Amphibious Mindy (Updated with Pix and Video)

From Mindy, dated 30 December:

Suiting up (click to enlarge)

Zodiac (click to enlarge)

 Our first beach landing is today on Sea Lion Island, a small island on the southeast corner of the Falkland Islands.  Aside from the obvious sea lions, the island is home to many different birds, low-lying vegetation, elephant seals, and several species of penguin.  But first, we train on zodiacs.  Our zodiacs seat 10 people plus the driver. We wear life vests that self-inflate if immersed in water (a CO2 cartridge). They are quite comfortable!  Our gear goes in a dry-bag (same as what rafters use), and we wear full rain gear and muck boots for the wet landing.

Gentoo Penguins (click to enlarge)

Elephant seal pups (click to enlarge)

We landed on a sandy beach with a few elephant seals several hundred meters down shore and a gentoo penguin colony in sand dunes.  We have strict instructions to follow "recommendation 18-1" and regulations from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) regarding environment and safety, so we stay at least 5m away from animals whenever possible (some animals come close of their own accord, but we can't approach them).  We wash our gear and scrub our boots before leaving the ship and immediately upon return to the ship.

Yes, they even recycle here!
 (click to enlarge)

Sea Lion Island settlement (click to enlarge)

There is a settlement on Sea Lion Island, with a small house, two side workshops, a barn, and a horse stable. Oh yeah, and an airstrip for small planes (because pilots always find the cool places - Ed.)

Snacks at the settlement (click to enlarge)

My friend Darcy enjoying snacks (click to enlarge)

The settlement used to be sheep herding, but now is just limited to a few horses and the woman who runs the house is named Jenny.  You can actually stay on the island for vacation - you fly in from Stanley and stay at the settlement like a bed and breakfast.  There are a couple of vehicles on the island - a Land Rover type vehicle and a truck.  The people in the settlement were very nice, and served us coffee, tea, and cookies courtesy of our expedition leader (Ted Cheeseman).

Flat Permian sandstones
(click to enlarge)

Black soil (click to enlarge)

Horses on the island (click to enlarge)

Island peat (click to enlarge)

The rocks are cool, but not much to see outside of coastal outcrops.  Mostly flat-lying Permian sandstones (this is geology-speak for "ho-hum" - Ed.)  The grasses and plants have covered over the rocks, and the island is fairly flat.
The peat is everywhere, and the soil is very very dark, black, and rich.  I, of course, took pictures of the dirt.

Rockhopper penguins
(click to enlarge)

Falklands Monument
(click to enlarge)

We walked at least 6 miles throughout the day (9am-6pm), and it rained pretty much all day.  First we saw a small group of sea lions, maybe 10 of them.  Next we moved west to a colony of rockhopper penguins (these have the cute yellow and white hair on their head and reminded me of how much my son enjoys the movie Surf's Up).  Near the rockhopper penguins (which actually do hop on rocks, I have video) is a memorial to those who died in battle here in 1982.

Cobb's Wren (click to enlarge)

Magellanic snipe
(click to enlarge)

Kelp goose (click to enlarge)

Other highlights from the day were seeing endemic birds (Cobb's Wren), and several snipe.  I guess my dad was not fibbing so much about their existence when he used to send me snipe hunting (I finally got one, with my camera) (as a former Boy Scout, I refuse to believe in the existence of snipe until I see photographic proof - Ed.)

Pied oystercatcher (click to enlarge)

Lunch with the birds (click to enlarge)

We also spotted pintail ducks, magellanic penguins, king penguins, black-throated finch, Gentoo penguins, kelp goose, upland goose, imperial shag, Falkland steamer duck, magellanic oyster-catcher, sheath bill, and dolphin gull.

Magellanic nest (click to enlarge)

Blue-eyed shags (click to enlarge)

Striated caracara (click to enlarge)

Boy, what a day!  When I got back to the ship my seasick medicine had worn off and I went to bed rather quickly after dinner, but it was a great day!  Next it is 2 days at sea while we travel more than 800 miles to get to South Georgia Island.  We'll celebrate the new year very close to the Antarctic Convergence (also called the Antarctic Polar Front) where the sea temperatures change from about 7 degrees C to about 2 degrees C very abruptly.  During our days at sea we'll catch up on sleep, clean our gear, and have lectures on geology, marine mammals, birds, and even a photography workshop.  On breaks we can wander to the bridge to see our Russian crew in action, or try to spot wandering albatross or dolphins or whales off the bow of the ship.

Stay tuned, I'll write soon!