First landing at Fort Point...

on this second voyage to Antarctica. Here we are on Greenwich Island in the Shetland Island group, arriving on a pebble tombolo beach populated by fur seals and gentoo and chinstrap penguins.

(Click image to enlarge.)

“JD,” our expedition leader, expressing joy at Fort Point. Life is good!

“JD,” our expedition leader, expressing joy at Fort Point. Life is good!

Returning to Ushuaia...

following a terrific 18 day long voyage to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. The guests will depart tomorrow and the ship reprovisioned, welcoming new guests aboard later in the day with a return to Antarctica.

Rejuvenation, not retirement...

is a more positive way of thinking about my new focus in life. Here I am in Gold Harbour on South Georgia celebrating this wonderful exploration of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

Bertrand Glacier and me!

Bertrand Glacier and me!

Sedimentary sandstones consisting of a series of stacked turbidites.

Sedimentary sandstones consisting of a series of stacked turbidites.

Expedition staff member Ingrid Nixon, who took the images of me shown above.

Expedition staff member Ingrid Nixon, who took the images of me shown above.

Telefon Bay on Deception Island...

was the site of phreatomagmatic eruptions in 1967, 1969 and 1970. Since then, a glacier is advancing into one of the maar craters formed during the explosive eruptions.

Another day at the office at Whaler’s Bay in the Deception Island caldera.

Another day at the office at Whaler’s Bay in the Deception Island caldera.

Brown Bluff is a volcanic structure...

that erupted beneath a thick glacial ice cover, technically termed a “tuya.”

(Click image to enlarge.)

Descending hikers from a vigorous glacier hike on the south side of Brown Bluff.

Descending hikers from a vigorous glacier hike on the south side of Brown Bluff.

Kevin Clement, Shirley Metz and yours truly. Shirley is the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982.

Kevin Clement, Shirley Metz and yours truly. Shirley is the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982.

Point Wild on Elephant Island...

is where Ernest Shackleton’s men waited patiently for rescue for nearly five months on a lonely rocky platform. Today, a monument stands honoring Captain Pardo of the Yelcho who ultimately took the men off the remote island.