Animal and plant life in Antarctica is almost entirely along the coastlines and ice shelves. Inland there are no food sources. The frigid, yet nutritious, ice filled seas provide fish, who in turn feed seals ,penguins and other birds. Unfortunately, but naturally necessary, penguins also feed seals. Because of the extreme cold of the nearly 9 month winter, stretching from April to November, the penguin colonies of the Peninsula are not as large as those further North, in South Georgia and Argentina.

Penguins are quite social – not only with each other – but also with their human visitors. Here they are setting up nests with small rocks.

Walking, running and sledding are ways to get through the snow.

Primarily we observed Gentoo Penguins, with occasional Chinstraps. They are less than one meter tall. Larger Emprorers live in South Georgia.

Leopard seals are a constant and deadly threat.

The red snow is from regurgitated and defecated fish. Overall the smell is fishy . Exploring passengers must sanitize their boots upon return to the ship to prevent cross continental contamination. No longer are non native animals, such as dogs and horses, permitted on the Antarctic continent.

Getting ready to dive in for dinner.

TotalAdventure with Gentoo Penguins at Port Lockroy.

Gentoo On A Mission. They Are Busy Birds.

With MV Hondius Just Offshore.

Be sure to watch the video above to see the penguins in action !

In January, ArcticTropic friends – Peter Linn,his son Peter Jr. and Chris Merola sailed aboard the Corinthian 2 from Ushuaia, Argentina. The weather was the warmest the guides had ever experienced in Antarctica, with temperatures well above freezing – making it possible to complete all 12 of the planned landings. Below – some incredible scenery.

In Punto Tombo Patagonia a penguin tries to pull at my shoelace. Punto Tombo, on the Peninsula Valdes, about 1000 miles south of Buenos Aires, is home to 400,000 penguins.The climate is not Antarctic here – in fact it is barren scrub desert along the cold Atlantic. In the winter (May to September) the penguins swim north to Brazil, staying at sea most of the time. Arctic Tropic lists several expeditions to this area – click on South America and go right away to the Argentine listings.