Port Lockroy...it's finally cold

Wiencke Island - Port Lockroy; Jougla Point.

Well, I think I've now experienced the Antarctic cold. Yesterday I was lucky as we sailed throught the Weddell Sea in blue skies and a sun above. Today was windy, cold, wet, and pretty miserable. In the afternoon we were offered an excursion to Jougla Point and/or Port Lockroy. Most people opted for only the latter...stupid people, like me, went for both.

I went to Jougla point to see a gentoo rookery, but moreover to see Whale Bones and the Blue Eyed Shag. The Blue Eyed Shags were graceful, but due to awful visibility, wind which almost blew me off my feet, and horizontal hail, I wasn't quite able to see the blue around their eyes. After seeing the birds and more penguins, I walked back to the shore, and then alongside the shore so as not to disturb the molting penguins. Penguins molt for about 3-4 weeks, where they don't go to sea, but literally sit there shivering as they get new feathers. It doesn't look like fun. The smart ones seem to have chosen locations to stand where they are shielded from the wind. If you disturb them, it can set back their molt, which sets back their departure to the sea and can mean they don't make it. So I walked along the shoreline, which was full of ice.

I got to see the two giant whale bones. The bones were found on the island, but have been rearranged to look like what they once looked like inside a whale. I can't describe just how wet and cold it was. My pictures are relatively blurry since my lens was covered with drops. But I'm hoping some of the pictures came out ok.

After Jougla Point I took a zodiac to Port Lockroy to look at the Bransfield House, which is a pretty cool museum that shows how the early explorers and scientists lived. The house is intact and has some neat things, like an old grammaphone. Port Lockroy was, and continues to operate, as a British base on Antarctica. It has the best giftshop and I bought an Antarctic Tartan scarf. Take that burberry.

As an aside, the seas are pretty rough and you can see the wind sweeping across the water and the katabatics creating surges.