Another beautiful view from my trip to Antarctica. This wasn't an actual stop but a breathtaking scene from the deck of our ship early one morning.
Click " read more" below to read on about this area. Again, there are way more photos on my photography blog for those who are interested! xx
So the Lemaire Channel wasn't an actual stop on our trip but I felt is was worthy of it's own post because of the pure beauty and grandeur of the mountain scape. We were woken up by an early morning wake up call for those who wanted to be on the deck while we passed through the channel. Most everyone wore their pajamas and parkas and we were greeted with hot chocolate. Since it was early and I don't remember all the stats about this area so I'm going to paraphrase my book :)
The Lemaire is a channel so photogenic that its nickname is the "kodak gap". It is a STEEP sided channel that runs 11 km between the mountains of Booth Island and the peninsula. The passageway is fairly deep at more than 140 m for most of its length. It is only 1600 m wide and only visible once you are almost inside!
"The channel was discovered by a German expedition in 1873-74, but wasn't navigated until December 1898, when de Garlache's Belgic sailed through. In a decidedly odd choice, de Garlache named it for Belgian adventurer Charles Lemaire, who explored the Congo. Ice sometimes blocks the way, so ships may be forced to retreat and sail around Booth Island. At the Lemaire's northern end are two tall, rounded peaks at False Cape Renard. The taller of the pair, at 747m, was summited by a German team in 1999." - via Lonely Planet, Alexis Averbuck
We were told there has been times expeditions weren't able to make it through here because of weather conditions. I'm so thankful we were able to see this beautiful sight!
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