The Antarctic Experience continues as we woke up 34 degree F temperatures and a 13 mph wind. The humidity was 90% which turned out to be in the form of snow flurries. Yes….snow. At first we thought it looked like bubbles, which some folks like to do off of their verandas years ago. It was actually light snow which resembled Ivory Flakes. As far as the weather was concerned, we had a bit of everything from some sun to fog, and high scattered clouds. From looking at the position of the ship on TV, it appeared we had been going in circles during the night.
During breakfast, Captain Rens announced that we would not be going to Paradise Harbor or Bay due to too much ice forming in the channel. This happened to us on a previous trip here, so it came as no surprise. Just disappointing. Just recently, one of the smaller expedition ships got stuck in fast-forming brash ice and they had to be pulled out of it by a rescue vessel before they were frozen solid. Better safe than sorry we say. The plan now was to go back to the monster iceberg we passed last night at dinnertime. Once again, the Captain promised a "Titanic" moment with that iceberg. The ones we saw yesterday were just a warm-up.
Icebergs are truly one of the highlights of any Antarctic cruise. Some icebergs are the size of the state of Connecticut or the country of Belgium. The one we are headed to measures 56 meters or 184 feet high….about the same height as the Volendam. We should be up close and personal by 9:30am. The ship swung back and forth for all to view from the bow or from their verandas and other choice windows on the ship. There was no music, but there were hundreds of penguins in rafts jumping and diving all around the iceberg and the ship. We left the area by 10am.
So where do we go from here we wondered? It remained a mystery as no immediate plan had been announced. So while we waited for the day's agenda, we checked out the different types of ice here. There is freshwater ice and sea ice. All of the ice on land in Antarctica is fresh water. The ice builds up from the snow flurries and rain that falls here. They call it firn ice. Over thousands of centuries, this ice becomes glaciers or rivers of ice. When these glaciers meet, they become ice sheets and ice cliffs. The ice sheet that covers Antarctica is 15,670 feet deep. Sea ice forms on the sea water, but takes longer to freeze than freshwater. More about sea ice tomorrow.
Captain Rens came on the speakers to announce that we were going to head for an archipelago between Anvers Island and Brabant Island. We should be coming close to tall ice-covered mountains by 1:30pm or so. And we did, and even better for us, it was on the port side. The ship came very close to the Melchior Research Station, belonging to Argentina. Small in size compared to the more modern bases, it was originally built in 1904. It is a summer-only facility for a grand total of 12 people. It appeared that no one was home today or else they would have come out to greet us.
What was there to greet us were numerous sea lions laying on the rocks getting whatever warmth from the occasional sun they could muster. Not one of them moved a muscle. We also spotted some Antarctic shags that are sometimes mistaken for penguins. They are rather large for a cormorant at 30 inches from beak to tail. They weigh 6.6 pounds and have a wingspan of 37 inches. They are capable of diving extremely deep. There are around 10,000 breeding pairs in all of Antarctica. We stayed at this site until 1pm, then headed back at a snail's pace where we started. Many photos were taken of the shags, sea lions such as fur seals and crabeaters, skuas, terns, and gentoo penguins. Actually, hundreds of pictures were taken.
Some more pertinent info on Antarctica is about research bases. The number of scientific bases is 77 and are run by 30 different countries. The number of Antarctic Treaty Nations in 2018 was 53. There are about 4682 scientific personnel in these stations during the summer, and only 1121 in the winter months. We cannot imagine living here at any time of the year, so it takes dedicated people to do this work.
We did watch the recap of yesterday's visit here. We learned that humpback whales have two blow holes, and we saw the largest gentoo penguin colony near Cuverville Island. Tomorrow (today) the target was supposed to be Paradise Harbor, but that was scrapped. Too much ice forming. There is some hope to be able to see Lemaire Channel. Someone asked when the sun set last night and the answer was around 11:30pm. We are also hoping for a stop at Neumayer Channel, but not holding our breath.
We had heavy snow flurries around 2:30pm enough to cover the railing on the verandas. By the way, the Antarctic Peninsula does get more rainfall than the rest of the continent. It is the wettest with up to 27 inches of precipitation or 23 feet of snow.
Time for dinner with a most creative menu. It was titled "Historic Journeys Menu" celebrating South American and Antarctic Exploration Through Culinary Art. Each course had a variety of dishes that may have been served in the early exploring days. One of these salads was built on the need for vitamin C, something sailors away at sea got very little of. That led to a disease called scurvy where many men died. One of us ordered the hearts of palm, mango, avocado salad with a lime dressing. Thus British sailors earned the name of "Limeys". Another favorite of the starters was the empanada Argentina, filled with spiced beef, olives, and a boiled egg. The soup was the best with Amundsen's Pea Soup with plenty of smoked ham, carrots and celery. Roald Amundsen and a few of his officers hiked up a snow-covered mountain when they first set foot on Antarctic soil. They had hot pea soup, the first meal ever served on Antarctic soil. It is one of our favorites.
Shepard's pie with ground beef, mashed potatoes, and green peas was one choice for an entr?e. It is tied to the English and the Welch missionaries and sheep farmers of Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego. Very good, although it was not cooked in a typical pie crust. The top seemed to be covered with a mashed potato/cheddar cheese topping then put under a broiler. The other choice was chicken cordon bleu with home-fried potatoes and peas and carrots. This tied back to Charles Darwin who was a hunter of local wildlife. His target was the rhea, which he said tasted like chicken. Desserts were a scoop of rocky road ice cream and a sliced banana with chocolate sauce. Other offerings were pavlova, berry pie, fruit cake, and cheesecake.
The entertainment on the World Stage was pianist Tomono Kawamura with concert pieces. A movie "The Lake at the Bottom of the World" was shown in the Wajang. Maybe this is on our TV.
We had tiny gifts waiting for us on our bed. They were tiny plastic comical penguins, suitable for a windowsill. In the past, we all got small stuffed Steiff penguins. These little ones will be easier to pack.
Tomorrow will be our last full day of the Antarctic Experience. Hope it is a good one.
Bill & Mary Ann
