12/22/2022 A Swell Day

 

There are ocean waves, and then, there are ocean swells.  Kayaking has been cancelled several days because the “swell” was too high.  Today was not a kayaking day, and it was rough even in a Zodiac.  We traveled toward the shore where we saw a chinstrap penguin standing still and looking out at us.  There seemed to be another penguin lying down beside him, perhaps on a nest. He just stood there and let us take a picture.

A little further on we saw 2 or 3 penguins near the edge of the cliff.  There were penguin highways leading to the top of the hill, and we watched a penguin come down and join the others.  In the past, when we saw penguins, it was usually in larger groups, with some on rocks or in the water.

Our next sighting was a group of 3 Weddle Seals enjoying a nap on the snow.  There were also some penguins nearby, but they seemed to know that these seals were no danger.  They do not eat penguins.  One of the seals rolled over and waved to us.

The most interesting part of this cruise was the scenery. The coast line was mainly large rocks.  I will try to add some pictures to show them.

At dinner the sun came out for the first time!  That really made it a “swell” day!