January 4, 2023June 26, 2023

Fortuna Bay, South Georgia

This post is part of our epic adventure to the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. In case you don’t want to read this sequentially, or you are looking for a specific part of the trip, here are some shortcuts:

Fortuna Bay, South Georgia – January 4th

54.1049° S, 36.7942° W

2 Celsius / 39 Fahrenheit – Mostly sunny

Today we were up at 3am, not because it was light out but because there was a significant swell and the wind was gusting 40 knots. Despite the wristbands and kwells, we were both a bit seasick so we skipped breakfast. There was a lot on today’s agenda. The plan was to visit Fortuna Bay, go for a snorkel, and then do a 6km hike that traced the last part of Shackleton’s journey to Stromness.

We noticed that several doors in the hallway were blocked with aluminium folding tables to indicate cabins that were quarantined. I had a wicked headache so decided to visit the doctor to request something stronger than Panadol. He checked to make sure that I didn’t have a fever and then sent me on my way with a packet of Celebrex.

Fortuna Bay is a deep fjord surrounded by glaciers. The beach landing was a moderately difficult due to the swell and waves, but the expedition team made sure that everyone was safe.

The scene looked unreal: turquoise water, towering mountains, rugged cliffs, snow-capped peaks, icy glaciers, glistening pebble beach, glacial streams, and cascading waterfalls.

There were fur seals basking in the sunlight and king penguins in various stages of molting.

We’d seen skua in other landing sites, but there were more of them here. They are opportunistic predators who prey on smaller birds and scavenge on carrion (decaying flesh of dead animals). I don’t really like them, but they play a crucial role in the ecosystem by recycling nutrients and providing sustenance for a variety of scavenging species.

I decided to skip the snorkel because I still wasn’t feeling great. Andy assured me that I didn’t miss any playful seal action. Instead he immersed himself in the beauty of the swaying kelp and fended off nips from a giant petrel. His dry suit had a slight leak, so we dried his clothes on the bathroom floor.