Day 14 - Grytviken, South Georgia

Although our next stop - Grytviken - was only a short distance from St Andrews Bay, just up the coast and around the next headland, the ship headed out to rough seas again.  The movement woke me up at 1.30 and I didn't really get back to sleep.  At 4 am I looked at Google maps to see that we were about 70 miles from land and heading back towards South Georgia.

We couldn't land at Grytviken in the morning as planned due to very high winds so instead we sailed past it.

Rainbow over Glacier near Grytviken 

Grytviken from end of bay

We then went to Jason Bay, a little farther up the coast to do what should have been our afternoon excursion.

Whe we saw a few king penguins and lots of Elephant and Fur Seals.  We are seeing the remains of birds and mammals on the beaches.


Jason Bay

Refuge Hut built in early 1900s when Whaling stations were being set up  

Fur Seal

Fur seals

Elephant Seal skull

Fur seal

Fur seal pup

South Georgia Pipit



Tussock Grass

My friends

Fur Seal skeleton 




Fur Seals


Fur seal pup

King penguins


Fur Seal and pup



Penguins behaving badly

 
More Penguins behaving badly

After lunch we returned to Grytviken where the winds had subsided so we could land.  Grytviken is a former Whaling settlement which was closed in the 1960s.  

There is still a settlement here and we saw civilisation for the first time since we left Chile.  There are 3 Government officials living here and the rest of the population work for the British Antarctic Survey.  There is a museum,  a church and a post office.  Also a few Penguins and LOTS of Seals.

The Seals here were far more aggressive than we have seen so far.  One guest was bitten by an Elephant Seal who was in a ditch near the path to the cemetery.  It could easily have been myself or Paul as we were just in front.


Elephant Seal that bit a guest

Ernest Shackletons grave

Cemetery residents

Grytviken Cemetery 

Former Whaling building

Former Whaling Station structures

Unidentified 

South Georgia Post office 

South Georgia Pintail

Grytviken Church


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