Day 8 : Last landing on the continent

So this is it – the last landing on the continent.  The adventure is beginning to come to an end.  But before we start ending the trip before its actual close, there is one last Zodiac landing to experience – and it’s a good one.  First it was Port Lockroy.  Port Lockroy was a research and exploration station set up by British explorers in the earlier part of the 20^th century.  The main building is comprised of what is now a gift shop, with the rest of the bulding:  the washroom,  kitchen,  sleeping area (pictured below) and a radio communication room, set up as a museum as they were when the explorers were here up to the 1950’s.  In the early days explorers lived here and explored the surrounding area and studied the wildlife.  Now the 4 staff that live here from November to February mainly handle the tourists that come through.  There are only 3 buildings  - the gift shop and museum, a storage facility, and the staff quarters.  They have no internet or running water – so when the ships dock here to bring tourists, the staff gets to go on the ship to have a hot shower and take some fresh supplies.  That happens about every 10 days. And we thought it was the penguins that smelled.

                                             

                                           Port Lockroy - museum

So Port Lockroy is an interesting piece of history to observe.  It made me think – when you visit other parts of the world that have been explored, discovered, surveyed by early explorers, it’s sometimes hard to imagine what it was like for these early explorers because the areas have become so developed since they were here.  Antarctica is not like that.  Not only do the remnants of early exploration life still remain, like the buildings at Deception Island and here at Port Lockroy, but the landscape is pretty much as it was when those early explorers first discovered it.  It really is a wild yet pristine landscape.

                                          Port Lockroy

                        

So yes, we have seen a lot of penguins – and yes, after a while they did become commonplace – but talk about saving the best for last.  Nothing compares to a wild and untamed creature expressing its natural animal curiosity by coming right up to you and poking at your pants or boots with as much as to say, “I haven’t seen you here before.” And that’s exactly what happened to both Sue and I (Push was unfortunately still recovering back on the ship).  A gentoo penguin chick came right up to us and did exactly that.  So the rule again is, don’t approach them, but if they approach you, you’re ok.  And he (she?) was quite the little social butterfly, waddling from Sue to me to a few others who were nearby. Sue is pictured below with her new friend.  It was definitely a special experience.  And then there were the whale bones that someone had reassembled on the beach to make it look like a full size whale.  Apparently they were bones from a number of different whales, but it looked quite real nonetheless.  We spent some time just silently observing the long, horizontal grey clouds as they drifted across the mountains and glaciers and cast a bleak, lonely but beautiful pall over everything. 

                                                    A new friend

Then it was back to the ship where it was lunch and then a good long nap.  Sue went out in the Zodiac to whale watch where they saw a couple Humbacks, but we later learned at the recap talk that these whales were pretty much just traveling and didn’t give any playful demonstrations.  During the recap we voted on a name for a group of seals (as in a “pod” of whales) because there is no collective noun for seals – and we ended up voting for a “squadron” of seals.  Add that one to the dictionary.  Then it was off to dinner.  Now we are beginning to re-enter the dreaded Drake Passage again – so our dinner group was already down by one.  By the end of the soup course, we lost another.  By the entree, another.  Needless the say no one stayed to linger over coffee.  So here we are, getting back on the roller coaster – and here’s where I sign off, pop another Gravol, and.....sweet dreams.  Tomorrow, more Drake – uggh!

Until then....