Tuesday, January 31.

Full sun.

I sent some photos earlier only as insurance in case we run out of internet here. 

The day started as usual, coffee at 5.00 and up on deck for me by 6.00, again to get some insurance shots in case the weather turned bad, but it has held beautifully for us so far. 

I had a haircut appointment at 8.30 but had a wonderful seat watching the icebergs go by, my hair was cut by a Serbian woman who left Serbia during their war in 1999 and moved to South Africa, now living in Belgrade again.

I met up with Fellette, who walked three miles this morning, snapping photos all the while. We then walked a bit trying to absorb as much of the breathtaking scenery as we could. It is impossible to fully describe the sights before us, however here are no trees or buildings to give any sense of scale to the mountains, icebergs or even the thickness of the ice. It is a bit frustrating to take a zillion photos and still not be able to convey the sense of scale or massiveness of this place.

After lunch we approached Palmer Station which is the US Research Station on an island by this continent. About 16 people in two zodiacs came aboard to give a talk and answer questions in two sessions this afternoon. I went there 1 1/2 hour early to get a good seat for us and Jim and Gail. The place was packed to the gunwales.

Some say the people who boarded were looking forward to hot showers [?] others thought a bit of different food, who knows. We did notice that the zodiacs were loaded up with cases of food and drink shortly after. I can only imagine that fresh fruit might be amongst those foods. I suppose resupply can be a bit tricky and somewhat expensive for such places.  

After such a busy time this morning and the excitement of looking for the first bit of ice in the morning, it seems strange now to see the same people now oblivious to the beauty that is still parading by outside. We are now sitting in a warm and cozy theatre chair after being chilled to the bone by the wind and cold outside earlier.

If I never told you how cold it was it was because my fingers were too cold to type earlier. It was 0C but the humidity was near 90%. The wind outside earlier, and the ships speed was a brisk 22 knots. All that together means that it was awful bloody cold.

The day drifted away after the Palmer People gave their talk and we then cruised through the ice for several hours. The captain then took the ship through a very narrow passageway, getting permission from the authorities as we have no wind at all. The passageway was very narrow and partially blocked by two large icebergs. He slowed the ship to a crawl and we slipped by. We were within 20 feet if we were an inch, so help me. Fellette figured that the captain has seen this berg before, plus they have some sophisticated sonar equipment on board.

By the end of the day, I was chilled to the bone and did not want to see another penguin, seal or iceberg again but just wanted to get to warmer climes. However, we have two more days in here and then another day to get to the Falklands where they are not known for shorts and bikinis!