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Quaint Stanley
Stanley, the Capital of the Falklands, is a strange town. It has had two notable lives, the first starting in the 1700’s as a whaling and Antarctica expedition hub and then forty years ago, a war with Argentina. The Museum, in town, gives about half of its coverage to ancient times and the other half
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A royal approach to the Falklands
A bright early morning sky greeted me today and so did several albatrosses. The ever-present Black-browed Albatrosses had the company of the Light-mantled ones as well as the tiny Antarctic Prions which are impossible to photograph well. After breakfast, I was informed that Royal and Wandering Albatrosses had been spotted, so I raced for the
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Whales Unlimited!
This was supposed to be a quiet transit day of our trip. Rising at 5:30, I saw very little as visibility was limited, but the seas were relatively calm. I decided to go back to bed and see if the day would improve. After a satisfying breakfast, we got a call over the ship PA
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Frozen Water Walking!
What a day! The Roald Amundsen has now sidled up to the ice field and after some investigation, the gangplank was lowered. The Expedition Crew went onto the ice and started drilling holes in it. Apparently they found it solid and thick, so off we go on an Ice Walk! We had fifteen minutes on
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Emperors!
We sailed down the Weddell Sea on a calm and partly sunny morning looking for creatures. The mountains and glaciers were exotic looking and the sea was calm. As we stood on the front deck, the Expedition Crew were scouring the ice floes for seals and penguins. A few Blue-eyed shags flew by as well
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Brown Bluffs a No, Emperor Penguins Maybe?
Brown Bluffs, the Northernmost location on the Antarctic Peninsula was looking good, clear skies and an ice-free landing zone. One of our guides, Fritz was excited to point out that all those tiny spots on the hill were penguins and he thought we would have an ideal landing. Then over the PA system we hear
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Two Tickets to Paradise
We’ve reached Paradise Bay and the Argentinian research center, Almirante Brown Station. The ship is just off our landing location and the views of the bay and the icebergs are wonderful. There are Blue-eyed Shags and Antarctica Terns nesting in the nearby cliff face and lots of Gentoo Penguins fishing just off our landing site.
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The Stunning Beauty of Lemaire
After our wet day, our shipped turned North, and we reentered the Lemaire Channel under clearing conditions. Standing on the back tenth deck, looking at the Mountains and their reflections in the still waters was inspiring. We were giddy at the sheer magnificence of the terrain, no matter where we looked. Definitely one of the
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Adeline Penguin at Rainy pleneau island
Our excursion this afternoon was what one would expect of Antarctica. Our gear, bought for this trip was in its full glory. We had a continuing icy rain, some wind and of course near freezing conditions. We entered the Zodiac to a pelting rain that was highly unpleasant, but we were essentially covered from head
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Snow, Wind, rain!
Our outing last night at Port Lockroy was in heavy snow. Our other objective here was to drop off several scientists who would spend the next four months on the island. The zodiac cruise was chilly with near whiteout conditions. We saw two islands of Gentoo Penguins, but two icebergs were more visible and interesting