twangster

There have been a couple of questions about my camera kit. We have a few sea days coming up. I post about it on a sea day. Right now there are many photos to go through.

Pretty much live as we sail into St Andrews Bay.

Day 9 Chronicle: 27 DEC - St Andrews and Gold Harbour South Georgia.pdf

Day Nine - St Andrews Bay and Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island Position report: From the bridge cam channel:

We had a beautiful clear evening so I popped outside occasionally to capture some photos after sunset. How often will you get a chance to see Grytviken at night? As much of a sunset as we'll get today:

We are spending the night at anchor at Grytviken. There no sense having the bridge team work all night dodging icebergs at slow speed. Later in the evening I went topside. I spotted several icebergs and... a cruise ship. Silver Cloud I presume. Only had my phone with me so no good pics.

Short briefing just as we got back on the ship. Two stops tomorrow, both zodiac tours only, no landings. St Andrews Bay in the morning. Gold Harbor in the afternoon.

The post office also has a store where you can buy postcards and mail them. This was immensely popular and crowded. Time to head back to the ship. What a beautiful day! Looks like we did get some snow. Not a bad view as I sit here working on this post.

Gallery: The museum:

The Whaler's church: You are allowed to ring the bells. A restored residence hall for the workers:

What a glorious day. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change. We start with a 15 minute guided walk with lots of historical information about the whaling station. This elephant seal wanted to play.

Next stop the museum. The old whaling station was very clear now. Maybe being in the last group was a good thing today. Since the whaling station is closed we had a short zodiac ride over to the museum. While we waited... Looks like it's hungry. Christmas tree or snowman on the bow of the zodiac?

Soon enough it was my group's time. The weather was looking much better. Wait... a crew member handing out whiskey? The tradition is to share a toast over Shackleton's grave. Crew members were available to stand in if you were alone. They enjoyed their job today.

We arrived at Grytviken in a snow storm. Soon the first group was called. I could make out structures in the distance. The Silversea highway of humans visiting Shackleton's grave. Then it started to clear a bit more.

Leaving Fortuna Bay was also a treat. The scenery looked much better in person, these photos don't do it justice. On a beach I spotted a large number of King penguins. All around us seals and penguins were jumping in the water. Many birds were flying around as well like this Imperial Cormorant. Just as I was ready to come in off the balcony a massive tidewater glacier appeared. Then in the snow it began to fade.

Pretty sure I saw you sail past as we remain at anchor at Grytviken. Iceberg, iceberg. Wait, that's a cruise ship,

Shackleton's 1916 route across South Georgia. He too visited Fortuna Bay and Grytviken. Folks from Grytviken came onboard upon our arrival and gave a short talk.

Our zodiac ride from the ship at anchor and the walk to the colony.

Back to the beach. These guys can sometimes show some aggression but our guides deal with them. Ready for some more cute pup pics? There is our smiling assistant excursion team leader to help us back on the zodiacs. Despite the snow it was very beautiful.

It was time to walk back to the landing site but a few more photos along the way. Pups everywhere.

A short time later we come to the King penguin colony. Various stages of molting. Penguins as far as you can see.

Hours later the weather had changed and it was snowing pretty good. Finally our group number was called. We leave our life jackets with the excursion team and head up the path to meet a guide who will escort us to the penguin colony. These little guys were watching us from a few feet away. Like the penguins we join the Silversea highway and make off across the tundra. Everywhere around us are penguins and fur seals.

My departure was at 9:30am so I had some time to wander the ship and get ready. I could see a penguin highway starting to get busy in the distance. Looks like kayaking is a go. The first group was called and off they went. Weather was starting to move in. Kayakers doing kayaky things.

The order of the groups has me last today resulting in a more leisurely morning. Yesterday in the first grouping made for a rushed breakfast. Apparently there was some drama recovering the zodiac tours when that snow arrived yesterday. That storm also brought 40 knot winds and it was difficult to move guests from the zodiacs to the ship. The ship had to reposition and another attempt was made. Guests were stuck on the zodiacs briefly where they broke out the cold weather emergency kit and passed out hand warmers. They also have a routine which includes exercise to keep the blood moving. Eventually everyone was brought back on board safely. I missed all this drama being in the first grouping yesterday. It goes to show you should always prepare for the worst and fully dress out despite what the weather looks like outside the window. Time for some breakfast.