Antarctica!

We have been in the Antarctica the past two days. The first day was cloudy all day until sunset.  Today was BRIGHT and sunny! The pictures I have taken just don't do the place justice.  It is so other worldly.  I highly recommend watching  a National Geographic special which still won't capture the essence, but will be better than my I-phone.  

The Icebergs are huge! Like 300 ft. tall by 900 feet wide, and that is just what's sticking out of the water.  

A scooner from one of the research stations.

The past four days

We have seen orca's, lots of  small penguins (no King or Emperor yet), seals and humpbacks. You can barely see the penguins as they fly through the water feeding.

This is Elephant Island where Ernest Shackelton's men waited for 4 months for his return. There is a level area just behind these rocks.

There is a plaque with the name of the whaling ship that rescued them

This is the bay with the area where they stayed to the left.

If you have not heard of Shackleton and his ship the Endurance you must be hiding in a hole, but there are movies and documentaries which are a must see.

The guy in shorts and flip flops was dressed like that the whole 4 days (actually the entire trip so far.)  He is Melaun from Serbia, 23, and works during the summer in Alaska driving luggage around. Then in the winter he travels. He told us, "I am not going to wait until I am old to travel. I'm going to do it now. Maybe I get married when I am 40." He is solid as a rock and eats mountains of food. What a character.

There is always a special Ice Captain that comes aboard the ship whenever you go into Antarctica. Last night the Ice Captain of the ship could not believe what she was seeing on the radar. An iceberg 6 miles wide and we were heading straight for it. Of course she was able to maneuver around it. It is called a23a.   The largest iceberg known.

What a glorious 4 days spent in Antarctica!!!