Antarctica 2-11-22
In the morning we took the zodiacs to Wiencke Island in Dorian Bay. 
Farther up was the British “Damoy Hut”.
Above is type of plane that landed there.
This vat was to put snow in for their water.
Above were the bunks…. Not very comfy looking!
Gentoo penguins are the 3rd largest penguins. They have orange-red bills and white caps that extend from eye to eye over the top of their heads.
Here we found a few sitting on nests even though it is too late in the year for hatchlings to survive.
While we were on the Island it started to snow.
Martin, the expeditions ornithologist, said they spread their wings to cool off.
Martin took this cheesy picture of me! :)
This is a brown Skua. They are one of Antarctica’s top avian predators. There are 2 types of skuas in Antarctica: brown skuas and south polar skua. They are mean, aggressive protectors of their nests as I found out on one of my climbs when I accidentally ventured off the flagged route. This brown skua came screeching and dive bombing me. Luckily I had my hiking sticks to wave above my head to ward this crazy bird off until I could get back on track.
Silverseas Explorer from Island.
In the afternoon we took zodiacs out exploring got to encounter this yawning male leopard seal.
Also more amazing icebergs
Pyramid iceberg!
Martin, who’s zodiac I was on this afternoon, pick up another beautiful chunk of ice. These crystal like ice appear black when in the water. They are very old chunks of ice with no air bubbles.
First thing to see was this small Argentinian hut:
Farther up was the British “Damoy Hut”.
The Hut was established to support the airstrip on Damoy Point.
Above is type of plane that landed there.
This airstrip was pretty haphazard with a very small area to land between mountains- not to mention the glaciers. I asked our historian, Peter, if there were crashes recorded. He said there were no plane fatalities recorded but sure there were mishaps. There was one fatality on the glacier by the air strip. Independent travelers sailed here and went on this landing site to ski. One of the skiers on the glacier fell into a crevasse.
Below are pictures inside the hut:
This vat was to put snow in for their water.
The hut had no heat!
Above were the bunks…. Not very comfy looking!
This island had a colony of Gentoo Penguins
Gentoo penguins are the 3rd largest penguins. They have orange-red bills and white caps that extend from eye to eye over the top of their heads.
Here we found a few sitting on nests even though it is too late in the year for hatchlings to survive.
While we were on the Island it started to snow.
Martin, the expeditions ornithologist, said they spread their wings to cool off.
Martin took this cheesy picture of me! :)
This is a brown Skua. They are one of Antarctica’s top avian predators. There are 2 types of skuas in Antarctica: brown skuas and south polar skua. They are mean, aggressive protectors of their nests as I found out on one of my climbs when I accidentally ventured off the flagged route. This brown skua came screeching and dive bombing me. Luckily I had my hiking sticks to wave above my head to ward this crazy bird off until I could get back on track.
Silverseas Explorer from Island.
In the afternoon we took zodiacs out exploring got to encounter this yawning male leopard seal.
Also more amazing icebergs
Pyramid iceberg!Martin, who’s zodiac I was on this afternoon, pick up another beautiful chunk of ice. These crystal like ice appear black when in the water. They are very old chunks of ice with no air bubbles.
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