Found Penguins!!!

We sailed below the 60th parallel last evening at around 8:00 PM, which pretty much brought us into Antarctic waters. The temperature has been steadily dropping and I've had to start layering the few pieces of warm clothing I brought to Argentina.

This morning, Brenda woke up, pulled open the curtains and said, "Oh, there are two ships out there." The thing is, she hadn't put on her glasses and the ships were actually two large icebergs! We were officially in the Antarctic.

The ship continued sailing south until about 12:30 we arrived at the Schollaert Channel where we found a waddle of penguins (yep, that's what you call a group of penguins) floating along on a small iceberg. Listening to the attached video, you can hear our excitement.

As we continued through the channel, we saw more and more, and larger and larger ice floes, spotted some humpback whales, and some breathtaking scenery before we arrived at our second stop, Paradise Bay. Here we saw another waddle of penguins perched upon a distant hill (too far off to photograph) and more humpback whales feeding in the distance. Aside from the fact that the bay is an inlet protected from the sometimes harsh waters beyond the bay, I really wouldn't consider it paradise by any stretch of the imagination.

Being here is almost like being on a different planet, so rugged and inhospitable is the environment. But it is also strikingly beautiful in its own way. Sadly, because of we foolish humans, the continent is rapidly disintegrating and, unless mankind acts responsibly and quickly, will not be around for future generations to enjoy.

We're glad we got to see it, cold, snow, and all.Read more