65 degrees south

On our third day in Antarctica we passed “65 South” so we were officially in the Antarctic Circle. Here are the photos from this spectacular day. If it is possible, this day was as or even more scenic than were the previous two.

Antarctica...Day one. I've now reached all seven continents!

According to those who have been in Antarctica on other cruises, we were very, very, very lucky with regard to weather and seas.



Our itinerary took us to Antarctica for three days. Though there were clouds all three days, there was also blue sky and sunshine. Each day the scenery got more and more spectacular.


Since I took hundreds of photos, those posted here represent just a peek at what we saw. Most of the passengers were in awe throughout the three days. I am writing these words as we sail back to South America. I think everyone feels a bit of a letdown because we were so overwhelmed with beauty over the last few days.


In addition to the scenery you will notice that we saw a lot of wildlife. One particular night I was dining with a family that has adopted me on board. We sat in front of a picture window and a huge iceberg floated by. On it were penguins. We were amazed…then the whales came by. It was an incredible dinner…one I will always remember.


Because I have so many photos of Antarctica, I will likely do several posts. In this first post, be sure to look for the three whale spouts that are in line with the reflection of the sun during one of our 11:00 pm sunsets.


Also pictured is a photo of me with one of our lecturers on board, Rex Ziak. Rex was also a lecturer on my Columbia River cruise several years ago. On that cruise he lectured about Lewis and Clark. On this cruise he is teaching us about the voyages of Captain James Cook.

Land Ho! Or is it?

The morning we arrived in Antarctica I woke up very early…while we were there it never got dark…sunrise at 2 something AM and sunset at 11 something PM!



At 4 am or so on the first morning I woke up and opened my verandah door. Not far off the ship was a whale spouting. I thought “I must get up to the Palm Court to see what is coming up!”. Palm Court is a room near the top of the ship that is surrounded by glass. It is the place on the ship where most people go for scenic viewing.

At that time of the morning there were only five or six of us in the room. For almost two hours we looked at several things that look like the photo I show just above here. We were all convinced that it was sheets of ice on the horizon. We wondered when we would reach these objects. Then we thought, “perhaps that is just breaks in the clouds on the horizon.”

We went back and forth with our theories for the better part of two hours. Like the jury in “12 Angry Men” we were all convinced one way for moments and convinced the other way the next. Finally we found out, to our disappointment, that the illusions were merely breaks in the clouds. It has, however, given us all some laughs as we pass each other around the ship. We all wish we had a recording of our conversation during those hours. Most of the photos I took during that time have been deleted…as have many of my photos from day one…especially after what we saw on day two and three.

I did include a couple of photos from our REAL view of the first land sightings upon reaching Antarctica.

The flag is up...and there they go!

After our walk into town from Gypsy Cove we went to an annual event that they had in Stanley. It was Boxer Day…the day after Christmas. Everyone in town goes to the horse races. The race I saw had just two horses. There is no oval track like Santa Anita or Churchill Downs. The horses raced down a long straightaway. It added another unique experience to my time in the Falklands.

Port Stanley Falkland Islands Hike

When I saw the Falkland Islands as part of our itinerary I didn’t put it on my list as one of the places I’ve always wanted to see. But what a great day we had there! The weather was beautiful.



I didn’t sign up for one of the cruise ship’s shore excursions. After taking the ship’s tender to shore I found a woman who drove a family of three and one of the ship’s crew to a place called Gypsy Cove. All of us wanted the drive there but agreed to walk the 4-7 miles back. It was a beautiful walk.


There was a bit of irony among the great scenery…that was the warnings of possible mines left along our path…an aftermath of the wars which had been fought on these islands.


Among the things we saw were penguins, a family of geese, a family of ducks, shipwrecks, colorful birds and many times of plants. It was a beautiful walk and a very nice morning.