Yesterday, we thought we’d be able to visit the most remote post office in the world, where four women deliver mail and count penguins here in Antarctica. They beat out 6,000 applicants for the job. But, alas, we were at a different spot on the island, and didn’t get to see it. Viking did, however, give us a postcard with the Antarctic stamp on it, that we could have mailed from the post office, but we decided to keep it instead.

This morning, the science team aboard our ship, launched a weather balloon. Viking has a partnership with NOAA, and the US national weather service has sanctioned an official launch station on Viking expedition ships, making them the world’s first civilian ships to be so equipped. The weather balloons are made of biodegradable latex and are filled with helium. The balloons have a small transmitter and sensor unit attached, which will broadcast wind, temperature, and pressure data down to the ship every second. Pretty amazing.

We are now getting the hang of donning our arctic gear without any problems. My advice however is, don’t leave it till the last minute, because even when you become proficient, it still takes quite awhile to get everything on. It must be done in steps: 1. Go to the bathroom first 2. Then put the sock liners and heavy socks on 3. Now, put on the Capilene long johns 4. Next, the fleece lined pants and tops, 5. (and this step is very important), the snow pants and THEN, 6. the heavy snow boots. Do not try to put the boots on first, thinking, because of the zipper and snaps on the snow pants that allows a wide opening at the bottom, you can pull the pants over the boots. You can’t.
Then comes 7. the insulating inner coat layer which goes under 8. the red outer jacket.
Getting the 9. life jacket on was another learning experience. You first lay it down on the bed with the labels facing down, and then you put it on like a vest, carefully pulling the other side over your other shoulder. The life jacket gets belted around your waist and then another strap gets anchored between your legs. (Men…do NOT pull that strap too tightly!) Finally, don the 10. glove liners, 11. gloves, 12. woolen hat, and 13. ski goggles or sunglasses and finally Ta-dah…you’re on your way.
Hopefully, you have remembered step 1 before you began, because otherwise, good luck!
After the excursions, you have to take off the gear pretty much the opposite of how you put them on. Important note: take off the boots first (which actually is not an easy feat …no pun intended), because the snow pants will never go over them and it just makes for a very comical situation as you are all tangled up with the pants around your knees and stuck halfway over the boots. Trust me on this.

Many of the icebergs that float by are individual works of art, sculpted by the wind and the elements, and featuring shades of blue embedded in their crevices or along their walls. I have taken many photos of these beauties, and when I get home, I will have Shutterfly arrange them in a frame for a wall hanging.

On today’s zodiac cruise, the snow on the mountains looked like agate with the iron deposits and the algae. Breathtaking!

Whaling was a popular activity back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and when the whales were harpooned and brought onboard, every part of the whale was used – the oil and the blubber primarily.

In 1915, one whaling mission on a ship called the Governoren ended, and the crew in celebration, had a party below deck. Historians have surmised that the party had to be held below, because the deck was filled with whales in various stages of processing and butchering. The crew knew they’d soon be on their way home, hence the celebration. Unfortunately, the dancing and drinking got a bit out of hand, and someone knocked over an oil lantern. By this time, the ship was filled with thousands of gallons of whale oil, ready to be hauled back to Norway. That oil served to ignite a huge fire causing it to get out of control quickly. The captain set the ship aground and all the 85 crew members escaped without injury. They were later rescued by another whaling ship.
We were able to view this shipwreck as well as some water boats that were used to bring fresh water to the whaling boats.

We have had amazing weather. No rain, sunny skies, and mild temps for the most part. The crew keeps saying how lucky we are, since the last voyage had nothing but rain. We truly are blessed.
A fellow passenger was able to snap a picture of a whale that came fairly close to his zodiac. Wowser!!!

This afternoon we plan on attending a seminar on plankton, and tonight, dinner with friends, followed by story-time in The Hide.