Perhaps the most amazing thing about Antarctica, above and beyond the sheer depth and breadth of beauty, is that the world has dedicated this continent to “peaceful purposes only”. This ability of the international community to come together for common cause was evidenced by the 39 nationalities aboard the cruise ship (about 300 individuals between passengers, crew and expedition staff).
In terms of global warming, one affect we saw was early hatching of Gentoo penguin chicks. None of the crew expected to see them this early.
I took lots of pictures of penguins, seals, birds, and some whales. I haven’t included many here because, as good as they are, they aren’t anything people haven’t seen before and I strive to provide new images. I also haven’t commented on most of these pictures because it’s hard for me to say much more than “Glacier – Wow!” and “Iceberg – Gorgeous!”
The cruise itself was 10 days plus I spent some time in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. We transferred to land and motored around the bays in Zodiacs. The cruise was by Quark Expeditions aboard the Ocean Diamond. http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/en. They do both Antarctic and Arctic cruises. They were great and, no, they’re not paying me to say that.
