On the trip back to South America, our ship stopped at Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands. This island is actually a caldera that blew open so wide that the main crater flooded with sea water. The volcano remains active, creating new craters every so often, most recently in 1969. The landscape was a stark change from where we had been in Antarctica, with black igneous rock dominating the color spectrum and the ice pack...

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Our ship itinerary included a tour of an active research station operated by the Ukraine. Each scientist signs up for a one year assignment, and the station houses twelve people – all men. After the sea ice sets in, this dozen will see no other humans for up to ten months. The Verdansky station was originally a British station named Faraday, and the ozone hole was discovered here in 1985. It was an early indicator that while no humans...

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While penguins were the most abundant wildlife, there were many other animals vying for attention. We found out that where there are penguins, there are seals and they were nearly as curious as the penguins, especially when they were in the water. These blubbery animals are huge up close and frighteningly speedy when slicing through the water. From the ship, we spotted numerous humpback whales and had one orca pod sighting. Admittedly, it is...

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So many penguins! These flightless birds live only in the Southern Hemisphere and have definitely marked their territory in Antarctica. The remote location of their colonies severely limits human contact making these birds fearless and almost gregarious to visitors. Although we have to stay five meters away, stand still for five minutes and a curious penguin will invariably waddle closer to have a look at you. And there is definitely a...

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Given the countless glaciers everywhere we looked, the seas were filled with icebergs and their beauty has a fleeting, haunting quality. Gliding through the ice-filled waters was like visiting an abstract sculpture gallery. The diversity of shapes, sizes and colors only opens the mystery behind how each chunk of frozen water earned its particular form.

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The scale and majesty of Antarctica defies description. It was mesmerizing just to simply cruise through the various straits and channels. The lasting impression is how pure and untouched the land remains, with good reason since Antarctica was not even seen by a human until 1820 and has never been inhabited by people. The scenery also fuels the imagination for reading about the exploits of Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen during the heroic age...

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