Unexpected Entry to Antarctica

While we were expecting another day at sea, the team notified us in the afternoon that there was a strong chance of making a landing in the South Shetland Islands, which meant a bonus excursion! Sure enough, as we spotted land the crew confirmed that this would be our first opportunity to get off the ship. Excitedly, we made our way to the deck to see the first sightings of Antarctica, which was shrouded in an almost impenetrable mist, only leaving us able to make out the rough, ghostlike outlines of islands in the sea. My partner Nico decided to leave her camera on the ship as visibility looked pretty bad, but still we could not wait to get off the ship and officially set foot on Antarctica! 

Upon landing on Aitcho Island, the first feelings were wonder and amazement as we saw hundreds of penguins mere meters from where the zodiacs were landing, either clumsily running or standing with other members of their colony making insane noises that sounded like a chicken mixed with a dinosaur. To make this first landing even more dreamlike, the landscape was not at all what you would expect from Antarctica, with verdant hills and cliffs that would not look out of place in Ireland being the dominant feature. 

As is often reported about late season trips, the penguins were not at all shy, trying to come right up to you to try and figure out what the heck you are and what are you doing there. In the past this may have meant that travelers were able to get really close to the penguins, even sometimes allowing them to hop up on your lap for a photo op. While this has long been a grey area for folks involved in wildlife preservation, it now has become an “absolute no” with the possibilities of travelers bringing a potentially devastating strain of bird flu to a colony. Because of this risk, all responsible ship operators will spend a fair amount of time educating travelers about the relatively strict protocols that need to be followed around a penguin colony, such as proper hygienic measures, as well as making sure that everyone keeps a distance of at least 5 meters from penguins. Even with these measures in place, you still can get incredibly close to these amazing animals, and if lucky, the chance to spend hours amongst them. We had not even set foot on the continent proper at this point, but already we were feeling that this was well worth the trip.