So have been at sea for several days since we could not get into Ushuia. Every day has been overcast, drizzly, with snow or hail or a combo of all of them. Winds have been picking up and been pretty steady. It is difficult to get outdoors as wind pushes the door closed and you have to be careful not to get squished when it slams shut. Then getting it back open is another matter. Anyway, despite that have still seen many icebergs along the way, some fur seals, dolphins, and a variety of birds.
Today we arrived in Pt. Stanley, and the winds & waves are still very high, but it has been decided that we will try to get the tenders out and get across to land so we can do our shore excursions. It is about 20 -25 minutes by tender to get there.
Phil's excursion left very early, at 7am. He is going to Bluff Cove where there is a colony of Gentoo Penguins and also s few king penguins and visiting Magellans. His tour takes about 3 hours, so the plan is for him to to be back on board for lunch. He plans to walk around the town a bit before returning. I am going to see the Rockhopper penguins, on a 4 hour tour, and only leave at 8.30.
So, this is what really happened.....
Everything was delayed due to the high winds and rough seas. They had trouble lowering the tenders, and at one point there was a rumour that we would not be able to go ashore at all. But then the first set of tenders went out. Phil said it was a wild ride, as I found out when I went. the tender bounced around like a piece of popcorn - water splashed up the sides, and over the roof, leaking in everywhere. I had to put on my raincoat - inside the tender! They could have sold this as a thrill ride - it was like a roller coaster only wilder. We docked successfully, but the tender after us was the last one, and then they all stopped for several hours. There was some concern that we might end up on the island overnight if the tenders could not come back to pick us all up - which apparently has happened once before! As it turned out, we had a delay of about 3 hours but we did manage to get back on board the ship. Whew! Of course, now we are delayed at the other end, so the captain has to go full speed or more with the wind & waves pushing the boat, and even then we are expecting a delay of about 2 1/2 hours arriving to Buenos Aeries.
Dad had a great time. He rode in a 4x4 jeep with 3 other people over rough terrain & got all shaken up. His driver seemed to go out of his way to pick the longest and most challenging route to get them there and back. At the cove, he saw 3 pairs of King penguins. They were very beautiful but just stood there with the fluffy babies on their feet, so they were not very exciting at all. The Gentoos ran around, acting like Dad had expected a penguin to be. There was a little cafe called the 'Sea Cabbage Cafe' and they had free cookies and hot drinks and a very nice toilet next to the museum, which was just a tiny one room affair. (Dad says to tell you he didn't have anything!) It was windy and even hailed and rained, and the waves on the beach were crashing down in huge rollers. Dad was very impressed that the little penguins could survive in these harsh conditions, and that they braved the waves like little soldiers. Penguins are Dad's new heroes.
Back at the pier, Dad went to the local hardware / lumber store and got some scrap wood that will be used to build the boat they are working on for the contest on the ship. Dad got back to the pier just in time to catch the 2nd to last tender back to the ship before they stopped. My tour was later coming back, so when I got back there were no tenders running and we were told to just grab some food from the local pub and take a walk around town, go to the shops etc. for about 2 hours. But that comes later.... When Dad got back on board, he had lunch and then had a rest.
My trip was fabulous also. First we had a ride in a 12 person bus, then we arrived at a private farm at which we switched to 4x4 jeeps (4 people each) to ride over the terrain for about 30 minutes. We arrived at the top of the cliffs and there were the Rockhoppers. They are crazy!!! They are very busy, and they are thieves! The young penguins were there all alone as the parents had gone off to fish. They were practicing nest building very earnestly - but when one's back was turned, another would sneak up and boldly snitch a rock or twig from the nest and then run off and put it on theirs. They did this over and over. They really hop, too! It was very windy up there on the cliff, and then it started to rain and hail. It hailed twice!!! I spent the entire time outside, for 2 hours. There was also a spot lower down the cliff where there was a shallow pool of water and they would hop down the cliff to that spot and then frolic in the water. This is how they learned to swim. Then some would stand on the edge of the cliff and look down into the sea as if to say "Should I jump or not?". I watched one stand there for a long time, and in the end he turned around. I did not see any jump off while i was there. I would attach a video, but it is too large, so you will have to wait until we get back. It is very funny.
We had a little shack up there that had hot drinks and cookies, and a porta- potties, but I never went in. On the way back we stopped several times to look at the interesting rock formations and plants. There are no trees on the island, but there are a few small bushes that resemble blueberries. The plant is called the 'Diddle Dee' and they make jam out of the red berries (which are very sour). One of the most interesting things were the peat bogs all over, and there were sections, mostly rounded in shape called peat hollows, where the peat had been blown or washed away and you could see the clay soil and rocks underneath. apparently these are usually filled with water, but it has been dry out and they have dried up. There were also lots of rock formations, mountain outcrops, one of the most interesting were long rows of rock called rock runs, which are believed to be left behind from glaciers. From a distance, they almost seemed to be patterned and you had to wonder why..... alien writing perhaps??? You could see lots of grass, called white grass, but apparently it is not very nutritious, so it takes a lot more land to raise the sheep there.
The tenders had been suspended when 'my jeep' got back to the pier to drop off the 4 of us, so I walked around taking pictures of the town. I also bought some 'Diidle-Dee' jam, so you will be able to taste it when we get back and you come over one Sunday. When the tenders resumed, about 2 1/2 hours later, it was not as wild a ride back because we weren't heading into the waves, but it was still rough out and there was splashing. Got back on board between 4 & 4:30, so just had time to clean up for supper at 5:30. Not much doing that night. Lots of waves & windy. We were delayed 3 hours and are trying to make up time as much as possible, but we do expect to be delayed arriving now.
That's it for now... more tomorrow.
Sleep tight.
Love Mom & Dad
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