Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. --- Mark Twain

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Antarctica, Day 4

"Believe in your dreams and they may come true, believe in yourself and they will came true"

There were two planned landings of the schedule of February 24, namely - Half Moon Island and Deception Island.

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The sun rises early at 5:52 and the day is long, it is still summer. The breakfast is at 6.30 am and then back to the cabin, to get dressed and at 8 o'clock the next landing on the Half Moon island is waiting ahead.
I took both cameras and the tripod and checked the equipment as not miss anything again.

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Next - it is all mixed up again as in real life. You look around to one side and then the other side and try to remember everything and in the meantime you just also remembered to take pictures.

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Here it is - the early morning Antarctic.

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The Chinstrap penguins who live here can grow up to 68 cm tall and weigh up to 6 kilos. They are distinguished from other penguins by a black collar and for nesting they require snow-free ground.

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It is not advisable to touch the green snow. And rubber boots must be later carefully washed.

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In general - a penguin stands still peacefully . Mostly.

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Or walks along the rocky path.

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Visitors come and go.

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Further away - the glacier.

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The same place as in the previous picture but from a greater distance.

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And the third picture is taken already on board the ship, only here you can see how huge the snowy mountains in the background are.

On one side the sky is nice and blue, the other side is cloudy.
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By noon everybody is back on the ship and the journey continues towards the next island. It called - Deception Island - here is one of the two Antarctic active volcanoes.

Currently it is peaceful, but in 1967 and in 1969 there were volcanic eruptions and the island suffered.

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The tourists are pointed the remains of the former Norwegian whaling station. It was built in 1906 and was abandoned in 1931.. The island is almost circular, with the diameter of 12 km and it is one of the safest harbours in Antarctica, the bay in the middle of the island can be accessed through a narrow strait. .

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On the island in the middle of the bay.

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There are whale bones everywhere.

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The sun is shining on the other side of the ship.

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Covered passages are built between the buildings .

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There were a couple of seals lying on the shore and two penguins walking around. And as the time spent on land was limited, I got the last boat back to the ship. About this unique island - Further reading from Wikipedia and the island's home page is : http://www.deceptionisland.aq/ The island is one of the most visited places by tourists in Antarctica

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The South Shetland Islands are visited and the journey continues southwards.

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