Day 4 - Saturday, 23rd March 2013

Position at 08.00: 63°55.9'S, 061°09.0'W

Weather: SW 7; Clear; Rough sea; 0°C.

Cierva Cove - Wilhelmina Bay (story partially by Yolly)

After braving the Drake Passage for two days we are finally in Antarctica and it is time to go and explore! Our first contact with the white continent is to be a zodiac cruise at Cierva Cove. This is also the location of the Argentine Base Primavera. The bright orange buildings of the base can be seen from the ship from some distance away. Getting into the zodiacs for the first time is exciting and the icebergs are amazing. An ice arch stands out gloriously against the sunshine and blue sky and many pictures are taken. On one of the ice floes a friendly Weddell seal is hanging out and a Leopard seal is also spotted. Being on Sonja's zodiac, we are lucky to have a curious leopard seal putting up an act in front of us. In the meantime, numerous Skuas and Kelp gulls patroll the sky above us. We see our first of many Gentoo penguins and spot Chinstrap penguins squabbling with their neighbours on a small island. The swell is still quite large, which means only a few of us manage to set foot briefly onto the Antarctic continent: our zodiac is amongst the lucky ones and we make some happy sunglasses pictures before heading back.

Back onboard Plancius, World Dance Day is celebrated to the sounds of "Happy Feet"with what is the first flash mob dance in Antarctica under the professional guidance of editor Sarita and choreographe Ngaa! Sarita subscribed our boat to be the first ones ever to upload a dance on the seventh continent and even the crew is excited to make this work! A few very stylish "penguins" as such dress up in black and white and perform some well rehearsed penguin dance steps on the top deck. It is a sight to behold! In the afternoon we steam on towards Wilhelmina Bay, spotting whales en‐route. Many eager eyes are on watch both at the bridge and in the lounge. We are treated to numerous sightings of whale blows, flukes and even a breaching Humpback whale - something very unusual and very special in these regions where whales mainly come for feeding.

Later in the day we go cruising in the northern part of Wilhelmina Bay between Nansen and Enterprise Island. The wreck of the Gouvernoren is the main attraction. The Gouvernon was purposely run aground here in 1916 after a fire broke out onboard and threatened the valuable load of whale oil. The divers managed to explore the underwater parts of the wreck. To do a wreck dive in Antarctica is very special and the divers were certainly smiling that evening.

Those of us in the zodiacs cruised to an island where wrecks of old wooden water boats dotted the shore. These are remnants from the whaling industry. Intense whaling was carried out in this region in the 19th and 20th centuries. The landscape was then transformed in front of our eyes as the sun slowly set: delicate red and yellow hues colour the sky as the moon slowly rises over the jagged snow covered mountains. With the motor of the zodiac switched off, the peace and quiet is incredible. It is something to savour. Back onboard we are treated to another scrumptious dinner and finish off a fantastic first day in Antarctica.