This set includes too many pictures, but our super-bright, sunny day in the Gerlache Strait and Neumayer Channel was one of Dana's favorite passages.

Will it keep creeping down the mountainside or just go in one fell swoop?

Wonder what these mountains looked like before the erosion started.

Can you believe it? Most folks went inside for an expedition briefing. Not us, no way, no how.

Whales! Everyone jockeys to find the perfect vantage point.

Two humpbacks, gracefully cruising and diving. It NEVER got old.

It must have just rolled over. And over

The sun was so brilliant, the sky so blue. The snow on the mountains looked as light and puffy as the clouds above.

Just because it's sunny doesn't mean it isn't really, really cold!

Just waiting for an avalanche.

A tabletop-like cloud hangs over the mountains in Neumayer Channel.

One of only two times in 12 days we saw another ship.

Yes, the snow looks blue in all this photos. So it did in real life, no Photoshop here.

The immense scope makes even the breadth of Alaska seem small. Really!

The Eskimos have dozens of words for snow. Too bad there are no indigenous people here to give us that variety for "blue."

Footsteps? Did it rain on just this bergy bit? Or was it the wind?

Nature's ice ramp.

Horizontal? How does this happen?

Endless variation and as you can see, we found it endlessly fascinating!

Small cave at the base of a glacier. Imagine the pressure on that arch!

We love the shadow of the clouds on the mountains in the distance. But the colors and shapes of the berg are awesome.

Shadows and highlights create art.

Wish we could know just how sharp that ridge is - but don't think we're up for that hike.

Twists and turns - a peek ahead in this winding channel.

"...under pressure."

Take a left around the rocks and then go straight...

30 minutes or so later, take another left.

The sunlight glinting off all that ice is almost blinding. Extraordinary weather, even the veterans were amazed.

Looks like someone gave up trying to carve out a few blocks for an igloo.

The walls are closing in!

And by 4pm, we arrive at Anvers Island and Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island (behind photog Dana).