Merry Antarctica Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

We woke to so many great Christmas treats:

 1) Blue, blue skies

2) Extra sleep! Our group, 4, has moved to the back of the queue so now we have late 

debarkation and an extra hour in the mornings.

3) A phone call from Nick and everyone in the family online!

Funny story: We asked Emi if Santa came and her parents were quick to intervene and say she's not a fan of Santa and uncomfortable with the thought that he might be in the house!

So they assured her (and us) that Santa had indeed come, but he was gone now. Far, far away. 😂

Courtney & Michael are celebrating in New York at the Belnord with Bob & Rhonda and Becca.

They even bought a Christmas tree to decorate.

Marty, Lizzie & Emi are at the Rosen's in Salt Lake with Erika

Chris, Dad & Mom are in Antarctica and Nick in Ecuador. Wow.

After our call we had a Zodiac tour in Paradise Bay.

Aptly named and so gorgeous with thick ice, icebergs and the added bonus of sunny skies.

Even Santa was here with hot chocolate and drinks for all!

A hill full of nesting Cormorants. 

Whereas penguins build their nests with rocks,

Cormorants build theirs with sea kelp, natural sea matter and cement it altogether with penguin guano.

They come back to their same nests each year. 

Even a few fuzzy black babies could be seen.

Copper leaching through the cliff.

A sailboat!

The prettiest shaped blue iceberg we've seen.

Caves

Happy sailors.

See that blue under the water? That's not the reflection.

That's the part of the iceberg under the water,

easily seen because of the color and how clear the waters are.

This bay has the most ice of any place we've been and we absolutely love it.

Back on the ship we ran to the top deck to take pictures from a higher vantage point.

Santa came to say ho, ho, ho!

In the afternoon we repositioned to Neko Harbour where we could hike

on mainland Antarctica. For several people, this was their 7th continent,

and they were able to take their picture with a flag.

A people highway, not a penguin highway on this hike.

Although, we did have to stop and wait a couple of times for penguins to cross the road!

Another ice swan!

Heading to Christmas!

(I had the lobster!)

Christmas dessert.

Tbh, they look a lot better than they taste.

The ship was showing A Christmas Story in the Explorer Lounge,

but we arrived late from dinner and only a handful of people were there.

We opted to get a cup of popcorn and watch it in our room where we could change into pajamas and stretch out on the couch and bed. 

Another movie I felt like I was enjoying for the first time!

(Since I wasn't working on a puzzle at the same time!)