Antarctica - the cold part! - Where are Sue & Mike?

As we moved further south, the weather did get chilly! Of course we took the polar plunge, along with only about 20% of those on board. Too bad we don’t get a medal for that! We were fascinated by the icebergs, floating by like abstract art. Large icebergs (identified as over 10 miles across) are geo-tagged. Every four days, a satellite photo is transmitted to captains to show the location. Captains then forecast the wind and current to see if the icebergs could be a navigational problem.

: We got pretty good at the daily zodiak landings.

: Just us and our smelly penguin friends.

: Once back on board, the first order of business was to wash off the penguin poop.

: A penguin takes a cool sip of fresh water. They drink salt water, too, but they have a gland that helps remove the salt from their blood.

: We had daily hikes, with naturalists along to explain every bird, fish or mammal question you could imagine.

: We were so warm after hiking we sat in the snow to cool off!

: An incredible vista was the reward for an hour’s uphill hike.

: A quiet walk near the Argentinian outpost. Twelve different flags fly in Antarctica, but a treaty signed in 1959 declares this a place for only peace and science.

: Antarctic Expedition medals are awarded for those brave souls in U.S. research outposts, including bronze, silver and gold bars for one, two or three times “overwintered”.

: An iceberg is a wonderful metaphor for the sea. Most of it is hidden from view.

: A little cold and blustery.

: A foursome of penguins looking incredibly clean following a swim.

: The penguin “highways” are well carved into the hill. The color of that snow? A result of layers of penguin poop.

: Nesting shorebirds.

: No matter how cold we were, we could always warm up with a spot of tea.

: Plunging through sheets of frozen sea ice at the Arctic Circle.

: Taken as I leaned over the bow, watching the ship break through icebergs!

: The captain maintained an open bridge, so all were welcome to observe navigation, ship operations and a birds eye view.

: Our polar plunge! We jumped into 29 degree salt water. Our reward was a shot of vanilla vodka with a hot blueberry soup chaser.

: Hanging out on a cliff with my favorite travel buddy.

: James Balog was our guest lecturer, and global warming alarmist. He’s a photographer who founded the Extreme Ice Survey, a long-term time-lapsed look at receding glaciers.