Our 7th and final continent, no less! They're not making any more of them, you know. After a somewhat-bumpy two days at sea, we arrived to the Antarctic Peninsula -- the northern hunk of the continent. Here's our report on the place. In a word? Awesome.

Environment

It's clear that this would not be a fun place in the winter. Temperatures well below -50F, high winds. Frozen seas. But in the "heat" of summer it's actually fairly pleasant (from a New Englander's perspective) -- with temperatures in the mid-30s (F), chilled a bit by some wind gusts. Temps can get up to 70 sometimes. For those other times - the ship supplies parkas. All red ("what a lovely parka -- where'd you get it?") -- nicely made. We get to keep 'em.

We've supplemented this "special summerwear" with a myriad of layers, from silk long-johns to balaclavas; wool sweaters, chemical handwarmers. Scott's even got a pair of bicycling gloves -- no, not for that, but lacking fingers, they give partial warmth without interfering with camera use. Add to this sunblock (ozone hole...), winter hats, rubber boots (the penguin guano gets deep...). The boots are staying in the Antarctic. won't need them in Fiji, for example.

Sites, Sights

The first morning after arrival, the sun shown brightly, despite the low cloud ceiling you see at left. The scenery was just astonishing and no quantity of pictures we took (100's) will convey its rugged beauty.

We spent the next several days in awe, wandering from observation deck to deck, port to starboard -- a bit like a dog running from window to window in anticipation of its Master's arrival. Look! Iceberg! Penguin! Kestrel! Glacier! Seal!

Within the first five minutes we'd already spotted whales breaching a short distance ahead of the boat, penguins hanging around on a glacier -- and countless glaciers, icebergs and "bergy bits" (as the smaller ones are called -- no -- really).

After crossing the Drake Passage, we stopped first in Paradise Harbour and visited a colony of "chinstrap" penguins. More on this -- and other Penguin Encounters -- on the penguins page.

Paradise Harbour scene

On the 2nd day we were to visit Antarctic Sound, Hope Bay, and the Gerlache Strait but couldn't. Technically, we could have gotten into the channel, but not necessarily out. Recall Shackleton's adventures -- this wouldn't be a great idea. So we did a lot of cruising around icebergs and saw some that were truly astonishing. More on the Antarctic landscape here.

Wildlife

Our excitement level hardly waned over the days that followed. Primed with information from books and movies, our every expectation was being met, and exceeded. Our initial landing on the continent at Half Moon Island was also our first penguin encounter

They're totally cute. Except the baby ones.
The cycle of their lives is amazing.
They smell really bad. At a significant distance.

We also encountered seals, whales, and a smattering of other birds (besides penguins) -- terns, kestrels & "skuas". The latter are ugly, predatory birds who scavenge for leftover meat scraps -- but would much prefer penguin chicks - either while they're still in their eggs, or during their youth. Skuas are not popular with penguins; but they're part of the Antarctic food chain.

More about the Antarctic penguins, here, on the Penguin Channel. All penguins, all the time.

Topics in this series:

• Penguins
• Landscape
• Wildlife
• Logistics