Happy New Year!
We conked out before Midnight but we where up and moving by 8:00 am. Had our first sighting of whales this morning!
Actually after hearing the shout and everyone running to the port side of the ship, a good portion of the crowd moved to the bow where staff had set up an Irish Coffee stand complete with fresh whipped cream ( and Mimosas) to kick off New Year’s Day.
David spent a good bit of the morning sitting on deck watching the ice go by and looking for more whales while Melanie read in the Sunroom
Today the sea was like glass, no wind and it was quite comfortable strolling the the deck in jeans and a flannel shirt Temperature is in the 30’s with strong sun and David picked up a bit of a burn despite the SPF 30 sunblock. Being surrounded by icebergs is a bit disconcerting
Lunch was a delight Melanie had lobster rolls and David had fish tacos with shrimp and caviar. Life is tough.
The staff was into the holiday:
After lunch we left the ship for the first time since boarding and it was a chance for us to test out the layering of our clothes and prepare for colder adventure. After boarding the Zodiacs we took a run out towards the ice for a close up look and to learn about the nature of the icebergs and the age of some of what we were seeing. In some cases ice a million years old being exposed.
It is so surreal to be surrounded by such a setting.
Got back on board and David had been given a slot on the next kayak trip 30 minutes later. This meant a quick change of outerwear. For this it meant getting into a one piece dry suit with seals round the ankles, wrist and neck. Watching us do that must have been a pretty picture. These were tandem “sit in” style double kayaks and we had quite a bit of safety prepwork and testing. However, I don’t know if anyone was specifically asked if they knew how to paddle. As it was my partner said, David you’re stronger so you should sit up front. I channeled my inner Noah P and said “whatever”
Anyway, 8 pairs loaded into a zodiac and sped off to a secluded cove where the 8 Kayaks and been anchored We all transferred into our respective seats without accident and off we went
But almost immediately it was clear the we were not going to function as a team I’ll save the comedic drama to tell you in person but this guy could not keep a beat to save his life As we zigzagged across the bay I tried every trick I could come up with to coach him and to keep us on course. Finally I just said, “how about you shoot photos and let me do the paddling
Things went much better from that point out.
(More pictures forthcoming)
Going to get some pics of the trip from other folks and will hope to be able to share them tomorrow. Besides seeing some Gentoo Penguins and some Antartica Shag and we caught a small iceberg calving.
It’s Midnight now:
Time to close the blackout curtains and call it a night.
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