Friday, December 10, 2010

ICE ON THE HORIZON -LANDING ON SHETLAND ISLANDS!


 OK, the picture is nice, we know, but first we had to survive the Drake Passage, sailing 36 hours across the most dangerous strait of sea in the world. At last, this two martyrs of hitch-hiking (as declared by our stomachs) saw large icebergs floating on the horizon and the precipitous shape of Livingstone Island – Shetland archipielago- immediately rising behind them. 
  


Antarctica comprises 10% of the Earth’s continental mass and hosts 84% of its ice. Sailing just across the Antarctic convergence the water temperature plummet from 7.8º to 3.9º, as we enter the realm of ice… Surprisingly, this continent was just discovered in 1820 by sealers avid for fortune and not for discovery. Only in 1840 was the new lands considered a continent and as recently as 1899 humans wintered on shore.



The group of islands where we Landed was called Aitcho. Its name resulted from the latinization of Hydrographical Office (H.O, Aitcho)




Gentoo and chinstrap penguins looked superiorly indifferent at our presence, what caused me to admire them. It was our first contact with the average inhabitant of Antarctica.

 

                            
Amazing Antarctic sunset –as dark as it gets in summer-


Penguins and MV Ushuaia –our home for ten days- on the back.



Laura came to see penguins.. but penguins also came to see Laura!


 


Antarctica comprises 10% of the Earth’s continental mass and hosts 84% of its ice. Sailing just across the Antarctic convergence the water temperature plummet from 7.8º to 3.9º, as we enter the realm of ice… Surprisingly, this continent was just discovered in 1820 by sealers avid for fortune and not for discovery. Only in 1840 was the new lands considered a continent and as recently as 1899 humans wintered on shore.

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