Tag: Melchior Islands

Day 23 February, 14th

Day 23

Wednesday, February 14th     Valentine’s Day

Cuverville Island, Melchior Islands, Farewell Celebration

We arrived at Cuverville Island which contains the largest gentoo penguin colony in the region.  Cuverville is located in the Errera Channel.  We were able to kayak, the winds and the weather cooperated!  We circumnavigated the island in our kayaks.  We experienced the island from the water level!

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Cuverville Island and Gentoo Penguins!
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You could really smell the penguin guano from water level.
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Just some of the penguins from the water.
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More penguins!
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Penguins and a fur seal from one side of the island.

As we paddled the backside of the island we saw humpback whales!  They didn’t come close enough for a picture.  We don’t have many pictures from paddling because our water camera had quit working and our point and shoot is long gone so the only photos we took are from our phone and we didn’t want to lose them!  After our morning paddling experience was finished, we did have time to take a zodiac to the island and explore on our own!

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“You can’t catch me!”
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Coming back from feeding.
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Look at all that guano and of course the gentoo penguins! 🙂
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Love the backdrop for the gentoos!
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A smaller penguin highway. The snow is almost gone from this part of the island!
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“We’re starting to get our adult feathers!”
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A nosy penguin!
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A pair of penguins coming close to the camera.
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“I’ll just lay here ’til this molting phase is over!”
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Gentoo chick wandering close by.
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“What are you looking at?”

After all of us were back on the ship, the anchor was raised and we headed to the Melchior Islands.  Such beauty surrounds us as we cruise to our next stop!

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This was the board near the dining room that we checked daily for kayaking announcements!

We had lunch and this was going to be our last time to paddle!

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our kayak gear!
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These papers were hanging on our announcement board for us to mark if we were going to paddle when it was offered. On this particular kayak destination we didn’t get to paddle because of the wind! 🙁
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Our kayak assignment board.

At the Melchior Islands we were able to paddle around the Dallmann Bay while the rest of the passengers were on a zodiac tour.  We were glad that we got to paddle here.  The base pictures that you see below are of the Argentinian Base Melchior.  It is a summer base that is rarely occupied but today the Argentinian flag is flying and the base is occupied!

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Melchior Base which is owned by Argentina.

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Below is the area where we paddled.IMG_2570IMG_2573IMG_2577

Below are some of the photos we took with our phones.  It was a beautiful afternoon for our last paddle.

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These icebergs were very blue!

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What a backdrop for the Ocean Adventurer!
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“I need longer arms”! Our attempt at a selfie! 😉

How lucky we were to paddle with such a great group of people.  A big thank you to our kayak guides: Todd, on the far left, and Tara, on the far right!

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After returning from kayaking and the last of the zodiacs returned, we had a farewell toast to Antarctica on deck 5 aft.

The kayaks are placed on zodiacs.
Then they are hooked to a motorized lift that brings them to the ship.
Whoops, one kayak fell off the zodiac!

Champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served and Ali gave a toast.

Ali, our expedition leader!
Cheers to our Antarctic adventures. We made it!

After the farewell to Antarctica toast, our ship entered the Drake Passage!  The ship began swaying.  Many passengers did not feel well again.  Those of us at dinner enjoyed a Valentine’s Day themed meal and the dining room was decorated too.

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The dining room is decorated for Valentine’s Day!

Tonight’s activity was the Expedition Team hosting a charity auction!