Today we found ourselves way below the Antarctic Convergence, already feeling a cooler ocean breeze and definitely much cooler water temperatures as well. This particular region is already considered to be “truly Antarctic waters” due the tremendous concentrations of krill, a shrimp-like organism considered to be the main food supply for almost all living creatures in Antarctica!
Our navigation has been delightful! We couldn’t ask for a calmer Drake Passage, but somehow, we feel as if we are “cheating” our way into Antarctica…almost as if we have to pay the consequences later in the trip, but we will worry about that part later!
During the later-part of the morning we already encountered several groups of penguins in the water. Equally excited was the sight of our first iceberg and the first whale blowing spout!
Right before lunch time, we were already in our desired geographical location within the group of islands known as The South Shetlands. The chosen one was an island known as Half Moon due its particular shape. Our landing was under fantastic weather conditions, as the sun was shining for most of the afternoon, and amazing blue-clear skies were all around us!
The main attractions of the afternoon were, of course, the adorable chinstrap penguins found all over the landing and up the hill. This particular island has a very successful chinstrap breeding penguin colony which already had successfully produced chicks!
All of our guests departed on excursions during the afternoon, and they all returned quite content to have enjoyed their first landing under great conditions. The adventure has just begun, and we are so looking forward to what tomorrow has prepared for us!
