Antarctica!

A special, crazy, amazing day. It started off pouring down rain and we were still in the dark about our final destination, as the Antarctic trip would be aborted and a trip to a national park would be substituted due to bad weather in Villa des Estrellas. Our guide, a professor of veterinary medicine, with 30 years experience in the Antarctic, told us when we got on the bus to the airport that 'it's a GO' to much applause! After a 90 minute flight we landed on a gravel runway on the the dark side of the moon. Rock and patches of ice everywhere. The only vegetation are moss, lichen, and algae. Best word is bleak, but very beautiful in a unique way. The little village is surrounded by ice but has several roads and a few vehicles. They are very concerned about fire, in fact the fire hall burned down a few years ago. We toured the village on foot, seeing the awesome Russian Orthodox Church, the Chilean Catholic Church, the naval base, and the little shop. Pictures were taken of the local BABY, who came to the base at 11 months of age. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly, seems they enjoy visitors. It was a big day for them as a Brazilian Herc landed just after us with supplies for everyone. In the afternoon we boarded Zodiac boats for our trip to Ardley Island and our visit with the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins. Just so amazing that these little guys survive at all. Only 10% survive to adulthood, sad. We laid down on the rocky shore and they chicks came right up to us and were very curious about our clothes etc. It was a highlight of the day! After a COLD ride back we had some hot chocolate and wandered back to the plane. The flight back was 3 hours long and they fed us royally, poured Pisco sours and champagne, and we arrived back late to the ship but very happy!