[Mike Collins]

I am in Antarctica now and went hiking and swimming yesterday. It is freezing here with both the air temperature and water temperatures -2 C. I took a Polar Plunge and swam around for about a minute doing the breast stroke before it was too much. One photo shows my wife and I at the dinner table. It had snowed 8 inches blanketing the windows but not our views of each other. The photo with the Zodiac in the lower left corner shows the bay that I swam in. The sea ice is beginning to form as it is the start of winter. The gentoo penguins molt their feathers during the breeding period which has ended. One photo shows a penguin with only a few feathers left to lose. Once the new feathers are in place the penguin will return to the sea for the entire winter.

[Hiking addict]

Thanks for sharing this with us, very few people go there.

[Mike Collins]

For the birders who are members this bird is the Sheathbill. It is the only bird in Antarctica that doesn’t have webbed feet.

[Mike Collins]

The skua is the avian predator in Antarctica.

[Mike Collins]

Our ship was built in 2019 and still has a new-ship smell to it. This is what I have been told but it is still hard to believe. Sonar does not readily pick up glacially formed icebergs. The glacial ice has had all of its air bubbles compressed out of it. Because of that it is is totally clear and is not picked up by sonar. It has to do with the similarities in density. I looked it up. Clear ice density of 920 kg/m3 is so similar to cold sea water 1025 kg/m3 that the sonar doesn’t easily distinguish between the two. When in iceberg areas two members of the ship’s crew will use spotlights to sweep the area in front of the ship looking for icebergs while the ship cruises slowly. Here is a photo of that occurring last night.

[GaliWalker]

^ That's amazing!

[Bootpathguy]

DID YOU SEE ANY POLAR BARS OR WALLRUSSES!!!???

[timberghost]

Looks like a good time

[contour5]

Great post! Wow!

[seawallrunner]

I only have good things to say about the company you are sailing with, having sailed w them a few times near the other polar line. The offer smaller ships, interesting excursions and none of the usual cruise-ship hoopla of the bigger and better-known brands. With the smaller ships, additional landings can be made where the bigger ships cannot go. I hope you are enjoying your adventure Mike. Your photos are beautiful and I look forward to more.

[Mike Collins]

Twenty members of the Hurtigruten crew for my voyage are here for the education of the guests. One is an Evolutionary Biologist from the University of Chicago. Others are have master degrees with cetacean biology, ornithology, a glaciologist, several historians, etc. There are lectures everyday and a science center where you look through microscopes at phytoplankton, feathers, and what not. They do a stellar delivery of exploratory tourism. Here are a few more photos since you asked. It is just mile after mile of pristine beauty.

[Bootpathguy]

Cool pics. Thanks for sharing. Seriously though, looking forward to images of leopard seals

[Sadie's Driver]

Mike - were you in the Lemaire Channel? To me, that was the most spectacular.

[Mike Collins]

We also cruised in the stunningly beautiful Lemaire Channel. The WiFi on board doesn’t allow for streaming. When I get home I will look on YouTube to revisit that spectacular part of the world.

[Stefan]

Mike....next time....take me!