While we waited for the recce flight to return yesterday, I went out on deck and watched the herd of seals that had emerged the day before from the lead the icebreaker had created. They were crabeaters not Weddell seals as I had thought. Brandon the pinniped man corrected me, as he explained that crabeaters seem to be grumpy compared to Weddell seals. The conversation concluded with fur seals winning the award for grumpiest seals in the Southern Ocean.
When the recce returned, Captain took us out to open sea. We would visit the Emperor rookery another day. Shane explained the course correction. Although the weather looked good, the pilots saw a front moving in during the recce that they felt would ground us if we started, stranding some guests at the rookery and the rest on the ship. As safety is first, Shane moved to plan B, a visit to Paulet Island.
The bonus was the transit of Antarctic Sound. Absolutely fabulous! Huge tabular icebergs. Wee bergy bits. Icebergs that looked like castles or had great arches of turquoise. Countless numbers of icebergs as far as the eye could see.
Jonathan, the historian, prepared us for our visit to Paulet. The island played an important part in the Nordenskjold saga, my favourite “historic age of Antarctic history” story. I couldn’t believe we would be setting foot on Paulet.
The wind was so strong when we landed that we had to bend into it to walk. The snow underneath our booted feet was soft. The combination for heavy, yellow-jacketed tourists was a challenge. For the little, lighter Adelies, the wind and soft snow seemed to make no difference.
The skuas and shags would fly past us at eye level just a few feet away. That was the most amazing experience to be eye-level with a flying bird. I eventually gave up the slog to the historic hut and just sat on the snow and watched the Adelies. Yes, I stayed the obligatory 5 meters away. It is not my fault that penguins don’t play by the rules. Some came as close as 4 feet, giving me the eye, then going on about their business.
American Thanksgiving was marked with a turkey dinner after the landing. The men freshened up with clean shirts and a shave. Some even unpacked their jackets. Very smart. The ladies put on bit of finery, just an accessory or a frilly blouse. Festive as the evening was, many of us went to bed directly after dinner. It had been a very long satisfying day.
