When Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail from London in the
ice-worthy ship “Endurance” he had visions of being the first person to
cross Antarctica from one end to the other. Already beaten by Roald Amundsen in
the quest to be the first to the South Pole, Shackleton was compelled to out do
his rival (they pretty much despised each other) and be the first to traverse
Antarctica. He never made it, but his failure became one of the greatest
stories of success in human history.
On January 24, 1915, while trying to negotiate pack ice in the Weddell Sea, the Endurance became trapped in ice. Shackleton's crew worked diligently to free the ship but their efforts were to no avail. Eventually the shifting ice began to consume the Endurance and she sank in ocean water later measured at 3,000 meters deep. Attempting to rescue themselves, the crew began the arduous task of dragging the ship’s three life boats over miles of treacherous sea ice eventually reaching open water. From there they rowed across the ocean to Elephant Island where all but six of the crew were left behind as Shackleton and 6 crew members set off for a whaling station on South Georgia Island. From Elephant Island the 6 men rowed a 22-foot boat through treacherous waters for more than 800 miles landing on the south shore of South Georgia. From their landing site they climbed over mountains and glaciers for three days before finally reaching the whaling station.
Beaten, bedraggled, and probably tired of a diet of penguin and seal meat, Shackleton and his men set sail in a sea-worthy vessel first to Stanley, Falkland Islands, then to Ushuaia, Argentina, and finally to Punta Arenas, Chile, looking for a ship that would bring them back to Elephant Island to rescue the remaining crew. A Chilean ship the Yelco set sail from Punta Arenas. On August 25, 1916, Shackleton returned to Elephant Island to rescue the remaining crew members. Astonishingly, not a single member of his 28-men team died during the nearly two years they were stranded. More than a century later, Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, was finally found.
Possessing a vague bit of knowledge about Shackleton's voyage, I almost fell out of my chair one night while checking the Norwegian Cruise Line website (www.ncl.com) where I found a cruise leaving Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January 2022, that traveled to Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Elephant Island, and the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). With the exception of the site of the place where the ship sank in the Weddell Sea, and a visit to South Georgia Island, Norwegian’s cruise route mimicked much of the route Shackleton and his men traversed on their heroic endurance test of survival. I had to go on that cruise.
We reserved a balcony stateroom on the Norwegian Star for a January 2022 departure then purchased tickets on American Airlines from Sarasota to Buenos Aires and waited for departure day. However, in 2022 departure day never arrived. At first there was a change in itinerary dropping the Falkland Islands because of port issues. Next was the decision by Norwegian Cruise Line to cancel the cruise because of lingering COVID issues. Our fare for the cruise was refunded but not the money spent on two Business Class seats to Argentina. Instead, we exchanged itineraries and went to the Galapagos Islands in March 2022 and waited to see if Norwegian would offer the cruise again.
Not long after returning from 8 days aboard the bed bug infested Golandrina 1 in the Galapagos, I checked the Norwegian website and learned that they were again offering the opportunity to visit Antarctica. We booked a balcony stateroom, bought roundtrip tickets (again) in Business Class on American Airlines to Buenos Aires, and waited pensively for January 15, 2023 to arrive so we could sail out of Buenos Aires harbor on what will probably be the singular adventure of my lifetime.
The Ship
In October 2015 we sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark on a
14-day transatlantic cruise to Miami aboard the 965 foot long Norwegian Star
cruise ship. Two days out of Copenhagen we encountered the remnants of a
hurricane that produced 40 foot waves as we crossed the North Sea. We slept like babies as the tempest roared
outside. Knowing that about the Star we were relieved to discover that the Star
was the ship used for the Antarctica cruise. In March 2022, we booked a Club
Balcony on the 11th deck then bought our plane tickets to Buenos
Aires. This would be my 23rd trip to South America and 6th
trip to Argentina.
About 3 months before departure but after we had made the final payment on the Club Balcony, I began searching the Norwegian website to see how much fares had changed from when we made the original purchase in March 2022. Imagine my shock and surprise when during one of my daily searches of the website where I discovered that an Aft-facing Penthouse (about 500 square feet) complete with a personal Butler and a Concierge, was $199 more than what we had paid for a balcony. I quickly called Norwegian to ask if the rate was correct and learned that it was $119 more, not $199. We instantly upgraded to a plush penthouse on the stern of the 9th deck. This was a perfect location for continual seabird watching.
We arrived in Buenos Aires after a 10-hour flight from Dallas. A driver for our pre-arranged car from Reservas Quickcar was waiting for us in the arrivals hall. He escorted us to the parking area and then the 45-minute drive to the Marriott on Avenida 9 de Julio in the center of Buenos Aires. Despite Cathy having lifetime Gold status with Marriott, they put us in a room whose view was a blank cement wall. So much for the perks of Marriott loyalty.
On Sunday January 15, another driver from Reservas Quickcar picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the cruise ship port along the Rio De La Plata in Buenos Aires. When we checked in for our stateroom a Norwegian employee escorted us through Argentine immigration and to the bus that took us to the ship. There on entering the Star we were met by another NCL employee who escorted us to the aft-facing penthouse where our luggage was already waiting for us. After settling in and enduring the mandatory emergency briefing, the Star pushed away from the pier at 6:45 p.m., the exact time stated for departure.
The Cruise
Puerto Madryn, Argentina
We arrived in Puerto Madryn a little ahead of schedule on January 18. Imperial Cormorants littered a piling to which the ship was tied off. Here we had a pre-planned shore excursion to Punta Loma to look at Southern Sea Lions then a visit to a paleontological museum to view dinosaur fossils. As we drove off the pier to begin the excursion, I saw a White-headed Steamer Duck foraging in the water off the beach. This was the main reason I was happy the ship stopped in Puerto Madryn. White-headed Steamer Duck is endemic to Chubut Province in Argentina and is found nowhere else.
Our four-hour shore excursion turned into a 6 ½ hour ordeal because of poor planning on the part of the tour operator who failed to tell us that after looking at Southern Sea Lions for 15 minutes we would spend most of the rest of the excursion driving up and down National Highway 3 to and from Trelew and its paleontological museum.
The first indication that you are approaching Trelew, Argentina, is this replica of a Brontosaurus
The tour operator also failed to tell us that 4 bus loads of people off the cruise ship (that’s 160 people) would be crammed into a tiny building with horrific acoustics where a tour guide with a soft voice tried her best to be heard above the din of the 160 cruise passengers. I sat in the lobby and drank a beer until the ordeal ended. I am glad I saw White-headed Steamer Duck so I never have to return to Puerto Madryn.
Punta Arenas, Chile
My first trip to Chile was in July 1999, when I spent 10
days near Santiago, Valparaiso, Concon, and in the Andes east of Santiago where
I scored Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. I
returned to Chile in June 2009 flying first to Puerto Montt and continuing on
to Punta Arenas to visit a National Park and its breeding colony of King
Penguin. When the Norwegian Star sailed
into Punta Arenas harbor, via the Straits of Magellan on January 20, it was
almost like returning home. The morning
began while sitting on the balcony drinking a cup of coffee and seeing a
chocolate colored Albatross with long pointed wings following the ship. It took about 3 seconds to confirm that I was
looking at my lifer Light-mantled Albatross, one of the species I hoped I would
find.
International certification in both Spanish and English proving that we safely crossed the Straits of Magellan
After a day of birding and being a tourist in Punta
Arenas we departed under brilliantly clear blue skies and began our traverse of
the Beagle Channel. The scenery here, at
almost the southern tip of the Andes was spectacular with Mount Fitzroy being
the most memorable feature.
Ushuaia, Argentina
What I enjoy most about Ushuaia is that the mountains surrounding it remind me of the Chugach Mountains above Anchorage Alaska, and I feel like I am back in Anchorage when I am there.
In January 2003, during my fourth trip to Argentina, I
boarded an Aerolineas Argentinas 737 at the domestic airport downtown for the 3
½ hour flight south to the end of the world at Ushuaia, the southernmost city
in the world and also the southernmost commercial airport in the world. In 2003 I stayed at the Familia Patti Bed and
Breakfast on the edge of town that cost me $20 USD a night. Now its $193 USD a night! I’m glad we were on
a ship. I spent 10 days in and around
Ushuaia in 2003 visiting Tierra del Fuego National Park for Magellanic
Woodpecker and Austral Parakeet (the southernmost parrot in the world). I
also drove north across Tierra del Fuego where I found an Andean Condor ripping
apart a road-killed vicuna (I think it was that species). I also went out on a charter boat to visit a
Magellanic Penguin colony where 6 pairs of Gentoo Penguin had established
nests. At the end of my time in Ushuaia there was an incident involving Hertz
Rent-a-Car at the airport. They charged
more than my confirmed reservation said I was supposed to pay. On my return home and after a few letters to
Hertz asking for a refund, and me finally cutting up my Hertz Number 1 card, returning
it to the Vice President for Customer Relations at Hertz and politely asked her
to shove the card up a very specific part of her anatomy. This resulted in a lifetime ban from ever
again renting a vehicle from Hertz which is fine with me.
I was a regular visitor to the Restaurante Volver along the waterfront in Ushuaia where you could eat fresh seafood while watching Kelp Geese, Flightless Steamer Ducks, Black-browed Albatross and Southern Giant-Petrels between bites of your meal. Remembering how good the food was I wanted to return to the Volver but discovered it opened at 5:00 p.m., the exact time our ship was leaving. Although disappointed I had to laugh at this sign posted in a window of the Volver. In local lingo it means that the Ceviche was spectacularly good. However, when you go to Google Translate and put in “Puta Madre” it has an entirely different meaning.
"Puta madre" has one meaning when describing the quality of some foods. It has an entirely different meaning when you translate it literally. Hurry. Go to Google Translate and you will discover what I mean!
The pier in Ushuaia held our ship and 4 other much
smaller vessels that are used for Antarctic exploration. These are very high-end
trips, many of them costing $20,000 per person for an 8-day trip. The advantage
of those trips is that you get to physically stand on Antarctica. We paid about
$3,800.00 US per person for a 14-day cruise that resulted in us seeing almost
the same wildlife as the $20,000 people did.
The only difference is we sailed through Antarctic waters but never
physically touched the ground. Norwegian
went through a long process to get a special permit to bring cruise passengers
to a portion of Antarctica. I am happy
as a clam with that.
Following a low-key day in Ushuaia we sailed out of the port on time at 5:00 p.m. and followed the Beagle Channel east toward the open ocean and the much-feared Drake Passage. The Channel was alive with seabirds including the Penguin colony I had visited almost 20 years to the day earlier.
Drake Passage
Horror stories abound, especially among people attempting to sail around the world in a small sailboat, who end up with their boat being consumed by the horrific winds and huge waves of the Drake Passage. Long-time friend Dan Bauer has some images taken while crossing the Drake Passage of 60-foot seas. One of the onboard naturalists quipped that there are two ways to cross the Drake. Its either the “Drake Lake” in calm seas or the “Drake Quake” in rougher water.
It was quickly apparent when we left the protection of Cape Horn and ventured into the Drake Passage late in the evening of January 21. Luck was with us however and during the entire crossing that evening and all day on January 22, the biggest waves were only 16 feet in height. Crossing the Drake Passage was, as I tell Cathy’s grandson Channing, “a piece of cake.”
Birds, especially Black-browed Albatross and the stunningly beautiful black and white Cape Petrel were common during the crossing of the Drake. I took my first pelagic birding trip aboard a head boat out of Wilmington North Carolina in September 1978. I remember seeing five new species (Audubon’s Shearwater, Cory’s Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, and Bridled Tern) and was instantly mesmerized by seabirds, both how they can navigate over a featureless landscape, and how incredibly graceful they are in flight. Watching Petrels and Albatross glide effortlessly among 8-foot waves is one of nature’s most beautiful sights. Research using satellite telemetry has shown that juvenile Wandering Albatross regularly fly 75,000 miles each year – that’s at least three trips around the Antarctic continent. Many species of Albatross are able to lock their pectoral muscles with their wings extended. Then with minimal wing movement are capable of effortless (and exceptionally low energy) flight for hours or even days at a time. There is some evidence that Wandering Albatross are able to sleep while flying. All they really need is constantly strong winds and the Drake Passage is the perfect place to make that happen.
Antarctica
We awoke on
January 23, 2023, with Snow Island, Antarctica, off the port side of the ship! We
moved slowly from there to Deception Island where we encountered the first of
many flocks of Chinstrap Penguins doing their “porpoise” feeding technique that
you’ve probably seen on National Geographic specials. Leaving Deception Island we made our way to
King George Island where we spent the afternoon exploring Admiralty Bay. Slightly
south of Deception Island we were at 63 degrees 05 minutes South Latitude;
still a long way from the South Pole but as close as I will ever come to it!
While in Admiralty Bay we found a foraging flock of Chinstrap Penguins that contained a lone Macaroni Penguin. One of the “crested” penguins, Macaroni reminds me of a bass guitar player in a punk rock band!
Also present on Admiralty Bay was a pair of Emperor Penguins standing on the shore. These are gigantic birds with some of them weighing as much as 90 pounds. The Emperors were surrounded by much smaller Chinstrap Penguin. It seemed as if you could shove 4 Chinstrap in an individual Emperor and still have space left over.
We awoke on January 24 just off Elephant Island where Shackleton and his men sought refuge after their harrowing escape from the pack ice. A large area of sea ice remained frozen as we traversed the Bransfield Strait and the Captain maneuvered us around the ice. On its surface were several Weddell Seal’s. I searched hard but could not find a Leopard Seal, the famous predator of penguins. There were also several Southern Fur Seals including one large male. I found that curious because I thought the males were supposed to be on the beach watching over and defending their harem of females. Given the abundance of juvenile seals and sea lions I wonder how much males of those species have to pay out in child support each year? Around the sea ice we saw the only Snow Petrel of the trip. Think of an adult Ivory Gull in the Arctic, give it petrel wings, and that’s what a Snow Petrel looks like.
At some point along the south shore of Elephant Island a group of at least 140 Cape Petrels decided that riding in the air currents put out by the passing ship was an energy saving strategy. Over 30 minutes I sat on the balcony watching these amazingly beautiful sea birds dance their way across the sky in a howling 60 knot wind. Some came as close as 10 feet from us as they inspected these intruders of their domain. Then as if on cue, they disappeared as quickly as they arrived.
Eventually we made our way to the northeast corner of
Elephant Island to a place called Point Wild. It was here that Shackleton's men
waited for his eventual return to rescue them. It was also from here that Shackleton set off in his 22 foot boat for the treacherous 800 mile crossing of
the Southern Ocean to South Georgia Island.
After reading the book Endurance, watching specials about
Shackleton on television, and then seeing where his men waited more than a year
to be rescued I no longer have any tolerance for anyone, including me, who
complains about anything. The Shackleton expedition survived in the harshest
conditions imaginable and not one of his men lost his composure and more
importantly none of them died during or because of the ordeal.
The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Dear old Mrs. Evelyn Moe made a passing reference to the
Falkland Islands one day in her fourth-grade classroom. The context of her
mentioning the islands escapes me now but that night at home I opened a world
atlas I had been given as a Christmas gift the year before and found the
islands in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean many miles east of South
America and many miles north of Antarctica.
I became fascinated with the islands because they were so remote yet
populated by humans.
I didn’t pay much attention to the Falklands until April, 1982 when Walter Cronkite on CBS Nightly News told the story of a shooting match that became a war between the Brits and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. One theory I was told regarding the genesis of the war was that the new Minister of the British Home Office (the Secretary of State in the United States) saw giving the Falklands to Argentina as an easy way to remove one more far-flung and costly component of the former British empire. The removal of an Albatross, as it were, from the neck of the British monarchy. The Argentine government was excited about the idea because they had claimed the Islas Malvinas as part of Argentina for ages (juxtapose China and Taiwan with Argentina and the Falkland Islands). Although the two countries talked about reconciliation in the past, everything changed in 1982. Argentina was led into war by military dictator General Leopoldo Galtieri. His popularity was waning and he knew that winning the islands back from Britain would also win over the Argentines.
Words were spoken and threats were made and soon the
Royal British Navy was steaming south to defend the islands. Mine fields were
laid out. Artillery was set up. Fighter jets appeared on the horizon and soon the
“Falklands War” erupted. The two-month long war ended in mid-June 1982 when the
capital Stanley was surrounded and the Argentines surrendered as the Royal
Marines planted the Union Jack on West Falkland to end the conflict. As with
most wars, an abundance of testosterone and a lack of any cogent thinking
brought the countries to war.
These signs saying "The Falkland Islands are Argentina's" are a common sight in Ushuaia, Argentina. The Brits on the Falkland Islands would generally not agree with that view
More than 40 years have now passed since the end of the
conflict yet signs saying “Las Islas Malvinas Son Argentinas” abound in places
like Ushuaia. All this over windswept islands that are dripping with penguins
and whose official flag is the Union Jack with a sheep in one corner.
The bird list for the Falkland Islands holds about 160 species. Among them are two species endemic to the islands – Falkland Steamer Duck is ridiculously common in the waters of the harbor in Stanley. We saw probably 20 of them from the tender boat that brought us from the ship to the mainland in Stanley. Half of my goal in the Falklands was over before it began! Cobb’s Wren (think of a House Wren but with an even more melodious voice) is restricted to tussock grass, especially on small islands away from Stanley. At one point the population of Cobb’s Wren dropped below 500 individuals almost entirely because of predation by rats and cats. The small but determined Falkland Islands Conservation Association has been working diligently to remove both predators from the islands.
Headquarters for the Conservation Association are
directly across the street from the jetty information center and I stopped in
to talk to them about their cat removal efforts. I offered to travel back to the Falklands to
volunteer to kill cats for them. I said,
“Just give me a .20 gauge shotgun and unlimited ammunition and I’ll get rid of
as many cats as I can find.” The gob
smacked receptionist who was helping me said “Thank you sir, but no. I think
you are a bit too eager.” She has no
idea.
Cathy went off to the east of Stanley to visit a beach with nesting King Penguins and I walked west. I found some remnant tussock grasslands where, with a little spishing, I had one Cobb’s Wren pop up and scold me just like a House Wren would do in North America. Arctic Terns patrolled the beach I walked by, and Magellanic Cormorants were a constant sight as were the seemingly endless small flocks of Falklands Steamer Ducks.
Jerry and Peter, a couple from Ottawa, Ontario, had been planning this cruise for two years. Their singular goal was to get to the Falkland Islands. During the morning of our arrival in Stanley we saw them in the dining area reserved for penthouse guests. Each was dressed exactly alike. They both had on tall black top hats, a cream colored shirt, a yellow bow tie and dark black tuxedos. They looked almost exactly like the character “The Penguin” from the old Batman series. Jerry told me later that they had made private arrangements with a helicopter pilot who flew them to a huge King Penguin colony where, dressed as closely as possible to being a King Penguin, they had their picture taken surrounded by hundreds of King Penguins! I begged them to email me a copy of the picture because I had many ornithologist friends who would love to see it. Sadly, the email never arrived but at least I have the picture indelibly etched in my mind.
The Falkland Islands are among the most windy places on the planet - even more so than North Dakota if you can believe that. Trees find it difficult to take root but the grasslands provide ample forage for sheep
Antarctica was of course the most exciting place we
visited with the Falkland Islands a close second. Everyone I met there was
exceedingly kind but without the stiff upper lip of most of London or Brighton
and they have been cut off from the Brits long enough that the British accent
seems to have almost disappeared.
Getting to the Falklands is one of the most challenging logistical
exercises I have undertaken. Because of
the pissing match with Argentina there is no air connection with Ushuaia or any
other town in Argentina. The only
commercial air service there is a once-weekly (currently on Saturdays) LATAM
Airlines flight from Punta Arenas, Chile.
The other flight option is with the British Royal Air Force who flies
down once a week (with an intermediate stop on Ascension Island) from Brize
Norton Air Force Base in Oxfordshire in the UK.
The RAF flight is aboard a cargo jet so there wouldn’t be much luxury
involved and the flight is 7,861 statute miles.
The other way is a cruise ship. There were three cruise ships in Stanley
harbor including a Holland America ship and one for Antarctica explorers whose
name I forget. We were overwhelmed by
the value of the cruise we took on Norwegian Cruise Line and I highly recommend
it for anyone considering a trip to the ice continent.
Sea Days
We steamed on a course of almost exactly 360 degrees for 1.5 days until just offshore from Montevideo Uruguay where we connected with the narrow navigation channel in the mouth of the Rio de la Plata that guides vessels into Buenos Aires. We arrived in Buenos Aires a little before 5:30 a.m. where we took part in a NCL shore excursion called “Buenos Aires Highlights with Airport Transfer” It was a bit disappointing because we drove by the interesting places, did not see Eva Perone’s grave but we did stop at two places for shopping. Priorities! We had lunch at Porteno, an upscale “gourmet” restaurant in the port area then reboarded the bus for the 45 minute drive to the Buenos Aires International Airport where the cruise officially ended and pandemonium reigned.
Back from the Argentine
Aldo Leopold’s classic ecological bible “A Sand County Almanac” contains an essay for May titled “Back from the Argentine.” It chronicles the journey of an Upland Sandpiper from its winter habitats on the Pampas of north-central Argentina to grasslands that existed in Dane or Sauk Counties, Wisconsin, when Leopold wrote his book. I first read A Sand County Almanac in the spring of 1970 at the end of my first year of college. It was a required reading for a course called “Conservation of Natural Resources” that then was a requirement for graduation from my university. Almost without fail every time I have seen an Upland Sandpiper since reading that essay in early 1970 I have mouthed the words “Back from the Argentine.” In September 2002, during my second trip to Argentina, I found Upland Sandpipers standing on fence posts in the Pampas just like they would on a Wisconsin or North Dakota or Nebraska prairie.
So far I have been lucky to have traveled to every country in South America at least once. Argentina leads with 6 trips, Colombia and Brazil with 5 each, Ecuador and Trinidad with 4, Chile and Peru 3 each, Uruguay 2 times, and the remaining countries with single visits. Among the 132 countries I have visited, I have had tears in my eyes when I left three of them. The first was Argentina in 1999, the second was Australia in 2004 and the third was South Africa in 2011. There is absolutely everything to love about Argentina and nothing to dislike.
With one exception. Ezeiza airport, the international airport for Buenos Aires was an absolute zoo when we arrived to check in for our return flight. Several hundred people from two different shore excursions on our ship all converged on the airport at the same time creating mass pandemonium especially since American Airlines counters didn’t open until 5:30 p.m. There were zero signs anywhere advising people in Economy Class where to check in, people in Business Class where to check in, and people with various forms of priority where to check in. Imagine 50 bovines in a cattle truck meant for 35 all jockeying for position and that’s what Ezeiza was like. After we were finally checked in and had our boarding passes the line of customers waiting to be helped by American Airlines stretched the entire length of Terminal A. Not one of them was happy with the situation.
We spent some time in the Admiral’s Club then boarded American Airlines flight 996 bound for Dallas Fort Worth. While waiting for American to open their counters word spread among Dallas passengers that a massive ice storm was set to smother Dallas on Monday afternoon and the storm would continue until Thursday. As we sped north through the South American night I finished my dinner over Cordoba, Argentina, then rolled out the lay-flat bed seat and went to sleep. I woke up 8 hours later over Monterey Mexico as flight attendants prepared to hand out breakfast. Eight hours of hard sleep was the perfect way to spend most of 10 ½ hours flying north from Buenos Aires in the dark.
Arriving at the gate early we deplaned on time at 5:00 a.m., then quickly cleared immigration and customs and began the long wait for our 12:45 p.m. departure to Sarasota. It is American’s only flight of the day between the two cities. Air temperature was 30 degrees F. and the sky looked like Wisconsin just before a snowstorm. About 10:00 a.m. American began cancelling flights. When I saw flights to Tampa and Orlando had cancelled I was certain we would be spending the night somewhere on the floor of the Dallas airport. The plane for our flight arrived from New York LaGuardia as we sat at Gate A35 watching the departure board expecting it to switch from saying “on time” to “cancelled”. It never did. We backed away from the gate early then waited in line to be deiced. When we finally lifted off 90 minutes late I counted 24 planes waiting in line to be deiced.
Our flight landed in Sarasota only 45 minutes late. It
was the last flight by either Southwest or American from Dallas to arrive in
Sarasota over the next three days. The next time we fly anywhere in winter we
are making sure the connection is through Miami.
The Birds
We saw 133 bird species on this trip which, for South America, is a small list. Among those 133 species, 17 were new to my life list. Considering that most of our time was on the ocean or connected to the ocean it was a respectable list of species. Among major groups we found
|
Species Group |
# Species Observed |
|
Skua and Jaegers |
5 |
|
Gulls and Terns |
10 |
|
Penguins |
5 |
|
Albatross |
5 |
|
Storm-Petrel |
3 |
|
Shearwaters and Petrels |
24 |
If you are interested in species lists for particular areas let me know and I will provide that information.
Nice Blog!!! Diane and I will have to book this cruise! We did (as you know) but got bumped the first try by COVID, as did you a nd Cathy, and our friends who also planned to go...
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