The next day was a
bit colder and a whole lot windier with small snow squalls every once
in a while. I figured we must only have a 50/50 chance of being able to
fly out in this weather as there were even darker clouds on the horizon.
Despite the weather, we bundled up and started out along a rocky ridge
toward the Drake Passage so see more marine life. Alejo packed extra
wind pants and goggles just in case the weather got worse. We marched
through the snow and across the permafrost where the snow subsided.
Here, Alejo told us to follow
in his exact footsteps as you can easily sink up to your knees in the
thawing muck. As we crested the final ridge, we could see the open ocean
filled with small, rocky islands and giant icebergs in the distance.
Below us on the shore, we could hear the occasional bellow of the
elephant seals. We climbed down the scree covered slope and through
groups of Weddell seals for a closer look at the giant slug-like
Elephant seals. There were a few on land and even more in the water
playing (or fighting, we weren´t really sure).

Hey, what you lookin' at?Uh, you could use a breath mint!Elephant Seal Duel! I got a great deal on some Real Estate while in Antarctica!
At
once point we passed an old Russian built wooden hut that had been
demolished by the harsh Antarctic weather. No wonder they all use giant
steel boxes for buildings now! After
our filling our memory cards with photos, we hiked up a snow filled
valley against the biting wind which was now blowing at a steady 40 mph
(which Alejo confirmed by a radio call to the airstrip´s control
tower!). After finally making it back to base camp, we mailed postcards
from the Chilean base, got our passports stamped with a giant
"Antarctica" and packed up for our flight back to Puenta Arenas. A few
minutes after touching down in mainland Chile, we all looked at each
other in amazement and asked, "Can you believe we were just in
Antarctica?" I know that I still can't...