One of the cool features of the Octantis is the opportunity to explore the icy Antarctic waters from below using the ship’s submarine. The Octantis maintains two bright yellow submarines that hold six passengers and an operator/guide. They are called John and Paul. Its sister ship, the Polaris, carries two more subs called Ringo and George. Yellow submarines…get it? We took a dive on John in September when we were with the Octantis in the Great Lakes. But the visibility was poor and marine life was scarce. This was a richer experience. We dove down to about 170 feet and surveyed kelp, starfish, algae, jellies and even caught a glimpse of a rare sea spider. It’s a view few people ever get to see. And later the same day we watched sea lions cavort among penguins, elephant seals and lots of comorants. Our ship made this port in Godthul on South Georgia Island. The past few days have been about finding ways to explore this remote and beautiful island while evading storms and avoiding areas with avian flu.

Later that day we took a Zodiac ride around the harbor and got up close to the local wildlife. There were lots of squeals of delight and finger pointing on the boat, including a yelp of surprise when a penguin slapped into a passenger’s back trying to launch himself into our boat. Now that would have been a picture!