Some expedition moments are etched into your memory forever.

Stepping foot onto South Georgia for the first time and being greeted by dozens of king penguins at Elsehul. Watching Sea Cloud under full sail on the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Albania. An electrifying sunset over Land’s End at the southernmost tip of the Baja California Sur peninsula.

Today, I had the honor of adding this moment with guests aboard National Geographic Sea Bird: staring awestruck as a 45-foot-long humpback whale arched and dove underneath our watercraft amidst sleeting rain in the Inian Islands, the mist of its exhale wafting over our boat.

From sighting tufted puffins while kayaking at George Island, watching juvenile peregrine falcons hone their flight skills, and powering through whirlpools as Steller sea lions porpoised out of the water around us, to the indescribable experience of coming so close to true giants as we were surrounded by feeding humpback whales, today was a day for creating lifelong memories.

The diving whale is mine…but mine is only one story to tell.