Blogs from Southern, Oceans and Seas

Cruise Day 2 - Sun 18 Feb We slept really well on our gently rocking bed! When we awoke we were just south of Margaret River, rounding Cape Leeuwenhoek lighthouse just after 7am (so we were told). We had taken the quilt/doona out of its cover for the night, as is our usual routine, and left a note for Larry asking for a light blanket, so he remade our bed with a top sheet and light blanket. He’s a champion. We decided to select our brekkie from the buffet this morning - King’s Court. Beautifully cooked bacon (the way we like it Chari), eggs and tomatoes followed by some pineapple and melon pieces. Things are done so differently to minimise germ transference - they pass everything to us, including our utensils. They even squirt the tomato ... read more

“The world is only tolerable because of the empty spaces in it – millions of people all crowded together, fighting and struggling, but behind them, somewhere, enormous, empty places. Man needs an empty space somewhere for the spirit to rest in.” Doris Lessing South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands... I could've categorized the blog under 'South America', but that just didn't seem right. I chose the 'Oceans and Seas' category as I thought it was more fitting. Should I be redefining continents? Why are there seven? I entered an other-worldly land of exotics. I've visited this distant entity many times, and every time I struggle to find words that adequately suit the mood. Prehistoric perhaps? A modern day 'Land the Time Forgot'. The dark skies, stormy seas, ever-blowing wind, towering peaks, dazzling glaciers, and the ... read more

Have I mentioned that I love sea days!!!! Day one dawned with the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen. Our cabin is port side, aft but I turned on the bow camera and there was the glory. I was a bit concerned that the skies appeared red and you know what that is supposed to mean but the seas were calm all day, the temperature mild, the sun warm and the breeze soft. At breakfast we chatted with a couple from Atlanta. Barry is a retired minister and Leodis was born in Jamaica where the two met. It turns out that Barry know Linc's dad and used to work with him on some festivals. He was also named Wycliffe and Barry said he was quite posh. And the world keeps getting smaller. After breakfast we ... read more

The fog has mostly lifted by morning, but it is still very variable. This will be a complete day at sea as we negotiate the Drake Passage between Antarctica and South America. We expect to pass close to Cape Horn sometime in the evening on our way to Ushuaia, Argentina. As the day goes by, the waves grow higher and higher, and by the afternoon the swells are running up to 30 ft. Because of our direction, conditions are not as violent as the passage to the Falklands, when the ship was bashing into the oncoming waves, but the ship is certainly pitching significantly. Dishes and occasionally people go sliding to the floor in the dining room. One basically has to keep a hand on something solid all the time to avoid making a spectacle. Later ... read more

We had a particularly good sleep last night, lulled by the gentle rolling of the ocean. We wake to a grey, overcast day. At breakfast, we enjoy the aerobatics of the petrels and albatrosses as they wheel and dive alongside the ship. We are clearly picking up more and more seabirds every day. And then it starts to snow outside! I ponder how interesting it is to have left the snow at home in the north and to travel so far south that it is snowing again. The morning is spent on a couple of interesting lectures, one on penguins in all their variety, and the other on Antarctic explorer Ernest Shakleton, another name I remember from stories I read as a boy. Among his adventures was being marooned with his crew on Elephant Island, which ... read more