Awake at 4.15am to pee, and get a drink of water. They put salt in all the meals. There was no sleep after that. Daylight outside, but visibility about 100m. Bits of ice drifting by, but no sizeable icebergs, till around 7am. We must be getting close to the coast. In the murk we can hear a big marine diesel engine thumping away and slowly a large fishing vessel appears. It’s a stern loading long net ship but it was too gloomy to discern its nationality.
By Jen.
After an early breakfast, our group, the Blue Group were first to go to ‘Base Camp’ to embark on an excursion. We should have been going on a zodiac sightseeing excursion to view scenery. Due to the weather conditions, this was changed. So we did what was planned for the afternoon, and went on a shore walking trip.
Heading for the ice.
Exhilarating, getting into a zodiac and whizzing off through the ice filled water. Ice bits of all shapes, sizes and colours. Our first landing attempt was unsuccessful. The bank was too steep so we moved on to another site. This time we managed to disembark without incident.
The expedition team had gone ahead and set out a pathway with markers for us to follow. Handing us hiking poles, off we set for a short walk in the snow. Stopping frequently to take photos. We were soon joined by a solitary penguin. He seemed to be used to performing for photographers and duly obliged with some preening and sliding around on the ice.
It was really trial and error with our clothing. The parkas we have are double layered and really thick. I decided to remove my cardigan and only have one layer underneath. This worked well as I was lovely and warm. Also with tights, trousers and thick socks, this was perfect. The gloves were a problem though. The pair Wayfinders have loaned us are gauntlets with a separate internal pair. I have to remove them to take photos, and they proved to be a nuisance. I will try the pair I bought with me next time.
Once back in the zodiac, we had a bit of fun trying to get dislodged from the rocks below. Having to be careful not to damage the motor, we tried all moving forward and bumping it off. This wasn’t successful, so we had to lighten the load and disembark a few people. Dennis got out to help push and we were soon free.
Back on board we disrobed and returned to our cabin to view activities from our balcony.
Dinner …Lamb Shanks after appetisers etc etc.. Way too much food.
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