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Cuverville Island
It is Chinese New Year today and the first day of the Year of the Horse. And we had an absolutely amazing day. We woke up to a perfectly clear blue sky and sunshine and we are now officially in Antarctica! We crossed the Bransfield Straight overnight and have reached the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula. We are surrounded by huge mountains covered in enormous glaciers and the waters around us are full of beautiful blue icebergs. No pictures will be able to get even close to capturing the beauty of this scene.
We spent a bit over an hour in the kayak. Afterwards we have another land outing to a Gentoo penguin colony nearby. We are on an island called Cuverville Island. There is a lot of snow here, and we can climb up and slide down the slope at one spot. Some of the penguins nest fairly high above the water, and they seem to have a tough climb up through the snow. They all walk along the same path, so there are well worn penguins trails going up the snow to the rocky patches higher up.
The weather is so nice and warm today, that we have a barbeque lunch on the outside deck. Hamburgers, beers and sunshine in Antarctica - a somewhat unreal experience.
Neko Harbor, Andvord Bay
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There is a Gentoo penguin colony below with lots of cute little chicks. However, while walking through the colony, we also witness a brutal killing, as two skuas manage to snatch one of the chicks. Watching them kill the chick is fairly gruesome, as they keep hacking at its head and eyes while the little chick is still moving and whimpering. It is quite a brutal scene, but the little skua chicks have to eat as well.
After the hike we go on a Zodiac cruise across the bay. We see lots of seals lying on icebergs, and penguins porpoising through the water. (Our goal is try to take a picture of the porpoising action, but they are really fast, and we end up with hundreds of pictures of water and waves, where the penguin had come out half a second ago.)
The Lemaire Channel
After dinner the boat passes through the Lemaire Channel. We all get out on deck again to watch the spectacular scenery as the ship navigates the very narrow passage between steep rock walls on either side.
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