Friday, January 5, 2024
Today we were expecting two Zodiac landings, our first one leaving early, at 8:30 am. I got up, showered and went to the Living Room to drink coffee and blog then headed to the World Cafe for breakfast in time to return to the room to dress for the outing. However, while loading up my breakfast plate, the captain came on the loudspeaker with bad news, the conditions were too windy (35 mph) for us to make the morning landing at Yankee Harbor on Greenwich Island. Ugh! Disappointed I lingered over breakfast catching up on news via my iPhone. When I returned to our room, Jane who had opted to sleep late and have room-brewed coffee, had all our gear laid out on the bed and was dressing for the landing. She just got the word about the cancellation via the Viking app as I opened the door. So she removed the outer wear and we stashed everything back into the drying closet, hopefully, to be used this afternoon.
Instead of a landing, we spent the morning in the Aula listening to presentations. The first was given by Chief Engineer, Jonny. He began by lining up and introducing his staff on stage. Then, for the next two hours, we were educated about all aspects of the Polaris (and its twin sister ship, the Octantis) including: the engine room, the main switchboard, the power management system, the propulsion system, the fin stabilizers, the dynamic positioning system, the air pollution reduction system, the reverse osmotic plant to produce fresh water from seawater, the HVAC system, the waste treatment system, the ultra-fog fire suppressant system, the galley equipment, and even the laundry equipment. Whew! We learned a lot but wait, there was more. Next, Virginia gave a shorter but very interesting presentation on orcas.
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| Chief Engineer Jonny describing the Engine Control Room |
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| Morning Orca Lessons in the Aula |
After lunch we returned to our room to put on our cold gear for the last time and then headed to Deck A for our Zodiac ride to Half Moon Island between Greenwich and Livingston Islands in the South Shetlands. We were greeted on the rocky beach by a new species of penguins, Chinstraps. A few of our more familiar tuxedoed Gentoo friends were also waddling about. We hiked a short distance to an overlook with a beautiful view of the bay and Polaris parked elegantly in front to an icy landscape. From this vantage point, we could also see several colonies of Chinstrap penguins in areas where the rocky surface protruded through the snow. Via Viking-provided binoculars, I carefully scouted the closest colony looking for new hatchlings. I managed to spot one gray fuzzy one huddled under the protection of its parent. We later learned that Nina and Ray had seen a skua capture a hatchling on an early visit to this colony. The skua was devouring the baby penguin on the ground when a couple of petrels attacked it and stole its meal. No wonder the hatchlings were so evasive.
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| Chinstrap Penguins on the Beach |
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| Chinstrap Close-up |
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| A Stray Gentoo |
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| Abandoned Boat |
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| Old Ship, New Ship |
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| Preening Chinstrap Penguin |
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| Nesting Chinstrap Colonies |
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| Juggling Binoculars and Glasses with Gloves |
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| Nesting Chinstraps |
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| Enjoying the Views |
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| A Rusty Geologic Tower |
After enjoying another nice lookout spot, we joined a group of 40 red jackets being lead by a yellow jacket on a 1.5 mile hike along the arcing rocky isthmus to an unoccupied Argentine research station called Camara. Along the way, we saw more penguins feeding including a few Adelies, so that we observed three penguin species in a single landing. The red station buildings were prominently situated on top of a ridge that we climbed for another wonderful view. We learned that this was the first time Viking passengers had taken this invigorating hike, maybe as compensation for this morning’s missed landing. After awhile, we descended to the beach where empty Zodiacs were arriving to escort us back across the icy waters to the mother ship. Jane and I agreed that this final landing was a great one.
After dinner, where we meet with Nina and Ray, we returned to our stateroom to find that our Viking pants had been collected from the bed where we left them. We’ll place our Viking boots in the hall for collection tomorrow morning. I went to the Aula (while Jane watched from the comfort of our stateroom bed) to hear a classical concert by Duo Dolcissima, the Phillipino keyboardist and Hungarian violinist that had been playing at various times and locations during our cruise. After the excellent 45-minute concert, I returned to the stateroom. We were now recrossing Drake Passage with the rocking ship comfortingly lulling us to sleep.
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| Our Evening Entertainment |
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| A Fabulous Concert in the Aula |
