Day 4 Antarctic Diaries on the M/V Island Sky

After the incredibly long day yesterday I indulged and slept in till 615am this morning before making my way up to the observation deck to fulfill my usual morning routine. This consisted of listening to good music with binoculars around my neck and camera in hand scanning the area for wildlife - especially whales.

We arrived at our destination not long afterwards at an area called Cierva Cove, which was a little cove with a huge glacier that can be quite active at times. What do I mean by that? It calves quite often, which means pieces of ice break off from the face of it and fall into the ocean below. This is amazing to watch yet you must be cautious ~ keep your distance as it can be extremely dangerous.

At the back of my mind though I realized that for this expedition it was the last day of excursions in Antarctica before setting sail back to Ushuaia, which takes roughly 2 days at sea. Being mindful of this knowledge is a real motivator for me to ensure that I give it my all to these wonderful guests I have gotten to know over the past few days and experiences we had all shared with one another.

My morning cruise got spoilt with a friendly minke whale zig-zagging under my vessel for about 10 minutes in a very playful manner - best encounter I have had with a minke this entire Antarctic season! It was especially amazing as I put my hand in the water and called the big fellow over, which he did and sat there staring up at me for a few minutes. Also, I found 2 lunge feeding humpback whales & then 4 Leopard seals hanging out around an ice berg. Overall I must announce it was quite the successful morning.

Now we are anchor up and sailing back to Ushuaia via the Drake Passage - this was a very short Antarctic adventure but I shall be back down in about 5 days. Firstly, we have to get back to South America (2 days), re-supply and board new guests then travel back down to the Peninsula (2 days). Lets hope in the next 4 days I will have more exciting stories and photos to display!