The day crept in slowly from dark to first light. A grey mist obscured the horizon and birds appeared and disappeared back into the fog. Many of us slept in this morning. Our rooms were dark even after dawn. Last night we were careful to close the blinds and porthole covers in an effort to keep the lights of our ship from leaking outside. Small seabirds with webbed feet designed for taking off from the surface of the sea, are attracted to the ship’s lights. Once they land aboard, they cannot take off from the hard surfaces of our decks. We were successful last night as no birds were found on our ship this morning.
Breakfast was the time that water temperatures dropped and the air outside became a bit more brisk. We had crossed the Antarctic convergence. This is an undulating biological barrier where the warmer waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean and the cold waters of the Southern Ocean meet. Crossing this barrier puts us in Antarctica.
Santiago gave an entertaining and informative talk on penguins and later in the morning, Jess gave us information about the elephant seals and fur seals we might encounter on our journey.
Our photo instructor, Rich, gave a talk on wildlife photography with beautiful images and helpful tips. Then it was tea time. And what a tea time it was!!!!! Treats of many varieties were artfully displayed while we toured some of the behind-the-scenes areas of the ship.
Our presentations ended with Eduardo’s captivating storytelling of Shackleton’s epic journey to save his men. Tomorrow we will get our first glimpse of the rugged terrain that he traveled at the end of his energy and with true endurance. Tomorrow we will see South Georgia Island. So early to bed and early to rise we go as the adventure continues.
