Antartica
Our vessel - the Acamedic Ioffe - berthed at Ushuaia
Albatrosses accompany ships on the journey across Drake Passage
These tiny birds - Cape Petrels or Pintos to the locals - accompany us miles out to sea
Cape Petrel into huge waves
Northern giant petrel
Land - well almost
Out in the Zodiacs
To see a seal (Leopard Seal)
Or a Weddell Seal
Stunning ice caves
Ice formations
a long walk for food
And the Penguin colonies - and oasis of brown in a land of white
the brown trail down
and back again
penguin and ice sculpture
Chinstrap - easy to see how it gets its name ...
Testing the ice
Beauty above and below the water
and again
you could almost pop it in your drink ...
except it's 50 foot across
dangerously close to ice floes
glacier edge
and phallic ice bergs...
Its the time of year for mating - and calling out
or with friends - the ecstatic greeting
either alone
greeting
with gifts - pebble to make a nest
Gentoo on nest
and adelie penguin with egg
waterways
and fairy cake formations
making land break
morecambe and wise
but supremely adapted to the water
flying penguin
not all days are clear
penguin in whiteout
life goes on - just slowly
nest sitting in a storm
Weddell seal and penguin
Stunning scenery
ice floes of all sizes
penguin versus rock
land journeys
formation diving
and multiple diving
and again....
and again
and again
High speed water exit
Perfect landing
Moody berg
Cormorants
Tern
and a very white Ptarmigan
There is only one Macaroni in the colony
Chinstrap close up
at prayer?
Contented Weddell
Synchronised spouting
Tail like from Humpback
Nightime
Farewell