HAPPY NEW YEAR!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=15LXi_qDkdM

(For the not so savvy computer users, you can click any of the images to make them larger…Enjoy!)

Our ride was 2 1/2 hours long…about 1 1/2 hours of it being across NO ROAD. It was extremely bumpy and not at all enjoyable! We were in a caravan of about 6 vehicles. Along the way we saw NOTHING (other than stars every time our heads hit the roof). Literally what you see in this picture is all you see for miles. It was crazy desolate, not even a tree! …..Anyway, we got a little history lesson along the way and learned a little about how Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982 and they were at war for about 2 months. How exciting! We were hoping that the payoff would be worth the ride……

…and it was! These are King Penguins….one of the larger types of penguins. They were so beautiful. More impressive looking then the Magellenic penguins, but less curious and social it seemed.

Here I am with one…not sure what I was doing, but he seems to be a bit scared.

It smelled similar to the other rookery which really takes a little while to get used to. Good thing they’re so pretty!

I told Jeremy he should have worn his tux to fit in a little better….

This is one of the babies…I am not sure exactly when they hatched but they are starting to lose this fur coating so I think they are a bit older. There were some that only had half a coat left…more like a shawl

This mama seems to be telling the baby to watch out for PETA members throwing paint…

This one wasn’t dead, just napping. Although we did see quite a few that had died. It wasn’t pretty.

They really are the most adorable animals…

Ah, here’s the one in the shawl….so glad Jeremy put this picture in! He’s almost all growns up!

This one appears to be getting ready to hit the other on the tush!

Yes, that is a sheep! Can you believe 2 of the cutest creatures in the same shot!

This guy just seems like the king of all kings!

Just two dudes out for a walk on a summer day!

I don’t know about you, but this seems like an award winner to me! Guess lugging that camera around paid off!

This is another type of penguin that was also at the same spot. These are Gentoo penguins. This is (obviously) a baby and her mama. These chicks seem a bit younger than the King penguin babies.

The mama goes out to find food and then regurgitates it for her chick. YUM!

He is saying hello to you all!

Just waddling along…..

He’s deep in thought…

This one looks like Ralphie from the back, don’t you think?

They are pretty protective of their young, we saw many scuffles!

How cute!!?? I really wanted to take one home but didn’t think I could clear customs. Not sure we can top this day, but if we can it will certainly be in Antarctica. Here we come!

See you in Antarctica! Happy New Year!

In the meantime here are a couple of videos with highlights from our stop in Puerto Madryn & more..

Puerto Madryn Highlights - Enjoy the video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHb2DIHNH6o

Food Highlights - Enjoy the video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PWxEdhlNwA

We hope you enjoy the videos! Make sure to send us a note!

The first animals we saw were guanacos, which are a close cousin to the llama and alpaca that we saw in Peru. These guys seemed to remember that Jeremy ate the alpaca on that trip and therefore would not pay him much attention.

The first place we stopped was on the coast where we saw sea lions and elephant seals. There were tons of them just hanging out on the beach together. The elephant seals were molting (shedding their skin) and basically while this process is going on they just lie there and do nothing. The sea lions were a little more interesting and playful and loud. But not much…..We were hoping to see a Southern Right Whale which is abundant here, but we were about a month too late. They generally disappear by November.

The next animal we saw was a Patagonian Hare. They were just hanging out near the area where we stopped to have a lunch of barbecued lamb (Jeremy’s favorite)! No rabbit on the menu….lucky for them.

And finally the highlight of our tour….the penguins! We went to a Magellan penguin rookery by four by four vehicle . There were tons of them that were just wandering around. They are very curious animals and seemed very interested in Jeremy’s camera. They would come right up to you and nose around. However if you get in their path when they are trying to cross they will let you know they are not happy!

They burrow into the ground and build their nests. They just kept popping their little heads out!

The smell is difficult to describe, but let’s just say it’s very unpleasant. Kind of smells like the fish tank area at your local Petsmart.

This guy was really interested in finding out how the camera worked!

I think we were initially expecting the penguins to be on a snow capped glacier or something, but in this area it is basically like a desert. Very dry and arid….not what you would picture for penguins to be living in.

The Magellenic penguins are one of the smaller breeds…about 2 feet high.

Here are some babies that were recently hatched.  At this point their “feathers” are not waterproof yet. You can see the difference, they look furry. They were soooo cute!

Jeremy caught these two in an intimate moment.

Jeremy and his new best friends.

We had one of the more curious penguins take our picture for us….not bad!

Not sure how this picture wound up here, but I am guessing it was Jeremy’s lunch back on the ship. That lovely smell must have gotten him in the mood for seafood.

We are off to the Falklyn Islands …more posts soon.

SCRABBLE UPDATE – Lauren 4, Jeremy 4