As we were not supposed to explore any part of Antarctica until the next day, the surprise announcement towards the end of dinner of the early unscheduled arrival at Barrientos Island in the South Shetland Islands off the coast of Antarctica shot the excitement of all of the passengers aboard the Swan Hellenic SH Minerva beyond stratospheric levels…
Early Arrival at Barrientos Island in the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica
…and sure enough — off in the distance on the gloomy horizon and enshrouded by the clouds — we saw our first glimpse of the South Shetland Islands.
The evening sun trying to peek through the thick layers of dark clouds — as if to welcome us — as the ship was slowly heading towards the South Shetland Islands. We were going to experience our first landing in Antarctica early and not have to wait until the next morning!
The disbelief of everyone was palpable. After all of the days of preparation and travel, we were finally going to experience the mysterious continent known as Antarctica.
The wildlife then started to greet us as the waves of the Southern Ocean crashed among the craggy outcroppings of the islands. This was no fire drill. We were told to dress warmly, grab our life jackets and parkas, and head on down to Base Camp to prepare for the zodiac ride to Barrientos Island.
We were called in order of groups to board each zodiac. We were instructed to grab the upper part of the lower half of the arm of a member of the team — who in turn grab the upper part of the lower half of the arm of each guest — to firmly assist us into each zodiac. As this was the first real part of the expedition, some guests had difficulty maneuvering their way into a zodiac; while others had some trepidation — but all were successfully loaded on to zodiacs to prepare to meet our hosts on Barrientos Island.
Once we were on land, we were instructed to not sit down or kneel — as well as not dispose of anything — in order to help protect the fragile ecosystem of Antarctica. We also were instructed not to go near the penguins — and especially not to touch them — although some penguins did try to come up to us.
In fact, our aforementioned hosts were the penguins, who acted as though they could not wait to meet us — although I must say that they did not have to dress formally for the occasion.
“Whaddya starin’ at?”, this penguin — apparently originally from New York — seemed to say when he stopped for a moment. “’Sammatah? Haven’t you ever seen a Gentoo penguin before?!?”
“They tell me penguins can’t fly. I’ll show them. I’ll prove them wrong!” Judging by the soiled white feathers, this penguin has apparently unsuccessfully previously attempted to fly. “I will do it someday — and when I do fly, I will visit my penguin relatives in the northern hemisphere to enjoy some penguini, which is my favorite pasta.”
“Hey — get a load of Tennessee Tuxedo over there.”
“Is he yet again trying to fly?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought his name was Pittsburgh.”
“No. You’re thinking of Opus.”
“Okay, Chilly Willy. Whatever you say.”
“Look at that clueless Gentoo penguin down there trying to fly, Pokey.”
“Yeah, Duke — can you believe that? What a loon!”
“He is not a loon, Pokey. He is — sigh — a penguin.”
“I’ve had enough, fellas” said the penguin in the background as he waddled away. “I’m outta here.”
Legend has it that to this day, this poor penguin is still trying to claim the title of being the first Gentoo penguin to successfully fly — in his mind, anyway.
“I’m so lonely,” this Chinstrap penguin seemed to lament, with his head bowed down. “Why do the Gentoo penguins get to have all the fun? I can be a gent too, y’know.”
“I don’t believe you — but keep your chin up, Chinstrap.”
“Okay. I will keep my chin up. How is this:♩♫ O SOLE MIO!!! ♫♩”
“Hey, pal — don’t you think you’re being a bit too loud there?”
“That ship has got a lot of Minerva bringing visitors to our home with no announcement or warning.”
“I am getting tired of living on these rocks. Do you think I can hop on that ship to go and live somewhere else that is better than this? I mean, we don’t even have toilets here!”
These Gentoo penguins were all nesting. Unfortunately, I did not get to see their eggs.
Unfazed by us human beings for the entire time that we were there, they did look at us curiously as they went about their business — as seen in this raw video in which you can hear what the penguins are really saying. Although the air was not all that cold, a persistent wind plus no tripod plus slippery snow and ice plus an uneven surface with rocks equals a shaky video.
I looked back at Barrientos Island from the ship and observed members of the last group heading towards the zodiacs. Literally hundreds of Gentoo penguins and Chinstrap penguins were there to bid adieu — but perhaps not farewell?
After members of the crew secured each zodiac to the vessel, guests were assisted from the zodiac into the ship. We were required to wipe our muck boots in what looked like urinals with brushes before stepping into the pan of pink liquid to finish off cleaning our muck boots. Our identification tags were scanned as we headed back upstairs into Base Camp, where we were greeted with a welcome back drink of hot chocolate, which was a very nice touch.
Fiinal Boarding Call
We spent about an hour on Barrientos Island, which actually was plenty of time to observe the penguins and interact with them from a safe distance.
As we already had dinner prior to this first experience of the expedition, we decided to retire for the evening in anticipation of the next day, which should have been the official start of being in Antarctica — so we all already had enjoyed a significant head start to this amazing trip.
Please click on this article for the complete itinerary of my expedition to Antarctica, which will periodically be updated as more articles are written…
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
