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- Day 19
- Friday, February 7, 2025
- ☁️ 4 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsBlock Lake54°9’37” S 36°42’37” W
"Optimism is true moral courage"- E.S.

We woke this morning to another change of plans. We were lucky that another ship, that was moored in this harbour, chose to leave (perhaps to beat the storm we are sitting out). This provided an opening for us to visit Stromness Whaling Station. As one of seven on the Islands, its infamy comes from Ernest Shackleton.
Ernest Shackleton was born in County Kildare, Ireland. He led multiple expeditions to Antarctica. He is famous for his 1914 voyage on the Endurance, that was interupted when his ship became icebound. He and his crew survived 5 months on the ice! This epic tale is considered by some, the greatest survival story of all time? (Who they are? I am not sure, but documentary, book and movie trailers state this repeatedly).
A quick look at the importance of Stromness to the Ernest Shackleton story. This 4 minute youtube exquisitely shows this area and whaling station (a slightly drier version than my pictures above show) and gives a brief history of its relevance to Shackleton.
https://youtu.be/j33yiua6ykc?si=yq0Gieb3lHufRYeN
For a more indepth look at the incredible survival story, here is a link to the trailer for the National Geographic Documentary, to pique your interest.
https://films.nationalgeographic.com/endurance
Further, you can checkout another look at Shackleton, where Tim Jarvis recreates the famous journey in a three part Netflix series: Chasing Shackleton. This November 2024 series seems to only be available, so far, on UK netflix and perhaps US version. Still available on PBS. Canadians will have to be patient.
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/chasing-shackleton
Finally, there are many books about “The Boss” and his leadership, courage and fortitude. I have been told by the expedition team that Albert Lansing “Endurance” is the best book to read. (Presently, next in cue on my Kindle).
Turns out our expedition time today ended with our trip to Stromness. The original plan was to go to Fortuna Bay to have a beach landing and see a King Penguin colony. Seas are once again too rough, so a cruise along the shore line with narration from the bridge will be the feature and of course Team Trivia. Sadly, my team continues to be DFL! We need to study flags, fobias and musicals!!!
I may update this later, should anything unexpectedly exciting happen!Read more
TravelerThank you for a very interesting read, your efforts are much appreciated!