We were up early this morning to have breakfast and get organised for a Zodiac trip out to Astrolabe Island.

We got to Astrolabe Island around 9am and had a lovely walk around in the snow, observing Kelp gulls, penguins (Chinstrap, Gentoo, and Adélie) and the Weddell seals that had parked themselves on the snow-covered beach. We spent about an hour on the island before heading back to the ship.

Astrolabe Island.
Astrolabe Island.
Astrolabe island.
Astrolabe island.
Keith on Astrolabe Island.
Keith on Astrolabe Island.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.
Kelp gull.
Kelp gull.
Weddell seal.
Weddell seal.
Chinstrap penguins.
Chinstrap penguins.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie and Chinstrap penguins.
Adélie and Chinstrap penguins.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.
Andrea on Astrolabe island.

We spent the rest of the morning relaxing before heading to an expedition team briefing. We heard from various experts about the history, geology, and animal life in the area, which was fascinating.

After the briefing we enjoyed a lovely lunch while chatting to a very nice couple from Brisbane. By the time we got back to our room it was mid afternoon and we decided that a nap was in order to get our strength up for the next trip out. When we woke up, the ship was in Charcot Bay.

At about 5pm we hopped on another Zodiac and headed further into Charcot Bay, towards Lindblad Cove. Conditions were not conducive to a landing so we cruised around the bay and looked at the incredible icebergs in the water. It’s hard to convey the scale of these icebergs and the photos really don’t do them justice. We also spotted a few whales, which was very exciting.

Whale.
Whale.

We were pretty cold when we got back to the ship from our cruise around Charcot Bay. The weather had closed in a bit and the wind was pretty icy. We were pleased to get back inside and warm up.

We had dinner with our friend David and a very nice young man named Chris, who is a marine biologist on the expedition team. After dinner we went to the lounge for a drink, after which we headed back to our room.

The ship is cruising overnight to Neko Harbour, an inlet of the Antarctic Peninsula located in Andvord Bay, situated on the west coast of Graham Land. We are planning to go ashore early in the morning at Neko Harbour, which will be our second continental landing of the trip. In the afternoon the ship will be heading to Paradise Bay, a wide embayment of the Gerlache Strait, behind Lemaire and Bryce Islands.