We spent our morning at and around Brown Bluff, a geologically incredible landing site that is home to about 20,000 pairs of Adelie penguins. These birds know a good place when they see it! Brown Bluff is found at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, and the water passing by this point means the current can be wild! This makes it ideal for trapping plankton and krill, the base of the food chain for the creatures of the Antarctic. The penguins know it, and the whales know it, too! Guests were treated to some excellent whale watching on Zodiac cruises, and the icebergs that surfed the currents past the tip of the peninsula were visually stunning!

The wind picked up quite a bit towards the end of our morning, making it a bit of an adventurous ride back to the ship. The weather was not on our side for afternoon operations. Safe and cozy on the beautiful ship, we enjoyed a delightful lecture about the whales of Antarctica. Our naturalists set the stage for safety procedures and lots of excitement in the upcoming days with a Zodiac briefing. Let the adventure continue!

Photo caption and photographer: 40,000 Adelie penguins don’t lie: Brown Bluff is awesome! (Adelies visible in the background!) Photo by Jackie Weston