The next morning we woke up to sunny weather and no wind! It was absolutely stunning! Our first land sighting of the morning was Dallman Bay, where we saw these humpback whales. Sorry, my camera’s lack of proper zoom comes in to play again!
This iceberg topped with Gentoo Penguins quickly came into view. According to the naturalist talking from the bridge it’s fairly unusual to find an iceberg with penguins on top.
That’s icy Anvers Island in the background. Anvers Island is also known as Antwerp Island, receiving it’s name from an 1898 Belgian expedition led by Lt. Adrien de Gerlache, who’s name also features prominently in this region.
As we were passing Anvers we saw these Chinstrap Penguins in the water. This scene would repeat itself constantly during our time in Antarctica. Again, sorry for the poor video quality from my phone. Someday they’ll make a phone that can truly compete with the huge bulky SLR type digital cameras.
We then passed this awesome iceberg that our ship drifted right by. We were literally this close. Gorgeous!
It was interesting to watch the perspective change as we cruised by.
Looked far different than I expected it to at first glance! It looks like the iceberg on the left is part of the same berg, as it wasn’t separating at all.
Yet another gorgeous iceberg as we continue to cruise by Anvers Island, headed towards the Gerlache Strait
There were Gentoo Penguins on this iceberg as well, so maybe its not that unusual?
Anvers Island is even more beautiful from Gerlache Strait. This straight separates these island from the Antarctica Peninsula.
This strait completely freezes over in the winter, and if you come to Antarctica in the early part of summer there is a good chance there is too much ice to cruise through. This last shot of Anvers Island shows just how icy it is even in the middle February.
We then entered Paradise Bay, the most stunning spot we would see in Antarctica! The beauty of this spot takes your breath away! This is my favorite photo of the trip, so far! Hard to understand how it could be topped.
Everywhere inside the bay is gorgeous!
I loved the reflections in the nearly still water, mingled with little remnants of icebergs called “bergy bits”.
It was so warm I had to take off my jacket. I was not expecting that!
We kept a watch on the adjacent glacier in hopes that we would see a calving event, particularly with how warm it was. While we did hear some cracking here and there, with a particularly loud crack and crash from somewhere out in the Gerlache Strait, we didn’t see anything during our two hours in the bay.
There are people who line up on the Starboard and Port sides of the ship adjacent to the pool area, and they are crowded in along the railing. Meanwhile, on the stern in what is usually the cafe outdoor eating area, there was barely anybody.
I took a lot of photos in Paradise Bay, and it was just too gorgeous to not post a bunch of them! The naturalists on the ship mentioned several times they couldn’t remember a more perfect day in this spot.
The reflections are just amazing!
Inside Paradise Bay is Brown Station, an Argentine research station. It’s also home to a large Gentoo Penguin colony, a few of which you can see in the background.
There were plenty more adjacent to the station.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, as our two hours of paradise were over as we headed back out into Gerlache Strait.
One last gorgeous shot of Paradise Bay! Ok, this photo may vie for #1 of the trip!
As we cruised the Gerlache Strait I saw this unusual island with a cloud obscuring the mountain in the middle, which gave it a mysterious look, like the Island of Dr Moreau.
As we were eating dinner I saw this iceberg out the window that once again had a bunch of penguins onboard. Ok, this isn’t unusual at all apparently!
This post is long enough, so I will make a short post regarding our last photos of our perfect day as well as our last day in Antarctica, where unfortunately the weather didn’t hold, as we visited King George Island and Admiralty Bay.
