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At about 9:00p the ship stopped and Susan announced we were at our first
landing point. Could have fooled me -- it was still completely foggy.
We geared up and boarded our Zodiacs, putting our trust in the crew
that there really was land just beyond the fog over 7000 miles from home
in the middle of the ocean. Our Zodiac driver motored off armed with
a walkie-talkie and a GPS. The ship slowly disappeared and Aitcho Island
slowly appeared.
What an incomparable sight as we landed!! Hundreds of penguins squawking
away, going about their little penguin business. All sorts of activity
you could never see in a zoo -- adults tending to babies; penguins going
in and out of the sea; juveniles chasing each other; an adult taking a
breath so deep you can see its chest expand, pointing its beak towards
the sky, and letting loose a huge lunch-whistle call for unknown reasons;
penguins rearranging the rocks; adults chasing off the skuas....
The island was small and saddle-shaped. We quickly climbed to the top
of the saddle and found three elephant seals. At the top. The other
side of the island looked pretty much like the way we came up. There was
moss growing everywhere, no ice or snow. The fog produced very annoying
and somewhat alarming condensation on my camera lenses. I thought I'd
save the film for when I could get a clear shot.
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