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Spectacular passages through the Palmer Archipelago
Passages  

The two most commonly traversed passages by the cruise ships are the Neumayer Channel between Anvers Island and Weincke Island, and the Lemaire Channel between Booth Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. My personal favourite was the Lemaire Channel...

Passengers looking at one end of the Neumayer Channel

Southern end of Neumayer Channel
Between Anvers and Weincke Island

The Neumayer Channel is an inverted s-shape and its entrance and exits are both sharp bends. As such, the Neumayer Channel is like a maze with no visible exits once inside.

Straight ahead, a glacier has worn through the rock spine of Weincke Island, forming this low snow/ice filled valley.

Brash ice in the Neumayer Channel

Brash ice
Neumayer Channel

Glaciers pouring into the water shatter, scattering fragments of glacial ice. Here this shatter fragments have been swept by the water currents into one of the bends of the Neumayer Channel

Lemaire Channel in sunshine

Can we exit?
Lemaire channel

Deemed one of the highlights of any cruise, the beautiful Lemaire Channel narrows at its southern end.

Hotine glacier from Lemaire Channel

Hotine Glacier
Lemaire Channel

About half way through the Lemaire Channel, the rocky cliffs abruptly give way to the large expanse of the Hotine Glacier.

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