Even though we’ve reached Antarctica, we keep heading South. It is an epic expedition after all. In the evening we cross the Antarctic Circle at 66 .6 degrees south of the equator. Everyone is on deck for the momentous occasion, with lots of celebration and pictures.

Continuing southward we come to Detaille Island. Even though we arrive late at night, there’s still plenty of light for zodiac cruises. The sea kayakers get to paddle again and we enjoy more time up close with the icebergs. Some are unbelievably huge, the size of an aircraft carrier.

Continuing southward we arrive in Marguerite Bay. This morning a different kind of excursion will occur. We’ll get off the ship by jumping into the Southern Ocean, its Polar Plunge Day! There is alot of excitement and nervousness amongst the passengers at breakfast. When its time, we all line up in swimsuits and bathrobes in the halls and staircases. The crew has music blaring throughout the ship to get everyone pumped up and its a party like atmosphere. As you approach the front of the line, you remove your bathrobe and the guides put a cold, wet belt/harness around your waist. Once its your turn, you walk down the stairs to a platform a few feet above the water. The guides hook up ropes to your harness so they can recover your body if you have a heart attack or an Orca decided to eat you! Then you jump. The extremely cold water takes your breath away but you quickly feel the adrenaline rush and swim back to the ladder to get out with a hundred people cheering from the ship. Another awesome, once in a lifetime experience. In the end, 94 out of 165 passengers took the plunge.

After the Polar Plunge, we head to Bourgeois Fjord and make our way to Horseshoe Island. Another opportunity to kayak amongst the icebergs. We also go ashore where there is an abandoned British Survey station. We are able to go inside but need to use our flashlights as there is no interior lighting. Its very interesting to see the beds, radio equipment, old canned goods, etc. It is in the exact condition as when it was abandoned. In the kitchen there is a cookbook with some very interesting recipes including Fried Seal Brains, Seal Brain au gratin, and Casserole of Shag. Thankfully, none of these were served on the ship!

The ship’s crew has planned a BBQ dinner on the deck for our southernmost meal. Delicious food, loud music and another dance party.

We’ve reached the southernmost point on our trip and unfortunately, its time to turn the ship around and head north. We have a relaxing day at sea as we watch the majestic Antarctic continent move by. As we enter the Lemaire Channel there is an announcement that Orcas have been spotted near the ship. Rushing onto the deck we can see two groups of Orcas in the distance. As we watch, the Orcas come right along the ship, it is an awe inspiring sight. In total the guides estimated there were 30 Orcas swimming around the ship. The guides were very excited as they have never seen that many at one time. As we head north, we become one of the few people who have crossed the Antarctic Circle twice. Some have crossed it once and unfortunately never returned. No one has ever been born south of the circle.

We continue our voyage north towards the South Shetland Islands and Whalers Bay at Deception Island. The ship enters the bay by passing Neptune’s Bellows. We are now anchored in the caldera of an active volcano! Its very windy and the sea is rough but our kayak guides have enough faith in us to allow us to go kayaking for the last time. The kayak excursion is very “sporty” as the guides would say. We kayak back our through the entrance and into the ocean. Its rough, windy and wet but for sure the most exciting kayak excursion we have done! After kayaking we head to the beach which is covered in volcanic cinders and steam is rising up right through the earth. A short hike takes us along the beach and then up the caldera wall to a lookout called Neptune’s Window. We have beautiful views of inside the volcano and outside into the Southern Ocean. On the beach are the remains of a whaling station and a British Survey base.

Our last stop before we head back to civilization is Half Moon Island. A chinstrap penguin colony calls this place home. This is our last chance to to spend time with the adorable penguins. Our guides encourage us to take some quite time alone to reflect on the trip. We then cruise around the island in the zodiacs taking in the scenery and spotting several Leopard Seals relaxing on some icebergs. Leopard seals are not cute and funny like the fur seals and elephant seals. These are meat eaters who prefer penguins over fish and have lots of razor sharp teeth. We keep our distance.

All that remains is crossing the infamous Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is known for having the roughest seas in the world and is the most dangerous body of water for ships. It will take two full days to cross the Drake Passage and everyone is a little nervous about what is to come. Earlier I said there were only two disappointments on this trip. The first was that we weren’t able to the hike tracing Shackletons last leg of his epic journey due to poor weather. The second disappointment was the the Drake Passage was relatively calm when we crossed. We had 10-12 ft seas but that is nothing compared to the 30-40’ seas which are fairly common. While that would have made for an unpleasant two days, I’d have preferred to have experienced the Drake Passage with a little rougher seas. I was definitely in the minority with this view.

Our truly epic expedition comes to an end as we arrive back in Ushuaia to head to the airport for the long journey home. It was an amazing adventure that have given us wonderful memories and new friends. If you have a spirit of adventure and love nature and wildlife, we would highly recommend taking a trip to the 7th continent. If you decide to go, we would also highly recommend Quark Expeditions. They did an amazing job and the guides and ship’s crew were all outstanding.