32. Curtiss Bay and Mikkelsen Harbor

One last walk on the seventh continent.

On our last day in the Antarctic Peninsula and Palmer Archipelago, the fog and cloud cover dropped in for a long visit. More penguins, a relaxed female Weddell seal, the notorious Brown Skua, Antarctic Terns and Snowy Sheathbills dotted the landscape.

Mikkelsen Harbor, on the southern end of Trinity Island, is home to a very large Gentoo penguin population. Our ship moored (idled) in this sheltered bay and we headed ashore to walk among the Gentoos and one lone, nosy Adèlie penguin. The harbor had been the site of industrial scale whaling and sealing, a bloody past that continued into the 1980s. Caillet-Bois Refuge is still standing on D’Hainaut Island. It is a reddish clapboard structure built by the Argentine Navy but abandoned in 1977. The Gentoos have claimed it as their own little fort and waypoint.

Caillet-Bois Refuge, built by the Argentine Navy.

The Weddell seal above was lounging quite happily, oblivious to our snooping around her. She rubbed and scrubbed her hide, stretched her flippers then turned to stare at the humans, yawned and went back to her grooming. The patterned markings on their fur reminds me of the puzzle bark on elm trees.

I heard there were remnants of whale bones on the other side of the island, however, since they were covered in snow our expedition crew had not marked out a safe path in that direction.

Several Brown Skuas were diving in and among the penguins looking for regurgitated krill. Later in the season when the penguins lay their eggs or hatchling chicks are present, they attempt to steal the eggs or eat the chicks.

The Subantarctic Brown Skua. © Andrew Spencer eBird S31135696 Macaulay Library ML32798541

Gentoo Penguins. D'Hainaut Island, Mikkelsen Harbor.

Which way to go now? So many penguins. So little time.

The crew member in the red jacket flattens the trail and fills in our sunken bootprints with snowshoes to prevent penguins falling into the trap.

Expedition crew member Joemi photographing the Weddell seal.

Exploring D’Hainaut Island, Mikkelsen Harbor.

Curtiss Bay was a Zodiac scurry about some rather large icebergs. I managed to do some watercolor sketches based upon my impressions and photos.

In the end, we were blessed with a glorious sunset. Time to go home.