Steaming Towards South Georgia Island

It has been over two full days of sailing, but we have yet to reach our destination. We should arrive at the Western side of South Georgia Island sometime tomorrow afternoon. We have been passing the time with watching life alongside the ship (whales, seabirds, waves, sunsets), attending lectures, exercising (yes, the ship has a small gym with treadmills, stationary bikes, an elliptical trainer, and two stair steppers), and eating. Many have been seasick, and have remained in their cabins…while visions of terra firma danced in their heads!

There are two professional photographers on board, Joel Sartore (National Geographic) and Michael Nolan. They have been running seminars to teach us amateurs how to take better photographs. It is a unique experience to stand and shoot next to them. They are excellent coaches. When we were shooting whales, Michael was crying out specific commands regarding camera settings, composition, focus modes, etc., all the while taking photographs himself. This afternoon, most passengers submitted their five favorite photos of Antarctica, which where then openly critiqued by Michael and Joel. It was great fun to see everyone’s work.

The majority of our amazing crew is from the Philippines. They treasure the snow, and had a lot of fun making a snowman, snow penguin, and snow seal. Here they are, enjoying the special moment.



We will be seeing hundreds of thousands of King Penguins on South Georgia Island. We have been warned that the chicks, fluffy brown balls of down, are very curious. It reminded me of an inquisitive Gentoo chick I met at Port Lock Roy. He was intrigued by my pocket zipper pulls. That was so much fun, but also difficult, as we are not allowed to touch them.



The seas seem to be settling down just a little this evening. It was a colorful sunset. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.