Subject: Day 23, March 13 – Heading to Ushuaia, Last Day at Sea

Greetings,

      Yesterday afternoon’s island was truly a treasure. After our long walk in the morning, I cleverly opted for a jeep ride up the mountain to the nesting site where we were supposed to see rock hopper penguins nesting with albatrosses.  As we rode and rode, you had to wonder where in the heck we were going, but as we passed the hikers I was glad to be bumping along in the jeep. At the top, we got out and still could see nothing. We started to walk down among the tussock grass and all of a sudden we saw the rookery. Hundred and hundreds of birds all within a few inches of you! I shot video for a very long time, and Tom took photo after photo. Words cannot describe the scene, so I hope the video captures some what we saw.  If I lived on the island, I would spend hour upon hour observing this marvelous sight.  The best thing about taking the jeep is that we were the first people to the rookery, so we could pick any spot we choose. After a while, the prime viewing sites were a bit trickier to obtain.

      Well today is our last day on ship and it is a day at sea. We are at “two hands” now and the captain has asked all of us to stay inside the ship. We should be nearing the lee of land in a few hours. The sooner the better as many passengers are not doing well. Tom and I are among the lucky ones and except for walking are fine. The weather was something on this ship. Every day we landed it was wonderful and every day at sea has been a “two hander.”  It certainly gave us the flavor of what the water can be like. No one will ever have to tell me that the Drake Passage is rough.

Tom & Holly