In the early morning hours, we heard the tell-tale sounds of the ship moving through ice as we made our way into Charlotte Bay. Our captain expertly navigated the ship and parked it in the fast ice! We had the glorious morning experience of being able to exit the ship using the gangway and walking onto solid frozen sea! Some chose to explore by foot, others with snowshoes, and the expert group went out cross country skiing on the fast ice.
After lunch we sailed into Recess Cove, where we had the most glorious views and sunshine! We were able to get out in the Zodiacs for a cruise or kayak through the brash ice and photograph penguins to our delight. After our boating ops, nearly half the ship bravely (or foolishly) jumped into the frigid waters during our polar plunge!
After dinner we had a wonderful encounter with a humpback whale in the fading evening light. A delightful day in Antarctica was had by all.