From the 1993/94 Orient Lines Marco Polo brochure...
Paradise Bay
This protected harbor, affectionately called the "Antarctic Riviera" because
of its relatively mild temperatures, lives up to its name. Ringed by hanging
ice cliffs and dotted with floating bergs reflecting every color of the
spectrum, it has a heavenly aura about it. At the abandoned Chilean station
here we'll be entertained by the gentoo and chinstrap penguins, and view the
great number of seals and whales which gather here.
From the 1994 Orient Lines Grand Antarctic Circumnavigation
brochure...
Paradise Bay & Port Lockroy
Entering the aptly-named waters of Paradise Bay, it is not uncommon to see
humpback whales breaching with their tails lifted high as they dive to feed.
Orcas, or killer whales, are also seen in this area.
Paradise Bay is ringed with glaciers from which blue-white icebergs regularly
calve off into the sea. There are two stations in the area Chile's Gonzalez
Videla and Argentina's Almirante Brown. The former is notable for the colony
of gentoo penguins that surrounds the station, while the latter was
unoccupied for a number of years following a serious fire, which was started
by a member of the station staff who did not wish to spend the winter there,
and accordingly rendered the station uninhabitable.
The Marco Polo continues onward through the dramatic scenery of the Neumeyer
Channel, and arrives in Port Lockroy, home to colonies of gentoos and nesting
king cormorants, also called blue-eyed shags, who make their nests from piles
of seaweed. There is also an abandoned British station here.
Return to the itinerary or the
ports of call...