57° 09.107’ S Latitude, Heading to South Georgia Island
This morning found us enjoying the relaxation that a holiday and a day at sea can bring. Small parades of sea birds followed our ship as we cut through the open ocean. No football games to watch here today, but plenty of wrestling with our digital images from the previous days to decide which of the hundreds (1000’s?) of photos we will keep or delete.
We are following in Shackleton’s path from Elephant Island where we were yesterday morning, to South Georgia Island where we will arrive tomorrow. Eduardo Shaw told us the astonishing story of Shakleton’s expedition to Antarctica in the ship Endurance. The miraculous travels that they made through sea and ice in open boats made us shake our heads in disbelief, and feel that much more thankful for our cozy home, National Geographic Explorer.
Late in the afternoon, we were treated to a jazz trumpet concert by fellow passenger Ron Helman. As he shared his talents with us, the ship rocked us lazily in our seats and the albatrosses and petrels glided by the windows. At dinner time, the galley did not disappoint. Turkey with all the fixings was on the menu, as well as pumpkin pie. Overeat? Again? We’ll never tell.
Although we may be far from home, those of us from the U.S. were not able to forget that today is Thanksgiving Day. This week we have many things for which to be thankful. We are thankful, of course, just for the privilege of being here. The White Continent is a place like no other and one that relatively few people will ever visit. But then, to be there with mostly fine weather and calm seas we are even more grateful. We are thankful for friends (both new and old) with whom to share these adventures. And equally thankful for the friends and family at home who may or may not understand our need to travel but encourage us to do so anyway, and enthusiastically listen to our stories upon return.
