South Shetland Islands |
Deception Island |
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Deception Island through the port-hole |
The cliffs of Neptune's Bellows - entrance to the caldera |
Inside the caldera of Deception Island - sea ice and active volcanic cone |
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The Ocean nova wedged in the sea-ice |
View back to the ship across the sea-ice |
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View across the sea-ice toward the opening to the ocean |
Nostalgia for Uyuni |
The Ocean Nova backs out of its sea-ice berth |
One ship leaves - another arrives |
Farewell to Deception Island |
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Half Moon Island |
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Thar she blows! |
The rugged skyline of the Tangra Mountains on Livingstone Island |
Humpback passing by the ship |
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Cormorant fly-by with nesting material |
Rocky shoreline - luge run to right of outcrop |
The Halfmoon halfpipe |
The peninsula viewed from the luge run |
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The soft white mantle on neighbouring Greenwich Island |
Penguin tracks in the snow |
The silence of snow |
Time for a spot of meditation in the stilless of the South Shetlands |
The Ocean Nova waiting for us in Moon Bay |
Jubany Station |
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Red huts of Jubany on the black rock shoreline |
Reflections of Cerro Tres Hermanos |
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A cluster of elephant seals |
The fur colour of the elephant seals varied from grey to tan |
Juvenile elephant seals at play |
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Flock of kelp gulls |
A local and a visitor enjoying the sun |
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Elephant seal portrait |
Iceberg drifting beneath 520m Mt Plymouth on Greenwich Island |
Santiago, one of the expedition staff onboard, who had spent time at Jubany several years ago, was amazed at how much ice had been lost from the glaciers around the bay in just a few years. Everything that we were hearing implied that the Antarctic Peninsula of 50 years time will be very different from that of today. Then it was back on board for a few hours of sailing back and then northward through the English Passage to the Aitcho Islands (=HO or Hydrographic Office), an incredible group of jagged outcrops and islets of volcanic origin. We had actually passed them on our way south six days ago, faint outlines in the fog and driving snow. |
One of the starkly beautiful Aitcho Islands |
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The sawtooth profile of the Aitcho Islands (nostalgia for Torres del Paine) |
A massive tabular iceberg in the channel |
Barrientos Island |
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Chinstraps and gentoo defer to the king penguin |
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View over Barrientos to the glaciers and peaks of Greenwich Island |
Colony of gentoo penguins on their guano-tinted nesting site |
King penguin in haughty mood |
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The pinkness of gentoo guano (note the one is sitting on two eggs) |
One of these penguins is an impostor! |
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Iceberg in the English Passage |
Underwater section appearing as the iceberg tilts |
View from Barrientos to other islands of the Aitcho group |
Elephant seal basking on a pile of seaweed |
We then dropped down to the large flattish western end of the island that pushed out to sea along a shore lined with thick beds of washed up kelp; the perfect place for another group of sea elephants to haul out and rest as they shed their moulting skins. The shore was also littered with the spinal bones and ribs of a whale, but graced with the presence of another king penguin (apparently a rarity this far west) and a Weddell seal. |
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Sea elephant trumpeting |
Whale vertebra |
Weddell seal basking in the afternoon sun |
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Young elephant seal taking a dip |
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The sky had become somewhat more menacing |
Portrait of a contented Weddell seal |
The imperious king penguin - icon of the antarctic |
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