On November 24th the ship continued down the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of how weather circulates around the Antarctic continent, the west side of the peninsula gets more moisture and therefore has a lot more snow and ice covering the landscape.
Our first stop for the day was at Orne Harbor. Here one group of hardy hikers climbed up a steep ridge to reach a Chinstrap Penguin colony, while the rest of us explored by zodiac.
About midday, the ship started into the spectacular Neumayer Channel.
After passing through the Neumayer Channel, the ship stopped at Port Lockroy. This is a British station that was closed in 1962 and then renovated and reopened by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust in 1996. Port Lockroy also has a large Gentoo Penguin colony.
Navigating the zodiacs through the ice near Port Lockroy
The base was restored to look like it was, just before it was closed.
Gentoo Penguin courtship
The end goal
During the evening, the ship cruised through the famous LeMaire Channel, but the weather was overcast and snowing, limiting photographic opportunities. Here are a couple of other ships that happened to be visiting at the same time.
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