We had two zodiac cruises today, so between getting all the gear on (twice), getting it off again (twice), and necessary refueling in the dining room, there was very little time to do more than a cursory scan of my pictures and start getting ready for tomorrow.
I woke an hour early, because my phone swtched itself to South Georgia time, and the ship is staying on Chile time for the duration of the cruise, but when I saw the blue skies and beautiful mountains outside, I wasn't tempted to go back to sleep. We were supposed to go ashore this morning, but the scouting crew found too many dead animals, so we had to stay on the zodiacs.
The biosecurity measures are much more stringent than they were seven years ago—we still had to have our boots and all of our outerwear inspected for potential contaminants, but we are no longer allowed to kneel or crouch or place a bag upon the ground while we are in Antarctica and South Georgia. The reason for the change is the H5N1 avian flu; it's killed large numbers of penguins and other sea birds, and it's also killing seals. So it's not safe to be around any dead animals; we probably would not become infected ourselves but we could inadvertently spread the virus.
The zodiac ride turned out to be so spectacular I don't think anyone minded not landing. The water was calm, making getting into and out of the zodiacs much easier than usual, and despite the large iceberg in the middle of the harbor it was warm enough to shed our hats and gloves.
There were so many seals you could hear them from the ship, but also more king penguins and other sea birds. I occasionally closed my eyes, just wanting to savor the moment, but then had to open them again immediately because some nearby animal was doing something cute.
I woke an hour early, because my phone swtched itself to South Georgia time, and the ship is staying on Chile time for the duration of the cruise, but when I saw the blue skies and beautiful mountains outside, I wasn't tempted to go back to sleep. We were supposed to go ashore this morning, but the scouting crew found too many dead animals, so we had to stay on the zodiacs.
The biosecurity measures are much more stringent than they were seven years ago—we still had to have our boots and all of our outerwear inspected for potential contaminants, but we are no longer allowed to kneel or crouch or place a bag upon the ground while we are in Antarctica and South Georgia. The reason for the change is the H5N1 avian flu; it's killed large numbers of penguins and other sea birds, and it's also killing seals. So it's not safe to be around any dead animals; we probably would not become infected ourselves but we could inadvertently spread the virus.
The zodiac ride turned out to be so spectacular I don't think anyone minded not landing. The water was calm, making getting into and out of the zodiacs much easier than usual, and despite the large iceberg in the middle of the harbor it was warm enough to shed our hats and gloves.
There were so many seals you could hear them from the ship, but also more king penguins and other sea birds. I occasionally closed my eyes, just wanting to savor the moment, but then had to open them again immediately because some nearby animal was doing something cute.
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