Patagonia & Antarctica 2011
Wednesday: Brown Bluff & Gourdin Island
Today was our first "continental landing." We landed on the Antarctic Continent, at the very tip of the Antarctic Peninsula at a place called Brown Bluff. There was an opportunity to take a short hike uphill for a nice view. Later, we landed at Gourdin Island, also known as "penguin city." This small island is estimated to have around 200,000 breeding pairs of penguins. All three species of penguins were seen here.
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Brown Bluff    Brown Bluff, lots of penguins    Adèlie penguins (chick feeding), view from above, enjoying the view    lots of ice, gentoo penguin, fur seal
On shore at Brown Bluff videos: gentoo penguin, penguins jumping in for a swim
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Gourdin Island
videos: two clips of feeding chicks, penguins returning from feeding in the sea
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In the evening on ship, we observed some humpback whales swimming and diving. Here is a video clip showing one of the tails as the whale goes for a deep dive.
