* 20 hours of sunlight a day is wonderful -- never caused me the slightest trouble sleeping, kept my blinds open all the time. You can see everything, take pictures anytime. It struck me as a bit odd yesterday when it was dark at 5...and not pleasantly so.
* I love being on a ship -- we had 60 foot waves coming back thru the Drake passage, I loved it! Sat for hours looking at the waves break over the bow, never a moment's fear. The waves were bad enough one night to break some beds from the wall and toss some folks from their beds. Many people were seasick, I was like a kid in a candy store. Loved it! Can't imagine what it must've been like to make that passage in hammocks.
* Antarctica bore no resemblance to what I expected -- which was a bit disappointing I hate to admit. It was in the 40s and 50s most of the time, indeed quite hot in a big parka. Came back here to a high of 7°F and finally needed the coat.
* Antarctica is quite colorful -- as will be seen in pictures to come. Most of the wildlife was some variant of black, white, or brown, but the rocks, lichen, penguin poop, buildings, and icebergs were unexpectedly vibrant. 
* Penguins are adorable -- despite the fact that they are often covered in pink guano (from eating krill) and they stink, I was mesmerized by their behaviors and often stood watching them for long periods of time. Moving pebbles one rock at a time to build nests, intricate mating rituals, complete lack of fear of us, patience and attentiveness to their young, and grace & speed in the water and seemingly utter clutziness on land -- they're almost as much fun as primates ;-)
* The water is breathtakingly blue and clear -- It's almost like being adrift on Tidybowl, the water is at times so blue. Not the nicest image I realize for Mother Nature, but a quite accurate description of the sea and icebergs. And we could often look below the Zodiac and see penguins swimming underwater (flying is perhaps a more appropos descriptor).
* Laws protecting the continent seem utterly without teeth -- and they need teeth. While most ship obey the IATTO rules, there doesn't seem to be much to punish them if they don't. 
* "Sacrifice the peninsula to save the continent" -- after our first outing, I was struck by the imprint we left. Quite minimal for 150 people to be honest, and most of our walking was on rock, but I was still overwhelmed by the fact that we were disturbing a vast wilderness. That evening at dinner I sat with Steve Strand (an emeritus prof from UCLA who was one of the first to dive under the ice shelf to study the wildlife in the early 80s, I remember quite vividly learning of his work while an undergrad) -- so I figured here was a guy with a vested interest. I asked his view about our clear impact - he made the above comment with quite some conviction. He pointed out that the continent is quite large, and if having tourists come to the peninsula is the price needed to teach people of global warming and the importance of saving the region, then so be it. By the end of the trip, I was in agreement.
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