8:30 a.m. – Our first breakfast on board the ship. I ventured to the Grill, which is the buffet. I found out that in addition to the buffet, they will take omelet orders so I had to try one. Some bacon, onions and mushrooms stuffed in that fluffy goodness.
9:40 a.m. – Time for our first land adventure. We are in group 3 – there are 4 groups total and the first two groups went off around 8:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Group 4 will be about 15 minutes behind us.
It takes a few extra minutes to figure out how many layers to put on, put on the water/wind proof pants and parka. Then waddle down to the mudroom to put on our knee high rubber boots as well as our live jacket. Next come the gloves and the ski mask / neck gator. All bundled up and ready to go. They help us into the zodiacs and cruise across the bay to shore. We climb out onto the rocks and then on to the land. We have a hike up a mountain so we can see a colony of Chinstrap penguins. The first part of the climb isn’t too bad but I quickly realize how hard it is to walk in knee high rubber boots in the snow as well as how out of shape I am. About halfway up, I take a break to catch my breath and the snow and sleet begins to pick up a bit. I take my glasses off and put them in my backpack as I cannot see through all of the water drops on them combined with the steam of my hot breath coming up through my gator. Now the sleet is blinding me… I also notice that there is a bit more ice floating in the bay than when I was dropped off. I thought about quitting and heading back down to get to the warm ship but then I heard the penguins. I decided that I need to push myself and keep climbing.
I finally make it to the top and the views are so AMAZING and well worth the climb.
Seeing our first colony of penguins too is so cool.
Chinstrap Penguins
It’s so hard to take pictures or video as the wind is howling and the sleet is flying. So, I decided that it must be time to head back down. The trek down wasn’t too bad, I only fell 2 or 3 times, but it was a little bit tricky.
I notice that the amount of ice in the bay is truly amazing. From no ice to full of ice in an hour or so.
Tons of ice now in the bay.
I am able to get to the bottom and into a zodiac to take us back to the ship. But another empty zodiac coming to pick up passengers is stranded as it got stuck on a chunk of ice. We have 16 passengers in our zodiac so we try to ram it to knock it free, but it doesn’t work. We offload 8 passengers into their zodiac to give them some weight, but that also doesn’t work. Our driver decides to take us back to the ship and then come back to assist so that we don’t end up getting stuck too. It turns out that my zodiac was the last one out before things really got bad. Zodiacs stuck everywhere and couldn’t get back to shore to pick up more passengers. The expedition staff had to make up a exercise routine to keep the passengers moving and warm while they were waiting (about 1 hour) until they could get the ice to cooperate. The Silver Endeavour had to move closer to land and rev up the propulsion pods on that side to churn the water and move the ice around.
12noon – Lunch time! I go to the buffet again and enjoy some beef stirfry as well as some chicken tenders. I am at the back of the ship watching the crew try to get the zodiacs unstuck.
They finally get everyone back and we start cruising again.
2:30 p.m. – We arrive at our next destination and Oded & I have our kayak excursion this afternoon.
We meet in the pool area / Grill Restaurant and head down to the marina which is below the pool area. We get further instructions on what is expected of us and how to treat the equipment as well as how to put on the dry suits. We get our drysuits and booties before we go up to our suite to get changed.
We won’t have parkas on but we cannot dress with too many layers either. I put on some thermal pants and shirt, a pair of waterproof pants and a long sleeve tshirt and a pair of socks. Then the drysuit and booties.
In our dry suits and ready to kayak
We walk back down to the marina to drop our shoes off (as we will leave the borrowed suits there when we return and will need shoes). They give us hand covers or Pogis that keep our hands warm while holding the paddle. They velcro to the paddle and our hands slip inside of them.
We all get in a zodiac and cruise out about 500 meters away from the ship to meet the kayaks. They show and explain how to transfer in to the kayaks. I totally expect myself to tip over and fall in but I manage to do it pretty easily. Oded is in the front and I am in the back.
BEST EXCURSION EVER! So much fun just cruising around listening to the guides give us info on the area, icebergs and other cool things. We are paddling along and some penguins decide to join us! How cool! It’s amazing being in the water with ice all over and cruising around the bigger pieces and over the smaller ones. Just incredible!
Kayaking
More Kayaking
We spot a seal just chilling on the shore but we cannot get close enough to really check him out or take pictures. We cruise around for about 90 minutes to so before it really starts to snow. We transfer back to the zodiac and head for the ship. This is as cold as I will get the rest of the week. No parka, damp hands and really cruising along in the zodiac to get back to the ship. Hot chocolate is in my soon future!
5:00 p.m. – Back to the ship and to the marina to get out of our drysuits and booties. We are back up to our suite to get ready for the evening. A quick shower to warm up a bit and to find that hot chocolate.
6:30 p.m. – Each evening there is a recap of the day and a look ahead to the next day. This is where we find out our schedule of when we leave the ship for land or a zodiac tour of the area.
8:00 p.m. – Dinner is served. We were invited to join Ron and Marge for dinner in the Grill Restaurant tonight. The Grill is no longer a buffet for dinner as it is a set menu service. Lobster Thermador was on the menu and I decided to give that a try. AWESOME dinner, boy was it good!
Lobster dinner in The Grill
10:00 p.m. – After dinner we go up to the Panoramic Lounge to listen to the live music again.
11:00 p.m. – The friends I met while waiting in line at the Punta Arenas airport, Mike and Jennifer, joined me for a chat. We hang out and get to know each other a bit better. What a fun couple.
12:30 a.m. – It’s time for bed! Good night!
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