Our last day in the Antarctic Peninsula region gave us in one day the broad sweep of all the weather, ice, and wildlife we’ve been experiencing all week. With a rugged ice piedmont and cliffs forming a backdrop, broken clouds turned into blowing, wet snow in the morning as we shuttled between the historic Bransfield House at Port Lockroy, the birds and whale bones (and flightless midges!) on Jougla Point, and the warm sanctuary of the National Geographic Explorer. The snow later cleared, but the wind strengthened while we transited the scenic Neumeyer Channel, and as we entered the Gerlache Strait killer whales were sighted. Many of us braved the wind and waves out on the bow, while others were on the bridge, to watch the large group of these top predators as they finished eating a recent kill. After devouring our own delicious dinner in Dallman Bay, the winds abated and the low clouds lifted to reveal an extraordinary vista of ice, cloud and sky, layer upon layer, all lit by the lowering sun. Several groups of humpback whales allowed us to follow their own dining activities in this sublime setting before we finally turned north, heading out towards the Drake Passage and home.