Arriving at Danco Island is like waking up in an Antarctic dream! Steep, snow covered mountains rise from the sea and the Errera Channel has beautifully carved icebergs floating on a calm, mist covered ocean. We land on this island to observe the Gentoo penguins. The snow is still very deep- which is unusual for this time of the year. Penguin chicks are thus also relatively small as penguins wait until they have a snow free area to nest. The penguins have carved deep “penguin highways” in this snow and sometimes all you see is the top of their heads waddling between ocean and rookery.
While we do a few short walks in the snow- to various rookeries- a heavy snowfall commences- which adds to the mood. The snowflakes are giant clumps and I observe the delicate snowflake structures on my gloves before the few seconds it takes for their beauty to dissipate.
