FI -> South Georgia, 2/27-3/4.

Heading to South Georgia our trusty captain was able to swing the ship past Shag Rocks (another rare sighting). Six small rocks jutting from the middle of nowhere, with hundreds of shags nesting. Very cool...

there's a sixth one in there somewhere

I thought this one looked like a muppet

Saw my first iceberg the morning of the Salisbury Plain landing. And many subsequently - they're everywhere, and some are quite large.

This was our first landing with King penguins and fur/elephant seals. The Kings are majestic indeed, especially with sun shining on their bright orange spots. Very curious too - they would walk right up to you and stop as if to inquire what you were doing.

King penguins a'plenty - about 200,000 of them

my new BFF

as in other places, we were able to get quite close - I'm still not sure if this was a good thing (for their sake)

Fur seals have since grown on me but first encounters were stressful - they will charge (it's a bit reminiscent of a poodle charging a rottweiler, if poodle bites were infectious).

they look really cute, right? sooooo not cute

Elephant seals are appropriately named - watching 2-4 tons of blubber try to make its way up a rock or to the beach is quite entertaining, and when they roar the whole island hears it.

bathtime

South Georgia was a complete 180 from FI sunny landings - snowing/hailing at times, gusty winds, overcast. It was all part of the Antarctic experience though, and I have to say it was my favorite place of the three land masses we visited. Yes, it trumped the actual continent - which was amazing - so be sure to include a trip here if you visit the south.

After Salisbury Plain we visited Fortuna Bay for more Kings but had to postpone the hikes due to inclimate weather. The skies were not much better the next day but hike we did, about 5km from Fortuna over to Stromness on the other side of the mountain ("Shackleton's walk"), and another blizzardy afternoon hike uphill from Maiviken to Grytviken station.

Scenery on both hikes was amazing, awe-inspiring, even emotional at times. Possibly some of the best hiking I will ever do in my life. I can't imagine doing that without waterproofed/fleeced/insulated everything, or while pulling 200lbs of equipment. Those brave and crazy explorers from 100+ years ago constantly amaze.

cold, cold, cold

cold, cold, cold... but absolutely gorgeous

Shackleton's waterfall

light-mantled sooty albatross pair on the Maiviken hike - the "holy grail" of albatross, apparently

The whaling stations were interesting. Just as I cannot imagine hiking in those conditions, working in those conditions was even less desirable.

Stromness station

there, I fixed it! - Grytviken whaling station

We huddled around Shackleton's grave that evening to drink a Tullamore Dew toast to the Boss...

cheers, Boss

The next day we hit Moltke Harbor where a few of us were able to put out the kayaks for a bit under the unusually calm seas and blue, blue skies while everyone else went ashore for photo ops.

Then down to Gold Harbor for more of the same wildlife and a nice walk up to the top of a ridge for beautiful scenery.

sleepy

penguin sundial

Our final stops in SG were Cooper Bay to see Macaroni penguins and more fur seals...

stick a feather in its cap... yeah, lame name

a rare quiet moment

fur seal doing what it does best - scritchin'

... then down to Drygalski Fjord - a stunning glacier. We were able to get within 20m and see a few small calves.

my fjord is one mile wide

We are now in the midst of three sea days but the first stormy day is behind us. I'm sure to get grief for this but way to go, Canadian Olympic hockey team and Sidney! Yes, we get some news down here but most of the crew is Canadian so it's a bit skewed... says the Canadian at heart.