It was an early start for the dawn risers among us. We set our alarms for 1:30 a.m. and had the chance to observe a lovely golden light cast over the ice. As we traveled through the Weddell Sea, we encountered large tabular icebergs.

The journey continued, and the bridge team did an outstanding job navigating through the sea ice. As we made our way north, we were fortunate to attend Jamling Tenzing Norgay’s very inspiring lecture “Touching My Father’s Soul,” in which he shared his experience of climbing Mount Everest in his father’s footsteps.

Due to tightly packed ice, a landing at the desired Devil Island wasn’t possible. Instead, we decided to cash in on the extraordinary weather conditions we were gifted. We kayaked and took Zodiac cruises through glassy, open waters. We were surrounded by impressive sea and pack ice floating in 652 meters of crystal-clear water.

Once the kayaks were efficiently packed away by our deck crew, some of our explorers braved the icy waters and participated in the Polar Plunge in -0.2° Celsius waters. The hotel team surprised us with a barbecue and beers on the sun deck, and we got to enjoy the beautiful blue skies.

Next up was a talk on the importance of krill in the Southern Ocean by our ‘one in a krillion’ Underwater Sea Specialist, Maya Santangelo. The day was topped off with a celebration of St. Lucia. We enjoyed delicious Swedish treats while our amazing team of naturalists recapped the day’s highlights.

Our journey now continues north as we venture over to see what the Western Antarctic Peninsula has on offer.