In the afternoon of January 28, we landed on the western side of Booth Island. This is where Jean-Baptiste Charcot over-wintered aboard the FRANCAIS in 1904 during the First French Antarctic Expedition. We hiked over the snowfields to the remains of his rocky hut where important scientific work was done on magnetism. It overlooks Francais Bay with a view of Mt. Francais - the highest mountain at 9000 ft. The bay is shallow and contained many giant grounded icebergs.

All three species of brush-tailed penguins nest here but because of late snow cover the lower Gentoo colonies had failed to produce eggs or chicks. We enjoyed watching them make their way up and down through the snow on well worn trails.

For more photos of Booth Island, go to Booth Island Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Paradise Bay.

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