Our first landing was supposed to be in Antarctica tomorrow, Friday, December 5, 2025; but because we arrived in the region faster than expected with unusually calm weather, an unscheduled stop in the South Shetland Islands occurred earlier today.
An Unscheduled Stop in the South Shetland Islands.
The island on which we arrived was Barrientos Island. This surprise stop by the members of the team at Swan Hellenic had everyone aboard the SH Minerva excitedly scrambling to put on the proper gear to brave the Antarctic weather — but to me anyway, the weather was rather pleasant despite being cloudy: very little wind with temperatures above freezing.
We hopped into zodiacs to get to Barrientos Island, where literally hundreds of Gentoo penguins and Chinstrap penguins seemingly welcomed us and greeted us — to the point where we had to back away from the curious creatures to protect them…
…and did they put on a visual and audio presentation for us!
Interestingly, the rookeries of Gentoo penguins and Chinstrap penguins do not integrate despite sharing the land on which they live.
Final Boarding Call
What amazes me about this trip is that I am having the time of my life — and the itinerary of being on mainland Antarctica does not even officially begin until tomorrow morning. As far as I am concerned, anything else beyond finally stepping foot on the continent of Antarctica and exploring it with my camera is either icing on the cake or gravy.
Who knows what other wonderful surprises await us during the remainder of this already memorable itinerary…
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
