Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica departed from Ushuaia,
Argentina under fair skies aboard Professor Multanovskiy. This unique
voyage has been planned for nearly 3 years in collaboration with
Oceanwide Expeditions, winner of the 2009 Polar Expeditions Award. We
sailed with 49 birders, 6 Shearwater Journeys' staff, our Expedition
Staff and 20 excellent Russian Crew. Excitement was very high, indeed!
7 January, we spent the day at sea en route to the Falkland Islands.
Conditions were quite excellent, as we were escorted by hoards of
albatrosses, prions, storm-petrels, giant petrels and more. Both
Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses were a highlight for many on
board. These were eclipsed by Sei Whales and Peale's Dolphins in the
early evening.
8 January, found us approaching Carcass Island in the early morning. Our
ship was escorted by a bevy of Peale's and Commerson's Dolphins. At our
landing site, we found many species of birds: Striated Caracara, Cobb's
Wren, Tussac Birds, Magellanic Penguins, Gentoo Penguins and more! For
me, personally, a hightlight of the day was having the Captain as the
Zodiac driver!
After a wonderful lunch, we proceeded to our hopeful landing at Steeple
Jason. This is a very difficult landing, and few are successful. Our
extremely skillful Expediton Leader, managed to find a spot in amongst
the rocks, where every passenger was able to make a safe landing on this
glorious island. Steeple Jason holds the world's largest colony of
nesting albatrosses. We were thrilled to see so many Black-footed
Albatross chicks in their nests. Both islands provided a beautiful
hike with outstanding scenery. It was sunny, balmy and even hot, near
70F. At 8 pm, we returned to our cozy home and enjoyed another one of
Marcelo's excellent dinners. We had executed our "bold, daring and
naughty" plan quite successfully. Spirits are extremely high.
Albatrosses forever,
Debra Shearwater, on board Professor Multanovskiy
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