February 5 - Approaching King George Island

We’re still at the edge of the Drake Passage but out of the really rolling seas finally.  It’s overcast and the temperature outside is 36°,  hence not much outdoor activity is going on.

This morning we all had to attend a mandatory talk on protocols for landings in Antarctica.  In order to preserve the continent there are strict rules to be followed.  There was a funny anecdote I wanted to tell you about. Iggy, the expedition team leader,  showed us a video someone on a previous cruise made.  Evidently this guy is an opera singer so he decided to do a selfie video of himself singing an aria in Antarctica.  In the background were lots of penguins just hanging around.  As the man began singing in the background we could see the penguins running as fast as they could away from the noise.  The singer posted the video on social media and it went viral.  Unfortunately, the international authority governing tourism to the continent saw it, identified the person as being on a Seabourn ship because of the parka he was wearing and reprimanded Seabourn.  The moral of the story is that none of us will be singing while we’re ashore.

The captain just came on to give us a briefing. We crossed the Antarctic circle at a little after 4 AM this morning. He explained what our operational stop is for so we’re no longer in the dark.  A number of passengers, I’m not sure of the number but I heard more than 100 out of 420, didn’t receive the parkas Seabourn is supposed to provide.  Apparently, a sister ship, the Seabourn Venture, had some so they dropped them off at King George and we’re picking them up there. I got mine a few days ago which is a good thing because I didn’t bring a jacket with me.  I’m sure that there are lots of people who would have been in the same boat.

Our sister ship passing us after dropping off some parkas for us to pick up later.

We had the final trivia game of this session and needless to say we didn’t come close to winning. After Antarctica we’ll start another round.  This afternoon we’re sailing through the Nelson Strait to go for our pickup of jackets. After that we’ll begin sailing down the Bransfield Strait to our first landing point tomorrow which will allow us to set foot on the actual continent, not an island. We're going to Portal Point, located at 64°30' S 61°46'W. I hate to admit it, but I have developed what I can only call an irrational fear of going on a zodiac and getting off and walking around.  I hope I can overcome it because I would really like to try it.  I’ll see how the spirit moves me.

About the islands we’re sailing by.  Of course we’re well offshore and there’s absolutely nothing to lend any perspective but what I see are low looking islands which all seem to be covered in ice sheets. From the ship they don’t look very high but I’m guessing what I’m seeing are actually several hundred-foot-high cliffs and walls of ice.  A couple of times during trivia and lunch people said “oh I see a whale,”  but by the time the rest of us looked there was nothing to see.

It's a little later and we’ve stopped to pick up parkas.  It may be a little hard to see, but we’re in a busy harbor for this part of the world.  There are four other ships here, one that looks like a small freighter and three that must be expedition ships. The island behind is King George Island on which Chile has a pretty large base.  As we linger here to pick up the supplies and the tenders, we’ve swung around a little and from my veranda I can see a massive ice sheet which must be just on the other side of the hill from the base.  I know it’s hard to process from just these photos, but trust me, it’s huge. There are also exposed areas which must have some kind of lichen or moss growing on them because even from the ship they look greenish.

I think you can see the delineation between the ice and the sky and maybe get a sense of how big the ice sheet is.

In the foreground there are a couple of red structures which are part of the base. Looming just further inland is that huge ice shelf.

If you look at this hill you can see shades of green and yellow which must be mosses and lichens so life does grow here.

I dined at another hosted table again with Harry the Piano.  Yes, that's his stage name; he's really Paul  Harris.  He seemed a very nice fellow and the company at the table was a good mix. I went to the show and it was a new singer who did a wonderful job.  We went down to the club for a little while, but  my heart wasn't in dancing tonight.  I'm too busy thinking about landing in a zodiac and climbing on a boulder.  That's the plan tomorrow.

Alright, I think that's it for now. Oh, I did put on all my gear for a test run today.  I felt as if I was encased in a suit of armor and if I do make it ashore I'll give the penguins a run for their money in terms of waddling along. When I'm all kitted up if I feel like letting everyone see how silly I look I'll get a picture taken.