overcast but at least it wasn’t raining! I also attempted to have a shower which was an interesting experience due to the ever moving floor and the occasional lurch from side to side! The weather conditions continued to improve throughout the day and I think everybody on the ship was looking forward to actually arriving at the South Shetland Islands.

Throughout the day we saw many more seabirds including light-mantled sooty Albatross, black browed Albatross, Prions and there had even been a rumour that some fin whales had made a very brief appearance! Around 4 p.m. we crossed 60° S, the official geographic border of Antarctica. Nobody realised due to most people watching more episodes of ‘Life in the Freezer’.

Later on Troels gave a briefing on what we were hoping to do the

next day and everybody was getting more excited about our first landing in Antarctica. We were also briefed on how to behave according to the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) code of conduct. We were told how to behave around the wildlife and how not to cause any environmental damage, although later on throughout the trip we realised that unfortunately a relatively small group of people mustn’t have listened to a word he said. We were also given quite clear instructions on how to use the Zodiacs, the ships fleet of inflatable rubber boats. Troels informed us we were hoping to get at least two landings a day so it was very important to know how to get in and out of them safely. We were also told about the tag system, each person had their own little tag that you had to turn when getting on or off the boat. We were asked to only turn our own tags as this was the safest way of knowing that everyone was back on the ship safety. Simple enough you’d have th