Antarctica - Part 1

November 22-25, 2024

We boarded our ship, the World Navigator, on Friday afternoon, quite excited. Our room was very nice, much nicer than what we are used to. After settling in and relaxing in our room for a bit, we attended the safety briefing, and had dinner and some drinks in the lounge before bed.

We spent much of the next day relaxing, watching for birds of the Drake Passage (albatrosses, petrels, and prions), making sure our parkas, boots and lifejackets fit, and attending some lectures and briefings about environmental precautions and kayaking safety. Before dinner we had a chance to meet our neighbors in the hallways.

The next day we attended some lectures in the morning. Because the weather was nice and the sea was calm, we powered on to the Penninsula, saving the South Shetland Islands to the north for the return trip. We saw our first icebergs and by afternoon, spotted land. In the early evening we did our first Zodiac cruise. We skirted the shore of Harry Island and explored the beautiful ice formations and an imperial shag colony (a type of cormorant). We also saw our first Weddell seal. In the evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the lounge.

The next morning was our turn to go kayaking. While others did a Zodiac cruise in Fournier Bay, we launched our kayaks and paddled through the different types of ice. In the afternoon, the ship headed to Danco Island where we visited our first penguin colony, a large colony of gentoo penguins. Danco Island is where we first fell in love with penguins. Watching them was so fun.

That evening we had the captain's welcome reception and met most of the ship officers and department heads. Later in the evening we had the opportunity to meet up with our sister ship, the World Traveller. They were heading north while we were heading south. We all went to the bow of the ship for a photo op.