Finally made it to our seventh continent!
After sailing for 2-1/2 days southwest from South Georgia we found ourselves surrounded by the glorious sights of the White Continent. And now we’ve spent the first 2 out of 4 days drifting between the Antarctic peninsula and the countless islands and icebergs just offshore. The scenery is stunning in every direction.
We’ve so far disembarked three times — twice for up close zodiac tours and once for a hike on land. We’ve been very lucky to have extraordinary weather. It’s been consistently around 30-32°F and pretty sunny. The water was rough during the crossing from South Georgia, but it’s been beautifully calm since we arrived in Antarctica.
The crew has warned us many times about how unpredictable the conditions can be, and how flexible we need to be in terms of expectations. We’ve heard lots of tales of recent tours where the planned landings have to get scrapped because the weather and the water just aren’t cooperating. But our tour has so far stuck ideally to schedule and plans. And the beautiful weather lets us enjoy our outings without the miseries of bitter cold, wicked winds, or driving rain. So far, at least! Let’s hope we stay this lucky for a couple more days.
A spectacular iceberg, miles wide, with lots of bright blue caves
Our last sunset before arriving in Antarctica
Approaching the continent we passed through an area with hundreds of whales. You could see their spouts in every direction, but I didn’t get any great pictures. But this guy popped his tail up just outside the dining room table.
Our first outing here was a zodiac tour of Astrolabe Island for a close up look at its penguin colonies, rock formations, glaciers, and incredible icebergs
Watching the sights from the zodiac
These stunning icebergs come in an endless variety
Sometimes we see dozens of penguins frolicking in the water, though I can never get a good picture — except for these two
Our second excursion was a zodiac tour of Spert Island, where our expert driver took us through channels filled with icebergs and surrounded by dramatic cliffs
It was thrilling to watch as our zodiac driver dodged around these huge chunks of ice
The iceberg formations on this tour were incredible
And so were the caves!
One more incredible iceberg group
Our third outing landed us a Palaver Point on King George Island, where we could climb through the snow to a lookout over a spectacular inlet
Mark arrives at the lookout point at the end of the hike
Jim at the top of the hiking route
Enjoying the scenery from the top of our hike
Starting the climb back down
Chinstrap penguins at Palaver Point
Our busy second day in Antarctica ended with a polar plunge into the 31ºF Southern Ocean
The initial shock of the freezing water was kind of cool, but then we had to do a short swim to the ladder to get out. There was a current working against us, so that it felt like I’d never get to that ladder. It maybe took 30 seconds to get there, but it was an excruciating 30 seconds!
We’ve had a bit of fun on board as well. We danced the night away with our Aussie friends at a white party. Front row: Lloyd, Guy, Fiona, and me. Behind them: Amanda and the ship’s captain, Fabien Roché