The Orlova is carrying 94 passengers from: Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Holland (about 13 persons), a large Taiwan group, a large Chinese group, Israel, Australia, Switzerland, USA, Japan, Ukraine, Scotland, Canada, India, Greece, Ireland and Hong Kong. Our guess is that 60% of the passengers are younger than 40, very well traveled with quite a few traveling for 2-6 months around the world. Twenty percent between 40-55; and the rest 55+.

Since it’s impossible for me to sleep anyway with all the hours of daylight, I joined most of the other passengers on deck. …View image… The views heading into Lemaire Channel (named for Charles Lemaire, a Belgian explorer) were really indescribable. Mountains, glaciers, reflections in the water, ice floes on all sides and the Captain carefully threading his way through a half-mile wide opening to Petermann Island.

passengers on deck for the Lemaire Channel

trying to stay warm on deck in Antarctica
If I tell you that everyone just stood there silently gawking… dashing into the toasty warm bridge every now and then to get warm. ( Even if you did come out smelling like two packs of Marlboros…the Russian crew smoked like chimneys…the only ones allowed to smoke indoors)…

inside the bridge on M/V Lyubov Orlova
….and in absolute awe of the surroundings, believe me. The Lemaire Channel was the scenery highlight of the entire Antarctica trip.

Lemaire Channel approach in Antarctica 

reflections in the water sailing through the Lemaire Channel 

more reflections while cruising through the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica
It would have been easy to click off thousands of shots and even I (amateur photographer) was able to get brilliant photos in this kind of atmosphere.

bergy bits – that’s really what they are called floating in the Lemaire Channel
We cruised past a high, snow covered hill with a little penguin colony on top… What a hike for them to go up and down to water.

penguin colony in Antarctica
…peaks that reminded me of Patagonia’s Torre de Paine…

Antarctic jagged peaks
…while ice bergs, chunks of ice and more bergy bits floated or crunched by the ship…

the blue ice coloring was amazing in the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica
Please excuse my limited descriptive powers. Awesome, incredible, breathtaking, magnificent, stupfying…just a few Synonyms that could be used…. so ….. I don’t know what…

Back to the cabin to undress and head back up two levels for breakfast. It’s a darn good thing that there were signs everywhere directing what side your cabin was on. Never did get the hang of starboard and port. Even and odd was right up my alley…

cabin directions on M/V Lyubov Orlova