Silversea -  Silver Explorer

Antarctic Peninsula, Falklands, South Georgia

January 23 - February 22, 2019

   Normally I try to put a few words with the images from my journeys - but in this case the photos and a few captions will need to suffice - at least for now. I did 2 voyages on the Silver Explorer - a 12 day trip from Ushuaia, Argentina along the Antarctic Peninsula to south of the Antarctic Circle and back - then an 18 day voyage from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the Peninsula, and back. The pictures are not chronological - rather more-or-less geographical. As there was quite a lot of overlap with my voyages of the previous season I have left out some locations - for a more complete look at this region use this link: Silver Cloud 2018

   Sorry - I have made no effort to make this page look good on smaller screen sizes. 

  I hope that you can read the warning sign from my hotel - The good ship Silver Explorer  in Godthul Harbour, South Georgia. 

    

    My cabin, a guest suite, the lecture theater, the dining room

    

    

   The giant petrels followed us in great numbers throughout a sunny day at sea and into a cloudless sunset.

    

   

    The landings in the Falklands were at New Island and Saunders Island - Rockhoppers, Blackbrowed albatross and Magellanic penguins - all with chicks

    

    

    

  Just before reaching South Georgia are shag Rocks - a remarkable set of sea stacks out-of-sight of any other land and covered in cormorants.

   

  At South Georgia the King Penguins, the fur seals and the scenery are the stars

    

   

    

   

    

   

    The elephant seals, cormorants and Macaroni penguins play their part too - plus a typical zodiac landing and a magnificent iceberg

    

    

    

  One the way to the Antarctic Peninsula we called by Point Wild on Elephant Island where Shackleton's crew from Endurance waited for 4 months. A bleak spot - we couldn't land.

  The Peninsula included penguins of course - mostly Chinstrap and Gentoo

    

    

  We went south of the Antarctic Circle and made an evening cruise surrounded by a dramatic mountainscape in Marguerite Bay that I shot in monochrome.

  The ice can look good in colour too

    

   

  While south of the Circle we visited the abandoned US and British bases on Stonington Island.

    

    

  Along the way I had my best ever Leopard Seal encounters

    

    

  On several occasions the skuas put on a show

    

   

   Most trips wrap up with a visit to the old whaling station and British base at Whalers Bay on Deception Island

   

  That's all folks - I hope you enjoyed the ride.

  P.S .  This page was mostly put together on a rainly afternoon in Buenos Aires following a morning walking tour. I saw the ship Uruguay -  famous for the 1904 rescue of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, the "Pink House" Argentina's government centre, a classis parrilla or open BBQ, and an equetrian statue of the revolutinary hero General San Martin getting scant respect from the pigeons