orca – Scribbles and Snapshots

January 3, 2025

The next day we were making our way towards the Melchior Islands. I think this is a popular stop because it’s easy to get to and on the way back towards the Drake Passage. We didn’t have a landing that day, and only got out of the ship for a zodiac tour that took us by two Argentinean buildings on the rocky islands (and of course wildlife!).

The one exciting thing about this zodiac tour was the fact this was the first time we were seeing Chinstrap penguins in the wild. They are SO cute. I also want to acknowledge that I recently visited my friend Tiff and her family in London, and her daughter was eager to get to know me. She asked what my favorite animal was (Great White Shark – for the record, or maybe a Hammerhead!) and I quickly asked her what her’s was. I was a bit surprised to hear her say Chinstrap Penguin!

After a quick Google search I was delighted to find that they actually lived on Antarctica and that I might be able to spot one in the wild for her. (So Inara, if your mom is reading this to you – or showing you this blog. This one is for you! Chinstrap penguins are definitely adorable and I’m a big fan now!) I told our zodiac driver the background and he assured me that we would definitely see them on our tour.

Thankfully we had a break in the weather and it wasn’t raining or snowing that day, which made for a more pleasant zodiac ride. Within the first 5 minutes, we saw our first group of Chinstrap penguins on some rock jumbles that make up the islands.

Our driver also took us around to look at some other really large icebergs (they sort of looked like mountains!) and we even got to see some rocks where there were plants growing! I believe it was Antarctica hair grass and some lichens.

It got pretty bumpy as we went a little further out to look at one of the icebergs. We slowly made our way back to the ship to get warm again.

We made our way up to the Explorer’s Lounge to catch up with friends, when eagle-eyed Andy saw a pod of Orcas hauling towards our ship. They were moving so quickly – and I swear our ship almost flipped over because everyone who heard, “ORCA!” went running to that side. They were gone as quickly as they came, but it was so MAGICAL to see them in the wild. I don’t think I could ever get sick of seeing these wild animals in their natural habitat.