In January, ArcticTropic friends – Peter Linn,his son Peter Jr. and Chris Merola sailed aboard the Corinthian 2 from Ushuaia, Argentina. The weather was the warmest the guides had ever experienced in Antarctica, with temperatures well above freezing – making it possible to complete all 12 of the planned landings. Below – some incredible scenery.

In Punto Tombo Patagonia a penguin tries to pull at my shoelace. Punto Tombo, on the Peninsula Valdes, about 1000 miles south of Buenos Aires, is home to 400,000 penguins.The climate is not Antarctic here – in fact it is barren scrub desert along the cold Atlantic. In the winter (May to September) the penguins swim north to Brazil, staying at sea most of the time. Arctic Tropic lists several expeditions to this area – click on South America and go right away to the Argentine listings.