Antarctica: Cuverville Island.

The first land excursion we did on this expedition was to Cuverville Island.

Hopping on the zodiacs to shore, we got an excellent preview of the icebergs we would see later on a ride through the area.

So sculptural!

The blue color is just amazing. The reflections in the water... I mean... Stunning. Right?

When we got to shore, we encountered a canvas of large rocks... And a Gentoo penguin!

It was a nice-sized colony. You can see the icebergs and the ship in the background here...

And this was a fun picture to capture...

This was a little girl of about seven years old who was on the trip with us. She was from Russia. She spoke English when she wanted something - usually cookies or sweets. But otherwise she would ignore your presence and only respond to Russian.

The picture is adorable, though. You can see how close the penguins were to us! The rule was you had to actively keep 15 feet away from the penguins; but if they came towards you, you didn't have to move.

After watching them play, we boarded the zodiacs and went for a ride around the island.

More icebergs! With incredible colors and shapes! Love this tunnel shot.

And we also got to hear and see pieces of glacier snow fall...

Those crevasses...  That color isn't enhanced here, people!

So beautiful! So deep blue!