South Georgia tomorrow! Today the expedition team turned into the strictest hall monitors on the planet, and we both loved and dreaded every minute. To keep the island pristine, the entire ship has to pass biosecurity with at least 95% compliance. With about 270 passengers, that means we’re allowed exactly 13 screw-ups total before the … More Biosecurity Boot Camp + How to Yell at Penguins Without Getting Arrested

First full day with zero excursions and no 5-something-a.m. wake-up call trying to assassinate us in our sleep. We treated it like the national holiday it deserved to be. We kicked things off pretending to be responsible photographers by attending a two-hour workshop on landscape and wildlife photography. Translation: we now have exactly zero excuses … More The Sacred Art of Doing Absolutely Nothing (With Fancy Tea and a Celebrity Iceberg Sighting)

Woke up to a wind chill that could freeze your eyebrows off: 35 °F with a gale that made the ship rock like it was auditioning for a pirate movie. “Holy moly” doesn’t even cover it—we layered up like we’re preparing for the apocalypse, chugged coffee, and eyed the Zodiac dock like it was a … More Gypsy Cove – Where Penguins Outnumber Landmines (And That’s Saying Something)

Alarm: 5:30 a.m. Body: “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Penguins: “Welcome to our office, suckers.” We rolled into New Island (west side of the Falklands) at dawn, and the weather gods actually smiled—sunny, barely any wind, and a downright tropical 54 °F. We’re calling it bikini weather from now on. First real test of … More Penguins, Albatross Drama, and My First Ride in the Penguin Shame Jeep