The stops today and tomorrow were changed (again) to accommodate high winds and waves.
Since we were group 1 yesterday, we are at the back of the lineup today. That’s good news since we got to sleep in, and go have a leisurely breakfast! Considering sunrise was at 2:46AM, and we got up about 7 or so, it was a lazy feeling! We anchored off of Spert Island, and then about 10:30 or so, it was time to suit up and get ready for our Zodiac tour…meaning we didn’t actually land, but cruised around for about an hour. We had never been in this area, so it was all new. We were one of the first ones on the Zodiac, and found a familiar face. “V” was the Historian on our cruise back in 2008, and also part of the Expedition Team on this cruise. Bill sat next to her and we had a fun conversation, mostly being slightly obnoxious and sharing bad puns! Our first order of business was pulling up alongside another Zodiac, which was provisioned with Champagne and flutes (plastic, but still!). It was pretty funny cruising and bumping along trying to sip champagne, but we were troopers and made the best of it! (Not a bad birthday treat…beats getting up at 3 for an overcast eclipse!) The islands were stark and formidable. The icebergs were creative and almost like modern art. There was not a lot of wildlife to see, but there were a few birds, and one little guy joined us as a mascot for about 5 minutes.
After the cruise, we changed and headed to lunch while the
ship repositioned. It was kind of quiet,
but still nice. We took a short 15
minute nap and then watched them start the afternoon’s activities. Just as we were getting ready to leave, our
Butler brought a birthday cake (just like Theresa’s, and similarly without
candles). It was really nice, but we were
also trying to get dressed for the excursion, so deferred eating it.
We spent the afternoon at Mikkelsen Harbour. This is a landing, so dressed a little
differently. One less layer since we’ll
be exercising and not just sitting and getting wet! We also started uploading pictures, but … . The ride over was…WET. Windy and wet. We were being buffeted in the face with
splashes, spray, and wind. So, I don’t
think anyone enjoyed the ride over. This
place looked familiar. Back in 2008, we
went to a place with a hill, and we able to slide down the hill in the snow on
our butts or backs. There was a little
shack of a station there, and this (we think) is the same place. But there was no “butt-sledding” today. The snow then was fluffy and thick. It was icy and almost slushy, like it was
melting fast. And there were about 5
rookeries for Gentoos and Adeles (Penguins).
We walked around the hill and checked out the scenery, the cacophony,
and the olfactory assault!! The scene? Steep hills and mountains in almost every
direction, frosted in thick snow and a delicate coif of cloud and mist. Icebergs and bergy bits (small bergs) scattered
the scene. The air was pierced with the
squawking and cries of penguins in every direction calling for their mates, or
arguing with posers or those seeking to steal their stones (they build nests
with stones and they sometimes steal each other’s best stones! But every so often, you would get to just the
right place, and the wind would deliver you a prize for your nose, which you would
not soon forget! It was sort of a cross
of fishy and garbage. Yes, it was Penguin
Poo!! (Guano if you like proper names.)
By the time we get back to the room, all I smelled was that. Was it on me?
Or just embedded in my nose?
Either way, time for a shower!
For dinner, we had reservations at the Italian restaurant. It was really good!!! Then they brought a tiramisu cake and sung Happy
Birthday. So, we added ice cream and
enjoyed dessert. We got back to the room
and remembered we still had a huge piece of cake here! Phew.
Well, there was some sort of Q&A at 9, and the topic wasn’t really
clear. But we grabbed a couple of drinks
and headed there to find out. It was a
couple of astronomers talking about extraterrestrial life, Artificial Intelligence,
and a number or other things. It was
interesting, but a little “out there”.
Theresa left early and I stayed nearly to the end. That was it!
We’re still trying to get pix from yesterday up, so we’re just going to
be behind for a bit until we get to the sea days after tomorrow!
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