Another day has brought us ever closer to South Georgia! A day at sea seems to pass in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it’s the head start we got as we changed our clocks one hour forward last night?
Regardless, the day of relaxation between seabird spotting and informative lecture presentations in the lounge made for a lovely time sailing through relatively calm conditions. Dr. Peter Carey started the day off with a presentation about our feathery friends, the penguins. A few were disheartened to learn that the movie “The March of the Penguins” was in fact based on emperor penguins, not the colonies of king penguins we have the fortune to see, however, now they may have a deeper appreciation for the different species we will see and their incredible adaptations. Next on the agenda, one of our Global Guest Perspective Speakers, Jamling Tenzing Norgay shared his spiritual journey following in his father’s footsteps to summit Everest, yet pioneering his own path as a leader and humanitarian.
Lovely sightings of the elusive snow petrels, Wilson’s storm petrels, and various albatross tantalized our cameras in the afternoon. Then the sounds of flutes put us at ease for our visitor’s guidelines to South Georgia briefing with our expedition Leader, Shaun. Afterwards a nap seemed inevitable for some. Then we rallied for tea time in the lounge just before divemaster and naturalist Caitlyn Webster gave an informative and uniquely interpretive presentation on the oceanography of the Southern Ocean. Who knew wind and currents could cause such a stir amongst our audience?
The evening came to our usual close with the evening’s recap and a sensational dinner crafted by Chef Ronnie and his incredible galley team. We have made great speed throughout the day and hope to make a landing by tomorrow afternoon! Certainly our guests, hikers, and staff alike eagerly await our arrival to the infamous South Georgia.
Live from South Georgia—watch on Facebook!
Right now our climbing team is transiting the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia making their way across the island to the ruins of Stromness whaling station. They are following in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton who made the same trek 100 years ago in a successful bid to save his entire crew of Endurance. Our trekkers will walk into Stromness tomorrow, and we’ll interview them live on National Geographic’s Facebook page!
