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Saturday, February 28, 2009
Feb 26
Today is February 26, 2009. Today is a full day at sea. These days can be a little boring for me, but I also get time to catch up on schoolwork. We also have a lot of presentations, which are mostly very interesting.
Today I didn’t really do anything until lunch. That was when I got up and was ready to start the day (sea days are also great for catching up on sleep!). After lunch I went to go see the movie: March of the Penguins. It was a good film.
I learned from the movie that there are fewer male emperor penguins than females. The males have to spend the cold winter huddled together far from the sea for about 2 months while they incubate the eggs from their partners. They go without food for about 4 months. As soon as the females come back to the see the newly hatched penguins have a reunion then the males hurry off to the sea. This is probably why there are fewer males then females because the males are so hungry some of them don’t survive the walk back out to the sea.
For the next couple of months while the chick is still growing the parents will commute from feeding the chick to going out to fish in the sea. The walk to the waters edge becomes a smaller and smaller distance each time because it is summer and the pack ice is melting.
After the film it was tea time. I took a few cookies and went back up to my room to work on some math and science schoolwork. About 2 hours later the video expert on the boat gave a preview of the film of the trip we are making to the Antarctic. I only saw myself once, but my dad was in it three times.
He also showed us some of the equipment he is using for the movie. There is a special microphone that is really fluffy and the penguins think that is food, and he says that they are always pecking at it. Also he has this pad for the video camera that he uses. He puts it down on a surface and puts the camera on top of it and it holds the camera still. He went through two cameras on this trip so far! One died on him while were in South Georgia, so one of his friends lent him there camera… or something like that. He said that maybe the cold affected it somehow. Also the batteries of the camera get used up in a colder place much faster than a warmer place. He always carries extra batteries for his camera just in case. He knows everything about videos.
After the presentation I went down stairs to have some dinner. Then I did a little more schoolwork and then I went to sleep. That was it for today.
Bye for now,
Emily
Feb 25
Today is February 25, 2009. This is my last day in South Georgia. Then the boat will be out at sea for four days. They will be playing a lot of movies during that day. Even “Happy Feet.” They also are going to play “March of the Penguins.” I’m also planning to interview a couple of the scientists on board for my science projects. So the sea days won’t be that bad.
I slept through breakfast today. I went straight to Grytviken. That is where Shackleton’s grave is. We toasted to Shackleton and then went to the museum that was down towards the old whaling station. Next to the museum there is a gift shop. I got a poster of one of Shackleton’s crew holding up puppies. I also got a jacket and a hat. The hat has little penguins on it. I also mailed two postcards. It was funny because at the front of the museum there was a little post box to put your mail into.
After I sent all my letters I went back to the boat. We had lunch after all the other people got on board. After lunch my dad and I went up to the bridge to see what was happening. Only the captain was up there. The winds were really strong. They were about 110 knots (and 60 knots is hurricane force). The captain doubted that we were going to be able to land today.
But lucky enough, once we reached the protected shore, the wind wasn’t blowing too hard to launch the zodiacs so we got to go to shore after all. The landing point was called Stromness, which used to be a whaling station. That was where Shackleton did his last leg of his trip of crossing South Georgia, arriving at the safety of Stromness. We got to walk up a few miles to where Shackleton and his men climbed down a frozen waterfall. It was cool to see.
After the landing we went back to the boat, ate and then went to see a recap of South Georgia. After that I went to bed. I had a good day.
Bye for now,
Emily
Feb 24
Today is February 24, 2009. We are making three stops today. They are at Prion Island, Hercules Bay, and Grytviken. I heard that the day was going to be very beautiful.
Today I skipped breakfast and woke right before our excursion to Prion Island. At Prion Island they have a lot of nesting wandering albatross. They are the largest flying birds in the world and also have the largest wingspan - up to 12 feet from wing tip to wing tip. They are mostly white. As they mature they turn snow white. They have black on their wings when they are younger. I saw an albatross that was almost snow white! He is older than I am! Albatross’s can live till they are well over 50. They spend almost their entire lives at sea – flying for hours or days at a time – and come ashore only to have chicks. They are amazing birds.
After we looked around a bit we went back to the shore of the island. A little fur seal jumped in my lap! He was very cute. Pete gave us a little zodiac cruise. He took us through a bunch of rocks to see different birds and things. Once he dropped all the people off at the boat, he let me drive the zodiac.
I got to drive through all the rocks too, to practice my maneuvering skills. It wasn’t that hard to move through the rocks. He then took me to a little cave. It was really neat. I got to drive the captain of our ship back to the boat. He had decided to make a landing and I got to drive him back. I was a little nervous. But he said I did a great job.
I then headed back to the boat I had a good morning. After lunch we were going to go to Hercules Bay. We couldn’t land though because of the hurricane force winds. Instead we went to a place were there was 25,000 fur seal pups. We sat down with about 1,000 of them. Every now and then about 200 pups would come rushing onto the shore from the water. It was funny to watch so many little seal puppies.
We sat down with them for about an hour and a half. They were very playful. Once we got back to the boat my dad and I went to the lounge to play yahtzee. It was fun because Mary (our 92 year old friend from the boat) came down to play with us too. We played until the recap started. Once the recap of the day was finished it was time for dinner. I had a good day.
Bye for now,
Emily
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Feb 23
Today is February 23, 2009. We are going to make three landings today. One is right before breakfast and one is right after breakfast and the third is right after lunch. I am excited for the landings, because on the second landing there is a nice hike you can do.
Today we had a 6:00 wakeup call. Everyone was going to the landing, but the winds were too strong. They were hurricane force. It was too much for the zodiacs to handle – they can flip in high winds. So I fell back to sleep till breakfast. Right after breakfast we pulled into Godthul.
In Godthul there are wonderful places to hike. We took one there that went right up a steep hill through the tussock grass (which is strong and you can hold on to it). It was a little muddy, but it was fine. There was a lake on the other side of the hill. It was very wonderful. We walked up to a waterfall to take some pictures. South Georgia is WAY different from Antarctica – where it is so cold that no plant life can grow. During the hike, one man climbed up a HUGE rock. It was very tall and steep. My dad took pictures of him for him. I imagine that it was very windy up on the rock.
When we headed back down to the landing site the winds had really picked up. There were almost 100 knots! Stephanie (one of the staff members) was yelling, “Please come back to the zodiacs NOW! This is an emergency! The winds have picked up and you have to leave now!”
On the zodiac ride back to the ship, I was nearly soaked to death. Everything on me was drenched in water. My hair was soaked. The whole ride it seemed like the zodiac was going to tip over. It was really fun though. If I could, I would have gone again. It was like a roller coaster. It was the best part of my day. Throughout the Antarctic region (which South Georgia is also a part of), you really learn to have a lot of respect for nature - as the weather can turn so quickly and so violently, that it can quickly kill you if you’re not always prepared.
Once everyone had dried off it was time to go to lunch. After lunch we went to Jason Harbour. My dad and I walked around and sat down with some baby seals. They were all up in our faces sniffing at us and biting at our boots. When some big ones came along we would clap at them, so they back off. We had a nice time.
We walked down the beach a ways and came back through this marshy muddy land. That is where I met Sarah. We picked up Sarah and her dad from another boat during the day. Her dad is running some type of lecture series that is going to happen during the sea days while we cross the southern Atlantic Ocean on our way to Tristan de Cunha. I think that my dad said that he is from the Aspen Institute. Sarah is 12 and in the 8th grade. She is nice. I am glad to possibly have a friend that is about my age. Until today, I was the only kid on the ship.
We came back to the boat and had dinner. After dinner people from a different boat of the same company as ours – National Geographic - came over for a cocktail party. It went on till about 1:00am. A lot of people got drunk.
Bye for now,
Emily
Feb 22
Today is February 22, 2009. Today we are going to make 2 landings. There was an optional landing at 5:30am, but I decided that I didn’t want to go – my dad had a great time, though. We had breakfast, and then we zoomed off for Gold Harbour. There were a bunch of fur seals there, and a ton of king penguins. There were about 100,000! I couldn’t believe it. That was only one colony too.
Some baby fur seals were sleeping farther up the beach. My dad and I decided to go sit next to them. They were so cute. They have really big round eyes, that aren’t just for looking at and saying, how cute!!! They are used to see better at great depths under the water. They dive really far under the water – sometimes over 1000 feet deep, where it is mostly pitch black. They use their big eyes to see more clearly.
The king penguins are pretty big. They are about as tall as my hips. They are said to be very curious. They aren’t really that curious to me though – I’ve found that the gentoo babies are much more curious then the king penguins.
After about an hour on the beach we took a zodiac cruise. The man driving the boat is the best driver here. His name is Pete. I always love it when he is my zodiac driver. Once the cruise was done all the people got out of the boat including my dad - except me. I was going to drive the zodiac back to the beach! Now we had to shuttle people from the beach to the boat. It was great fun. On the way back from the boat when all the passengers were off I would take the boat and go driving off. I did that about 10 times. I drove the boat until everyone was off the shore.
After all the people were on the boat again we had lunch. We had a two-hour motor until we reached St. Andrews Bay. There was going to be even more king penguins there! St. Andrews Bay is where the fourth biggest king penguin colony in the world is! There is about half a million king penguins there! That is a lot of penguins.
My dad and I walked down the beach a little bit and sat down. Some penguins came walking up, and we sat with them for about an hour – just a few thousand king and us penguin friends. Then we walked back up to the beach. A penguin that had just finished molting was following us. Whenever we turned around we would see him and he would stop with us. It went on like this for a quarter of a mile. Then he finally pecked at me and walked away. It was funny because he walked all that way, pecked me and went on his way. It was like someone dared him to peck me!
I got to drive the zodiac again when I went over to the landing site. It was there when I made my first passenger trip. There were 10 passengers on the boat that I was driving. I felt a little sorry for them because I wouldn’t want an 11 year old driving me around in high winds and big waves. That was the first time I had ever used reverse. I was a little scared. After a minute or so I got used to it. Then I went back to the shore. It ended up that they didn’t need me onshore so I came back to the boat. That time I did a perfect landing. All the crew was saying good job – even the captain of the ship radioed down that he was impressed with my driving.
I then had dinner and went to bed. I had a good day.
Bye,
Emily
Monday, February 23, 2009
Feb 21
Today is February 21, 2009. Today we had a late breakfast. Then we got to empty all the dirt in our backpacks in the mud room – this is because we are now at South Georgia and they don’t want any seeds or insects introduced on the island. Half an hour later Stephanie, who is a whale and seal scientist working on our boat, gave a lecture on seals. She talked mostly about the fur seals, since we were going to see a lot of them that afternoon.
Fur seal babies are mostly black. They are very tiny. The males are very aggressive. Even the pups are. It is really funny because a pup will run up charging you, but when it gets close to you it will run away in the other direction. Fur seals aren’t “true” seals - they are like sea lions because they have little ear flaps and can support their weight on their front flippers. True seals don’t have those little flaps and can’t “walk” on their flippers.
Once lunch was over it was a five-hour ride until we got to South Georgia. On our way there a little bird flew on deck. It was a young diving petrel. It was attracted to the boat’s light last night. One of the workers had just found it. We brought it outside and let it go. It was fun to see.
At five we arrived at Cooper Bay, South Georgia. There were thousands of fur seals there. It was amazing to see so many. My dad and I took a little hike up the mountain. All the little pups would come running down, breath on us, and then run away. It was really funny. If the seals didn’t run off you would clap your hands really loudly and they would run away. They do that because that is the sound that a beach master would make when it was coming by. All the seals knew they weren’t the beach master would run away.
When we got back on the boat we had dinner, then went to sleep. I had a nice refreshing day – it was really good to get off the ship after two long days at sea. Today at South Georgia was amazing. I hope all the days here are like this.
Bye for now,
Emily
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Feb 20
Today is February 20, 2009. Today is another all boat day. These days can either be boring or really fun. Today was a little boring. I woke up to have breakfast, and then fell back asleep. I woke up to have lunch. Then I went to this movie called “Encounters at the End of the World.” It was a very interesting movie. This man named Werner Herzog talked to different specialists in Antarctica about what they do and why they are here (in Antarctica). One man said that one day, man will be extinct. He said that we will all die off like the dinosaurs. That is a little scary to think about.
Then we had a slide show of people’s pictures on the boat. The professional photographers made suggestion for everyone’s pictures – one of whom was the Director of Photography of National Geographic Magazine for 10 years, so it was a little intimidating. They really liked mine. I had a shot of baby penguins walking, a penguin bighting at my dad’s shirt, and a seal lying in the sun. “They were all good photos,” they said. I was very proud of myself. I don’t really take that many photos. Also, I think they really liked my dad’s photos – the National Geographic guy said that one of his photos “did something that I can’t do”, which he said was the highest compliment he gives.
Then everyone headed for dinner. For an update on my brother, sister, mom, and grandma: they got off their original boat. They are now on a different boat and are about a day away from Ushuaia where they are going to fly home. I am glad that they are okay.
Bye for now,
Emily
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Feb 19
Today is a boat day. It is Feb. 19, 2009 and we aren’t leaving the boat today. It will be like this for a couple of days starting with today, as we are now on our way to South Georgia across the Scotia Sea from the Antarctic Peninsula. I woke up at 8:00 to eat breakfast. Then went to go see a movie about the early explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew and how they survived in Antarctica after being shipwrecked here for over a year. I also read a book about them during the past week, and it is the most incredible story of survival I have ever heard, made all the more real by actually being here and experiencing just a few minutes at a time some of the things they endured for months at a time. After their ship was trapped in ice and they spent over a year floating on the pack ice over the ocean, Shackleton’s crew took to the ocean in three small wooden lifeboats landing on Elephant Island where they were then stuck for four months on the tiniest point of land exposed to the open ocean. They were trapped there until Shackleton came back to rescue them. Shackleton and five other men left with him from Elephant Island and navigated across 800 miles of the roughest seas in the world (where I am now) eventually arriving at South Georgia where there was a whaling station, which could send a rescue expedition. But first, they still had to cross a mountain range on foot after arriving at South Georgia - they tried three times and then made it. No one died on their adventure. Shackleton was very happy.
We had lunch, and then went to a lecture about “The Ice.” Jason (one of the staff members) talked about how Antarctica got here and about the glaciers. It was very fascinating. The snow never melts in Antarctica. It just piles and piles. Antarctica is just like a big desert. It is very dry, and has very little moisture. But, because the snow that does fall never melts, over thousands and thousands of years it has created an ice cap that makes Antarctica the highest continent on Earth by far. The ice cap on Antarctica averages up to two and a half MILES DEEP across the entire continent.
Around teatime we arrived at Elephant Island. The waves were too big to go to the island, so ship just pulled up near the island. It was neat to see. The last time I came to Antarctica I got to land on Elephant Island right were Shakleton’s crew was trapped – it’s named Point Wild after the leader of the 21 men who stayed behind. I saw the monument that was on the island. It was amazing to think that men survived here for four months.
Then we had a recap of our trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, which we have now left. The diving specialist showed us the videos he made - all of the underwater animals and plant life (which is the only place there is plant life in Antarctica). He also showed us the penguins diving into the water. It was funny to see all the penguins all jumbled up next to each other. It was fun to watch.
Bye for now,
Emily
Friday, February 20, 2009
PHOTOS!!!!
If you want to see some photos of me in Antarctica, follow these links:
(copy the whole link as one long word with no spaces into your browser address bar)
Antarctica #1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159689&id=1376363808&l=e7d60
Antarctica #2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159775&id=1376363808&l=302ab
Feb 18
Today is Wednesday, February 18, 2009. It is the 6th day on the boat. I woke up at 6:45 to go on an excursion. We left at 7:00 to go to Mikkelson Harbor. We walked around trying to find a good spot to sit down next to some penguins. We didn’t want to disturb them, so we had to find a good spot. There were a lot of fur seals in that area. They are a little aggressive, so we had to keep our distance away from them.
We found a nice little hill where the wind was blocked a little bit. We laid down and were very still so the baby penguins would come over and check us out. After a little while one of the brave little penguins came over and started to bite at us. Slowly they all came over to us. They started pecking at our jackets, jumping in our laps and over all being curious.
Every so often a skua would fly over our heads and all the little penguins would run back to their parents. They would do that because skuas eat baby penguins and penguin eggs. They were scared they would get eaten and die. They hate skuas. One time one of the baby penguins was standing on my chest while I was lying down and it saw a skua, so it ran across my face and back to its mom! It hurt a little bit. Before the penguin ran across my face all the other penguins looked up at one time and saw the skua coming and ran away.
After a while of sitting there we decided to head back to the boat. We had a lovely time and were ready to go back. At the boat they were serving brunch. Everyone had missed breakfast to go on the excursion.
Jason did a lecture on plate tectonics at 2:00, so I went to that. It was interesting in many ways. I learned that the magnetic pole changes every 500,000 years from North to South. That is pretty remarkable. He also talked about the plates of the earth and how there are 12 large plates and 20 small plates. I never knew that.
Then there was hot dogs and beer on the Aft deck. I didn’t have the beer though. We had the hot dogs because we were about to land on Deception Island. I got to drive the zodiac to Deception Island. It was my very first beach landing. It was a little hard. Once we landed on Deception Island my dad and I had a good walk. We walked up to a point on the island where you can see both sides of the island. That point is called Neptune’s Window. It was a good hike.
About an hour from coming back on the boat everyone was going to go to the beach and swim in the ice cold water. It was so cold. I was in and out. Some people stayed in for a long time. I laid down in the water for about a second or two then headed back out. I was freezing. I am never going to do that again.
Once everyone got in we headed back. I was glad to take a nice hot shower when I got back. I ate dinner and fell fast asleep. I was well worn out. I went to bed thinking of my mom, brother, sister, and grandma. Thinking if they were all right or not. I will just have to wait and see. Bye!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Feb 17
Today is February 17, 2009. It is the 5th day on the boat. I woke up early this morning to go on an excursion. I woke up at six thirty. I ate breakfast and went to Goudier. That is where a British Base is. I saw some little penguins and they bit at my fingers. They were very cute.
Then we headed to the island right next the base called Jougla Pt. My dad and I walked over to the water where the penguins were coming and leaving from. It was neat to watch the penguins fly from the water. They are incredible swimmers and they swim so fast that sometimes they jump their whole bodies out of the water so they can go even faster. There is less resistance in the air than in the water, which is why they jump out. This is called porpoising when they jump.
Next, I got to drive the zodiac around some more, then headed back to the boat. Once I was back I had some lunch. The lunch was good. About two hours after lunch we were going to go to Neko Harbour. The winds were too strong though. They were hurricane force winds – over 100 knots. Knots is a boating term and means nautical miles, which is a little longer than a regular mile, so 100 knots is like 110 miles per hour. We left the area and ended going to Brown’s Station. That was on Antarctica – all our previous landings had been on islands. I touched the ground of Antarctica and was ready to go on a zodiac cruise.
When everyone was getting on the zodiac a man fell and cut his fore head. It looked like it had hurt. We drove him back to the ship and started our cruise. On the cruise we saw a baby wandering albatross that was almost grown-up. It had about a week left. We also went around and looked at all the ice. It was cool to see all the different patterns in the ice. We also went to go see a huge glacier. It was so big that it was almost all around us. It was everywhere except behind us. The glacier front, which is the part that creates icebergs when they fall off due to gravity, was over six miles long.
Once everyone was done taking pictures of the glacier we went to go see a leopard seal. There were two seals on an iceberg. One left though. They eat penguins and have really big teeth and are really scary looking. We got some good pictures and then headed for the boat.
We went to the lounge when we got on the boat. We had a couple drinks and played some cards then listened to the recap. My mom and my brother Andrew and sister Claira are all on a different boat in Antarctica – long story, but my trip with my dad was planned several months ago, and my mom’s trip just a few weeks ago because they are going as guests of the company and almost for free. Well, while we were playing cards the expedition leader of our trip and the captain of our ship both came and told us that my mom’s boat was stuck on a rock! There were hurricane force winds and their boat was pushed on the rock! They are now stuck. I feel really sorry for them. I hope they make it back in the ocean all right and that there is no hole in their boat. I will just have to wait and see. It is actually a very dangerous situation and 3 other boats and the Navy from Argentina and from Chile have all gone to try and help them.
After the recap I went to dinner then off to bed. I had a good day with many surprises. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I hope my mom and brother and sister are safe.
Bye for now,
Emily
--- It is now the afternoon on the 18th and I have great news - my mom and brother and sister are all safe on a rescue ship!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Feb 16
Today is Feb. 16, 09. It is the 4th day on the boat. Breakfast was served a little earlier today. That was because we were making a landing at 8:30. We were landing at Cuverville Island. My dad and I were going to go on a hike with some other people.
When we started the hike it was on rocks. After a little bit it became ice. It was a lot easier. The mountain got really steep too. So steep that the doctor said that is should wait where I was. I got really bored so my Dad and I decided to sled down the hill on our butts. It was really fun. I went really fast because I was lying down. I was like a rocket. I went down about five times.
As my dad and I were coming down the mountain two of the staff members came down with us. When we were going down the rocky way we went a different way. It was down a steep little pathway. The little hill had a bunch of loose rocks and it was hard to get down. But I made it.
After I came down I went to the boat. At the boat I had lunch. As I was finishing lunch I went outside and looked at all the ice and the whales. There were a bunch of humpbacks. There was a mom and it’s calf. The whales came up right next to the boat. Their heads came out of the water and it was really cool to watch.
After an hour of watching I had dinner. Right after dinner we had another excursion. It started at 6:30. My dad decided not to come on this one because he wasn’t feeling good. When I got to the island I got bored because I didn’t want to go on the hike. So I decided to learn how to drive a zodiac. It was real easy. It was just like an electric scooter, but you turn by moving the stick that is attached to the motor. It was very fun.
After an hour and a half of driving the zodiac I went back to the boat. I went straight to bed when I got back because it was 11:00, and I was tired. That was the end of the 4th day on the boat.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Feb 15
Today is the third day on the “Explorer.” Everything is going great. We are supposed to finish going through the Drake Passage. I am really excited because we might be able to land on an island today! I can’t wait.
When I woke up this morning I took a shower and headed down for breakfast. The breakfast was very good this morning. My dad started talking to this woman and they went on for hours, so I decided to go to the bridge. When I came back down to go to my cabin I noticed that he was still talking to the lady. I went to the cabin without him.
About an hour my dad came back to the cabin. I asked him where he had been. He said,“ I went to the meeting about Antarctica. That’s what took me so long.”
I had wanted to go to the meeting too. I missed it waiting for him. About ten min. after the meeting there was another one. Everyone had to go to this one because the expedition leader was going to tell the rules about Antarctica. I went to that one. It was really boring because I knew everything already.
By lunch time I could see the land. I got real excited because we were going to land in a couple of hours. At 2:00 it was time to go to the shore. I got my entire equipment ready and headed out. I got in the first zodiac. Once I reached the shore I got out and looked around. I could only see gentoo penguins. But as I headed up the little slop I saw chinstrap penguins. My dad and I sat down at the top of the slop. A few penguins came really close to us. It was neat to be that close to a penguin. A little latter I was getting cold, so we decided to head down the hill for a little bit more protection from the wind. We sat down the slope a little more. Now the wind wasn’t blowing as hard. A few more penguins came close to us. They bit at my boot a little, but that’s it.
While we were sitting down one of the staff members came over to us. He was holding a dead penguin's wings. I touched it and it felt a little bristle. Nothing like I would imagine. It was a little soft though. While I was sitting down a penguin pooped on me! It was very gross.
My dad decided to sit near the ocean. While we were sitting there a penguin jumped up and sat in my lap! He was really cute. Penguins behind, in front, and next to me were all pecking at me. They all thought I had food and were trying to get it from me. It got annoying after a while. We went back to the boat after that. I took a shower and relaxed for a little bit.
I hung out in my cabin tell dinner. My dad was feeling sick and didn’t go to dinner, so I had to go by myself. We also missed the recap in the lounge. When I sat down for dinner a staff member named Stephanie sat down too. We talked and she said that I might be able to drive a zodiac and the ship! I got excited when she said that. I couldn’t believe it.
As I headed back to the cabin I brought some food to my dad. He was very grateful. I watched a movie then headed to bed. I had an adventures day. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Feb 14
Today is the second day upon the Explorer. (the boat)I woke up at around eight. It was Valentines Day! The 14th, Sat. As I woke up I noticed that I couldn’t see any land. I started to wonder why, until I realized that the “Explorer” was in the Drake Passage!
I was a little scared, but I soon got use to it. The waves were only about 15 feet! They were really small. I was really glad.
So I headed down for breakfast. It was a nice and quiet morning. Nothing much happening. I ate then headed to the lounge. It was time for the “Introduction to our Expedition Team” and it started in about 20 min. All the staff introduced themselves and I had a good time. My dad and I stayed a little latter and played some cards. Nothing that exciting.
When we finished playing cards we head caught up on some Zsss. Then when I woke up I started to do a little homework. It was a little boring.
After that I went to the Bridge of the boat. It was really cool up there. There was a staff member up there. That was the only person up there. All the navigation things were pretty neat. There are buttons for an emergency, buttons for the direct coarse of the boat. They have everything up there. It was fun to see.
I then headed for tea. They served cookies and lemon cake down in the Bistro. I took a few cookies and went back up to my cabin. The cookies were little peanut butter. They tasted really good. I also took a cup of tea. It was really good.
About an hour after teatime I went to a lecture about making good photos. It was cool because the person showing the photos used to be the person who picked and shot the photos for National Geographic magazine. His pictures were amazing.
At 7:30 they served dinner. I got the special order of stake. They only gave it to me because all the things I couldn’t or didn’t want on the menu. The stake was really good. Everyone got a special dessert because it was Valentines Day. It was lemon sherbet with a chocolate heart on top. It was very good. After dinner I went to sleep. I had a nice day.
Bye for now,
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