Naming the most beautiful of something is always difficult as taste is very personal. However, with albatrosses, most votes go to the Light-mantled Albatross. With the subtle lines on the beak and around the eye and their darker and lighter coloured brown plumage they are quite stunning indeed.

Taking pictures of them isn’t that easy as they don’t tend to follow ships for long periods. Sometimes one or two show up, but often they are gone after 15 minutes. This time we got lucky, with seven different birds following the ship for quite some time. Long enough at least to get to my cabin, grab my camera and head out and take several pictures, including this one, with two birds together.