Thursday, January 24, 2013

Antarctic Adventures - South Georgia - St Andrews Bay

Day 9:
Three hundred thousand King penguins
And the Jabba the Hut inspiration
Caused a terrible stench
On the wave-cut bench
Of the glaciated and folded formations

Jabba the Hutt was most definitely inspired by a bull elephant seal. Holy mother of pearl do those animals smell like nothing you have ever experienced before. Imagine if you took a San Francisco hobo alley and soaked it in a prison toilet and then layered it beneath effluence from Edinburgh's "gardy-loo" days. That's probably pretty close to elephant seal aroma.

Sweet flame structures in Sandebugten formation turbidites

The view of St. Andrew's Bay from the toe of a glacier retreating at a very respectful 1 meter/day. The meltwater stream rushing out from it was most impressive.

Ice-cored moraine! Right in the middle! Can you see it?
Jabba the Hut inspiration roaring foul stench on Rudolph Trouw. Ian Dalziel in background headed toward Cumberland Bay turbidites. This is not my photo! Photo courtesy of Ann Laubach.

Obligatory beautiful view photo. Mountains, moraine, penguins, reflection, etc.

Obligatory beautiful King penguin photo (penance for capturing that one looking over its shoulder at poop earlier...)

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