Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Antarctica Day 3...

In anticipation of our arrival at King George Island, we were set up in our usual Lido location. The weather cleared nicely during the morning allowing for some reasonable shots of our approach to King George Island, in particular an extremely large iceberg that looked like more than one from the various angles when passing by. King George Island is widely known as the “Gateway to the Antarctic”. More than 10 different nations have permanent scientific bases on the island. King George has the only airport in the South Shetland Islands. All this is even more impressive when you realize that more than 90% of the 59 miles long by 16 miles wide island is permanently covered with ice and snow. This suits the native wildlife just fine, and King George Island is home to many different species including Weddell, leopard, and elephant seals as well as gentoo, chinstrap, and Adelie penguins.  There are also many seabirds such as skuas and southern giant petrels. Our adventure today took us to Admiralty Bay in a quest to see more wildlife. However, the +70 knot or 80 miles per hour winds temporarily closed all decks. I ca attest to the high wind speeds, I was out on the forward decks and it was a struggle…  The high winds resulted in the decision to turn the ship around and abort our entry to Admiralty Bay. Once the ship changed direction reducing the winds to 50 knot or 46 miles an hour, we were again allowed to use the open decks. Admiralty Bay contains three fjords, and is protected as an Antarctica Specially Managed Area under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. This bay is also home to 3 countries base camps Brazil, Peru and Poland. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) runs Lenie Base a seasonal research station for penguin studies on Admiralty Bay. This small station, dubbed Copacabana, operates in the Antarctic summer only, but is used as a survival station in the winter. At Poland's Arctowski Station there is Point Thomas Lighthouse the most southerly lighthouse in the world. With my love of lighthouses. I was thrilled to get to photograph Point Thomas. It was a disappointing day seeing very little wildlife but there is nothing we can do about Mother Nature…We still had stunning views. The rest of the day was spent cruising along King George Island making our way towards Elephant Island for an 8 am arrival tomorrow.  This was our last stop on our 2020 Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage when we had perfect weather, no wind and great scenery, what a difference based on when you visit and the weather… Have a look at the 2020 visit to see the difference:  World Adventures: 2020 Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, HAL Antarctic Experience, Day 4, Part 2 of 2 (amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com)  Another great day!!!