Category Archives: Nature

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 →

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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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Carcass Island

Posted on December 26, 2014 by admin

Our second stop in the Falklands was Carcass Island, near West Point Island in the north-west of the archipelago. It has a somewhat bizarre landscape which includes palm trees: And penguins among the heather and gorse: The special feature of … Continue reading →

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West Point

Posted on December 25, 2014 by admin

Our first stop was West Point Island, in the Falklands. The landscape was very familiar for Scottish tourists:   The main attraction was the colony of black-browed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins. The first sign that we were approaching was the … Continue reading →

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Overboard

Posted on December 25, 2014 by admin

For some of us, the main attraction of the sea days was peering over the back of the boat, and enjoying the bird life. In the Beagle Channel, we had flocks of South American Terns; at the speed which they … Continue reading →

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Tierra del Fuego

Posted on December 23, 2014 by admin

Our hours between flight and boat before and after the voyage were spent being taken around the environs of Ushuaia. The second of these trips involved spending three hours in a bus with misted-up windows, peering out at a spectrum … Continue reading →

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Buenos Aires

Posted on December 23, 2014 by admin

We started and finished our trip in Buenos Aires, which was a fine repository of amusing signs. Starting with the most puerile: This last was in a pleasant surprise: a nature reserve right next to the city centre, but which … Continue reading →

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Sexy Austrian Birds

Posted on August 16, 2014 by admin

The area around Neusiedl turned out to be a good spot for birds, especially raptors. Most were a bit far off for pictures, but a few were more cooperative. Best picture was of this swallow, which I haven’t identified any … Continue reading →

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