Antarctica, Petermann Island
Day 7, landing 1; Petermann Island
At 6.00 on Christmas morning we landed on Petermann Island to see nesting Adélies and blue-eyed shags. Both groups were feeding chicks; quite amazing to watch although a little quease-making at times. In the quest for food one shag youngster succeeded in getting his head much further down the parent's throat than I would have believed possible.
After the playful gentoos and gravely photogenic chinstraps, the Adélie penguins seemed comically dignified, like funny little men startled to find themselves out swimming in their best dinner suits, but determined to put a good face on it. I think Apsley Cherry-Garrard summed up Adélie development beautifully in The Worst Journey in the World:
"...the chicks grow quickly from pretty grey atoms of down to black lumps of stomach topped by a small and quite inadequate head."
We could see icebergs of all sizes drifting at quite a rate past the island and by the time we got back into the zodiacs it was a struggle to find a path back to the ship. The zodiac drivers seemed to enjoy the challenge though and we didn't mind in the least as the slow progress allowed us plenty of time up close with the seals on the way.
Day 7, landing 2; Jougla Point
After breakfast we stood out on deck for a while, watching the passage of the Lemaire Channel in the opposite direction, then made a landing on Jougla Point.
The weather was still rather breezy and cold as we scrambled uphill over slippery rocks to see gentoo penguins and seals, both of which continued to behave as though it was the middle of summer, lying in complete comfort on the ice or taking a refreshing swim. The water was perfectly clear and we could see gentoos moving at amazing speed in the shallows, their lightning changes of direction like a film in fast forward. Also floating in the water here - Kor's glove, which Rolf duly rescued - the only piece of modern human debris I saw on the whole journey. The completely litter-free aspect of the Antarctic was so appropriate as to seem natural until something suddenly brought it to our attention - like at Whaler's Bay where I found an old piece of bottle glass, provoking the discussion "rubbish or history"!
