Devil Island and Brown BluffsToday, we saw the sunny side of Antarctica! There were clear skies and bright sunshine, hardly a breath of wind and air temperatures in the 40s. And the views were indescribably beautiful as we cruised in the waters of the Erebus and Terror Gulf on the northeast coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Endeavour had to thread her way carefully between countless masses of shining icebergs and ice floes of every conceivable size and shape. Our first landing was at Devil Island and we took advantage of the calm sea to go kayaking. These are super-safe, two-person kayaks and we had plenty of time to paddle among the ice floes, watching the penguins swimming past or simply enjoying the view and listening to the "ice crispies" – the snap, crackle and pop of tiny air bubbles bursting out of the ice floes. Meanwhile, on land, there was a hike to the top of a hill that gave superb panoramic views of the surrounding ice-covered land. After leaving Devil Island, Endeavour felt her way slowly back among the icebergs while we had time to watch more penguins, leopard and crabeater seals on the ice floes. Our next destination was Brown Bluffs, aptly named for the light brown cliffs overlooking the beach. There was a chance of a hike up a steep slope to visit the nests of snow petrels or merely stroll along the shore where small parties of juvenile Adélie penguins, still with some of their chick down on their bodies, were contemplating taking to the water and setting out on life's journey. And if that were not enough for one day, after dinner we came on deck in the pink light of sunset to watch a pod of killer whales and two minke whales. With such brilliant weather, icy scenery and abundant wildlife literally at our feet, this had to be one of the greatest days.