Author Archives: admin

Sliding Down a Volcano in Antarctica

Posted on December 30, 2014 by admin

Day two in Antarctica began with Deception Island. Visitors are no longer allowed to dig their own hot tubs in the volcanic sand, but I could still happily have spent several days here: touring the bay, visiting the remnants of … Continue reading →

Posted in Antarctica, Nature, Travel | 1 Comment

Half Moon Island

Posted on December 30, 2014 by admin

After leaving Arctowski, we sailed down the South Shetland islands, admiring the views: Our next stop was the tiny Half Moon Island, a scrap of land off the largish Livingston Island. Here some went off kayaking: While I went in … Continue reading →

Posted in Antarctica, Nature, Travel | 1 Comment

Arctowski

Posted on December 30, 2014 by admin

Arctowski Station, on King George Island, is named after the Polish explorer, meteorologist, and inventor of the wind chill factor, Henryk Arctowski. It’s very Polish: At the landing site, we found 100% of the flowering plants of Antarctica, though neither … Continue reading →

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Sightings

Posted on December 29, 2014 by admin

Our three days sailing from South Georgia to Antarctica proper were enlivened by several sightings. Having passed a small iceberg on the way to South Georgia, we now found ourselves confronting the more substantial tabular bergs. These are fragments of … Continue reading →

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St Andrews Bay

Posted on December 29, 2014 by admin

Our farewell to South Georgia was made at St Andrews Bay. The expedition team kept us on the edge of our seats waiting to find out whether we would be able to land (it was their first landing at this … Continue reading →

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Grytviken

Posted on December 28, 2014 by admin

Our last day at South Georgia began at Grytviken, the “capital”: an old whaling station, which has been cleaned up enough for visitors to wander around, plus a nearby British Antarctic Survey post. Most of the time, of course, it’s … Continue reading →

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Stromness

Posted on December 28, 2014 by admin

In the afternoon, we parked at Stromness, which is a bit more mountainous that the original on Orkney: Like Grytviken (the following day’s stop), this is a whaling and Shackleton history site: this is where he came down to the … Continue reading →

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Fortuna Bay

Posted on December 28, 2014 by admin

At South Georgia, the ship started to receive visits from Snowy Sheathbills: The red stains are blood, and the green is penguin poo, which gives you an idea of their diet: Fascinating fact #1: the sheathbill is the only Antarctic … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, South Georgia, Travel | 1 Comment

Salisbury Plain

Posted on December 27, 2014 by admin

After a couple of days at sea, we woke up to a rare, mostly-sunny day at South Georgia. The chance to see this island was one of the main reasons we’d booked this particular trip, and we were lucky enough … Continue reading →

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Stanley

Posted on December 27, 2014 by admin

Our second and last day in the Falklands was spent in and around Stanley. The “town” is really a couple of streets, with cheerful houses behind: People are very British: We headed however for Cape Pembroke, just past the airport: … Continue reading →

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