Antarctica Day 3 in a nutshell:

 

We first woke up for a brief visit to and a quick hike up Neko Harbor:

More panoramas of Neko Harbor:

 

 

A panorama of Neko Harbor:

 

 

After lunch we then headed to Cuverville Island to see some Gentoo penguins:

 

…but more importantly, take on the ship’s traditional Polar Plunge dare (aka Antarctic skinny dipping):

 

There was no debate: my entire group had overwhelmingly expressed interest in this before our expedition even began. For many, this would be the highlight of our trip.

I went in first (amusingly to the gaggle of giggling middle aged Chinese mainlanders all eager with their cameras ready):

Do you see the penguin to my left also about to take a pe with me?

Pe all the way in the water or else it doesn’t count!

 

Then came the nudity:

 

Usually when I do dares like these (like running into the snow after a long time in the sauna), it’s “oh the hardest part was doing it in the first place…in the end the whole thing wasn’t so bad.”

But this…this was an immediate “this is REALLY cold.” Then: “Oh god, my toes.” And: “This definitely was not a good idea”:

Then finally came our collective “AHHHHH we need to get out of here” moment:

 

We could only stand a handful of seconds because it felt like our toes were literally going to fall off; the only miserable part of skinny dipping in Antarctica is that your toes immediately lock up and become numb. In other words, walking becomes nearly impossible after a few seconds.

 

 

So if you ever find yourself doing the Polar Plunge, we highly recommend that you go in with flip flops or watershoes so you can stay out there for longer. Because it really is a once in a lifetime experience…so relish it all you can.

After an express zodiac ride back to the ship and some really hot showers, we rewarded ourselves with humpback whale watching on the Bridge:

 

And an amazing Antarctic sunset:

 

- At time of posting in Cuverville Island, Antarctica, it was 23 °F -

Humidity: n/a | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: overcast