Today was the last day of our fantastic expedition in Antarctica. One last time we went out to explore the pristine wilderness of this magnificent frozen continent before heading back to civilization and busy everyday life would engulf us again.
The first stop was a beach and small rocky outcrop on the shore of Neko Harbour, backed by towering peaks and surrounded by heavily crevassed glaciers that regularly calved and produced impressive sounds that echoed in the shallow waters of the bay sending chills down our backs. On land we were greeted by a colony of gentoo penguins that crowded the snowy slopes and countless penguin highways crisscrossed our path. On the water two young Minke whales curiously explored our Zodiacs giving us a close-up look at their beautiful slender bodies moving graciously under water. A close encounter none of us will ever forget.
The second stop of the day was Skontorp Cove, a cove in the gorgeous bay of Paradise Harbour, surrounded by high mountains and huge glaciers. Here we cruised around with our Zodiacs among the vertical ice cliffs and glacier front with impressive views of ice caves that threaten to calve at any moment. But when the hum of the Zodiac motor ended and the deep silence of the mountains and glaciers settled around us, we knew that our adventure had come to an end. While we floated among the brash ice we remembered all the moments of this journey and recognised that Antarctica has left a deep awe-inspiring impression on all of us.
As they say, all good things must come to an end and now we are heading back to Ushuaia. It’s a reminder that everything in life is temporary and we are the lucky ones who have had the opportunity to visit one of the most remote and inaccessible places of our world. With Antarctica in our rear mirror we had a final goodbye from a curious pod of type B2 killer whales giving us a wonderful final display and showing us once again this magnificent yet fragile world.
