​​​​Lost Paradises - South America

SOUTH GEORGIA (UK)

Grytviken

Grytviken is a settlement on the island of South Georgia, and is the best harbour on the island.
Grytviken is closely associated with the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set out from London on 1 August 1914, to reach the Weddell Sea on 10 January 1915. Their ship Endurance was broken by the ice on 27 October 1915. The 28 crew members managed to flee to Elephant Island off Antarctica, bringing three small boats with them. Shackleton and five other men managed to reach the southern coast of South Georgia. From Grytviken, Shackleton organised a rescue operation to bring home the remaining men.
He again returned to Grytviken, but posthumously. In 1922 he had died unexpectedly from a heart attack at the beginning of another Antarctic expedition. His widow chose South Georgia as his final resting place. His grave is located south of Grytviken, alongside those of whalers who had died on the island.