2geonomads

Friday 6th March 2015.

After travelling north-west back up the Gerlache Channel during the night we wake up to see our ship anchored in Foyn Harbour at Enterprise Island and close to Nansen Island.

Another glorious Antarctic morning so we are off in the zodiacs by 8.00 am to cruise around Enterprise Island. The paddlers, snorkelers and divers were also out in force, exploring the area near to the remains of one of the factory vessels, the Govenoren.

A small, no doubt well-heeled but naive group had anchored their private yacht close to the wreck, no doubt hoping for some peace and tranquility. Not a hope!

One of our snorkelers did provide some  unexpected entertainment as he ‘logged’ , whale-style for a worrying length of time but to our great relief he eventually showed some slight signs of life and moved on a couple of metres.

Words can’t do justice  to this truly beautiful location and we spend 2 hours in the zodiac with il maestro helmsman Diego. Quite apart from the spectacular ice formations we spot many  penguins, fur seals and Antarctic terns as we cruise through the brash ice.

An unforgettable morning with one ice formation in particular catching the eye as the very high compression has given it a very deep grey colour and another huge iceberg very reminiscent of the Matterhorn.

The morning has been a photographer’s dream but has also provided Gail with another reminder that her zoom lens is safely tucked away in the warmth of Punta Arenas and in the keeping of Tomas Holik whom Gail will no doubt greet warmly by the throat at the end of the trip.

Back to the ship for lunch with this old codger musing on the thought that he had just spent 2 fantastic hours out on a zodiac with 8 females and one Argentinian gigolo!

Before heading off out again after lunch our Scottish friend Emma downloads our photos so that so that we can let Sergei get his copies of the crashed Brazilian aircraft taken at King George Base. Not really sure why he is so keen to get these but maybe what Vladimir P wants Vlad gets!

After lunch we head off towards Melchior Island where we disembark and go on our last Zodiac ride for this trip with Elena at the helm.We are rewarded with a display from numbers of humpbacks who are going through the whole gamut of movements and at very close quarters, absolutely spectacular ! Seeing them feasting on thousands of krill in one mouthful will stay in the memory for a very long time.

Linger as long as possible in this glorious setting and receive an unexpected bonus when one of the large icebergs calves a huge piece with a loud crack, leading us to beat a hasty retreat and for Elena to contact the other boats to steer clear of this potentially dangerous  berg.

Back on board ship we are flattered to receive an invitation from Ross and Shan from Singapore to join them in their luxury Captain’s suite ( the best cabin on the ship) for some bubbly to celebrate Ross’s 60th birthday.

As is her wont Shan leaves us in no doubt that she thinks that John from the USA is a proverbial pain in the  rear end and is far from being the intellectual he has pretended to be from the start of the trip. Making matters worse is the fact that J, on finding out that Shan had booked their suite as a special treat for Ross, has expressed his willingness to pay good money if they will swap cabins! John’s wife Tracy has incidentally been very kind to Gail letting her have clothes which are seemingly surplus to her requirements and has been very helpful in so many ways. It’s come as quite a relief to me that my small stockpile of cross- dressing garments can stay at the bottom of my case!

At his usual pre-dinner briefing Christian, our leader, has reminded us that the weather is due to take a real turn for the worse tonight and tomorrow so we should batten down the hatches.

Stay well enough to have the usual tasty dinner and then I at least dose up on Phenergan to keep all the food on the inside. Shan leaves the dinner table looking very green but Gail’s cast-iron stomach is as always holding up very well.

Off to bed hoping that the dreaded Drake Passage is kind to us over the next couple of days.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret.