Antarctic Peninsula
What a Treat in Antarctica!
Taking an Air-cruise Antarctica trip with a small expedition ship is indeed the most luxurious way to explore this extremely isolated continent.
Although I preferred to travel more like an explorer in the old days, this entry-level expedition was probably a safe warmup for my real Antarctica expeditions later.
Each day our small expedition vessel brought new adventures with Zodiac landings, where we got up close with these gigantic ice sculptures and incredible Antarctic wildlife.
Ice Sculpture
What a reverent and humbling experience to see this gigantic ice sculpture just a few feet away. Observing the striking neon blue color and infinite textural detail up close and in person was beyond words.
What we saw on the surface was just a small part of the whole iceberg. It would be even more mind-boggling in the water...
Just imagine all kinds of colorful exotic sea creatures swimming around this translucent turquoise sculpture, what a sight to behold!
Frozen Monuments
Cruising around these ice monuments is like wandering through ancient ruins, or visiting an sculpture museum at such a scale that you feel tiny and insignificant.
Sparkling Sunset
The sunset on the Antartic Peninsula is surrealistic and magical. The reflection of the sun on these small icebergs makes them look like gold-nuggets or buoyant candles. They gently float on the dark water like an untouchable dream...
Teeming With Wildlife
The Antarctic Peninsula is teeming with life in summer (November through January). This extremely isolated world is not quiet at all. It is full of different sounds from several types of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds...
We often saw groups of penguins jumping out of water close to the deck of the ship, or humpback whales taking a deep breaths in the distance.
Humpback Whale
One of the most exciting moments on the ship was spotting 50-foot humpback whales. Even though they appear to be far in the distance, you can still see their majestic display and hear their enormous breath!
They are the most abundant baleen whale in the nearshore waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. It is hard to believe that such a giant feeds primarily on tiny Antarctic krill.
Gentoo Penguis
The Antarctic wildlife are not intimidated by human beings, minding their own business while I took numerous photos of them.
Gentoo penguins are one of the main penguins on this peninsula. We often spotted them swmming with Chinstrap penguins in the ocean.
Chinstrap Penguins
My favorite penguin on the Antarctic Peninsula are chinstrap penguins. The significant line on their chin makes them look so happy all the time. It is a pure joy to watch them hopping and walking about with that smile... They brought so much warmth to this cold environment.
Crabeater Seals
The crabeater seal is one of the most common seals to spot during an Antarctic cruise.
They spend their entire lives around Antarctica, laying in the pack ice zones where they breed, molt and rest. These seals always chill and relax.
I love the high contrast between their earthy-tone skin color, the bright white ice, and the vibrant turquoise iceberg.