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<\/a><\/p>\nWe sailed between Nelson and Robert Island and turned southwest into Bransfield Strait, named after British naval officer Edward Bransfield, who charted parts of this region in 1820.\u00a0 This dramatic shot is Greenwich Island.\u00a0 I loved the contrast of these barren rocks in front of the icy shoreline.\u00a0 Unfortunately our first day in Antarctica was overcast.<\/p>\n
More of Greenwich Island as we were headed toward little Half Moon Island.<\/p>\n I loved this snowy mountain that looks like a ski jump!<\/p>\n This is the rocky right edge of Half Moon Island.<\/p>\n Half Moon Island hosts the first of many research stations we would see during our time here.\u00a0 This one is the Argentinian Camara Base, which is manned from November to March.<\/p>\n Half Moon Island is popular with cruise ships as it hosts a large number of Chinstrap Penguins.\u00a0 A bunch of them are in the below photo, but far enough away that even my phones 10x optical zoom couldn’t get close enough.\u00a0 We did see people walking among the penguins on this island, who came from a nearby expedition ship.\u00a0 Unfortunately our cruise does not have any land-based activities in Antarctica, which just means we’ll have to come back at some point!<\/p>\n More Chinstrap Penguins in this photo.\u00a0 If you click on the photo it will enlarge, but even then it’s hard to adequately make them out.\u00a0 The colors you see here are from lichens that thrive on the exposed rock.<\/p>\n We departed Half Moon Island, back into the Bransfield Strait and headed southwest again.\u00a0 This photo is of Livingston Island.\u00a0 This island holds historical significance as it was the first land discovered south of 60 degrees latitude, discovered\u00a0 by British navigator William Smith in 1819, marking a key moment in Antarctic exploration.\u00a0 Why isn’t it named Smith Island??\u00a0 Dude got robbed!<\/p>\n We had to get a photo of us braving the cold out on deck alongside Smith…err… Livingston Island.<\/p>\n Livingston Island is quite large, so it took awhile to transit to our destination, Deception Island. There were sunset colors already showing up in the clouds, and sunset is hours away.<\/p>\n This spot on Livingston makes me wonder…how can tons and tons of ice hang on that nearly vertical cliff like that??<\/p>\n One last shot of Livingston.\u00a0 I loved how the sun was finally coming out to create this unique cloud formation!<\/p>\n We then reached our last goal of the day, Deception Island.\u00a0 This island is an active volcano, where the caldera of the volcano collapsed and was opened to the ocean.\u00a0 We cruised along the south side of the island towards that opening.\u00a0 Along the way we approached this spot that literally has thousands of penguins!!\u00a0 They are everywhere in this photo!<\/p>\n Another shot of the huge penguin colony, along with some actual green vegetation!<\/p>\n We passed these three rocks just before the entrance to the caldera.\u00a0 The one on the right looks like it’s ready to fall like a domino.<\/p>\n The opening into the caldera is just to the right of Kenton.\u00a0 Unfortunately our ship is too large to enter.<\/p>\n This is the opening into the caldera, known as Neptune’s Bellow.\u00a0 It is described as the safest harbor in Antarctica.\u00a0 Vessels like expedition ships and private yachts are small enough to enter.<\/p>\n A zoomed in look into the caldera.\u00a0 Note the lighthouse on the bluff on the right.<\/p>\n The dramatic colors in the rocks on the left of the entrance are indicative of the volcanic nature of the island.<\/p>\n Some King Penguins seemed attracted to the colors.\u00a0 Yeah, I need to get a telephoto attachment for my phone.<\/p>\n This rock dominated the view as we sailed away.<\/p>\n The sun was finally making a full appearance as the day ended.<\/p>\n Last photo of our first day in Antarctica.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n