Oh dear – a gale force southerly wind has us in its grip, hitting the ship on the starboard side. We are definitely rolling as well as pitching now! It is making life “interesting”. We are on the second day of the long leg of the journey to South Georgia. We went out for a stroll on deck after breakfast but had to beat a hasty retreat as the wind was so strong – in fact a little bit scary.
So bird watching has taken place from the warm dry observation deck. We have had good views of wandering albatross, the largest of these majestic birds, light-mantled sooty albatross, grey headed albatross and the pure white snowy petrel too, so have added them to our list.
Photography was tricky so perhaps not up to our normal standard… wandering albatross above, light-mantled sooty below:
It’s really a day for attending lectures –the birds of South Georgia; the physiology of whales; photography in the Antarctic –and just keeping your head down. We have managed a light lunch and so far, at the time of writing, the anti-sea sickness medication is working.
At the end of the photography there was little bit of excitement as the first whale of the trip was sighted. The lecturer lost control of his audience as we all rushed to have a look. It was a very brief glimpse of the fin of a humpback whale- very close to the ship. Hopefully there are more whales to come…
But as I am adding to this piece just before dinner I can see bright blue sky on the horizon – perhaps better weather is on its way. Let’s hope so!
And while at dinner we saw penguins and seals swimming alongside. Things are looking up for a good day tomorrow.
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