Ship's Position at 12:00:
The expedition leader's morning announcement tells us cheerily that we're 500 nm from the next penguin colony (on the continent). Very funny! The pace of life on the ship has shifted noticeably; people are lying in, skipping breakfast. Delicious pastries in greater variety but smaller sizes appear. After breakfast I sit talking for an hour with a couple of passengers, then go to the geology talk on patterned soils and periglacial environments; tag and sort photos after that; then a half-hour "Russian lesson" with Kara (who also has Czech!) and then go up to the bar, meet M, and buy her a bloody mary. Debbie the bartender decides to finish off a bottle of vodka on us and we end up with about twice the regulation quantity in each glass. Um. Unfortunately no steak for lunch: chicken bouillon, chili con carne (thoughtfully small serving) with a few corn chips. Again less than full dining area, people skipping meals to regulate food intake.
GPS track becoming interestingly dendritic, as the ship has made several attempts to get S and post-lunch is going more E to ESE. Not sure where or how we can come toward land in such heavy, heavy ice as this. The 209.5 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours have included much backtracking, so we've not made much progress.
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- 68°14.2' S 5°28.4' W
- Course 85°; Speed 3-10 kts
- Air temperature 4°C; Wind 15 kts; Direction 110°
- Weather: Snow, cloudy; Visibility 1-4
- Ice Cover: 10/10
- Distance covered past 24 hours: 209.5 nautical miles
The expedition leader's morning announcement tells us cheerily that we're 500 nm from the next penguin colony (on the continent). Very funny! The pace of life on the ship has shifted noticeably; people are lying in, skipping breakfast. Delicious pastries in greater variety but smaller sizes appear. After breakfast I sit talking for an hour with a couple of passengers, then go to the geology talk on patterned soils and periglacial environments; tag and sort photos after that; then a half-hour "Russian lesson" with Kara (who also has Czech!) and then go up to the bar, meet M, and buy her a bloody mary. Debbie the bartender decides to finish off a bottle of vodka on us and we end up with about twice the regulation quantity in each glass. Um. Unfortunately no steak for lunch: chicken bouillon, chili con carne (thoughtfully small serving) with a few corn chips. Again less than full dining area, people skipping meals to regulate food intake.
GPS track becoming interestingly dendritic, as the ship has made several attempts to get S and post-lunch is going more E to ESE. Not sure where or how we can come toward land in such heavy, heavy ice as this. The 209.5 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours have included much backtracking, so we've not made much progress.
( Read more... )