At dusk, the expedition team helping them land gathered everyone who was going ashore for another briefing. They reviewed the safety precautions and rules for landing.
Their ship had a high icebreaking rating, so it could get relatively close to shore.
To reach the Antarctic Continent itself, however, they would need to use polar kayaks.
Most of them had never used a polar kayak before, so they needed some training.
A little after seven that evening, they finally saw land.
The sun still hung at an angle in the sky.
The sunlight here had a whitish cast. Everywhere they looked, broken floes dotted the water, their ice transparent and faintly white.
Under the sun, the sea was a pure, vivid blue.
The floes floating on it looked blue against the water.
Lu Ao had exceptional eyesight. He could clearly see that some of the ice wasn't merely reflecting the sea's color; it was pale blue in its own right.
This place was incredible. So much of it defied what people imagined.
Everyone was ready to land.
But just as the ship broke through the floating ice and slowly approached shore, the weather suddenly changed.
The sun vanished, the sky darkened, and a blizzard swept in.
They had been warned that Antarctic weather could change rapidly. Even so, with land almost within reach, most of them were bitterly disappointed to be stopped at the last moment.
Many stood on deck, craning their necks through the wind and snow to look toward shore.
They could see penguins on land, but they were too far away to tell what kind.
With a blizzard hitting just as they were about to land, filming paused for the time being.
Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao stood on deck.
Lin Qiyan peered toward land through his binoculars.