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For our final afternoon in Antarctica itself, on the Peninsula, we visited one of the largest Gentoo Penguin colonies on Earth.
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Cruising the waters of Cuverville brought us excellent views of Gentoos porpoising gracefully through the water around the Zodiac, where they look much more at home than on land.
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Then we checked the icy bays and ice floes for any lurking predators and found two different Leopard Seals take a break from chasing penguins to "chill" on the ice.
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Like everything in Antarctica these animals were happy for several boats to gently idle up them and ogle them at extreme close quarters... A great close to our time on the Peninsula.
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The following day the very different Shetland Isles beckoned north of the pack ice...
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