Follow Cindy Goeddel as she journeys through the Antarctica Sound.

What an incredible day!  We sailed through the Antarctic Sound with all around us tabular icebergs larger than the ship – icebergs with vertical sides and flat tops that have recently broken off an ice shelf.   Once in Kinnes Cove, just off Joinville Island, Fran and I jumped into a Kayak and paddled around icebergs and penguins.  Yes, we were able to kayak in Antarctic waters!  What a blessing and an experience it was, I will never forget it.  But wait, there is more.  After a five-minute break in which we swapped gloves and cameras, we jumped into a Zodiac and set out on a cruise around the Cove, during which an iceberg exploded as our zodiac went around it.  

Every bare bit of rock on Joinville Island is host to colonies of Adelie Penguins, more than 20,000 nesting pairs.  In the snow, well-trod penguin highways lead up to the windblown, barren knobs where every inch is taken up with rocky Adelie nests; visualize a crowded ski slope with dozens of penguins streaming down and dozens steaming up.  The Adelie Penguins are an inspiration as they spend the entire year on the Antarctic Continent, regularly enduring winter winds and temperatures of minus 60 degrees.  But wait, there is yet more.  After lunch we landed on Brown Bluff, a 2,444ft high, ice-capped, flat-topped mountain with reddish-brown volcanic rock on the North face.  For the third time in two days, we had made a Continental landing on the Antarctic.  The beach and mountain slopes are covered in Gentoo and Adelie Penguin nests, and as it is a rocky beach, those of the former are taller and far more elaborate than on islands lacking this most necessary of building materials.  Despite the bounty of rocks, the penguins were still robbing rocks from their neighbors.  

Having three outings in a day was amazing, and certainly made up for having to have our third PCR test of the journey.  All 101 passengers and 96 staff tested negative.

Journey Map