Today the alarm went up, Orcas! They quickly deployed the zodiacs next to Enterprise Island and we raced across the water. There was a vortex of birds and underneath we saw fins. There were several Orcas feeding and the birds were trying to get the extra bits. You would just see these black fins slicing through the water in tight circles. Then the Orcas moved off and we redeployed in their path. They came so close! At one point one came within a meter of Matty and me, it was very hard to resist trying to touch it! At one point humpbacks also started popping up right next to the zodiac but all we had eyes for were the killer whales. These Orcas were the Type B Small sub species and are Antarctica natives. They are identifiable by the thin yellow sheen they have from diatoms growing on their skin. This was only the second time our guide had seen them on zodiac, first time this close, and we were their first expedition from our ship in 2 years! We were in awe, several of the guides and passengers cried. After that we visited a cool ship wreck and saw a Cormorant colony. It was an incredible morning.
That afternoon we visited Hydrurga Rocks to see a chinstrap colony. Snow was coming down heavy, occasionally sideways. One of the guides pointed a seal out to me that I’m still convinced was a rock, ha. The penguins were just having a grand ol time, tobaganing on their stomachs and doing their silly waddles. They are the most charming creatures! When the chinstraps walk they also bob their heads like they’re walking to music. We sat in the snow on one of the hill tops and were rewarded with many a curious penguin. One came up and studied Matty from less than a meter away for 2 minutes. You could see it thinking, “what the hell is that?!?!”. I also got a curious one and it was so hard, mentally painful, not to just grab one for a hug!