20 ANTARCTICA

From 18th-28th January 2007 we cruised on the ship ANTARCTIC DREAM

http://www.antarctic.cl

"Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success”

Sir Ernest Shackleton

Antarctic peninsula Map with the localization of our landing sites (Copyright: Marcello Solari, Geologist of the Antarctic expedition).

"I am the albatross that waits for you at the bottom of the earth. I am the forgotten soul of the dead sailors who crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of the world. But they did not die in the furious waves. Today they fly in my wings to eternity in the last trough of the Antarctic winds".

Sara Vial -Valparaiso Chile- 1992 (Translation of inscription on Cape Horn Monument)

This is one of the majestic pelagic bird species (Albatross Picture Copyright Leung, Chi Tak- Hong Kong; Guest on Antarctic Dream Expedition and good fellow), with a wing span of 3 metres. It spends the majority of its life flying over the Southern oceans searching food. We spotted many (including the Wandering Albatross, the largest) while navigating the Drake Passage, the sea which is necessary to cross between the South American continent and Antarctica. Its waters are infamous for being some of the roughest in the world. Waves can be up to 10 metres high.

Above right is the Comet Mc Naught. We spotted it in the night sky from the ship’s bridge while crossing the Drake passage on 19th January 2007 on our Southbound journey to Antarctica.

Nicola with chinstrap penguin on the beach at Deception island.

Deception is a beautifully shaped caldera that last erupted in 1970.

The island rises 500 m from the seabed and has a submerged basal diameter of 25 km. It was formed by a big collpase due to an eruption of an unknown age. The only sea access into and out of the caldera is through a narrow space called “Neptune’s Bellows”.

Gentoo penguins. These two species of penguins can only be found in Antarctica.

Gentoo penguins in the centre, with two chinstraps either side on the lavic sand on Danko Island.

Gentoo chick at 4 weeks old.

Right: The inquisitive and bad tempered Adelie penguin. It is our favourite penguin and really the stereotypical penguin, in appearance.