Danco Island

Unlike the massive Antarctic terrain or the enormous blue skies above, Danco Island is notably small—just 1 mile long. Sitting at the end of the Errera Channel, the relatively tiny space is home to 1,600 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins. While exploring, make sure not to tread so deeply as to create accidental traps for the island’s abundance of very cute penguin pals. These holes tend to be filled in by a grumbling guide following behind, accustomed to visitors being so gobsmacked by the lookout view that they forget to cover their tracks. This is especially the case when minke and humpback whales make a surprise appearance, or when their songs can be heard off the shore of islands like Danco.

The trouble with an Antarctic adventure is that it ends too soon. Any brief  survey through these islands and locales—their stark icebergs, protective glaciers, snow cliffs, unexpected volcanoes, storied research facilities, and startlingly abundant wildlife—is just scratching the surface of what the seventh continent holds.

However homesick you might be among the penguins, it’s hard not to wonder if you’ll ever be back to the base of Earth, bearing witness to the scope of its sky. The greater anxiety, however, is a little more urgent. Because on the path toward the comforts of home, you’ll have one more rendezvous with the Drake.

📖 Full Story Page 343