Slews of Seals and Rusty Ships

The harpoon on the bow of  the Petrel reminds you that it was a whaling ship

Wednesday, November 8 -  Grytviken, South Georgia

Bull elephant seal

We enjoyed about two hours to wander around the old whaling station, Grytviken.  During the summer, this is the location for researchers from the British Antarctic Survey, as well as seasonal government workers at the post office and museum. It took me an hour to walk from our landing site by the cemetery to the museum area, in the center of the settlement.  There were fur seals and elephant seals everywhere, with scattered king penguins passing by.  The ships, docks and equipment are fascinating. Lots to stop and look at and be distracted by.

Rusting storage tanks for the whale oil - used in making margarine in European markets

"The Petrel" - whaling ship

And old dory and the Grytviken Anglican Church 

Grytviken was once home to 500 whalers and family members

Grytviken closed as a whaling station in 1966, due to lack of commerical viability of their products. In more than half a century, Grytviken handled more than 53,000 slaughtered whales, producing 455,000 metric tons of whale oil and 192,000 metric tons of whale meat for animal consumption. 

Fun to see the king penguins casually strolling along....