Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil
Antarctica, Morning Gale
I woke up the morning of our 4th day in Antarctica to an absolutely ripping gale outside. The winds were Beaufort 8 and 9 for my followers who sail; for the non-sailors, the lowest wind I saw (conditions are displayed on the cabin TV) was 39 miles per hour and the highest I saw was 48. Yeehaw! Needless to say, our Zodiac explorations this morning were cancelled. We're steaming south now in search of calmer winds and seas—we'll see what happens!
Was I disappointed that this morning activities were cancelled? Heck no! It's all part of the adventure! I figured I'd stuff myself into my full cold weather gear and head out to my cabin's balcony. Great idea, but the door refused to cooperate—It was frozen shut! As hard as I could pull, it would not open. I tried and tried, but it would not budge. Finally, I put my foot up on the jamb by the handle and pulled for all I was worth—and it popped open! Sorry, Atlas, there's now a shoe print on the door jamb (I think I'll clean it off later).
So out to the balcony I went! Here are a few photos:
It's too bad this photo doesn't do the wind and seas justice—it was really blowing!!
This passing iceberg was getting battered by the seas. It gives you a little better sense of the conditions.
It was snowing lightly last night and I expected this to be just that, some snow on the rail. I was wrong. It was ice and was rock hard. No brushing this stuff off! I suspect it could be there for days as we continue southward.
Like the rail, this looks like snow, but is rock-hard ice. The floor of my balcony was the same, and it was slippery! Oh well, I don't think I'll be spending much time on the balcony anyway!
I'm fully dressed for the conditions! Not to worry—there's a smile under it all!