 Ready for the trip ! |
 first glymps of our ship... |
 and off we go |
 1st January 2013, what a start ! |
 a blue tourist on the deck... |
 sailing under Argentinian Flag |
 it was a beautiful day |
 we got some visitors |
 while crossing the Drake Passage |
 arriving in Antarctica, the first view of the coast |
 and our first penguin ! The weather was very rough... |
 even the penguins were in a bad mood... |
 back on board, the captain monitoring the way |
 and guiding us through all the ice |
 very safely. He did a great job |
 most important place on board, the coffee machine |
 and the bar area, where we spend a lot of time |
 playing dice and studing the different animals |
 going down the stairs |
 I had a shared cabin on the 3rd deck |
 walking down the corridor |
 and here the inside of our cabin, shared by 3 people |
 with shower and toilet |
 and a proper sink |
 and this is the way to get into a zodiac |
 a rubber boat that carries 10 people |
 and is used to get on shore or cruising around |
 the zodiacs are very safe and have a 60hp engine |
 the ship was called MV Ortelius |
 originally used as an expedition ship by the Russians |
 and here with a visitor, a whale! |
 Panoramic View over Baileyīs Head |
 Baileys Head is a famous place for penguin rookery |
 with tenīs of thousands of Chinstrap penguins |
 one can smell them before seeing them though... |
 it was just after breeding season |
 and there were lots of chicks around |
 and a guy busy transporting stones to make the nest |
 unfortunately, it also means it is a good time |
 for skua birds who feed on the chicks |
 and fighting in the air over the food |
 a black and white view of the amount of penguins |
 and going out to see to get some krill for the chicks |
 A Panoramic View of the back of Base W |
 and at the Base W, now a museum |
 that still has all the food stuff |
 of the British when they were here |
 like these tin canned cigarettes !!! |
 but the more interesting part |
 here is the wildlife ! An Adelie Penguin |
 and huge icebergs |
 And a crabeater seal |
 that seemed to pose for us |
 and not at all shy... |
 cruising with our zodiac around the area |
 and watching the Adelie Penguins |
 and well, they watched us too ! |
 this is the area where we cruised around |
 and with some amzing rough sea as well... |
 and here, well another one of these |
 they were just everywhere |
 and the way they move is just |
 very fascinating |
 I could watch them for hours |
 without getting tired |
 for example when they transport stones |
 or when you see them jumping |
 from some big iceberg |
 into the water |
 JUMP !!! |
 sometimes more stylish |
 and gracious |
 and sometimes very clumbsy... |
 the blue of the ice was just amazing |
 and when the first starts jumping |
 normally the rest of them |
 will follow |
 here one can see that the icebergs |
 are very big underwater |
 and sometimes just donīt look big at all |
 until one gets closer |
 and realises how deep they go |
 even my wide angle lens could not |
 capture all of it... |
 and you can see how far away we were |
 which sometimes was hard to spot the penguins |
 but then when you get closer you see them |
 the icebergs were everywhere |
 and sometimes came in bizarr formations, like this arch |
 our ship was always around it |
 penguins can jump up the icebergs |
 as they would be to steep to climb |
 our ship in the background :D |
 and us cruising around |
 with lots of small ice blocs in the way |
 another seal yawning |
 and enjoying itself |
 almost eating our ship... |
 and this blue tourist again... |
 very nice bluish iceberg... |
 "Parking" our ship next to an iceberg !!! |
 another seal enjoying the peaceful place |
 until we arrived, wonder what these strange penguins were doing |
 while cruising around further |
 we spotted a lonely guy |
 might have lost his mates... |
 and another group of strange penguins |
 watching a seal on a fantastic iceberg |
 another "lost" guy |
 Cuverville Island was for me one of the highlights |
 as it was a very beautiful hill |
 overlooking a bay during sunset |
 of an unforgetable sunset |
 the colour was perfect |
 and there were lots of animals |
 and even a ship passing by |
 while I took photos against the backdrop |
 even the penguins enjoyed it! |
 overlooking icebergs |
 and some of the penguins |
 did some yoga and meditation as well |
 this sunset was at 11pm at night |
 when we had to go back to the ship |
 While sailing to another place we saw orca whales |
 and some huge Albatross birds |
 we ankered at a new place |
 which name sounded like Aicho Bay |
 and had lots of Gentoo penguins |
 getting out of the water |
 together with some Chinstrap Penguins |
 waddling off |
 and drying themselves in the sun |
 we even saw a cormorant bird |
 and some seals again of course |
 the weather got rough |
 and it got more complicated to get back on the zodiacs |
 another highlight was Hope Bay |
 where which is a beautiful bay |
 with amazing icebergs |
 and a huge amount of wildlife |
 like seals |
 and tenīs of thousands of Adelie penguins |
 waddling around |
 and hundreds of them jumping into the water |
 sometimes graceful |
 and sometimes not sooo much... |
 while in the zodiac, they were swimming |
 all around us, some even accidentially jumping into the boat! |
 curiousity kills the cat (penguin)! |
 all the brown area was a penguin rookery |
 waiting for the partner... |
 being curious with blue eyes... |
 This was our passage through the Lemaire Channel |
 which is famous for its beauty |
 almost everyone stayed up until 2am to |
 see the beautiful landscape |
 and watching a sailing ship |
 passing by. Some of our scientist swapped ships |
 and stayed on this sailing boat for some time |
 coming out of the channel, we saw |
 lots of icebergs and this stupid blue tourist again... |
 while the sun slowly |
 started to settle down |
 these photos were taken |
 at around 10 - 11 pm |
 with beautiful lit icebergs getting pink |
 while sunset was at around midnight |
 and our ship was going further south |
 This was the Argentinian Station of Paradise Bay |
 want to go to Paradise? -50 degrees in winter? |
 just getting on shore |
 and walking up the hill in the snow |
 the view from up there was fantastic |
 it was great to overlook the bay |
 and to see how clear the water was |
 A Petrel Bird flying around me |
 most likely having the nest |
 somewhere below in the rocks |
 and then I got a great view |
 from above of a Humback Whale |
 passing by |
 and showing off its fluke |
 another view shot before descending |
 a piece of ice floating around |
 and penguins all over the place |
 with lots of icebergs |
 where we cruised around with our zodiacs |
 to get the view of the blue |
 and the snow mountains |
 and again, icebergs everywhere |
 in all shapes and colours |
 with some Chinstrap Penguin hiding |
 and an unusal shaped iceberg |
 which had this huge lines |
 all over. Most likely carved by moving around |
 Then there were some seals around the area |
 with an iceberg forming a window to see the penguin |
 or hopping from stone to stone |
 or just relaxing on the ice :D |
 the fur of the seal was amazing |
 Anchoring at Petermann Island |
 and getting a visit by Humback Whales |
 showing off their flukes |
 just turning around in our zodiac |
 we saw this group of Gentoos jumping |
 a very beautiful Gentoo jumping out of the water |
 and turning around again |
 there was this massive Humback Whale |
 just very close to us |
 we got soo much wildlife |
 it got almost stressful, ha,ha,ha... |
 one could take thousands of |
 photos here or just sit back and relax |
 and enjoying the beauty of the place |
 as this penguin did as well :D |
 cruising around the area was magic |
 and you can see everyone was taking photos with big big cameras |
 or just busy explaining wildlife to us |
 another beautiful iceberg |
 and another amazing Humback Whale Fluke |
 the Whales got extremely close to our zodiacs |
 and on shore, an abandoned Argentinian Base |
 with lots of Gentoo Penguins around it |
 breeding their chicks |
 and from time to time, an Adelie passed by |
 being very curious about who these strange guys were |
 and this blue tourist again, the penguin just came up to me !! |
 Booth Island was an evening landing |
 with amazing light |
 and lots of Gentoo penguins |
 screaming for whatever reason |
 and with that light |
 it was the perfect setup for photos! |
 I think the penguins really found |
 paradise in that place, they were very relaxed |
 and with that sunset, I think so too... |
 overlooking a Gentoo rookery |
 and sunset with various |
 shots of a penguin |
 I stayed half an hour there |
 just waiting for the right light |
 and the penguin doing |
 what I wanted them to do... |
 Sometimes patience pays off |
 eventually :D |
 looking back the other side, the mountain |
 and the surroundings got that |
 magic light that I have only seen here |
 even the penguins went home very orderly |
 last sunrays over the iceberg cemetery |
 going back to the zodiacs |
 not really in the mood to leave the place |
 but eventually took the last zodiac :D |
 Next day we sailed to Port Lockroy |
 which is the only comercially operated place |
 with my friends, John, Gerry and Laura |
 that also is a scientific station for the British |
 and housing a museum |
 which exhibits all kind of things people used 100 years ago |
 to survive the harsh climate here |
 well, and then there was this blue tourist again.... |
 on the other side of the station is a huge |
 skelleton of a whale |
 and some very relaxed seales as well |
 eventually we arrived at Whalers Bay |
 where we encountered this lazy seal |
 scratching itself from time to time |
 on the head but just in no mood to move at all |
 and some penguins strolling along the beach |
 and a strange looking white penguin among others |
 Ortelius waiting for us in the bay |
 walking along some amazing rock formation |
 and looking down to a cove |
 where lots of birds where nesting |
 Some Petrels flying around |
 most likely having their nests in the rocks |
 and providing food to their chicks |
 one of our last stops in Antarctica |
 was Yankee Harbour |
 where men with big guns shoot penguins :D |
 there was a busy highway |
 with a lonely Penguin walking on it |
 the weather was very clouded, which gave a great background |
 and lots of Penguins with chicks |
 and some predators watching out for an opportunity |
 and mothers defending their chicks |
 until they grow up to a respective size |
 These are Elephant Seals |
 a guy with an attitude |
 and a poor penguin defending a dead one |
 so much of being lazy... |
 Then we headed back through the Lemaire Channel |
 enjoying another unforgettable sunset |
 with amazing mountains all around |
 and pack ice cracking under the weight of the ship |