Again we sleep with the curtains open. At 5AM there is a bright blue sky with the sun rising over some low sea fog. According to Passages, the ship newspaper, and what was said yesterday we are due to arrive at Elephant Island around 9AM so we getup about 7:30AM. Dick looks out onto a beautiful, snow-covered, ragged, ridge of mountains and glaciers. Welcome to Elephant Island!
He heads to get some coffee and on to the Observation Lounge to get our favorite seats. As Carolyn is leaving the room, the ship turns hard to port, so she checks the balcony. There is a beautiful, BIG iceberg right off the starboard bow....very, very close to the ship!
After a few pictures from the balcony as it slides by, she heads to the lounge. Surprisingly, there aren’t many people. Those sleepiong in do not know what they are missing! This is the prettiest viewing that we have had...much like our last trip along the peninsula in 2008. However, our first visit to Elephant Island was the unplanned for stop after the awful Drake Channel crossing. It was dark and stormy then and we were SO glad to be in the lea of something to stop the ship’s motion, it was a beautiful site! The island is really gorgeous today.
Terry comes on the PA about 8AM, as the Captain works the ship into a position he can hold, and starts talking about the island. In a bit she says that she told us last night that she would start the talk at 8AM; Passages was wrong. Then she says that she will repeat again at 9AM. There are a few thin white clouds that are moving across the island and there is low sea fog all around us, but right in front of the island it is bright and clear. We are lucky! By 9AM we now know the history by heart, having heard it several times, and there is a crowd of people in the lounge...some complaining that there are no seats...you snooze you lose! The Captain now turns the ship in a full circle so those still in their cabins can see and we head for the other side of the island to look at where Shackleton’s men made camp after they had finally gotten safely off the sea ice of the Weddell Sea. His crew waited for a month while Shackleton and five of the
Endeavor crew sailed one of the 21-foot life boats to the South Georgia Islands, 800 mile away, for help in their rescue.
There is a huge flock of Cape Petrals showing their stuff around the ship. This is one of the best shows in Antarctica. Of course the back drop is something else also!
As we round the point of the island, we sail into a fog bank and can’t see a thing.
In a few minutes Terry announces that the Captain has decided to set sail directly for the Falklands since we can’t see anything now.
We head back to the room to work on the pictures and see if we can get on-line to post yesterday's report. No access right now so we work on the pictures...we took 500 this morning! Maybe we will have a couple of winners! Later we go to lunch early, when the Compass Rose opens, as we just had pastries and hot chocolate in the lounge this morning.
After a lunch of good hamburgers and very poor, slow service, Dick works on the pictures and goes to Trivia. Carolyn takes a nap and reads. We try La Veranda again tonight. Even though the menu isn’t great, it is better then the one in Compass Rose. We have garlic pasta. It is OK, but not as good as what we make.
We were told they have roasted garlic every night, but they didn’t have it tonight. Carolyn complains since that was something she was really looking forward to enjoying. The first person says they don’t have it every night and she says they should get their story straight. About the time we are finishing the pasta the manager comes over and says he sent down to the kitchen and now has it if she wants it. Well not now, but there will now be some in the La Veranda fridge, with our suite number on it, for our asking at lunch and dinner. Nice gesture, but otherwise the dinner service is slow. It is a very off day on the Mariner.
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We are tired. It is raining and the ship is rolling. It is time for bed with the curtains closed tonight!
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