Something that I still cannot believe is that I saw penguins in the wild. Sure, I have seen penguins in zoos and aquariums all of my life, but there is something about seeing penguins in the wild with my own eyeballs that I just cannot get over.

My first penguin in the wild sighting was of Magellanic penguins in the Falkland Islands. I just felt so peaceful, knowing that these really do exist in the wild, and they looked -- dare I say -- welcoming to us humans.

However, seeing penguins in the Antarctic just blew my mind. Being in Antarctica was one thing - to see penguins among ice floes in the Antarctic was just amazing.

Perhaps one of my favorite penguin moments occurred as our ship sailed along the Antarctic Peninsula. the sun was making its way down toward the horizon, creating the most beautiful light at 10:30 pm. As I gazed upon the beautiful ice sculptures drifting in the sea, I noticed that there was something very dark on top of them. It turned out to be a few chinstrap penguins hanging out on top of the ice, in beautiful light and casting long shadows.