as we enter North Cumberland Bay on South Georgia.
From left to right: John, the 2nd officer is making a notation in the ship’s logbook, Captain Eric Saint Plancat has the conn, and Lawrence, the seaman, has the helm.
Shag Rocks heralds the approach to South Georgia...
and is draped in guano from the South Georgia Shag.
The "Neck" at Saunders Island...
(Click image to enlarge.)
Panorama view of Stanley...
capital city of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. It feels like a slice of the United Kingdom here, and I have yet to meet anyone who is eager for liberation by the Argentinians (a reference to the 1982 conflict)!
(Click image to enlarge.)
Faces of the Falkland Islands...
Antarctic Cormorant
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
Magellenic Oystercatcher
Dolphin Gull
Magellenic Penguin
Black-Browed Albatross
Black-Browed Albatross chick
Sunset in the Beagle Channel...
as we set off again for the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica.
Dissected cinder cone...
in Neptune’s Bellows, the entrance to the inner caldera at Deception Island.
(Click image to enlarge.)
Priorities at EWU...
I just received this very disappointing information from the curator of the gallery at EWU:
Good afternoon, Dr. Buchanan,
I wanted to share with you that the EWU Downtown Student Gallery will be closing its doors this June 2019, and will not be able to host your exhibition fall quarter of 2019. While I was very excited to host this exhibit, given the university’s current budget situation, it has been decided to close the gallery.
Thank you so much for your support and I wish you well.
Sincerely,
Beth
I bet the athletics program at EWU continues to receive full support!
Sunset over Livingston Island...
as the Silver Explorer turns north to return to Ushuaia.
(Click image to enlarge.)
Half Moon Island...
is the last landing of this voyage.
Chinstrap penguins.
Elephant seal.
Jawbone of baleen whale, with me for scale.
Deception Island caldera...
Active geothermal activity in Whaler’s Bay.
British Antarctic Survey station Biscoe House destroyed by a lahar in 1967.
Norwegian whaling station oil tanks.
Snow and surf on the black sand beach.
Ukranian station Vernadsky...
Nearby yawning crabeater seal.
Crabeater seals on ice, and, by the way, they eat krill, not crabs.
Whaling era relicts at Enterprise Island...
Sunken factory ship Governoren.
Wooden boats called “jollen” used to haul blubber to the factory ships.
Panorama view across Stonington Island towards Northeast Glacier...
our furthest point south on this expedition, and my personal best at 68° 12′ 0″ S.
(Click image to enlarge.)
Stonington Island in Marguerite Bay...
is the tiny rocky platform on which both British and American bases were established in the 1940s.
British Antarctic Survey Station E.
United States Antarctic Service - East Base.
Pushing south across the Antarctic Circle...
Happy guests and expedition staff on the foredeck, celebrating crossing the Circle!
A face that only a mother could love...
of the snowy sheathbill, a scavenger that resides in Antarctica, living among penguin colonies.
Neko Harbor in early morning light...
(Click image to enlarge.)
Day 26 of “retirement” above the glacier in Neko Harbor.
Windy weather in the Gerlache Strait...
(Click image to enlarge.)
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!