National Geographic Orion awoke as we navigated our way across the final leg of the Drake Passage toward Antarctica. We were accompanied by a large collection of seabirds for the duration. As we moved over the continental shelf, blows started to appear on the horizon, thus yielding sightings of both humpback and fin whales. It was not long before land was sighted along with the first icebergs. Guests spent the morning enjoying this pelagic life while also learning about penguins and the Antarctic Treaty before bolstering their penguin fix and donning their boots for their first landing on Barrientos Island.