Antarctica Pictures Page 1

Quark December 3 through December 10 2014

Antarctica Journal

Antarctica Movies

Antarctica Pictures Page 1

Antarctica Pictures Page 2

Me and the ship

Ush

Ushuaia - the Southern-most city in South America

We sailed with Quark

This is how we boarded the ship

Photo by David Merron

CLICK HERE for detail about the ship in the jounal

THe Zodiac boats on the back of the ship

Photo by David Merron

Our very comfortable room on the fourth floor.  Two twin beds. Window view.

The Main Lounge and auditorium on the ship. This is where we had lectures and movies

The bar area. Notice the piano is bolted down

Barf bags strategically located on all the hallways and stairwells on the ship.  It was smooth sailiing going down "The Drake Lake", but coming back we experienced "The Drake Shake"

The BRIDGE. We were invited here to observe.

Fancy dining room

Great dinners everynight

Sail down the historic Beagle Channel.

This historic channel transects the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the extreme south of South America.

There is an air of excitement as we depart - the next time you see land we�ll be in the world�s most southern continent!

Whales !!!  Humpback whales

Zodiac excursion

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Loading the Zodiac

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Off on an excursion

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Dropped on Barrientos Island, South Shetland Islands.   Click here for my Antarctic Journal entry for this place.

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My first penguin encounter in Antarctica!

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WEDDELL SEAL

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Photo by David Merron

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Take the ice back to the ship to have a real drink on the rocks.

Jonathan Shackleton was on my zodiac.  He was our "expert in Residence"  He is Shackleton (who made all those trips to try to get to S. Pole) second cousin.  He gave all these talks on the voyage:

– A Feckless Irishman nearly reaches the South Pole’, with our Expertin-Residence, Jonathan Shackleton in the Main Lounge (Deck 5)

Bar Talk: Join Jonathan Shackleton for his short talk, ‘Penguins in the Library’ in The Club (Deck 4)

By Endurance we Conquer – Extreme Survival Against the Odds’, with our Expert-in-Residence Jonathan Shackleton in the Main Lounge (Deck 5)

The Last Journey – Shackleton’s final trip to Antarctica on the Quest – A review of his character and legacy’, a short presentation with Jonathan Shackleton in the Main Lounge

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A Spaceship from an alian planet

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THE EMPEROR

Shackleton has done 31 trips to the peninsula.

Click here for my Antarctic Journal entry for this Emperor event.

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So we are zipping around in our zodiac and the driver gets an urgent call. 

She high-gears us over to where the other populace is residing. 

Several other zodiacs are already there. Circling, don’t get too close !

 A VERY RARE sighting: We saw an Emperor today!!  He was standing on a small iceberg.

There were 2 Adele (the smallest Penguins) with him on the iceberg.  Emperor is the largest penguin.

We were “Very lucky to see emperor”

The zodiac driver said this was the second time she has seen an Emperor in three years.

Shackleton said that he has done 31 trips to the peninsula ( and more trips elsewhere on the continent) .  He has only seen an emperor ONE OTHER TIME!!!    

At the evening briefing, Woody got all excited “Seeing the emperor today was “MIND BLOWING” and everybody screamed in unison – so exciting to have such good luck.

“You are a very, very lucky group.”

About the Emperor:

The largest penguin.

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Many people had Go Pro cameras. 

Make sure the waterproof cover is water proof BEFORE you dunk it!

The climbers starting their trek up to the summit

The morning was overcast and calm in Wilhelmina Bay.

We watched the progress of the climbers making their assent of a small steep island.

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THE SUMMIT!!!  Kevin is up there!

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Barrientos Island, South Shetland Islands

Barrientos Island is part of a small group of islands, called the Aitcho Islands, at the northern entrance to the English Strait.

The islands were charted and named in 1936 by the Discovery Investigations (1925-39) for the Admiralty Hydrographic Office (the ‘H.O.’).

Gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins and southern giant petrels are confirmed breeders on these islands and southern elephant seals and fur seals can sometimes be seen at haul outs and wallows.

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Stop for Penguin crossing.  They have the right-of-way

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Penguin traffic ahead!!!

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I need to give credit to whoever took this pix:  PENGuin Sex ?!?

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Carrying a Rock, building a nest

It's Gary!!!

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Photo by David Merron

The Penguin Highway

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Gary, Suzanna, Charity? Anamika, Erika,  Jonathan, Tish

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The Writer

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You really work up a sweat on some of these hikes!

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We saw three types of seals:
   Southern Elephant Seal
   Weddell Seal
   Crabeater Seal

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If  a glacier calves, lay down in the boat and get ready for a BIG WAVE!

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Pengui Highway tracks

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I'm not getting in the water.

You get in the water.

I'm not getting in!

Let's get Mikey

Yeah!  He'll get in!

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Sure looks like a hungry seal

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Professional photos by David Merron (i think)

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Profesional Photos by David Merron (i think)

JUMPING UP

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Photo by David Merron

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