The Gullet (-67.2005040, -67.7203930)

We officially crossed the polar/Antarctic circle this morning at 9.06 am. We entered Neptune's realm when the ship crossed the 66 degree latitude line (and despite promises to the contrary there wasn't a bump!) We headed up to the pool deck on level 10 for the official celebration at 10 am. James and I have been back and forth over the Equator a few times - most recently on the transatlantic trip from Barcelona to Buenos Aires - so are Shellbacks of that realm - but this crossing was obviously a first for both of us. We were baptised by the Captain as the traditional offering to Nepture for fair weather as we pass the circle and continue south. We were the first two to be done on the basis that there was a huge crowd to get through, including quite a few crew members - and generally speaking it's good to get unpleasantness over and done with swiftly… before you know how unpleasant it can be. I thought it might be a gentle dribble of cold water on the back of the head. Nope. No such luck. It's official, a large ladleful of icecubes and freezing water poured down one's back… all the way into one's trousers, seems a generous offering for fair weather indeed. From the live and learn department, we can now report exactly how a cocktail must feel when the cubes hit the glass - shaken and stirred.

After the fact we both downed a shot of something suitably warming and shimmied a fair bit to get the final errant cubes out of our clothes then whipped down to the cabin to put on our swimsuits and back up to Deck 10 to jump in the jacuzzi and watch the entertainment as all the other folks were christened. It was getting quite wild by the end of proceedings and the last few crew to undergo the offering ceremony had entire punchbowls of ice and water tipped over them. Rather cleverly most had stripped down to just one layer to avoid having to dry all their clothes. This has been a real learning point of the trip - the heated bathroom floor, including the base of the shower, gets turned up to maximum and we can dry clothes in just a few hours by lying them on the floor. Strange but true. The jacuzzi was an excellent way to finish the morning and will be on our things to do list for the rest of the expedition. Thankfully there are a great many steps between decks 4 and 10 - and having been up and down the stairs twice already today we felt lunch was definitely deserved. After the excitement of the morning it seemed only fitting that we had a pair of humpback whales frolicking and cavorting right outside our window. The trip continues to get better by the minute.

In the afternoon we went ice cruising in The Gullet. This area is usually full of ice - so full that our ship almost never gets to go through. So we were hugely fortunate for the ship to be in there and even luckier to go ice cruising in the zodiacs. Just Wow. Wow beyond belief. We were definitely wowed during the 40 minute cruise - absolutely astonishingly beautiful ice bergs and ice fields. It was a wild, wild ride back to the ship as we were one of the last boat crews out and the weather had picked up (technically speaking it had gone to hell in a handbasket). We had to hold on to the zodiac ropes like our lives depended on it. We were also sitting in the bow of the rib - everyone got wet, we as hood ornaments were soaked through. Lucky we learned the bathroom floor/clothes drying tip early in the trip. Hugely exhilarating - can't wait to do it again.