Just as breakfast was concluding, we reached our furthest point south on this expedition. At 78˚38.744 S x 163˚33.489 W, nestled in the bite of the magnificent Ross Ice Shelf, we arrived at the Bay of Whales. We couldn’t have been graced with a more perfect and overpowering scene of what Antarctica has to offer. The over-400-mile-long Ross Ice Shelf, with its towering 60-foot face, has long been an imposing and impressive feature of this part of the Antarctic. Spilling off the continental ice sheet, this nearly 500 x 400-mile floating ice plateau is the largest in the world. All around us was the gripping sense that we were in a world very few have seen. With winds approaching 50 knots scouring the vast expanse of sea ice clinging to the shelf, the hardy inhabitants of this icy world were all around. Primarily we observed tens of thousands of Antarctic petrels and snow petrels; scattered clusters of Adelie penguins and emperor penguins dotted the scene, while Weddell seals lounged about as if it were just another day at the office.