OK, I just could not resist adding some pictures from our flight over the Antarticia the week BEFORE ICE. We were in a LAN Airbus 319 which was quite exciting when you think we were flying as low as 1000 feet above the water, ice and land!
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/Antartica1.jpg
Our first view of the Antarticia from the air

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/Antartica2.jpg
We are really in an airplace for these views.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/Antarticia4.jpg
We are really flying "low" which is this case is GOOD!

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/antarticia5.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/antarticia6.jpg

This looks like it could have been taken from the top deck of a ship!

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/antarticia7.jpg
Large shelf iceberg from the air

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/Antarticia8.jpg

Smaller icebergs

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/jangroth/Antarticia%202008/Antarticia9.jpg

Just another look at the Seventh Continent.

Jan

Edited to correct links - sorry about that.

Jan

For some reason, I'm getting "page not found" for all but the first two (which look great!).

Me too. :(

Me three. This must have been so fun, Jan!

I'll see what I did wrong. I was copying and pasting so problem got the wrong names!

Ok, I think I fixed the links. At least they worked during the preview!

Jan

Oh, how exciting & beautiful! This must have been such a thrill to dip down & fly so low. Looks like a tabular iceberg, with the flat top...B-15, the one we navigated around during a wonderful sunset. Thanks for giving us such a terrific perspective from the air!

Wonderful pictures.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Jan, for sharing your beautiful photos!

Great shots, it is really a beautiful place. Thanks for posting.

Jan - these are so gorgeous. And how great you got to see all this in what I presume was a nice heated plane.

Amazing shots. Thanks for sharing.

Jan,
Your photos are great....much different than the perspective while onboard the Explorer II!

Cheers, Pam

Those are fantastic shots, Jan. Thank you for sharing them. We tried a couple over Patagonia but they were indistinct given our altitude (35000 ft).

It's simply beautiful, isn't it?

How did you arrange for the flight? Was it an excursion from Mariner?

cheers, Anne

Thanks, Jan for the pics. I enjoyed them. How exciting to see such beautiful things.

Thanks for the picks.

Susan

Hi Anne,
It was an excursion from the Mariner from Punta Arenas. There were about 30 passengers and 10 escorts from the ship..more than usual! Terry Breen, Scott (Travel Manager), and other crew got to go as well. We shared the flight with passengers from Holland America Princendam who was in most ports with us. Regent got the front seats and Princedam got the back seats! They put two people in a row to share a window. Luckily Fred and I had a row that had two windows and he would never let me move out of the window seat so I really got great views. I just have a small Olympus point and shoot but I am often amazed at the quality of pictures it takes.

We were very fortunate that we got to make the flight as it is more often canceled and not. It was a regular Lan Chile Airbus 319 on charter. I asked one of the flight attendants how often they did the flight and she said that for this cabin crew it was the first time. They were as excited as we were! The pilots kept in contact with several of the Antarticia bases so they knew what the weather was over the sites. We did miss the last site as clouds and wind moved in, but what we did see was magnificant!

I highly recommend this excursion even if it is pretty expensive. You definitely have to book it early as there was a very long waiting list. If you do get to make the flight, it is worth ever penny!

Jan

Jan those pics are amazing!

Very amazing Jan. Thanks for posting them.