"It's like getting stabbed," a tourist exclaims, as he plunges into the 3C water, all under the intrigued gaze of a group of penguins.

All around the Half Moon Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula, the blocks of ice of all sizes float by on a calm sea, their varying forms resembling weightless origami shapes. 

To reach the Antarctic destination, the 58-year-old Norwegian, Even Carlsen, traveled 14,000 kilometers, and spent thousands of euros.

The penguins are as awkward on land as they are agile in water, while massive and majestic whales slip through the waves, and sea lions and seals laze in the sun.

Antarctica, a land of adventure without rulers, is "like the heart of the Earth," according to Marcelo Leppe, director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute.

He said it expands and contracts like a beating heart, while the mighty current which revolves around the continent is like a circulatory system absorbing warm currents from other oceans and redistributing cold water.

AFP