Cuverville Island.
The plan included two landings. The sky was cloudy, there were slight waves at sea and this time it was understandable by the smell from far already that a penguin colony was nearby.
There were only Gentoo penguins there and their grown – up chicks. Fluffy and feathers still not water-resistant.
On firm ground we could spend about an hour.
Then we were offered a choice - whether to go straight back to the ship or to drive an hour between the icebergs. I chose the second option. The weather was cloudy and this time only 3 images here.
This afternoon there was a visit to the post office. The Island of Goudier was discovered in 1904 and the whalers used the port between 1911-1931. During World War II the British military base used the place. (Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tabarin ),and later a scientific research station was established here and used the site up to 1962. The base was renovated in 1996, and now here is a post office and a museum and a souvenir shop.
It was a very wet sailing as the waves were rough and we were told beforehand that there was no way of remaining dry.
As the museum and the post office were not particularly large, then 35 people could go there at a time and the others had the opportunity to make a trip in the rubber boat in the Gulf.
In short we can say that the watertight clothing was for helpful and later water had to be poured out only from the gloves. And the camera had to be kept hidden from water.
At the top and bottom pictures is Leopard Seal, the main enemy of the penguins, a predator who has attacked people as well. Link
I generally do not like to take pictures of these moments, but this is the way of the functioning of the food chain in nature.
This time could not capture the moment of boarding, and the port of Port Locroy meant just a half a meter path between the rocks.
Path from the Port to the Museum.
And Gentoos everyehere. Just as the hens walking in front of the stairs and on the stairs.
A Souvenir shop - post office. Books, maps, postcards - etc. The rest of the rooms were the Museum.
Pantry.
Kitchen.
Guestbook.
Laundry.
The official Antarctic stamps were on sale at the post office. The letters will be sent to the Falkland Islands by boat and from there to London by plane. As the last ship of the season had already left, then the mailed letters and cards would be taken away at the beginning of the next season, which means in November. We'll see. I posted my letters and cards and back to the ship.
Continues
Further southwards ...
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