We had a great ‘crossing’ of the Drake…took a prophylactic Meclizine tab just in case it got a bit roller coaster-ish overnight, but no, just some 5 metre swells that rocked the ship, lulling (me) to sleep. Not so for other poor folk unfortunately!

Set the alarm for sunrise in anticipation of majestic hues….arrrh, lots of fog instead! We woke up truly in Antarctic waters, south of the 60th parallel, having crossed ‘the Convergence’, where Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet (and the water temperature drops by 3 degrees instantly because of the glacial melt).

Our destination this afternoon is the Aitcho Islands, a small archipelago in the northern entrance to English Strait. Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins (some moulting adults and cute chicks!) abound on this island. We might also see (another thing to try to photo) southern giant petrels, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue-eyed shags and skuas. Grey skies, slight drizzle, but we are all pumped for our first zodiac landing on Antarctic shores……