Antarctic Peninsula

After leaving South Georgia, we cruised for 2 and ½ days through the Scotia Sea in the Southern Ocean to the Antarctic Peninsula.
On our way we saw our first icebergs - one huge tabular ‘berg approximately 22km long - and many whales, penguins and birds.
We were lucky enough to pass by, and get a good view, of Elephant Island where the majority of Shackleton’s crew waited while “the boss” and 4 others sailed to South Georgia in a tiny wooden boat. We were on the opposite side of the island from Shackleton’s landing site, but it was incredible to imagine how a tiny boat had been able to make it to South Georgia from here. Amazing!
Our first landing was in Yankee Harbor where we saw our first chinstrap penguins and Weddell seals. Next we visited Deception Island, a recently active volcano with a small opening leading to a magnificently sheltered harbor. Here we enjoyed a short hike, saw our first leopard seals and enjoyed seeing the remains of a former whaling station during a small snow storm - which simply added to the atmosphere of the place.
On Christmas Eve we visited Cuverville Island where we hiked up a steep hill to enjoy beautiful views of the Errera Channel. The best part was body sledding down the hill. Ridiculous fun! In the afternoon we landed at Brown station, an Argentinean research base that was our first official landing on the Antarctic continent. The base is empty at this time of year and opens in January. On our way back to the ship our zodiac cruised through Paradise Bay where another zodiac waited with champagne to toast our official arrival to continental Antarctica. Living the life!
We spent Christmas day in Port Charcot. While the weather was beautiful, there was plenty of snow and ice around making it the most spectacular white Christmas we’re ever to likely experience. Santa managed to pay a visit via a zodiac. In the morning we spent time scooting around the icebergs of Salpetriere Bay in a zodiac. We were lucky to see Weddell and leopard seals, hundreds of penguins and birds, and some beautiful arched icebergs.
The weather was so clear and windless that we were able to enjoy xmas BBQ lunch outside on the back deck of the ship, surrounded by massive mountains and glaciers with icebergs floating in the sea. In the afternoon we landed at Port Charcout and saw 3 types of penguins: Gentoos, Chin-straps and Adelies, a Crabeater seal and Minke whales in the bay.
While cruising out of Neumayer Channel towards the open ocean, we couldn’t believe it when we saw orca’s then humpback whales feeding, including bubble-net fishing. It’s impossible to describe how stunningly beautiful it is here and everyday has become more and more breathtaking. This may well be the most spectacularly beautiful, wild place we’ve visited so far
Our final two days were spent crossing the Drake Passage to Ushuaia. Famous for huge seas, we were lucky and enjoyed a very mild crossing with good weather. This was an incredible trip with an amazing ship and crew and so many nice people onboard. We feel so grateful to have had this experience.Read more