Today we were on course to reach the most southerly point of our journey. We woke up to another astounding landscape before landing on Berthelot Island. There we saw the Adelie penguins for the first time. They were more cautious of us and less curious than the Gentoo or Chinstraps. I saw several instances of projectile penguin poo; the stuff that bucket lists are made of.

The island was all grey and green and brown underfoot (although not literally- we all took great care not to tread on the lichens and mosses). Very different to the stark cookies and cream wilderness of Deception Island. Upon Rickie’s advice, we took a moment of stillness and quiet, letting the water and wind and ice move and flow and shift around us. On the walk back to the landing site I thought about friends and family back home and what I might want to write to them that afternoon.

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Photo by Ricky Simko