Unlike Thule and Cook, Bellingshausen Island is mostly ice-free — South Sandwich Islands.

Like most of the SSI islands we've seen, the top of Cook Island is enveloped in clouds — SSI.

A closer look at the iceberg floating by between Ortelius and Cook Island — SSI.

Iceberg near Cook Island — South Sandwich Islands.

Wave action continues to erode the iceberg — South Sandwich Islands.

A closer look at the cliffs that surround the shoreline of Cook Island — South Sandwich Islands.

Thule Island in the distance as Ortelius approaches the Douglas Strait — South Sandwich Islands.

A closer look at the caldera on Thule Island — South Sandwich Islands.

Chinstrap penguin colony on Thule Island — South Sandwich Islands.

RWSE Day 9: Welcome to the S Thule Group

February 19 in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ⋅ 🌬 32 °F

We arrived at the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands midafternoon — the Southern Thule Group … which consists of the Bellingshausen, Cook, and Thule Islands.

These islands were discovered by Captain Cook in 1775. He named the group Thule as they were the southernmost landmasses known at the time. They are essentially the peaks of a submerged volcano that are visible above the surface of the sea … Cook is inactive; the other two have active craters.

When we arrived, the sea was choppy; the sky blue and the light bright. While the sea state remained constant, it didn’t take long for the clouds to move in and dull the light.

As the ship maneuvered into the Douglas Strait, the sunken caldera between Cook and Thule Islands, we enjoyed the scenery. The question on everyone’s mind was the same? Would we be getting off the ship for a zodiac cruise or not?

To answer that question, the expedition team set off in a zodiac to check things out.Read more