18-12-19 (19:00): Shore Excursion

It is 19:00. Already half an hour before, we are standing on deck in full gear, ready for the first shore excursion in Antarctica. The tension is rising. We belong to the last group. Hopefully the weather won't change. The waves have already become higher. Then the relieving call over the loudspeaker: We are asked to meet at the Zodiacs, the landing boats. One by one, we board the boat and the journey begins. The waves are not easy and we get the spray in our faces. Happy to soon step foot in Antarctica.

A few minutes later, we arrive at Yankee Harbour on the South Shetlands. It is an indescribable feeling. Everywhere, Gentoo penguins are bustling around. They live in a fairly large colony and some chicks have already hatched and are being kept warm and fed by a parent. The little rascals have no fear of humans at all and some approach us curiously. The cameras click incessantly and you constantly discover something new in the colony. Penguins always have the right of way. There are actually penguin highways on which individual penguins move. We have to stop and wait until no more penguins come. The nests are built from stones that the penguins find on the beach. We observed a penguin carrying additional stones to the nest to expand it.

We also observed a small group of lazy elephant seals lying on the beach.

Then, an breathtaking excursion came to an end. A perfect day!

So today we set foot in Antarctica for the first time. However, only on an island and not on the mainland. We will be informed later in the evening that the plan is to head to the mainland the next day if the ice allows it. A sister ship did not succeed the day before. We keep our fingers crossed.