The Traveling Widower

Tag: penguins

  • An Amazing First Day in Antarctica

    November 21st, 2025

    A Gentoo penguin standing on a rocky surface with snow in the background.

    This post will cover what turned out to be a bonus day on the trip. Usually, it takes a full two days to traverse the Drake Passage, and activities begin the day following our arrival. The passage was kind to us (although there were a few who required medical assistance) – no extremely heavy seas, and we made it through fast enough to arrive at the tip of Antarctica mid-day Thursday. The day started out well – clear skies, and we awoke with the ship surrounded by Humpback whales. I opened my curtains to view spouts everywhere. There were also Orca’s out there as well. 

    A whale spouting water into the air from the ocean surface under a blue sky.

    Since we were cruising along to hopefully reach a location where we could get out on the ice to visit a penguin colony, the ship did not stop for the whales. But it was still an amazing sight to see so many of the critters, including a big pod of Orca’s. There were also large numbers of sea birds following the ship – 3 or 4 types of albatrosses, and a bunch of others I’m not familiar with. The observation decks were crowded with bird watchers and photographers for the first two days of the trip.

    A bird with outstretched wings flying against a clear blue sky.

    The first view of Antarctica is astounding as you get closer to see the details of the huge peaks and walls of ice.

    A panoramic view of a snowy mountain range against a clear blue sky, with calm ocean waters in the foreground.

    At this point, most everyone was dressed in their orange parkas, standing out in the viewing areas photographing the incredible scenery.

    A breathtaking view of snow-covered mountains with the sun rising above the peak, creating a bright glow against the clear blue sky.
    Large iceberg floating in calm blue water under a clear sky.
    A dramatic snow-covered mountain rising sharply from a deep blue sea, with icebergs floating in the water and a clear blue sky above.
    A panoramic view of a frigid landscape featuring towering, snow-covered mountains and scattered icebergs floating in a deep blue sea under a clear blue sky.
    A stunning view of snow-covered mountains surrounding a calm, icy ocean under a clear blue sky.
    Snow-covered mountain peaks against a clear blue sky, viewed from the water.

    And to celebrate reaching our destination, the staff came out with trays of bubbly. Hot cocoa with Baily’s Irish Crème would have been better. It was really cold out there. I’m glad I found my old expedition hat – toasty warm. We keep the orange coat, which has a fleece jacket inside.

    A person wearing an orange jacket, a blue cap, and sunglasses stands on the deck of a ship, overlooking icy mountains and blue waters in a polar region.

    The NG trip leads decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and our early arrival by scheduling our first excursion – the passengers were split into multiple groups and then shipped off for either a Zodiac cruise around the icebergs, or a hike on shore to view a penguin colony (you got to do both). This was the first time we had to get fully dressed with multiple layers, along with the incredibly heavy/awkward much boots, and the ever present life vest for the time spent on the Zodiac. By the time you are fully dressed, you kind of look like an orange penguin, sort of waddling around. 

    The landing was something of a challenge to get up a rocky, icy slope from the Zodiac, but staff members were spaced out to help the decrepit old folks like myself. The rest of the hike to the main penguin colonies was just a walk in a snowy path. Sort of like being back in Colorado. Hiking sticks helped a lot.

    The penguins, mostly Gentoo, were all over the place – large and small grouping and individuals wandering around on the penguin highways which are paths worn into the snow. The ground around the large groups was stained red from the bird poop and the fragrance was quite strong. Sort of like passing by a sea lion population. We had an hour or so to wander around the colonies – it was an amazing experience, not just seeing the penguins – the view of the glaciers, snow covered peaks, glaciers and icebergs was overwhelming – I was speechless at times. Plus the weather was absolutely perfect – an almost cloudless skies and temperatures in the balmy 30’s

    And now for a few penguin photos:

    A gentoo penguin standing on a rocky surface, looking down, with other penguins resting in the background.
    A group of Gentoo penguins standing on rocky terrain with a snow-covered mountain backdrop.
    A group of Gentoo penguins standing on rocky terrain with snow-capped mountains in the background under clear blue skies.
    A group of penguins on a snowy shoreline, with a backdrop of snowy mountains and icebergs against a clear blue sky.
    A group of penguins on a snowy landscape with a large mountain in the background under a clear blue sky.
    A group of penguins standing on snow against a backdrop of mountains and a blue ocean with icebergs.
    A group of penguins gathered on rocky terrain near the coast, surrounded by snow and icy waters.

    There were times while I was wandering around in the snow, that I just had to stop and take in the incredible beauty of the moment. This was a lot like the time in Glacier Bay, where I put down the camera and just soaked in the incredible solitude and magnificence of the surrounding landscape. This was even better. 

    This was posted a few days since we visited the penguin colonies. I’ve been shooting hundreds of photos each day, and just have not had a chance to keep with the blog, and probably will not post again for another day or two. Every day is filled with excursions and activities on the ship, and I’m not getting a lot of sleep either. The sun does not set until 11:30 right now, and sunrise is just a few hours after that. It’s very weird going to sleep at 11:00PM with the sun just starting to set. My internal clock is really messed up. 

    View of the ocean at sunset from a ship's deck, with waves and distant land in the background.
    9:30PM…..still daylight
    A scenic view of a mountainous landscape in Antarctica during sunset, with soft clouds above and reflections on the water surface.

    But the strange lighting makes for some photographs.

  • Coming soon – Penguins!!

    A cartoon character wearing a red jacket and a hat stands on an icy landscape, holding a camera, while several penguins also hold cameras, posing for a photo. In the background, there are mountains and a boat on the water during sunset.
    Created with Google Gemini

    I do have one more trip scheduled in October (another cavern…woot! And more stairs for Moro Rock… boo hiss) but the remaining big one for the remainder of this year is Antarctica, the land of penguins (and a lot of ice). I am really looking forward to this one. But first I have to prepare…..time to gear up once again. And that’s what this post is about. So go take a nap if you are not interested. Or read this to take a nap. Whatever works for you. 

    Sorry, but when you do all kinds of strange trips, you are constantly thinking about the gear you need. My garage now has a row of hooks for the 5 or 6 packs I now own, I have converted one closet into my camera gear storage, another shelf has my four camera bags, and then another few shelves are reserved for the varied gear I need for hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. But now I have to deal with really cold weather, and doing some stuff I have not done for quite a few years – snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and mucking around in snow. Antarctica is a month away. Yikes. Fortunately, gearing up for Antarctica will also be preparation for another cold weather adventure – Churchill Manitoba in 2027. Really cold – -30F at night.

    The good news is that most of the “expedition” type tours provide at least some of the cold weather gear – National Geographic/Lindblad provides an outer, waterproof insulated shell (with a hood) as well as an inner fleece jacket. Human Habitat provides all the gear other than the base layer. Not much to pack for that trip. These are not free of course – it’s just part of the package. National Geographic/Lindblad also has an outfit that rents a lot of the other gear – the most important of these are the waterproof, insulated boots. I can’t imagine trying to pack those unless you like traveling in heavy boots. Nope. You can also rent waterproof pants, ski poles and other cold weather gear. I’m going to need a lot of that in the future, and some of which I already have – I used to do a lot of winter hiking, climbing, skiing and snow-shoeing in Colorado, so I already have a lot of that stuff:

    • Insulated, water proof gloves/mittens
    • Goofy but waterproof/insulated hats.
    • Heavy boot socks
    • Lots of fleece pull-overs, some from Google (they kept as fed and clothed).
    • Heavy kayak pants (yes, we will be kayaking along the ice shelf).
    • Waterproof gloves for kayaking.

    There were a few missing things from my packing list, so I waited for my trip to Colorado to fill in the few remaining blanks. Why wait for this trip? Denver has a flagship REI which carries has just about everything you would need for any outdoor adventure. What a wonderful store – it used to be the old Forney Transportation Museum, which repurposed the old Denver Tramway Powerhouse building from the early 1900’s. It’s now a wonderland of outdoor gear.

    REI Denver Store
    REI Denver store

    I spent multiple hours wandering through the store, and eventually found the few things I needed:

    • Insulated shell pants – good for skiing, hiking, maybe even for Zodiac cruising instead of the kayak pants.
    • Heavy fleece pants – wear on board and under outer shell pants
    • Winter buff – I think these used to have a different name. It’s basically a neck warmer. I bought a light-weight one in the Galápagos Islands when all the boat drivers had one. Great for wind, spray and sun protection. Never thought there would be specialized neck warmers before. 
    • Glove liners – you never have too many of those

    The only thing I could not find, was a new pair of hiking/travel shoes in which I could fit my Forest Gump brace and my foot. I tried on 6 different brand shoes and none of them worked. It is really a pain having to bring multiple pairs of shoes since I only had one pair of water/beach shoes which I could use with the brace. The good news is I found two pairs, one for serious hiking, at a Merrill outlet store once I got back to good old boring Sacramento. I doubt if I’ll ever be able to hike without that brace, so all my other shoes and boots will be going to charity (Soles For Souls).

    So that’s about it for Antarctica clothing. All I have to do now is figure out how to fit all this “stuff” into the same suitcase I’ve been using for the past year. I’m rapidly learning how to slim down what I bring on trips – all the ships do laundry, and most of what I bring can be dumped in with underwear. It’s not that expensive and worth it. Another problem with the Antarctica trip are the “free” jackets – you get to take them home at trips end, but how do you stuff them into your luggage? I’d like to reserve enough free space in the suitcase so I have an option to keep them. The other choice is to leave it, and Nat Geo donates them to charities. 

    Some of my other scheduled trips will also have luggage related issues as I’ve mentioned before, so this will be a good time to figure out how to travel light. The Baja trip will really be a challenge – 30lbs in luggage, and 6.5 for carry-on. My camera bag weighs over a pound…most of the camera gear will be in my suitcase. Who needs clothing anyway.

    The other challenge I’ll have with Antarctica is my photography gear – much like Alaska, I’ll definitely want to carry the big lens as well as a second camera body. I’m guessing that there will be times that I’ll need the long 500mm, as well as a shorter lens for closeups of penguins or landscape shots. Switching lenses in the cold, or on a fast moving Zodiac, is not something I really want to do. Way too risky (for the camera, not me).

    And I still have to figure out what to do with my “other” camera – the phone. I had a waterproof case for my Pixel 8, which worked great for bouncing around in small boats or in kayaks. Before I left for Alaska, I bought what seemed to be the perfect solution for the new Pixel 10 XL, though a bit expensive – a flexible plastic sleeve, with a big metal flange and glass lens arrangement that is completely waterproof, and could be used for snorkeling and diving. It was built for regular sized phones, but their support group said it was stretchy material which will fit the larger XL models of phones. This was a lot like a shoe salesman telling you that a wide width size 12 shoe will fit a narrow size 13 foot. Nope. I tried that once and it did not work. Same for phone covers – the metal flange scrapes on the back of the phone. That’s not a good thing. I’m hoping the company (www.Outex.com) agrees. It’s a really nice product, just not meant for larger phones.

    A close-up view of a magnifying glass positioned over a smartphone, highlighting the phone's camera area.
    A smartphone displaying its camera interface, placed on a surface, partially covered by a protective case.

    So I’m still working on that problem..

    That’s enough geek talk on gear. I’ve already got my packing list for Antarctica, and with over a month before leaving, I’ve got plenty of time to begin “test packing”. Expect many penguin photo’s in the near future.