The Antarctic Peninsula

One might think that the longest tour possible here would also provide the most intense exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula (which is the piece of land protruding from the South Pole region towards South America). But that was not the case... while shorter tours spend 3-5 days here, we only had one day.

At least the weather was quite good initially, and after reaching the Gerlache Strait, we saw many beautiful icebergs and ice-covered islands on both sides. We could also spot whale spouts in the distance, but our boat is too slow to reach a suitable spot like a whale watching boat would.

After lunch, on a zodiac tour, we got a first impression of what Antarctica is like. We stopped in a random bay (later identified as Murray Bay), the zodiacs were launched into the water, and we spent about 2 hours cruising around the bay. We saw Weddell seals, 2 different types of penguins (Gentoo and Adélie penguins), and ice, ice, ice... which, thanks to the lack of air pollution, is a radiant white like we have never seen before.

Later in the day, we saw a group of humpback whales feeding, and a penguin came by on a small iceberg and waddled around - slightly excited by all the company. Then the weather changed quickly, becoming hazy and a snowstorm moved in. The forecast for the next 2 days was not very promising, with high winds, rough seas, and above all, a lot of water....