So at the end of January I went on vacation to Antarctica (sadly, Bertie and Ethel had to stay home, at the local Animal Retreat and Canine Sports Center where they had two play breaks and a snacktivity every day...Judging from Ethel's disappearing waist, the snacktivity was a major hit).  The crossing of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica involved a Force 9 storm and major seasickness (such that I seriously considered throwing myself overboard, but since I couldn't actually stand upright, I couldn't get up on deck to do so).  The storm blew us over to Antarctica a half day early, so our hikes and Zodiak cruises went to some extra places, yay!  The first half day and the two following full days were what we all expected -- the weather changed every 10 minutes from snow to sleet to biting wind to sun and back again, and sometimes weird combinations.  But everything was breathtaking, it is a land of superlatives, and no words or photos truly do it justice.  However, I'll throw a few pics in below, just for fun.

But where do the Corgis come into it?

Ah, the evening of the second full day, after hiking hills in wind that bent us double and sleet that covered my glasses, I pulled out my Corgi butt earrings and showed them to my dinner companions.  "These are my good luck charms," I said, "The power of the Corgi knows no bounds.  Things will improve from here."

Lo and behold the next three full days were brilliantly sunny, no wind, calm seas -- absolutely gorgeous in every way.  The expedition leaders said one day like this was great, two days were odd, but three were unprecedented.  We had animal encounters with crabeater seals and humpback whales that they hadn't had in years (so close, we got whale spit on our glasses), and we even saw one, lone Macaroni penguin (we named him Kevin).  It was just amazing.

Every morning, people came over to me, to make sure I still had the Corgi butts hanging from my ears.

Gotta love the power of the Corgi!

Anyway, here are some critters we met along the way.  There's nothing quite like having baby penguins collapse for a nap across your feet -- with their little feet hanging out back, much like a tired Corgi pup.

I apologize for so many non-Corgi pics, but there just didn't seem to be any on the adjacent ice floes....

Adelie penguins on an ice floe

Gentoo penguin babies, basking in sun, and investigating the visitors

Fur, Crabeater and Leopard seals (and weird yellow beasts....)

Wildlife photographer waiting for Skua to fly for an action shot 

baby Humpback whale and mom alongside 

And finally, an iceberg with "eyes" that actually glowed with blue light