We woke up at 4am with howling wind. That’s actually one of the most dangerous things about Antarctica – you can get stranded somewhere because the Zodiacs can’t get you back to the ship. All of the girls were cold and tired, and we all had to pee (even though none of us had anything to drink since dinner the night before). We put our boots back on, hiked over to the little portable toilet, and froze our bums while we squatted in the open air over the toilet seat. Then, we took down our tent (much more difficult than pitching it, on account of the wind), packed up, and headed down to wait for the Zodiac. The wind made it colder than any cold we’d so far experienced in Antarctica.
We were thrilled when the two Zodiacs arrived to take us back to the ship.
I took a nap before breakfast, grabbed some quick food, and headed out on our morning excursion. I knew that the previous day would be hard to beat (setting foot on Antarctica for the first time, amazing weather, an outdoor BBQ and deck party, camping…), but the morning expedition competed quite nicely!
The area is called “Iceberg Alley” and it lies at the base of Anvers Island in Pléneau Bay. See how small our ship looks:
Scobie was our driver and Matt joined the 5 of us so it was a small group. Also, having both Scobie and Matt with us ensured that we learned a lot and had every one of our many questions answered.
Boating between the icebergs was incredible. They are massive, and the part that sticks above the water is likely only ~10% of total size. WOW! Scobie pointed out that the large icebergs go all the way to the bottom of the ocean and therefore don’t move. But smaller chunks of ice do float around in the ocean.
It was fun to look at the icebergs. It’s reminiscent of that game where you lie on your back, stare into the sky, and tell each other what animals the clouds look like. In this case, we were out in the sun on a zodiac, describing the icebergs (“Look, a crocodile!”).
The nice thing about this game with icebergs is that the icebergs aren’t constantly changing shapes, so people can actually see what you see. 
The views were magnificent! The water here is the prettiest blue I’ve ever seen. Clearer than Lake Tahoe. Bluer than the Mediterranean Sea. A deep blue that I can’t very well describe (and it doesn’t show very well in pictures). The icebergs range from light blue to white, depending on how old the ice is and how much snow has collected. Just under the surface of the water, you can see the skirt of the iceberg, which is old solid ice and has a turquoise color.
All of this against a background of snow-covered mountains, which themselves have blue strips of varying degrees where there are cracks and crevasses. And a warm sun against a blue sky (a different blue than the icebergs and the ocean). Simply amazing, and certainly the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life.
At one point, we saw a mini avalanche on one of the islands. We didn’t see the start, but we did see the snow rolling and exploding in the air. It was such a reminder of God’s strength and power, and that it is truly by His grace that we live. We also saw penguins frolicking in the water, which makes it quite obvious that these birds live in the ocean – they are agile, fast, and fun in their element.
Our typical day looks like this: eat breakfast, go on a morning excursion, eat lunch, go on an afternoon excursion, sit together and recap the day, eat dinner, and then free time to watch a movie, sit at the bar, whatever. Though this ship isn’t as large as the cruise ships that are floating cities, we still have many options onboard. Although they have a defined schedule, you can participate in as much or as little as you desire. That fact came in quite handy for our afternoon excursion.
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