Amazing to think of how much we saw on just our first day—however our second day in Antarctica proved to be just as exciting! We woke in the morning to find the ship parked very close to the shore at Paulet Island, the location of an unexpected winter-over by a portion of the Nordenskjöld 1901-1904 Swedish Antarctic Expedition party. Adélie penguins surrounded the landing’s historic hut and monument, and the smell of the colony certainly alerted us to their close proximity to our ship.
During out lunchtime sail toward Brown Bluff, we encountered many humpback whales swimming among the many beautiful icebergs along the way. The afternoon brought more good weather and the chance to see nesting gentoo as well as Adélie penguins. It was a wonderful afternoon. The many opportunities to see penguins up close made our first continental landing so special.