Today was our second day on board the National Geographic Explorer as we made the journey between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The sea had calmed slightly and life was good! We eased into the day, although passing fin and minke whales got people on the bridge excited, and there were some good birds spotted to add to the ever-growing list on the whiteboard located on the bridge.
After breakfast our good friend Eduardo Shaw gave us an account of Ernest Shackleton’s heroic expedition, in which he and two others climbed up and over South Georgia in order to raise the alarm, resulting in the rescue of the rest of his men from Elephant Island. Pertinent considering that in the early hours of this morning our sister ship the National Geographic Orion had just dropped off Peter Hillary, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, Jeremy Lindblad and a number of other climbers in the exact spot where Shackleton started the climb up and over the island.
After lunch it was time for a short nap, before the mandatory briefing on South Georgia, and then decontamination of all our clothing, boots, and equipment before arrival tomorrow.
Later in the afternoon we passed several more fin whales, and were able to get reasonable views of them as we slowed and watched them head past. This time it was even better with hotdog and beer in hand, as the hotel crew had a BBQ on the back deck. Santiago Imberti then gave a great presentation on penguins, outlining typical penguin behavior and biology, as well as the species we are likely to encounter on this trip.
It was then of course time for our evening Recap and briefing, followed by another great dinner and the second installment of Chasing Shackleton, an excellent documentary on a recreation of Shackleton’s epic expedition.
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!
