I'm going to do my best to put into words what cannot really be described.

In awe

I find myself standing around on deck or on a beach saying totally inadequate things like "wow" or "how beautiful".. Probably best to keep quiet and just stare in awe. Try to wrap my mind around what I'm seeing and the fact that I'm actually here. And maybe try to stop my jaw from falling open in wonder every few minutes. 

Right now as I sit here in the ship's library there are electric blue icebergs floating past on a dark ocean, while massively crevassed, ancient, layered glaciers slide by on innumerable islands off to starboard. We are sailing on the Bransfield Strait off the Shetland Islands towards our evening landing spot called Hannah Point, and then later tonight to our anchorage before leaving for Deception Island in the wee hours - where we'll spend tomorrow wallowing like happy warthogs in volcanic warm waters I'm told.

More to describe

This is only the beginning and already I've steered a tall ship through the Beagle Channel, been at the helm across the Drake Passage at midnight, sunrise and sunset. Through wind and no wind, clouds and sunny skies and rolling waves of a deeper blue than I knew existed. Standing with my watch partners in the freezing misty cold of 2am on lookout for icebergs that we know are there - because we've seen them on radar - but they slide sneakily by under cover of waves and darkness... There is so much more to describe that I could go on for ages. Not just about the dramatic landscape and ocean we see every minute of every day.

Also the happy routine of life on board. How the crew make you feel at home and in such good hands. How we are fed like kings. How my bunk is so comfortable only the thought of drinking coffee while looking at an iceberg gets me out of it in the morning. Hot showers after a chilly zodiac ride back to the ship. Andy's music in the bar before dinner. Chatting to fascinating people who are equally blown away by what they're seeing. The feeling amongst most: our expectations have been exceeded. It's day 7. I think we're doing okay...