January 2, 2022 – Last Full Day in Antarctica

The day started with a 8am Zodiak cruise. I was surprised that they let us go because all the water was covered with ice from little bits to large icebergs. We stayed out for 1 1/2 hours. We saw colonies of chinstrap penguins. At one colony, we saw a single Macaroni penguin. He was obviously lost.
In the afternoon we went out and had a group picture taken. There were 8 zodiaks that they clipped together and we all waved as the picture was taken. After unclipping the boats, we landed on a beach for the Arctic Plunge. At least 30 people stripped down to their swimsuits and waded in and then dunked their bodies into the water. It was fun to watch. My group of 6 all went in except for me.
We had dinner at the Hot Rock Cafe again. Despite dividing us between 2 tables, it was fun.
At 930 pm there was an announcement that ship was surrounded by multiple pods of whales. They were everywhere you looked. They were all humpback whales. Unfortunately I didn’t take any more whale pictures.