Aside from the traces of the odd industrial fascination humans have, there is a lot of peace here. Deep pureness and silence. […]

The last hurdle of an obstacle course faces us at 0700 tomorrow morning. We are anchored alongside the Vincent Islands in King Haakon Bay. […]

After two days cowering from the wind in Undine Harbour, it was exhilarating to head back out to sea, hoist the mainsail and beat south to King Haakon Bay. […]

A long passage across the South Atlantic is life in continuous motion. Even when our bodies are adapted, everything is physically moving. […]

Almanacs, pencils, paper charts, dividers. Sextants, planets, stars, the Sun. For the last two weeks, these have been the most used words and navigation equipment on board. […]

After a couple of days of theoretical classes in Puerto Williams, the long-awaited moment arrived to take all that knowledge out of the classroom and put it into practice at sea.

Ahead, weeks in the open sea […]

The gods were on our side. In the tiny cove we found some sort of spot to anchor and a big piece of ice aground where we could lasso a line to keep the boat safe during the night. Almost everyone went to bed, and while we were eating chocolate and enjoying a bottle of Chilean Pinot noir, Skip left a book open on the empty saloon table: Tomorrow morning, anyone with a certain interest in local history should read this.

Aboard the Vinson of Antarctica, there were three crew members looking after us scientists for over a month. I would like to tell you a little bit about each of them, in the hopes that it reveals to you why getting to know the crew was something I felt most strongly about writing down. […]

If you are sailing towards South Georgia, Elephant Island by your starboard side, you don’t need to be a proper Shackleton’s aficionado to think and reflect about the James Caird trip. We were sailing the same passage these brave men did in the tiny and awfully wet lifeboat, but in an embarrassing full comfort […]

Sometimes our work feels like a real-life video game. We brave challenges, dodge obstacles and are constantly tested in our pursuit of science. Each site, each day brings new trials. If you succeed, you will discover the secrets of the universe and reach new stages in your career as a scientist. Are you ready for the challenge?

We are on this expedition primarily to sample penguin species for genetic and dietary studies, but we have also requested and been granted permission to salvage samples. […]

We are a team of penguin researchers, but here in South Georgia each morning starts with a different type of wildlife encounter… every day on our way to visit the penguin colonies we must pass through the fur seal gauntlet. […]

Some days ago I understood what Skip once mentioned; “there is still pioneering territory in the polar regions”. That is what we felt heading towards the Joubin Archipelago, neighbouring the Anvers Island southwestern tip. […]

The Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands are experiencing some of the most dramatic environmental changes on Earth. In combination with commercial fishing of their prey, this is placing enormous pressure on penguins in the region. This project will contribute to understanding the likely impacts of climate change on penguins. […]

[…] We headed into the Paso Mackinley in a lovely, sunny, and extraordinarily calm afternoon. Chilean Navy ships passing by talking to us on the radio to congratulate the trainees for their trip. As soon as we could see the village through the binoculars, we spotted the optimists and the other boats sailing towards us. The rest is history, many emotions, and ship horns blowing long and strong.

My companions on watch appear. It is still hard for words to come out, the body is waking up. I bring the thermos’ flask and mate close to a light to see how water falls. A new day begins aboard the Vinson. […]

[…] In any case, these are confusing times. We entered the Falklands, Manue and José hoisted the yellow flag, this time probably with its origins connotation. We are in quarantine. May we be released very soon.

A morning walk through a ghost city in the Arctic.

The majesty of the marine skies was there, following the vessel. I could feel my heart beat. The moment was silent, intime, almost secret. I shoot some photos but I laid the camera down to enjoy the spectacle bare-eyed. […]

Yet, Life is blooming. It is blooming in the plankton, an elusive microcosm of tiny drifting organisms, which makes the deep blue ocean a truly astonishing universe for anyone who observes it through a microscope. […]