Penguin Island

Volcano crater
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And out the round window this morning, Penguin Island.  We sailed through the night, in blissfully calm waters, and were anchored before breakfast.  Peering out my porthole I saw an island of red rock, dominated by a volcano.  A wee iceberg floated past, with a couple of penguins balanced on top, taking a joyride.

Mmmmmm, breakfast.  After 2 mornings suffering from the 'Drake Shake', I stocked up on fuel for the morning.  We weren't going ashore until the afternoon, but hell, stock up anyway!  We spent the morning watching a documentary of Shackleton's voyage, and then out on deck watching the wildlife.

Dining with the Captain

On Penguin Island volcano
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Our shore call was set for 12:30, so after a quick lunch we were ready. The sea here was rougher than yesterday, so the zodiacs were more of a challenge to get into.  As I teetered on the edge of the pontoon, trying to time my leap into the boat to coincide with when it bounced up towards me, Jerome delighted in reminding us we'd actually paid to do this. Yeah, thanks for that.

From the shore the volcano seemed awfully steep. Not being accustomed to walking in 5 layers of clothing and wellies, it didn't seem like a terribly good idea. But how often do you get to walk up a volcano?  In Antarctica?  Once we were out of the wind and tramping uphill, the day felt positively barmy (as did we).  Gradually hats, gloves and scarves came off and coats were undone.  Near the top the incline became steeper, with loose scree underfoot, so we scrambled, as best we could in our restrictive layers and boots, to the top.  But peering into the red crater of the volcano, the effort was worth it.  And we were greeted by a cold cross-wind.  After hasty congratulations, pictures of the summit, we plunged back down in record time to slightly warmer climes.

Penguins and bull seal
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The beach was full of very fat penguins.  Having come out of the sea from feeding, they looked as if they had simply fallen over when they couldn't waddle any further! Aaaaah, cute.  Lots of cuddly looking seals.  Aaaaah, cute.  One huge bull seal.  Ummmm, well you couldn't call him cute, but sure his mother loves him.

Soup and mulled wine awaited our return.  A welcome dose of central heating after the cold journey back across the water!  No sooner were we back on board, the ship set sail.  We're heading South.

Joyriding penguin
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An evening lecture, where we are supposed to recount all the wildlife we've seen thus far.  Emm, penguins, seals and ,errrrr, some other birdies.  Clearly I'm spending too much time at the back of the class, not paying attention.  Mind you, come the end of the trip I'd be an expert on penguins, and know my Wilson's Storm Petrels from my shags (stop giggling at the back) from my albatrosses.

Later. Oooh, get me - I've got an invitation to dine with the Captain!! Only thing is, I'm not sure I want to.  Why me?  Dinner is something of a raucous affair - or maybe it's just the people I sit with (or maybe it's me!) - and frankly I'd rather spend the evening enjoying myself.  But does one turn down the Captain?  What do you wear - this being an expedition I don't exactly have a posh frock with me. So I don a clean pair of jeans and a low-cut t-shirt, that'll do.  Reluctantly watched everyone else wandering off to dinner chatting and laughing while I waited at Reception waiting for my 'dinner date'.  I feel a dull evening of stilted conversation coming on...... followed by a lynching from my fellow passengers for being the one to get the invitation.

Oh how wrong can a girl be?  I got to spend the evening with the Captain, 3 other crew members, and the expedition team.  I could almost feel the eyes of the other single ladies burning holes in my back....... heeheehee. It was a wonerful insight into the planning of an expedition.  With ice conditions bad in the strait, all ships were needing to amend their plans in order to avoid converging on the same locations at the same time.  Dinner was spent revising the ship's plans, and to my delight, my opinion was sought as much as anyone else's.  I felt honoured to be taking part, and had an absolute ball that evening. And I didn't get beaten up behind the bikesheds afterwards.

To round the evening off, this intrepid explorer pulled warm layers back on and headed outside to watch the Antarctic twilight. It was cold and grey, and grey and cold, but wonderfully peaceful.  Presumably the peace was owing to the greyness and coldness - the ships bar was probably a more attractive option; but I haven't travelled all this way to sit in a bar. Hell, I can look at the ice in a gin and tonic anytime!