Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 1 – on Christmas morning, we explored the glacially-carved icebergs and vistas of towering peaks on 20-foot (6 meter) rigid inflatable Zodiac boats, wondering if Santa Claus would be able to fly in from the North Pole in the inclement weather with poor visibility
From the South Shetland Islands and the “iceberg alley”, we sailed overnight and reached our first anchorage point on the Antarctic Peninsula, Wilhelmina Bay, on a very snowy Christmas morning, giving us a “white Christmas”. Wilhelmina Bay is a collection of coves, glaciers and snow-covered islands. In the winter, these waters would be covered by sea ice which opens during spring, allowing vessels to explore this amazing landscape. Wilhelmina Bay is named after the Queen of the Netherlands, who reigned from 1890 to 1948.
Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 2Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 3Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 4Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 5Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 6
Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 7
Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 7Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 8Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 9Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 10 – thanks to Santa having upgraded the navigation equipment on his sled, he was able to find our GPS coordinates and his reindeer guided him and his presents for children to an ice field near where our ship was anchored; our alert captain and bridge team saw a strange object on the ship’s radar, visually identified the reindeer and sled, and then dispatched a Zodiac to bring Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch to our ship where he greatly surprised all the children aboard
Where in the world is Riccardo? 