Following our swift crossing of a placid Drake Passage, the Caledonian Star made landfall today in the South Shetland Islands just after lunch. This string of islands was the site of extensive sealing operations in the 1820's that effectively wiped out the fur seal population in only a few years.
Although conditions were less than ideal, we made our first Antarctic landing among a small grouping of islands known as the Aitcho Islands, which are hidden among the larger islands of the archipelago. Here we met our first penguins -- a raucous collection of Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins and their teenage chicks. It was magical to sit quietly and observe their comical antics.
Wind and rain made for challenging conditions for our first Antarctic photo experience. But the subject matter was endless, and many pictures were made. We even saw a few solitary fear seals, which only in the last few decades have begun to recover here.
One of the highlights ashore were several large groups of elephant seals wallowing on the beach. These impressive marine mammals reach 3 tons in weight and appear awkward on land. As today's photo shows, these animals seemed very tolerant of our presence and only lazy gazed at us, then continued sleeping
