Today was a big day!

Recess Cove is a protected cove with a spit of land where we took our hike. The previous two days on the continent had been very stormy, so there were lots of new icebergs in the cove. Olivia told us we were lucky to see this, because otherwise, it would just be a mess of growlers around the cove.

Our zodiac dropped us off on a rocky beach, and then we walked up some snow steps for a tour around the land. Our previous shore excursions were on islands, but today was our first time stepping on the continent itself. To mark the occasion, the excursion crew had placed flags along the hiking trail, and they were on hand to take photos.

There are no penguin rookeries in this area, but we did see a few of the little guys. We also learned that a group of penguins in the water is called a raft of penguins and a group of penguins on land is called a waddle of penguins or a tuxedo of penguins. We also learned that the Mandarin word for penguin translates as “business goose.” I almost died when I heard that!

While we were on land, a whale swam into the harbor and cruised around for a while. As a zodiac came zipping into the cove to pick up passengers, I heard Olivia over the radio, “Incoming zodiac, slow way down. There’s a whale right beside you.” A short time later, as we were in our zodiac going back to the ship, a whale surfaced directly in front of our boat. It seemed like it was just five feet in front of us. 

We got back to the ship just in time for a barbecue lunch on the top deck.

I ended my afternoon with a ride in the submarine. I’ll make a separate post for that.

All in all, it was quite a day!