The Antarctic: Day 8

Day 8 -- Sunday, January 23

   Short entry for today.  Not much to write about.  Many of us slept through breakfast.   Barely made it to lunch.  Had a nap immediately afterward, as it calms the stomach.  Went to a couple staff presentations in the Observation Deck on continental drift, and how Antarctica use to have many more plants that the present ice cover, of course, and its prior position on the globe much closer to the equator.  Slept through dinner.  Evening movie, Part 1, was on the travels of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the British Explorer whose epic journey in Antarctica starting in 1914 is one of the greatest examples ever of intrepid perseverance against overwhelming odds.  Evening discussions in small groups centered about our exploits in the snow as “Bobsledders” the day before, the quirkiness of certain passengers during the previous week (no avoiding gossip, even in the best of circumstances), and humorous caricature representations of those who have left a lasting impression on us.  Josef, the Swiss member of the Expedition Staff that is a mountaineer and in charge of marking trails when we go ashore, has particularly worked his way into our collective impressions.  “I have only one speed,” he is quoted as saying, “and it is awesome.”   Somebody else quotes Joseph for the morning breakfast call.  NOT the usual soothing invite to assemble that normally comes from Natasha, our Russian personnel chief aboard.  “You  vill vake for break-fost now!” Joseph calls out.  “You vill not be late!”  And as an afterthought, “Oh, yes, I forgot … Bon Appetit.”  There are also repeated rumors of whales.  Both Orca Killer Whales, Bowheads, and Minke.  My suspicion once again is that it is to keep us racing from one side of the ship to another so there is no down time between presentation and meals.  My suspicion is that the staff have taken a surfboard, turned it upside down and painted the fin black, and haul it back and forth in front of us on a cable strapped to one of the Zodiacs.  Nobody gets convincing photos, in any case.   By 11 PM, all are gone from the common areas.  I do not visit the bar for the first time tonight.  The clairvoyant in me does not see much liquor in my future over the next couple days.  Blame it on The Drake.  But the Night Owl remains a big part of the Emperor Penguin, and so I have the Observation Deck to myself.  There is darkness finally about 12:30, for the first time in days.