Its quite a contrast to yesterday, the mist that rolled in last night is still here and there's no sign of the blue skies. The South Shetland Islands are in front of us but they are shrouded in mist. Nevertheless we are all eagerly lined up on the deck in our waterproofs, wellies and life jackets ready to land on Barrientos Island. However, as the first zodiac sets off its beaten to the landing beach by large chunks of brash ice - there's so much of it that the beach is blocked and we can't land. Its another example of just how quickly the weather conditions can change. We do get to land on Half Moon Island with its colony of energetic chinstrap penguins who are busy pinching pebbles off each others nests. Its very comical ... read more

This morning we awoke to views of Paulet Island from our porthole - after 3 days crossing the Scotia Sea we have made it to Antarctica. By 08:00 we are all on the narrow cobbled beach with 100,000 pairs of Adelie penguins, the whole island is covered with them (but it is only 1 mile in diameter). Its a hive of activity - there are so many penguins trundling between the sea and nest sites that its almost impossible to find space to walk along the beach. Penguins have priority here, if they are crossing the beach you have to stand and wait, then they stop to have a look at you so its stalemate and you just have to wait until they decide to move on. Once they reach the edge of the beach there's ... read more

After a wonderful landing at Salisbury Plain on South Georgia (well worth the 36 hour wait while the storm died down) we are back on the ship making our way along the north coast of the island. Its a continuous show of spectacular views, even with the heavy swell and low cloud its impossible not to stand outside and watch it all sailing past. After a few hours we turn into Fortuna Bay and as we travel the 3 miles to the glacier at the end of the fjord we become totally surrounded by the stunning scenery - you could just sit on the top deck and soak up the 360 degree view for hours. Indeed, as the swells are still strong and there are big waves crashing on the landing beach the more sensible passengers ... read more

3 nights and 3 full days - that's how long we are out in the open seas between The Falklands and South Georgia. Luckily its warm and sunny with calm seas and the wildlife entertainment show is still in full swing. The sea-birds are constantly circling the ship including some new species e.g. wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatross, black bellied storm petrels, soft-plumaged petrels. During the second day the sea temperature dropped from 10oC to 4oC. This means we have crossed the Antarctic Convergence and are now officially in Antarctic Waters. This day was officially christened Whale Day - in total we saw 72 whales (fin, bottlenose, sei and southern right) and 27 hour-glass dolphins, how spectacular. Some just pass by fleetingly, some get on with the job of feeding right in front of us taking no ... read more

Its the holidays between Xmas and New Year so its not surprising that Iguazu waterfalls are pretty busy, however, they are large enough and spectacular enough to cope with lots of people. On the Brazilian side of the falls you can walk along the edge of the canyon and get spectacular views of the falls that stretch for nearly 3km. Its another case of believing that the views cant get any better then going round the next corner to find that they just have. On the Argentine side there are board-walks that let you get right up close and personal to the falls; in places they go right up to the bottom of the falls or right along the top edge to the point where the water plunges over the edge and disappears into the clouds ... read more