At Sea Again

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Geo: -48.2305, -59.8603

The latest thing we have heard is that we are not going to stop at the Falkland Islands after all. The rumors that the weather will be too bad are true now. When the captain made his daily noon announcement, he said that he wouldn't decide until later in the day, but that the weather report was forecasting wind of over 40 knots. They do not launch the tenders unless the winds are less than 25 knots and will stay that way reliably throughout the day in port. We are heading straight to Antarctica and should arrive by Saturday afternoon rather than on Sunday morning. I don't know if that will allow any extra time off the ship, but we will at least see the Antarctic for an extra half day.

This morning, we took our boots to be stored in wire mesh lockers for the duration of the time in Antarctica. Others who had rented or purchased boots to be delivered to the ship had the opportunity to exchange theirs for another size, if they needed to. We decided to purchase boots ahead to make sure they would fit comfortably. Yesterday was the Great Parka Exchange. The ship provides identical parkas to all passengers which are included in the cruise fares. Ours fit fine so we did not need to go to the exchange. Looking at the photos from last year's cruise, I expected the parkas to be bright orange. They are actually more like the orange Creamsicle color. Not a color I would ever choose to wear, but bright enough, I guess, to be seen easily on the snow, ice, rocky terrain or in the ocean. Members of the expedition crew have lemon yellow parkas.

After dropping off the boots, we had a lazy day at sea. We went to breakfast first, then spent some time watching the sea go by from our balcony. It has been the coldest day, so far, but still quite comfortable outside within the protected alcove of the balcony. Philip had a massage this afternoon, and I went to a talk about penguins of the Falklands, South America, South Georgia and South Africa. Guess we will hear about the penguins of Antarctica later. The Virtuoso Voyages agents hosted a cocktail reception this evening before dinner. Chuck and Reta Frew from Atlanta represent Virtuoso on this trip. It is one of the cruises selected by Virtuoso to focus on. Although we did not select the cruise because of that, we have been invited to participate in the activities. The agency that our travel agent works with is a member of Virtuoso.

We are back in the room and waiting to see if the Cowboys game will be broadcast on the ship. Probably not since it wasn't listed in the daily Herald, but it starts soon and maybe it will come on. Another game was shown on Monday so there is a possibility.

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