Seeing humpback whales up close, and picturing them in my minds eye as they swam under our raft, looking up at us and perhaps wondering, “What are those funny creatures doing up there?
• Tapping out a rhythm on the side of the raft with my hand, to see if the whales responded, and they did! One of them swam a short distance away, and then jumped completely out of the water. Even our pilot said, “Wow, I’ve never seen *that* before.” • The social atmosphere aboard ship, as strangers from all over the world came together with a common interest. • The barbecue that our absolutely lunatic chefs held for us out on deck one evening. We’d have to eat the food as fast as we could when it came off the grill, before it turned to ice! • The impromptu disco that started up on deck after the barbecue. Dancing in full parka and coldweather gear, in sight of the spectacular Antarctic scenery. • One of our co-travelers had brought along a “Village People” CD, which he played for the dancers. When the “YMCA” song came on, all the Americans, who knew the dance, started doing the “Y-M-C-A” arm signals, and the rest of the nationalities onboard just stared at us in confusion. By the end
