Main

December 29, 2004

MERRY XMAS FROM RHIAN & THE PENGUINS

For those who don't know, Rhian Salmon has been blogging from the British Antarctic Survey the last year. Recently, she was stunned to see a cruise ship full of touists pull up!

"The first dear I met was 83 ( she told me as she ran up the steps while her companion nearly had a cardiac arrest behind her). She was petite & spritely & inquisitive, interested & so alive. She held my hand & kissed my face & asked really good questions & told me about having to pee into a bottle when she went to the South Pole."

"Visited the penguins today, thousands of them cooing & trilling, so many that an entire ice cliff was grey with their shadow. The first time I saw an Emperor I was over-awed by its majesty. Now, visiting them is like going to feed the ducks. Very pleasant – but surely there's something not right?!

"Another thing that made me laugh was the queue that formed behind our backpacks while we walked among them. You can see for yourself the line that had formed by the time we returned. They really are sheep. "

"I'm lying on the snow, emperor penguins all around. A rattle & a coo, constantly starting & ending, sometimes in unison, a chorus, sometimes a chant, always in surround sound. On top of this is the sweet demanding chirrup of chicks, almost a trill.

"The downside is the stench. Fishy ammonia, green-brown penguin poo streaks all across the ice. Not dissimilar from pigeons. Birds is birds I guess."

Posted by Jeff at December 29, 2004 09:57 AM

Comments