The rock walls and ice of Booth island
The Marco Polo's helicopter had launched while we were embarking on our zodiac, and now it flew by in the distance every so often. It was taking film footage for the New Zealand documentary film crew that's recording a feature on Antarctic Tourism. Whenever the helecopter flew by, one of the seals would raise its head up and watch.
When the helicopter passed by on the far side of the channel between Hovgaard Island and the island that created the Lemaire Channel (Booth Island), it was clear how immense the mountains really were. Since it was such a fantastically clear day and since the mountains were so large and the sea so flat, it wasn't easy to get an idea of the perspective of the mountains. However, when the helicopter flew by on the far side, nearer to the cliffs, it was so small compared to the mountains... I had to get a picture of that also.
The Marco Polo's helicopter flying along the walls of Booth Island, shot from Hovgaard Island. The helicopter is near the bottom center of the first picture (very close to the shoreline), and is circled in red in the blowup.
On the way back on the zodiac, I shot a few of the amazing icebergs that were gathering nearby. The icebergs were very blue, and were in unusual shapes, probably due to a lot of breaking up and turning over. One, in particular, was partially transparent, so the blue color was exaggerated.
A translucent iceberg on the way back to the Marco Polo