Cruising through the Lemaire Channel was one of the more scenic portions of the cruise, especially as we cruised through some sea ice. While conspiracy theorists dish airplane chemtrails, there's no funny business going on here. Just your standard Russian scientific polar "research vessel"/spy ship converted into a cruise ship, leaving a small trail as it pushed through the ice.

For the duration of the cruise, a pair of waterproof pants and coat were provided. Highly recommend using the provided clothing when possible as it does get quite smelly at times from the splashes of sea water and whatnot. When out on deck though, I would tend to just rely on my own coat as it was a lot easier than getting the expedition gear on and off all the time.

Small water trail left in the wake of the Akademik Ioffe.