the penguin pooh!
The Gentoo penguins were so much fun to watch. The best and most favored nesting sites are the ones at the top of the mountains/rock hills. It is so amazing that they climb all that way and back down again to get food and to build their nests. We also witness some stealing rocks when the penguin had his back turned. Sneaky little creatures!!!
The penguins mate for life (kinda) if the female is late coming to the nesting site, the male will find another. Sound familiar?
The weather is perfect, 3deg C /37 deg F however, walking around we warm up

and end up taking off our jackets and just wearing our tshirts.

After a couple of hours we reboard and travel to Cierva Cove.

The icebergs here are fantastic but even more fantastic are our siting of Minke Whales. The kayakers are really lucky here as they swim under and beside them just an arm length away. Awesome for us too, even though we are in the zodiacs, I think the motors keeps the whales at more of a distance but still get some great photos. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE ON EARTH

Our Day Today:

06:30 Early morning tea, coffee and pastries are available in the Forward Lounge

07:00 Wake up call

07:30-8:30 Breakfast is served in the Dining Room

09:00 Landing at Mikkelsen Harbour

Mikkelsen Harbour lies on the southern coast of Trinity Island at the northern end of the Palmer Archipelago. The site was discovered by Nordenskjöld on his Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4. The harbour was used by whalers for mooring factory ships and named for Norwegian whaler Captain Klarius Mikkelsen. On the island there is a gentoo penguin colony, an unoccupied hut and a radio mast. 
Lunch is served in the Dining Room

14:00 We hope to do a Zodiac cruise at Cierva Cove. . 

Cierva Cove lies on the south side of Cape Herschel, within Hughes Bay. It is named after Juan de la Cierva, the inventor of the autogiro (the precursor to the helicopter, first flown in 1923). This site is known for its collection of stunning icebergs and abundance of leopard seals. It is also home to Primavera, an Argentine summer research station. 

16:00-17:00 Afternoon tea is served in the Forward Lounge 

18:45 Please join Expedition Staff in the Forward Lounge for a re-cap and briefing 

19:30 Dinner will be served in the Dining Room 
After Dinner Join us in the Clipper Club Lounge for drinks and beautiful scenery as we sail down to the Arctowski Peninsula  For those wanting to watch a Movie in their Cabins, tune-in to  vertical-align: baseline;">Channel 9 of your in-cabin televisions to watch the comedy Juno, starting at 9:30
Are we on a schedule or what? Always too tired for the movie at night. Or we spend the time reading or talking.
Enjoy
the Photos!