Signs of human life!

Today we visited the British base, Port Lockeroy. Here they had a museum that basically consisted of three restored rooms set up to look like the originals.  They also had a gift shop and a postman!  I was able to send a few postcards home but apparently they can take 3-6 months so I do not expect them to reach anyone too soon.  The mail goes from Port Lockeroy to Argentina to the UK and is then entered into the Royal mail service.  The base currently has four inhabitants and also has a large colony of Gentoo penguins living underneath and around the base buildings.  The port’s penguin colony had two chicks that hatched while we were there! We were able to learn a lot about the original settlers and also the timeline of inhabitants at the British base.

It was really windy today so the zodiac rides were fun but a little more perilous than before.  After exploring the base, we hopped in a zodiac that brought us around the corner to another penguin colony on Jougla Point.  This colony of Gentoos was very special because there were blue-eyed shag nests sprinkled in with the penguin nests.   The shag nests were made mostly from feathers, sticks and softer grass while the penguin nests are made of little stones.  You can occasionally see a penguin steal stones from another penguin's nest and get away with it.

If you walked in the other direction you came across….wait for it…a Wedell seal!  I had been waiting for us to see a seal but they’ve all been so far in the distance.  This one was no more than 10 yards from us.  The seal was undisturbed by the people that kept walking back and forth to the side of him (or her).  I really had no idea how fat seals could be but this one was HUGE.  Finally, we unfortunately saw a dead penguin that was getting scavenged by a shag.  The naturalist explained that the penguin could have died from injury infection, old age, or more likely, a disease.  In addition, there were whale bones on the shore within the penguin colony.

I also stood in the bridge for awhile.  The bridge is where the captain or first-mate steers the ship. You have to be silent and sit in a specific area as to not disturb the crew.  It is incredible how they maneuver the ship through narrow passages and around icebergs of all different sizes.  So far this has been an incredible experience.  I am truly speechless when I take a walk around the upper decks with tea warming my frozen hands.  I am so lucky to have been able to have this experience and have never felt so utterly grateful that I ended up doing this.  I really understand how people fall in love with this place and keep coming back.