8:30am We were invited up to the bridge to watch the Captain navigate through Neptune's Bellows a narrow passage - 1800 feet wide - and very treacherous with rocks under the surface of the water. We were told to maintain silence as there were to no distractions for the Captain and crew as we entered the flooded caldera.
Landed on the beach at Deception and a young man from Arizona took a polar plunge - a quick one.
This former whaling station put us all in a somber mood when we contemplated the huge tanks which were used for storing the whale oil. A black mud beach and very windy.
Livingston Island. We went ashore in the afternoon and saw Chinstrap penguins for the first time. THere were a few Macaroni Penguins amidst the Chinstraps.
A major highlight for m was the following stop at Hannah's point where we saw a large group of belching, farting Elephant seals. They seemed to be quite happy wallowing around in stuff that had until recently been inside them. These were 2-3 years olds who come ashore to moult.
We sa Giant Petrels - great white, snowy birds as large as geese. We watched having a bath close to shore preening and grooming h/herself.
We saw a skua feasting tearing it apart really - on a baby chick. These predatory birds cruise around the penguin colonies waiting to pick of chicks.
We saw a few Fur Seals and a Weddell seal who was simply to lazy to move away when we approached - in faat h/she yawned the closer we approached.
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