December 30, 2017
Overnight we left Antarctica to go to the Falkland Islands on a course just a tiny bit west of north. The waves got stronger to about 2.5 meters. Although the fog horn sounded intermittently throughout the night, having an interior midship stateroom we did not hear it until going to breakfast in the morning. The wind was blowing form the north-north-west at about 26 km per hour.
After a quick breakfast in the Lido buffet we attended the Antarctica Expedition Team lecture, “A History of Life in Antarctica before the Icecaps Came” given by Dr. Margaret Bradshaw, who is a geologist. She explained in brief, the wealth of geology information included the fossils that have been investigated over the past century.
After the presentation, we met Doug and Jan in the MIX bar for them to teach us the card game Five Crowns. After cards, they took us up to see their verandah stateroom where they were transferred, when their original inside stateroom needed to be ripped apart to repair structural damage from a leaking water pipe. Their original stateroom has been under construction for the past five days. There was a welding authorization order posted by the door today.
When we returned to our stateroom, we found certificates for “exploring Cape Horn and Antarctica”. We took advantage of the moderate swells to walk on Deck 3’s promenade deck and watch the fog finally lift and the blue sky break through the clouds. We still wore mitts, scarves and hooded jackets, but the temperature was 5°C and the wind was moderate, too. Steps 10,753
After lunch, we went to the talk about Port Stanley and the Falkland Islands or Las Malvinas as they are known to the Argentinians. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in June 1982 and occupied them for 74 days. Three islanders died as well as over 100 British soldiers and over 600 Argentinian soldiers. There is no boat or plane service between Argentina and the Falkland Islands. Punta Arenas, Chile is the neighbouring country through which travel connections can be made.
Right after that it was the Antarctica Expedition Team lecture, “The Wildlife and People of the Falkland Islands” was given by Dr. Peter Carey.
During the afternoon. the clouds closed in and the waves increased to close to five meters, so you made sure, as you climbed the stairs, to hang on to the railing because you never knew if you would have a longer step up or down or if you would be knocked left or right.
At dinner Shin and Joyce were missing and Doug and Jan shared the Anniversary cake that they received at lunch yesterday. The choices for dinner tonight were: Crab rolls and Cream of celery soup; followed by Bourbon Glazed Beef Tender with corn grits & mushrooms and Greek Style Beef Salad. The dessert was Mango Sundae.
The show in the Mondriaan Lounge was performed by the ship’s singers and dancers. The dancers made dancing on a rolling ship look easy. After the show, we climbed to the crow’s Nest Lounge on deck 9 to see if the Antarctica maps had been completed with the Day 4 and 5 routes yet. They had not.
The large waves and fog continued overnight.
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