I like remote places. Places that are hardly visited. And after this trip, I can add a new place to my remote islands list: the South Orkneys. This small archipelago is situated roughly between South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. It’s seldom visited, partly because of its location and partly because it’s often surrounded by ice, even late in the season. We were lucky however. The conditions were good and we could get around the ice on the beach. There is a small Argentine research station (in operation since 1904!). The people of the station were very happy to welcome us on their base and gave us a short tour. They get provisions only once a year and are visited by about 10 ships each year. As a thank you for their hospitality, we left some fruit behind for them, probably a most welcome addition to their diet of all sorts of things that can be kept for a long time…