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Antarctica Cruise : January 5 - 20, 2023

Part 2 - Jan 9-10 : South Shetland Islands and Palmer Archipelago

January 9: South Shetland Islands

Approaching the South Shetland Islands, we were greeted by humpback whales and rafts of chinstrap penguins.

Ocean Nova
Southern Fulmar
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Cape Petrel
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Northern Giant Petrel
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Humpback Whale
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Chinstrap Penguins

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Gentoo Penguin

Chinstrap Penguin
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Southern Giant Petrel

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Approaching the South Shetland Islands

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Skua
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KFC at the lunch buffet!

January 9: Half Moon Island

Our first shore excursion was at Half Moon Island, home to a chinstrap penguin colony. The Argentine Base Camara also lies on the island, a short distance away from our landing site. Later in the evening, we cruised by Deception Island.

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Base Camara
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Staff deploying

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Zodiac hangar
Boot cleaners

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Kelp Gull with chicks
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Snowy Sheathbill

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Antarctic Fur Seal
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Antarctic Shag

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Zodiac recovery

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Tomorrow's goal: find the bit of good weather.
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East side of Deception Island
Mouth of Neptune's Bellows
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January 10: Kaiser Island, Palmer Archipelago

A nice day with mostly sunny skies, but winds were an issue for zodiac and helicopter excursions. We finally found a sheltered area near Kaiser Island to go flightseeing. In the afternoon, we crossed paths with a pod of orcas. The winds came up again, and the afternoon excursions were ultimately cancelled.

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Antarctic Shag

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Southern Fulmar
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Looking for safe harbor

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Type "B" Orcas
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Recalling the zodiacs
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