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| Landing site on Saunders Island, West Falklands |
Thursday, November 2 - Saunders Island, West Falklands
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| Viewing Saunders Island from the Endurance, parked in the bay |
I was up this morning at 7:30. The ship is still, having arrived overnight at the West Falkland Islands. Well, at least one island - we are stopped in a bay at Saunders Island. According to our Daily Update: “Saunders Island is home to Port Egmont, the site of the first British settlement in the Falkland Islands. Today it is know for its bird life. Large numbers of rock hopper penguins and black-browed albatross breed here. The island is owned and run as a sheep farm and a polar tourist destination by the Pole Evans family. This morning we hope to land at the Rookery on Saunders Island. This site offers a walk that is a two-mile round trip to the black-browed albatross colony, and roughly 3 and a half miles round trip to the rockhopper penguin colony.”
I started the morning with a light breakfast of muesli, pastries and iced coffee. We were at breakfast at 8. I was nervous about what to bring for our first shore excursion. It’s warm today, with some sun. Going up to 50 degrees. I was afraid I would be too warm while walking if I wore the new orange overcoat, so I decided to wear my down coat with a raincoat shell on top in case I get wet.
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| Zodiacs heading to the beach, where we will begin our hike to see nesting albatross |
We are called by floors to load the Zodiacs. Our floor was the second to be called, about 9:45. We went down to Base Camp on the 3rd floor, put on our waterproof pants and muck boots and headed out on the zodiac to land at a beautiful sand beach. We experienced mild waves riding over. The Zodiacs are hauled closer to the beach by a crew of staff in waders; but we were still disembarking in somewhat deep water to walk up on the beach from the Zodiac. I got a little wet in one boot walking through the surf to the beach. We got to deposit our life jackets in barrels on the beach, where the naturalists were waiting for us. There were also a few 4x4 vehicles from the sheep farm to help transport people that might have difficulty with the trail.
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| Loading the Zodiacs from Base Camp to head over to the beach |
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| A waiting party of crew help pull the Zodiacs from the surf to the beach as we disembark |
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| Heading out on our hike across the island |
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| Excited to be on our first excursion and to see the Falkland Islands |
Our walk to the nesting areas is gently upland over tussock grasslands that support sheep farming, interspersed with fair clumps of heather and other shrubs. We immediately saw Magellanic penguins along the hills to the left. They burrow in the hillside to lay their eggs and they came out to see who was walking by. We saw lots of other birds - geese, thrush - and the views of the seacoast were magnificent.
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| Magellanic penguin colony and geese flying overhead |
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| Curious penguin watching us march by |
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| Spring is arriving, with large swatches of new greeen |
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| Views of the sea are magnificent |
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| The Endurance waits patiently for us in the bay |
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