15 February 2022 – Tuesday – Coronation and Monroe Islands

Another island stop in the morning to visit Coronation island in the South Orkneys. The Orkneys were named for the Scottish islands that have the same latitude north as these have in the south. The RIB trip promised to be very cold, wet and windy. I wore as many layers as I could stuff under my expedition jacket. I was toasty warm!
Our RIB driver/ naturalist took us close to the cliffs where we saw our first chinstrap penguins. The location has a huge colony but summer is ending here so the population didn’t seem too big.
We returned to the boat for the welcome hot toddy with rum or scotch. It’s very good after a cold ride through the arctic waters.

As we left the South Orkneys, we saw many different whales spouting along the surface. They don’t need to dive because food is close to the surface. We were passing through an area rich with krill which is the staple food for whales. 

In the afternoon we had a mandatory briefing on regulations and procedures in South Georgia Island where we will land on the 17th. Most important is that we decontaminate our boots, Velcro areas anywhere and outerwear that can bring foreign material to the island. After the talk, we were sent in small groups for the decontamination and vacuuming of various items.

After dinner we watched part one of a movie about whaling on South Georgia island. Thankfully, whaling is no longer done there due to a treaty that has stopped whaling in most parts of the world. It is astounding how many whales were slaughtered for oil, meat and even bones. When we see whales swimming in the ocean, they are truly magnificent creatures. There was no concern for the near extinction of several types brought about by whaling. As we went to bed, we were told that we would lose an hour of sleep as we were moving further east into the next time zone. Luckily, we had a day at sea coming up next so there was time to nap…in between lectures.