

In the late afternoon we saw for ourselves how busy these colonies can be. After a difficult passage through the drifting pack ice, our trusty rubber boats delivered us to the shores of Devil Island, so named because the island sports two distinctive peaks that look like horns. The northern shore of this volcanic island is crowded with the nests of over 10,000 pairs of Adelie penguins. Most of the nests contained two small chicks which, because the weather was relatively mild, were not hidden away under the belly of their parents. We were able to watch them being fed, cheeping loudly while waving their open mouths back and forth until their parent took the hint and deposited some krill into their mouths. After a spot of penguin watching the more energetic among us stretched our legs with a hike to the top of one of the island’s horny peaks. The view from the top was magnificent—a blue ocean littered with ice, the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula framing the horizon.
And as if those experiences were not enough for one day, we also squeezed in a kayak excursion near Devil Island. Most of us took the opportunity to explore the area from the serenity of our quiet, inflatable kayaks.
My notes:
Mon Dec 21
-happy birthday uncle Doug
-stretch/yoga while Finn slept in
-bfast while Finn slept in
-past some killer table icebergs including the huge B-15 which is 15 years old. Older than Finn
-Finn finally got up when they announced orcas were spotted. Everyone was on deck to try n get pictures. Stunning scenery in addition to some decent orca sightings
-conditions were glassy so we did a zodiac tour. Shaun drive us up onto a piece of sea ice n we got to walk around n have a snowball fight in 1200 feet of water. Pretty amazing.
-lunch. Kids at kid table while we steamed to Devil Island
-workout then photo presentation. Had to exit after an hour to rest my eyelids. Good power nap. Did laundry. Clothes dry fast!
-big afternoon of checking out penguins on Devil Island then hike to the peak. Rushed down to catch the zodiac to take us to kayak. Pretty fun
-dinner with gals from Hong Kong who were very nice and very impressed w Finns behavior and manners
-cleaned up the cabin and gear from the day and then nice relaxing evening of chess. Tomorrow will b another fun day!
2025-02-09