Half Moon Island

Today was our first glimpse of the great white continent of Antarctica! As we sailed toward our first destination to get on land, we sat in the lounge with its wrap around windows to take in the view. We saw several majestic islands as we headed to our first stop, Half Moon Island. We were lucky because the sun came out just as the islands began to come into view, providing a clear view and wondrous ambience. We had signed up for snowshoeing as a paid excursion, which has availability depending on weather and number of people signed up. Luckily we were selected to go on Half Moon Island, although I think everyone that signed up for that excursion was able to participate today. It was a pretty short trek of about 300 meters, but it was one of the coolest things I've done. As we landed we got to see some gentoo penguins hanging around, and it is so weird and funny to see these creatures in person. They are very chill and it's funny to watch them waddle around. Those who were not snowshoeing were able to go on land on the other side of the island where a colony of chinstrap penguins resided. The view from the top of the small hill we journeyed to will be hard to beat. We ended the day very excited for the next three days exploring this strange land.