After returning from Neko Harbour, it was time for the finals of the karaoke contest. Knowing that audience participation was a major factor in the judges’ decisions, Conall opted for a song that would be stuck in all our heads for the next month – Feliz Navidad.

The finalists did a great job, and ultimately Bethany won first prize, which was a bottle of wine.

The following morning, we had some orcas swimming near the ship. I wasn’t expecting it, so I didn’t have enough clothing on to watch them for an extended period. I got a few not-so-great shots before going back in. Later they would swim right under the ship – but such is life.

It would be our final day before the return journey. The first stop was on what is likely the most famous of the South Shetland Islands – Deception Island. The island was formed by a large volcano that collapsed in on itself. It is still active, with some craters still reminding everyone of this fact periodically. The original volcanic crater is below sea level, leaving the island in a large C-shape, and thus making a great harbour.

As you enter the harbour, you pass Neptune’s Bellows – a rock tower next to a large cliff.

As we landed, you could see the small creatures eaten by local larger creatures.

The morning was cold, with it snowing off and on. I actually wore my full-face mask for this landing as a result.

We made our way up to a volcanic crater – and I saw my chance. It was a perfect 500m route, so if I ran to the beach and back, I’d get my full 1km run. I was prepared, I even had my GoPro and chest harness.

About 20m in, I promptly face-planted. A good start! I quickly realised that the risk of injury on this was high. Sometimes my foot would disappear into the snow, other times it would be hard and slippery. It takes considerably more energy to run in conditions like this, and by the time I reached the beach, I decided that 500m was good enough. I was slightly slower than 6min/km pace – so not exactly a fast run, despite it being a downhill.

I then walked back up to the top to rejoin the others.

This morning was a special occasion: it was the day of the traditional polar plunge. I had already decided that I’d just go in to my knees. More than two thirds of the group went in, with over half of the participants going in to at least neck deep – which was really impressive.

My feet did not enjoy this experience. I had been having issues with the poor insulation on the rubber boots when walking on the snow and ice, and having them lose feeling in the icy water wasn’t helpful. I had coordinated with my roommate that he’d be one of the first to go in, and I’d be one of the last – that way he’d be done with the shower when I got back. Timing was perfect, with him having just finished when I arrived.

Waking up your feet from this is an art – hot water can damage them, so you have to essentially start with cold water and slowly wake them up. Not fun, but soon my feet were alive again. I was also aware that we would be starting the Drake Passage that evening, and this was the last shower I’d have for two days – as you aren’t allowed to shower in open waters due to safety issues.

Our final stop would be Livingston Island, a location known for its elephant seals.

The weather had really turned, and it was getting very cold now. This was the coldest of all our landings.

It was strange seeing grass again. It was almost a week since we left Ushuaia, and none of our landings had any vegetation prior to this.

The island also had some petrified wood. Apparently there used to be more, but people had taken the rest. This is sad – petrified wood isn’t particularly rare on other continents. Its value relates to where it is, taking it home removes that. This kind of selfish action really bothers me.

I was really feeling the icy wind. At one point, I joined the queue to head back to the ship. Then I thought – in a week or 20 years, I’d probably dream of spending an extra 10 minutes here. I promptly returned to watch the seals for a bit longer – a decision I’m very happy with in hindsight.

A gentoo penguin came by to wish us well.

Eventually we were down to the last Zodiac back to the ship. My time on this magic continent was up. The Dr Seuss quote “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” would be quoted a lot after this moment, and for once, not by me.

The Drake Passage crossing back wasn’t as bad as the way out – or perhaps I was better prepared. Instead of staying in bed, I made a point of lying down in the bar area. I attended meals, but wasn’t able to stay for an entire meal during the crossing.

Just before dinner, I took my next anti-motion sickness medication. About 15 minutes later, at the dinner table, the bit of food I had eaten and I parted ways. I found it interesting that both times this happened was shortly after taking this pill – perhaps I had a bad reaction to the pill.

As we eventually neared South America, the waters became calmer. It was strange to be heading north towards the southern tip of South America!

After the crossing, we had our certificate ceremony, where we were all handed a flash drive with certain details of the trip, as well as a video with photos. The detail on the flash drive was great – they even had the correct ship license number!

That evening, we had non-competitive karaoke. I performed ERB’s Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye the Science Guy. Rapping the line “The integral sec y dy from zero to one-sixth of pi is log to base E of the square root of three times the sixty-fourth power of what?” is always a bit of a challenge – but I got it right this time.

That evening, the chief engineer took some of us on a tour of the engine room, which was very interesting. We weren’t able to enter the Beagle Channel till the pilot from Ushuaia arrived, and he was busy with the ship ahead of us – so we would be parked here a while. I believe we started moving around midnight. I have to say, I was enjoying the calm after the horrendous Drake Passage.

Much like the last time – there were giant petrels, black browed albatross, and even one wandering albatross – which I unfortunately never got a good photo of.

When I woke up on the final morning, we were very close to Ushuaia. I switched off flight mode on my phone, and 8 days worth of updates came through. I was happy I never bought any data on the ship – it is good to unplug sometimes.

Arriving back in Ushuaia, it was nice to be back on solid ground, but it was also sad to part ways with so many amazing people. I have no doubt I will see many people I met on this trip again in the future. We were fortunate – great group, great staff, great weather. There aren’t many ways in which the trip could be improved. It is one of those experiences I will most certainly never forget.

We finished the trip a month ago today, and it still feels a bit like a strange dream I once had. It’s hard to process that this really happened. Then I look at my phone, and see 1000 penguin photos and remember that I really did this.

Jess, Jess, Zack and I were heading the same way – so we got a quick photo at the “end of the world” sign. The Game of Thrones reference of “everyone south of the wall is a southerner to us” came to mind. But alas, we had done it. The Frozen Continent had welcomed us in, and we were now safely back in the “north”, in the most southern city on earth. What a trip!