Antarctica, Day 12

Day 12 - our third day in Antarctic waters. The opening photo was taken at 1:00 a.m. along the Antarctic peninsula. This day we visited Charlotte Bay, Cuverville Island, and Dallmann Bay, where we observed about 20 humpback whales feeding in the evening. Some seemed to be mother and calf pairs based on the difference in the size of their tail flukes and their tendency to stick close together. We spent an hour glued to our binoculars, watching them. God's amazing creation on glorious display!

Entering Charlotte Bay above.

Such a quiet morning.

View of Charlotte Bay from our cabin's balcony.

Looking toward the back of Charlotte Bay.

So pristine and calm.

The black mark in the water is a bit of a humpback whale in the next two photos.

It was in this bay where we experienced the immense silence that we'd read about others experiencing in Antarctica.

This guy .... my best friend and travel companion extraordinaire!

I love the ice on the water echoing the shape of the mountains.

On the way out of Charlotte Bay, we saw an expedition ship; center of the next two photos. With these type of cruises, passengers do activities such as kayaking and stepping onto the continent. We saw several people walking on the hill behind the ship.

Yep, Brian and I are having fun!

Icebergs can be very noisy. We enjoyed listening to them from our cabin's balcony. This iceberg has its own lagoon.

On our way to Cuverville Island, home of the largest Gentoo penguin colony in the world.

Cuverville Island

All those little dots on the beach are Gentoo penguins.

Gentoos are the fastest underwater swimmers of all 17 penguin species. They can swim 20 mph. they also have the longest tails. See online image at the end of this post.

Heading around Cuverville Island.

Making our way to Dallmann Bay where the ship will shelter overnight.

Entering Dallmann Bay and a change in weather.

Gentoo penguin. Image borrowed from online source.

Here's a nice image of a humpback whale with lots of good infor that I found online. I hope you enjoyed Day 12.