Our good fortune held and we woke to another day of beautiful weather. We had been told that another expedition had not been able to land once out of 5 planned landings due to foggy weather.
When we opened our curtains this morning we were treated to the spectacle of 3 whales swimming in the sea below. They were the first whales that we had seen and later in the day up to 20 whales were swimming around the ship. To say that, not only were the guests excited to see them, but the scientists were too as it was not a common sight. Many penguins also swam and frolicked in the sea with the whales.
The morning was spent sailing up to Danco Island. Once the ship had anchored for the afternoon and evening, Trevor went by zodiac on to the land. They were warned that it was very icy and could be slippery so, on landing, they were each given a pair of ski poles. As usual, they were able to see Gentoo Penguin Rookeries and many of these were having fun jumping into the sea and back on to the ice. At one of the lectures we had learnt that as penguins eat krill their guano has a pink tint and this is seen along the paths that they walk. We were told that people were not to walk along these.
As usual, I went out on a Special Ops Boat and we were treated to absolutely beautiful scenery as well as 2 Crabeater Seals and a Leopard Seal. Now that Winter was approaching, the sea ice was beginning to form on the surface of the water. To get closer to the seals the driver of the boat had to rev the engine hard and turn the boat around and around, breaking up the ice. As I have often done with the clouds, I enjoyed seeing the icebergs as specific shapes such one which looked like a ship today. Then there was the blue ice which is formed when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed and becomes part of the glacier. The compression causes the air bubbles to be squeezed out causing the ice crystals to enlarge making it appear blue. It was a fascinating phenomenon to see.
Trevor was excited about going down in a submarine in the afternoon and he came back saying that that he really enjoyed the experience. The young pilot, Josh, grew up in Durban; in fact, in the same suburb as I did. In the submarine were Josh and 6 guests and, before they descended, Josh explained how the dive would take place and he appointed Trevor as the person to take control should anything happen to himself. i.e. should he pass out or not be able to operate the submarine, Trevor was to take over his earphones and press ‘the green button’, contacting the support boat on the surface. Before going on the expedition those who were on chronic medication were told to bring 4 days’ worth of medication. Thank goodness, it was not required. They were down for only 45-50 minutes and not 4 days. While on the seabed, 600ft down, they saw krill, shells, a large sponge, starfish and other interesting animals which live down there.
Later while looking out of the window, we were able to watch the kayaks and a group on a zodiac being brought back to the ship. We couldn’t see but knew that the group on the zodiac would first be assisted off by crew at a small door beside the hangar and then the zodiac and kayaks would be lifted into the hangar.
Hangar where boats are stored and a zodiac in the water
Daily Viking
What had been available for us to attend or learn from today were a National Geographic documentary titled Wild Antarctica, a binoculars workshop which was most useful, and a presentation on future cruises.
Today’s Antarctic explorer whose story was told, was Sir Ernest Shackleton who sailed from Plymouth to Buenos Aires to join the ship, Endurance. They sailed from there on 26 October 1914 to South Georgia Island, leaving there on 5th December. On board were 27 men plus a stowaway, 69 dogs and a cat. It was mid-winter and the ice was thick. On 18 January 2015 they became stuck in the pack-ice and had to abandon ship. They set up a camp about a mile from the ship and 3 days later witnessed it sinking into the sea. Finally, the ice-floes began to melt in April and they decided to try and save themselves. Using 3 salvaged lifeboats, they somehow rowed to Elephant Island. After resting for 9 days, Shackleton and 5 others decided to head for the Stromness Whaling Station 800 miles away. They arrived almost a month later where they shocked an old Norwegian whaler who managed the whaling station there. The Endurance had last been heard from 497 days earlier. Shackleton did not give up but managed to rescue all 28 men on 30 August 1916. This remarkable tale lives on as one of the most chilling stories of survival of the 20th century.
There was no animal or bird story in today’s Viking Daily, it was about the plants on the continent which create many colours on the icy land. They are all hardy and tenacious as there is no rain here and no light in winter. One of these plants is snow algae (Chlamydomonas nivalis), a microscopic single-celled organism. It has no roots, stems or leaves and thrive in temperatures below 50degF (10deg C). They are concentrated near aquatic life and animals which feed on them. Snow algae appear in an array of colours including green, red, orange and gray, depending upon which chloroplast pigment they contain. They grow quickly in summer and when enough of them grow together they can be seen from space.
