An Odyssey in the Footsteps of Jean-Baptiste Charcot

Use the days spent in the Drake Strait to get to know your icebreaker and gain new knowledge about Antarctica.

The expedition leader will provide security briefings and explain everything you need to know about zodiac landings.

Lectures on Antarctic history and wildlife will be an opportunity for you to learn more about this magical region, where every cruise is a unique experience.

We continue to explore the yacht and information about Antarctica.

We observe marine animals.

From the captain's bridge, you will be able to see the journey through the eyes of the captain before joining the naturalist guides on the open decks to observe the albatrosses, Cape petrels and other seabirds that will accompany us in the Drake Strait.

Let's venture south of the Arctic Circle. Where the sun never sets.

Minke whales, humpback whales and subantarctic penguins are frequent visitors to this densely populated area of Antarctica.

This place is the end point for many cruises to Antarctica, beyond which cruise ships do not enter.

We will go further south and, passing the dark waters of the picturesque Crystal Bay dotted with white ice floes, we will become one of the few Antarctic visitors who have crossed the Arctic Circle.

We will definitely celebrate this event and raise a glass of champagne in his honor.

The incredible scenery of the narrow channel between Adelaide Island and Graham Land attracts all visitors walking towards Marguerite Bay.

It looks like an ice palace, its immaculate white walls reflected in the icy mirror of the waters of the Southern Ocean, dotted with icebergs and sparkling blocks of ice.

This passage was first explored by the expedition of Jean-Baptiste Charcot in 1909, which mapped it.

It was here, in this magical setting, that some of the first underwater images of Antarctica were taken during Philippe Cousteau's four-month expedition to Antarctica between 1972 and 1973.

When Jean-Baptiste Charcot discovered this island surrounded by sea ice from the Pourquoi Pas in 1910, he mapped Alexander Island, but could not get less than 40 miles away from it.

Located in an area where low pressure systems and regular clouds are often observed, the island remains a mystery in many ways.

It is completely covered with ice and sheer cliffs, with the exception of rocky outcrops extending for a dozen kilometers in the extreme northwest.

Recently, the ice in the narrowest part of Wilkins Sound has been cracking, which officially separates this island from its neighbor, Alexander Island, located 50 km away.

Very few people have landed on this virtually untouched island, whose waters attract many seabirds such as petrels, Antarctic terns and skuas.

Stretching from the west of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Amundsen Sea, the Bellingshausen Sea was named after the Russian admiral and explorer who is credited with the first confirmed sighting of the Antarctic continent in 1820.

Among other things, its waters are washed by the two largest islands of Antarctica: Alexandra Island and Thurston Island.

You will explore this sea among ice floes, blocks of sea ice and majestic icebergs.

The coastal areas along the Bellingshausen Sea are also known as a habitat for emperor penguin colonies.

Depending on the month of the southern summer, you may be lucky enough to observe adults, teenagers seeking emancipation, or newly independent young individuals.

Spend exceptional moments aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world's first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2 class polar cruise ship capable of heading into the heart of the ice, into seas and oceans that are inaccessible to ordinary ships due to low temperatures.

Le Commandant Charcot is equipped with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts.

Attend lectures on board and chat with these experts to learn more about the poles.

Participate in the development of scientific research with PONANT and find out what else we have to discover in these amazing places.

Icebergs, one more majestic than the other, are scattered across the deep and rich blue waters of Marguerite Bay, one of the most beautiful in Antarctica.

It is bounded on the north by the mountainous island of Adelaide, on the south by the Strait of George VI and Alexander Island, and on the east by the coast of Falliers.

Charcot named it after his wife during his second expedition to Antarctica.

The bay is home to many cetaceans, and you may have the opportunity to observe sea leopards or Adelie penguins.

Le Commandant Charcot will approach the coast of Pourquoi Pas Island, so named in the 1930s by John Riddoch Rimill in honor of Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who discovered it from aboard his ship Le Pourquoi Pas during his second expedition to Antarctica from 1908 to 1910.

This mountainous island, located in the north of Marguerite Bay between Graham Land and Adelaide Island, is 28 km long and 14 km wide.

It is dotted with narrow fjords and snow-capped mountains.

You will go ashore on a zodiac boat with your expedition team, and you will have the opportunity to watch the Adelie penguins going about their business on the rocky shores of the island.

The Antarctic Peninsula is a place where, among the captivating glaciers, majestic icebergs and snow—capped islands, most visitors to the White Continent will realize their dream of Antarctica.

We will try to disembark at Petermann Island, Paradise Bay and Port Lockroy.

The Antarctic Peninsula, the most accessible area of the continent, is home to several scientific bases and some of the most beautiful wildlife landscapes, such as the extremely photogenic Lemaire Canal.

We will try to disembark at Petermann Island, Paradise Bay and Port Lockroy.

We cross the Drake Strait again, and the silhouettes of Antarctica melt away behind us, leaving memories that will now be with you forever.

Our team will continue to show presentations about the nature of these places, including, if possible, slide shows with highlights from our trip.

We relax, participate in events and presentations from the team.

You will also have the opportunity to recall once again everything that happened to you these days, and chat over a cup of coffee with friends you acquired on the ship.

We arrive at the port early in the morning, and our journey is over.

A transfer will take you to the airport, from where you will take a charter flight to Santiago, the capital of Chile.