Day 11 : St Andrews Bay/Gold Harbour
I was awoken by the morning call through the intercom. It was the first time since I boarded the ship that I wasn't able to wake up earlier. << I gotta blame it on consuming the wrong type of coffee the evening before>>
St. Andrews Bay
Saint Andrews Bay is about 3.2km wide, on the north coast of South Georgia. King Penguins form huge breeding colonies, with roughly 150,000 of them residing on the bay.
The ship had anchored off St. Andrews Bay and I could see the lofty snow-capped mountains beyond the retreating glaciers, which got me very excited about being finally able to see the king penguins in the flesh, as well as the other diverse forms of wildlife present. I hurried through breakfast, which I kept consciously light, with less liquids. <<I would not want to end today's excursion prematurely by having to take the zodiac back to the ship to use the toilets!>>
While waiting on the deck to go to the mudroom by 7am, I became acutely aware of a pungent smell permeating the air. << Hmmm - I checked my attire, if any stray strip of clothing might have accidentally dipped into the toilet bowl? Highly unlike but...>>Then suddenly it hit me that it was the smell of penguin poo drifting from the shore!!!
~6:45am : I went to the mud room but no one was in sight. Then I realized that I had mistaken the time as 7am instead of 7:30am. <<Was I getting unreasonably excited?>>
I waited a short while before the EC team came and boarded the zodiac to get ready for our shore excursion. I queued to go on the first zodiac after that.
We approached the pebbly muddy shore amidst the cacophony of sounds from the penguins' cawing and honking, and the initial pungent smell seemed not as overwhelming as before - maybe I'd gotten used to it already? 
Or maybe it was my other senses getting overloaded with the multitude of penguins against the picturesque landscape in front of me coupled with the riotous and incessant penguins' calls all over! King penguins are about 90cm in height. They were especially cute when two male penguins waddled behind a female penguin vying for attention. 😄
As we walked along the marked trail, the king penguins were everywhere in sight, and mingled amongst them were the (rather territorial) fur seals. The seals would snarl and lunge at people, and we were instructed to stand our ground (no running), and to wave or clap our hand to 'scare' them. 
I trekked up the hilly slope, mindful of the nearby seals. As I stood by the edge at the hillside, the vista of the bay with thousands of penguins stretching from the shore towards the mountain beyond came into sight. It was a 'OH MY GOODNESS' moment.
The sounds emanating from the nearby and the faraway colony of penguins while raucous and noisy, was fascinating in its own way. Gazing over the landscape definitely summoned a feeling of sheer awe - an unforgettable sight.
I stood there for a longer while to enjoy the view, being entertained also by the curious penguins who would walk by. <<TM told me that she read about a traveller who was so overwhelmed by the sight of the king penguin in South Georgia that she wept>> It was definitely the highlight of the trip (but no tears lah).
I walked back down to the beach as it was about time to go off. Owing to the strong waves, we had to leave via another more sheltered bay. We took a longer route passing through a small stream, which was fine by me as it prolonged the excursion time :).
The zodiac cruise provided the chance to view the king penguins swimming in the water. I had initially mistaken them for other seabirds when the zodiac first made landing for the shore excursion.
After the cruise around the bay, I was glad to be back in the warmth of the ship for a cup of coffee and cookies. I had lunch after, before the second land excursion to the Gold Harbour in the afternoon. Gold Harbour
We took the zodiac to the island. This excursion felt like a culmination of the many experiences along the trip - being on zodiac, approaching a ragged yet beautiful island with abundant wildlife - it brought about the now-familiar feeling of excitement and amazement mixed with a certain weariness from the cold and wet conditions as well. 😊😐😄
We landed at Gold Harbour in good time. The penguins and elephant seals were there to welcome us the moment we reached the shore. The fur seals were amongst the tussock grass and the beach, alerted to our presence and ready to protect their territory/turf with their 'lunging attack' action. 
The seals felt almost like a minefield to me because I was pretty sure that I would have the innate instinct to run instead of standing and clapping my hands to rebuff them... 😮😲.
The elephant seals were huge and though they were resting/sleeping on the beach, I remembered a documentary film depicting how they fought, with a weight of about 900-2000kg between them and thus made sure to keep a distance from them.
I walked the marked trails to enjoy and soak in the sights. Although I still had about 1/2 hour before the time to go back, I decided to queue for the zodiac earlier to go back for a nice hot shower.
The coronavirus development
We were given free limited internet access after updates were given that Argentina has closed its border with US and Europe.
A few people did not come for the shore excursion as they were ordered to stay in their room because of their flu.
A few people did not come for the shore excursion as they were ordered to stay in their room because of their flu.
<< I suspected the increase in number could also be due to the polar plunge?>>
The South Georgian authorities had been reviewing the landing requirement for cruise ships on Grifiven. It was announced that we would not be landing on Grifiven the next day because of the twelve people onboard the ship who were down with flu. Another non-landing to buy postcards/souvenirs.
<<I half expected this because the scientists/researchers on the island are so far away from medical emergency, they had to take precaution with current situation>>
The coronavirus situation seemed to have gotten worse since I left...
<<I have been careful since leaving for the trip; taking my daily vitamins, minimizing close interaction and avoiding prolong time in enclosed crowded space (lecture theatre, restaurant, etc). Other than short chat with a few others; usually, time alone to walk the deck, read or write in the bistro, along with the scarf to cover my mouth/nose when needed. Yes - 'Anti-Social'>>
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