Antarctica

Prologue
Part 1 - Buenos Aires
Part 2 - Ushuaia
Part 3 - The Falkland Islands
Part 4 - South Georgia (Coming soon)
Part 5 (To be continued)




One question I'm frequently asked when people find out how much I've traveled is, "What's your favorite place in the world?" The question is innocent enough, but it drives me crazy. I've traveled to something like forty different countries now, and it has always been darn near impossible to select a single favorite.

After our latest trip, I will have no doubt in my mind when I answer "Antarctica".

We arrived back in Santa Cruz today after approximately thirty-four hours of travelling. Three flights, two taxis, one shuttle bus, and five time zones later, it's good to be home. It was especially nice to arrive home and take a pleasant stroll at Rio Del Mar beach with the temperature sitting somewhere around 70F.

We had an absolutely amazing time in Antarctica! The wildlife was abundant, the landscapes were gorgeous, and the weather was surprisingly mild.

Many of you are already asking for photos. I've got lots of those (8000+). But I'll need some time to sort through them. Till then, here are a few teasers...

[ Forgive me if this is obvious, but you can click the images below to see them enlarged. ]

Fur seal pups in Grytviken

A sneak attack

Elephant seal in the sprinkling rain

Chinstrap penguin

One of many icebergs



Humpback whale fluke

Alicia was a trooper. She did all the land excursions (in spite of her recent accident), she withstood the penguin guano odor, she braved the Drake Passage, and - most amazing of all - she kindly put up with all of my photo taking.

She even took some photos of her own. I think they're excellent. If you like her photos, be sure to let her know in the comments section. Here's a sampling of her photos...

Adelie penguins

I love how she used the foreground iceberg to
frame the one in the background

Iceberg with a tunnel

Iceberg with a shark fin

Iceberg ready to chomp down on
something (or someone)

I hope you enjoy these photos. I'll be working on others over the next few weeks... that and adjusting to those five time zones.