Beyond the Antarctic Circle – In the Wake of Jean-Baptiste

Your journey aboard Le Commandant Charcot begins with the first glimpse of this breathtakingly elegant ship, capable of sailing in the most extreme regions of our planet. You stand at the beginning of an adventure that will take you to the edge of the world, to the continent that has never been inhabited by any people: Antarctica. But even if this land belongs to no one, it has been the scene of the greatest expeditions, of the heroism that some people display. From the Antarctic Peninsula, Le Commandant Charcot takes you to the Bellingshausen Sea and its unknown islands. With the utmost respect for the regions visited, this 15-day exploration leads to the far south, always in the wake of the legendary man after whom the ship was named. After crossing the mythical Drake Passage, haunted by winds and soared over by cape petrels, you catch sight of the last continent on the horizon. It has been over a century since Jean-Baptiste Charcot undertook his first journey to Antarctica, but his feats still resonate and his traces are tangible here. His first expedition with the ship Le Français established his legend and marked the Salpêtrière Bay. A little further south, during his second expedition, he explored Marguerite Bay. He names this mountainous, magnificent land after his wife and the island Pourquoi-Pas after his ship of the same name. At the exit of the Lemaire Channel, Petermann Island still recalls the wintering of this fabulous expedition. As soon as you head for the Bellingshausen Sea, conditions gradually become more extreme. The ice fills the horizon, the pack ice expands, gigantic icebergs drift around you. The approach to Charcot Island promises intense emotions and offers you the unique feeling of being among the few privileged to see it. Throughout the journey, our team of passionate experts traces the details of these historical feats with you and shares its in-depth knowledge of the wildlife and landscapes. You will be able to observe Adelie, gentoo, and chinstrap penguins and perhaps some young emperor penguins at the edge of the pack ice. Leopard seals, crabeater and Weddell seals, humpback whales, minke whales, and orcas also inhabit the Southern Ocean, on which you will travel like the legendary men before you.