We had a Zodiac ride with Aaron around Foyn Harbor at Enterprise Island. We toured through lots of blue icebergs, which I never tire of because each is such a sculpture. While the film crew was positioning themselves to film the scientists who were laying small cameras on the ocean floor (using a special mackerel concoction to bait small rockfish), we found two lone penguins on a snow-covered bluff. As we neared, I had my binoculars up. They weren’t Gentoos! They were something else. I watched and watched until I was sure. They were Chinstrap penguins! Hooray!! We stuck around watching them watch us. They were very interested and came close to the edge, making all sorts of poses, so we got some very cute pictures. It’s wonderful to see a different species!
Next, we zoomed off to see shipwreck #1 a water tug for whalers, rusted out and run ashore in an artistic fashion. Above it was a rock outcropping with Skuas and a nest, so they dive-bombed us a bit. Next, we zoomed off to see shipwreck #2, The Guvernoren, a factory ship for whalers dating back to 1915 when it had been full of whale oil and caught fire after a drinking and dancing party. Apparently, a lantern fell over during the festivities and ignited all the stored oil. The crew steered the ship to shore and all escaped to be rescued by another whaler. Compared to our vessel, this one seemed to offer very few amenities, we think.
On the point, we saw blue-eyed shags, then sped back to the Octantis.
An hour later, we boarded the SOV, looked at one iceberg with a hole just right for framing photos, then sped at top speed, viewed a “logging” or sleeping humpback, then back to the ship to do a formation for the film crew aboard. When all the zodiacs and the two SOVs (think Jungle Cruise-type vessels) were assembled, we followed directions and sped away, leaving a beautiful wake behind us. Then the SOVs peeled off in formation and rounded the ship from bow to stern where we were rolled aboard via rotary machinery to the Octantis.
The rest of the day was a peaceful mix of lectures and lounging. Lovely day.
