12/25/16
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
This trip is my birthday gift to myself and it is PRICELESS!
While we slept quite comfortably, our ship sailed halfway across Tierra del Fuego, through the Admiralty sound (Seno Almirantazgo). After breakfast we had our first Zodiac excursion to Ainsworth Bay, where, under the fantastic Mauricio, we hiked through the different terrains and ecosystems to learn about the flora and fauna. Throughout the hike we saw incredible views of the fjord and Darwin Mountains, while our ship was moored near the 120-foot high Marinelli Glacier.
The Stella Australis - our home for the next 4 days.
Marge, Laurie, Pamela and Sandy - ready for our first excursion.
The Zodiac prepares to land for the first excursion.
Al, Lynne, Connie, Shelley and BA are ready to rock.
Every time we land, the life jackets are left in 3 separate piles - medium, large and XL.
Off we go to explore the fauna and flora of Ainsworth Bay.
Mauricio, excursion team leader shows us some
rhododendron in the forest.
We listen in silence to the dripping water near some peat bogs.
The Marinelli Glacier in all its amazing beauty!
On the way back to the ship - Marge, Vicki, Brian, Al and Laurie.
Marge and her dream man (complete with joystick)💕
When we returned to our starting point, we picked up our life jackets and warmed up with some hot chocolate spiked with whiskey. I am not a whiskey drinker so I asked for just a splash. Needless to say there must have been a miscommunication and I received a generous pour - which, good or bad, I enjoyed immensely (and it really warmed my body). So, back into the Zodiacs and the ship for another feeding - which included spaghetti carbonara, my all-time favorite. I was in heaven and didn't even need my dinner.
After lunch we headed out once again by Zodiac - this time to the Tucker Islets - to get a close-up view of the Magellan penguins. More than 4,000 penguins use Tucker as a place to nest, give birth and nurture their chicks. Among the many other bird species that frequent the area are king cormorants, oyster catchers, Chilean skuas, kelp geese, dolphin gulls, eagles and the occasional Andean condor.
Lowering the Zodiacs for the afternoon excursion.
Penguins on Tuckers Islets. The young ones have the black band across their chests.
No one would play with this guy.
When we returned to the Australis we were treated to a tour of the bridge with Mauricio. In addition to showing us the electronics, he detailed our itinerary on the large topographic map on the bridge. About 2/3 of the way through his talk an alarm sounded on the radio and we heard that there had been a 7.7 earthquake in Chiloae Island - about 960 miles from our location. Of course there was some concern regarding a resulting tsunami, but thankfully that did not happen.
The day ended with presentation entitled "Glaciology in Patagonia" followed by a delicious dinner - which I didn't even need after my pasta afternoon:)
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