Cruising the Antarctic waters
Spotted
my first “truly” Antarctic iceberg at 4:00 am this morning; a
tabular iceberg, somewhat rectangular in shape, formed when a chunk
of ice breaks off from an ice shelf. (This is in contrast to icebergs
formed when pieces of glacier break away.) We are headed to Half Moon
Island, home to thousands of chinstrap penguins, so named because
they have a black line under their chins that resembles the strap of
a cap. The crescent-shaped island is 1.2 miles long and, from its
southern end, we'll get a good view of the mountains of nearby
Livingston Island plus a close-up view of the wildlife-South Polar
Skuas, Antarctic Terns, Kelp Gulls, Black-bellied Storm Petrels and
Cape Petrels (to name a few.)
Later
on...
How
to describe the majestic beauty of Antarctica? A place pristine,
unspoiled, graciously beckoning and forbidding at the same time, a
showcase of white snow never touched by a human hand, a plethora of
wildlife who have lived and died on this very cold and windy
continent since the beginning of time...
Half moon Island
Walking
amongst the Chinstrap penguins this afternoon was absolute joy; just
no other way to describe it...
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