We started the day with stunning light as National Geographic Endurance navigated towards the mouth of the Gullet. This narrow passage offered spectacular views as the sun painted the mountaintops orange and then pink. As we exited through the glacial brash ice into Crystal Sound, blows of humpback whales rose in the windless morning air.

The afternoon was spent on land at Prospect Point, once home to Base J of the British Antarctic Survey, followed by Zodiac cruises around the Fish Islands. We spotted crabeater seals, Adelie penguins, and a very sleepy leopard seal.