Our last day was our best day as we wound down our Antarctic cruise in late 2007. The weather was beautiful, the temperature continued at the usual 0 degrees Centigrade (33 Fahrenheit), and we made three memorable landings.

We were so pleased that we'd chosen our ship so carefully. The National Geographic Endeavour is small enough that we could go ashore in so many places on the Peninsula and nearby islands. The big cruise ships can only sail nearby as thousands of passengers going ashore would take too long. Since we were only 100 , we stopped several times each day, with the choice of going ashore, riding around in zodiacs to see the wildlife close up, or paddling in our own kayaks ... or two and sometimes all three choices.

We were on a Lindblad ship, with the company that first brought visitors to this continent forty years ago. The crew is highly professional, and the friendly captain was probably the best ever of all the cruises we've taken. Finally, the National Geographic people - accomplished naturalists, writers and photographers - were there to make sure we each got all we could out of this unusual adventure.

If this sounds like a commercial, then so be it. We look forward to cruising with Lindblad and National Geographic in the future.

But for now, here was our last day in Antarctica.