Day at Sea

The predicted storm and rough weather have caught up with us. We need to be careful, the doors to the outside are closed.

Today is a day at sea and our last excursion tomorrow the Antipodes Islands. We have had our last bio-security check. This has been well managed and not as much of a hassle is I had expected. They are very well organized, we take all the external clothing we wore including our boots and our life preserver. These are checked for seeds and any organic material. Even the inside of our jackets pockets are checked. Using a vacuum cleaner zips and Velcro are cleaned. The team of naturalists work really quickly and it takes no more than a few minutes, we sign off that this is done and go back to our rooms. I have learned that if I keep things to a minimum and make the most use of pockets or don't need to carry a backpack, this shortens the bio security check.

This process is relatively easy for us. However, we have heard of one passenger who is in a wheelchair. It is therefore a much more complex operation to get her off the ship. The crew manage it so well. The chair is put through a full biosecurity check, it is taken to the beach by zodiac and then she is taken across, carried to the chair enabling to sit on the beach and watch everything that was going on that we saw. The elephant seals, Royal penguins, king penguins, gentoos if she was lucky and various other birds. What an achievement for everybody.

Despite having one day at sea, we were fully occupied for the day. Several lectures, one on bird flu and a second on mega herbs, still not sure why they are called this. Lunch a special dessert is made for me. The evening is as usual after dinner digestive and music. Our Ukrainian pianist Vlodomir is really good and has a great sense of humour, Bob tries to get him to play more slowly, it has become a running joke with him. We relax and enjoy a cognac, a pleasant evening with only a few other guestsLæs mere