Antarctica - The land of snow and ice!!

Well, we finally made it to Antarctica - 33 years after trying in 1979. What can I say about the place - where we spent 3 days cruising the area around the Antarctica Peninsula?

I have tried to give you some sense of what the place is like - which is one reason why I have inserted so many photos. There is just so much to see, both wildlife and scenery.

We have almost perfect weather with some periods of almost calm seas and sunny breaks. Incredible!

We saw whales, seals, penguins, orcas, birds - they were everywhere.






Just look at the reflection in the shot below!

This was the most southerly point that we reached!

  

Antarctica - Nearly there!

Today we reached Elephant Island and King George Island, part of the South Shetland Island chain off the coast of Antarctica. Has been very cold - 2C - and lots of snow and icebergs.

Saw one really massive iceberg - more of an ice shelf - in the distance near King George Island.

We should reach the coast of Antarctica proper by tomorrow morning - can hardly wait!!

Falkland Islands

We did manage to get to the Falklands yesterday, despite being told that it was off the itinerary. Very pleased that we did, as it was a very beautiful - if desolate - place.

It was sobering to realise that just 30 short years ago it was being fought over - for no good reason other than stubborn politics - and a lot of young men and women lost their lives on both sides.

Tomorrow we head off to Antarctica!!

Punta del Este

Once again, Punta del Este in Uruguay once a pleasant surprise. Very cosmopolitan and clean, you could be in any upmarket seaside resort in the world.

The Ralli museum had a large collection of Salvador Dali sculptures and paintings - very impressive.

Check out the bridge with curves! Why would one even think of building it in this way? However, the result is very striking.

Montevideo and Uruguay

We boarded the ship on the 30th and had a cabin upgrade which was very nice, as it gave us almost twice the space.

After an overnight crossing to Montevideo we did a tour of the town. We were very surprised by the difference between Argentina and Uruguay, with Uruguay being much cleaner and tidier.

Saw the Graf Spee's anchor at the harbour as the Battle of the River Plate, where the Graf Spee was scuttled, was only just offshore.

Kept running into that name "Rincon" again.