South Georgia: the footsteps of Shackleton (III)
There are many reasons to visit South Georgia. This island, full of mountains and glaciers that reach the sea level, is located in the South Atlantic, about 1.400 miles of the Falkland Islands and some 2.200 east of Tierra del Fuego. By configuration, abrupt and tortured, its mountains have been called "the mountains of the ocean", the island being home to hundreds of thousands of birds, marine mammals and penguins, constituting one of the most grandiose of marine life on Earth.
At this latitude there is a passage of depressions on the island causing a bad time violent and almost continuous, something to always keep in mind. Georgia is a rather large island, of almost 170 kilometers long and about 50 wide and a few really small islets. Although now only a few people living in the port of Grytviken performing tasks for the Antarctic program, Georgia was the basis of a large whaling industry, lobera and foquera, the 1786 a 1965.
A Spanish ship, Leon, was the first to sight in 1753 Island, who gave it the name of San Pedro
The first to sight the island was the Spanish ship Leon in 1753, his crew gave it the name San Pedro. In January 1775 the illustrious British sailor James Cook on his way back to England, after his fruitless search for the terra australis incognita, the Antarctica, would not see, was the first to come to land and take possession. He put the name of his sovereign, King George and the Possession Bay save this name in honor of that historical event. With annoyance, James Cook, noted that the place "wild and terrible" "not worth".
Cook llevó a England the news of the large colonies of seals and whales that frequented those seas and coasts and soon broke the exploitation of this source of wealth. In the late eighteenth century Georgia began to be visited by sealers and sealers, especially English and American, that would lead to these species to the brink of extinction. Later, late nineteenth century, came the whalers. A century ago there were five whaling stations and thousands of people who were engaged in the marketing of the products of whales, seals and sea lions. Here is the largest animal hunted in history: Blue whale 33, 5 meters long.
Para James Cook, the first to set foot on the island, that place "wild and terrible" "not worth it"
In those times are ghost towns, sunken barracks, abandoned factories, ships scrapped. From 1904 a 1966 were killed in South Georgia over 170.000 whales. When they became so scarce that business no longer hunt, began closing bases whaling. Some of them came to have 800 People, with cinema, where he premiered the latest movies, and came to have its own football championship. Elephant seals were the last to replace the fat of whales. When they too were killed last closed factories.
Since then, 1964, all alone, wildlife has recovered. Elephants and lions just leave one square meter on the beaches to disembark. With the seals, despite its huge wingspan, there is little to fear, because they are very quiet animals. But sea lions are very territorial animals aggressively defending their territory and before which the traveler must be vigilant. Despite its apparent clumsiness move quickly. They have reported sea lion attacks people.
Of those times when they were killed over 170.000 whales are ghost towns, sunken barracks, abandoned factories, ships scrapped
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of seals and sea elephants, Georgia is a paradise that attracts thousands of seabirds. Most notably penguins, albatrosses and petrels. In the Bahía de San Andrés there is one of the largest king penguin colonies, about 300 the 400 thousand penguins, that are crowded and where you can see the spectacle of the brown downy chicks with their parents waiting for them to come to feed them. Some adult caregivers like a nursery, while the other parent goes to get food to the sea to feed their young.
Approximately about fifty percent of the world population of elephant seals, which is estimated at about 600 the 700.000 copies, focuses on South Georgia. There is in these beaches about 400.000 and born a 100.000 offspring per year. Some elephants come to have harems with hundreds of females. This fight battles to the death with younger males. At the same time the fearsome skuas attack the weakest and most vulnerable animals.
Nearly half of the world population of elephant seals is concentrated in the South Georgia
Impress the abundance and urgency of life and the constant presence of death. It is the repeated cycle of the prey and the predator, of life and death. A unique show in a unique: surrounded by mountains as impressive as the Himalayas and, standing among them, the Paget up with their 2.934 meters holds the grand title of being the highest mountain in the British Empire. There was a time that corresponded to title Everest, although since then the British Empire, and mountains, have been less. However Paget, despite its modest altitude, is a great mountain, terrible in bad weather (usually the usual) and with very few ascents. (The team of "The Edge ..." made the fifth ascent absolute 2003).
Sebastian Alvaro and his team follow the footsteps of Shackleton at South Georgia made the same journey in an expedition sponsored by Halconviajes.com and Salomba Ventures
Comments (1)
carol
| #
I only see that with each passing day is amazing to see how beautiful this planet
Answer