Friday, November 14, 2008
Back on the ship, the rest of the expedition party were unable to go
ashore today due to the high winds. We waited in King Haakon Bay until
6pm, at which time we set sail to round the island and to set anchor for
the night in Salisbury Plain, in the Bay of Isles. We ALL hope this
means we’ll get a good night’s sleep! The past few nights full of
severe rocking and rolling have taken their toll on everyone. Right now,
we’re in fairly rough seas, and it is expected to get worse before we
reach the shelter. But we’re all feeling great! We will be there in
about 3 hours, and the wildlife should be spectacular – King Penguins,
Elephant Seals and Fur Seals.
So far, we’ve only seen Penguins in the water, and on the distant shore
through binoculars – so our first close encounter is sure to be a
highlight for all of us.
The weather is predicted to be very good tomorrow – almost no wind and
(dare we even say it?) a bit of sun. This is great for us and even
better for the traverse team. We just finished dinner, and although it
was fantastic food (hearts of palm and salad starter, fresh salmon with
hummus, and coconut ice cream for dessert), we really felt the absence
of the traverse team members. We have all grown used to each other, and
so many new friendships have been made that we really can’t wait to have
them back on ship. Today we took some time to write a song with a verse
for each of them; we plan to embarrass them with it the night of their
return to ship.
The students were really bummed on not making it to shore today. The
past four days have been all about this landing, and to be so close was
really difficult for them. Instead of our shore landing, the students
gathered water samples and watched the wildlife on shore through
binoculars. The Linders family joined in and were key to helping us
write the Traverse Party Song. They’ve also learned an extensive array
of card tricks over the past few days – all taught to them by a fellow
passenger – and have been entertaining us with them.
We’re relaxing in the lounge now, currently listening to The Doors,
“Riders on a Storm” which feels very appropriate as we roll along around
the rough seas of South Georgia.
The students were really bummed on not making it to shore today. The
past four days have been all about this landing, and to be so close was
really difficult for them. Instead of our shore landing, the students
gathered water samples and watched the wildlife on shore through
binoculars. The Linders kids joined in and were key to helping us write
the Traverse Party Song. They’ve also learned an extensive array of
card tricks over the past few days – all taught to them by a fellow
passenger – and have been entertaining us with them.
