Antarctica (more photos)

A tabular iceberg. Tabulars are pieces broken off an ice shelf (permanent ice extending outwards from the edge of land around the perimeter of Antarctica). A non-tabular iceberg on the other hand is a chunk "calved" off from a glacier when it reaches the sea. So icebergs can have all kinds of unusual shapes if they come off a glacier whereas the tabular icebergs are flat topped.

This berg has upended itself at some point

it is easy to imagine the icebergs being shaped like animals or castles, like this one

Icebergs are usually white because they contain the whole spectrum of colours. The blue ice on the left is old ice that has been subjected to a lot of pressure, thus squeezing out all the other light rays except the blue.

These are called jade icebergs because they have been subjected to such pressure that they are like  glass with a bluish tinge

A snow petrel and berg

A dragon?

a flustered group of penguins as they suddenly notice the ship looming above them

These are birds, probably Antarctic petrels, resting on a tabular iceberg

A snow petrel, the prettiest Antarctic bird

And close up. Note the little drop of water on its beak. That is salt. The petrels and albatrosses have nostrils from which they excrete the excess salt which they ingest from eating seafood and drinking and living near sea water

A southern giant petrel---and they are certainly big!

A giant petrel morph. These white versions are quite common and the different colour does not seem to adversely affect their ability to function and catch fish

An Antarctic petrel and a snow petrel

a cape petrel, also called a pintado

An albatross--there are many different varieties but I could never remember them all

Two cape petrels, one showing its back and the other showing its underside

Another albatross--a sooty albatross I think

The colours in Antarctica are subdued and often monochrome, but there are  often subtle tones  such as this sky (totally unretouched photo)

Another sky. As you get further south the summer days extend to 24 hours of daylight but there will always be a time when the sun dips down to the horizon even though it does not sink below it

bergs at "dusk" on a 24 hour day

a sliver of  a new moon in the dusky sky