We arrived in Hercules Bay to another gorgeous morning on South Georgia. Our good weather karma has continued! The first landing was one of three options: the inner landing by the waterfall, the outer landing, or zodiac cruising. At the inner landing, some intrepid folks (but not us) hiked the side of a steep hill right at the beach in an effort to find nesting macaroni penguins. There were a few penguins but lots of fur seals lounging up the entire cliff. There were also macaroni penguins coming in and out of the water amongst the fur seals, and loafing King penguins by the beautiful waterfall.
The outer landing had macaronis on a jetty hanging among the rocks and waves so we were able to get great close-ups. But the zodiac cruising in the morning was probably the best because we got right up next to the rocks and cliffs and saw lots of macaronis in nests, displaying courtship behaviors, loafing about and jumping into and out of the water. Light-mantled sooty albatross were doing synchronized flying, and we also saw kelp gulls, sheathbills, South Georgia shags and skuas. Even the patterns of the kelp washing with the swells was really interesting.
Just after lunch, the second iceberg of the trip was spotted in East Cumberland Bay. The view of the glaciers from the bridge was beautiful – and the mountains peeking from behind the clouds were tantalizing. After making anchor in East Cumberland Bay, we heard a talk from the South Georgia Heritage Trust regarding the rat eradication program currently underway. This important project should help improve the bird populations immensely.
The second landing of the day was at the former whaling station of Grytviken. The landing began at the grave of Ernest Shackleton and the new grave of Frank Wild, who is now buried to the right of Shackleton as he was Shackleton's right hand man. Frank Wild's remains had been buried elsewhere but were returned to South Georgia only two months ago to be placed near his "boss." We raised a toast to both Shackleton and Wild in memory of their incredible journey of survival.
Next we wandered through what remains of the old whaling station, which essentially consists of extremely rusty old whaling station parts, including giant barrels where the oil from the blubber of whales and seals used to be stored. There are a couple of scuttled ships rusting along shore, along with exposed whale bones from days gone by. In addition, we visited the museum which has a new natural history wing and a small gift shop. Finally, we visited the post office where we sent off a few postcards. It turns out that it only costs US $1 to mail a postcard to the US – quite a bargain!
Grytviken is important historically to South Georgia, but the damage that was done to entire species in such a short period of time with absolutely no regard for their ongoing populations is astounding. It's kind of a sad stop along the way.
The evening ended with a barbecue out on deck. We had barbecued pork spareribs, grilled prawns, and chorizo sausage, accompanied by the usual selection of salads and veggies: a simple lettuce salad, a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, corn on the cob, grilled veggies in balsamic, and a cold seafood salad, along with a cheese tray, bread, and free wine, beer and sodas. It was quite a spread!
Tomorrow we set sail for St. Andrews Bay (conditions permitting). We have our fingers crossed for good weather continuing as this bay can be a difficult landing with katabatic winds blowing off the mountains. We'll report back tomorrow!
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