Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Hi all! Today is our last day exploring the Antarctic Peninsula. We are very sad! I won’t know what to do without icebergs floating by! The plan was to get to Elephant Island called that because the shape is similar to an elephant as well as all the elephant seals on the island. But we weren’t supposed to get there until about 1 PM so we went to listen to the speakers again in the morning.
Like I said I learn so much from them. We learned that Elephant Island was actually charted by the Russians in 1821. The explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew of the Endurance took refuge on this island in 1916 and all survived. There is a historical site there called the Endurance Memorial Site. We also learned that elephant seals are called that due to their large hanging noses that resemble an elephant’s trunk and they’re known for making loud, roaring noises, particularly during mating season.
After the speakers we went to lunch. That’s where we got the bad news that we’d have to skip Elephant Island due to the high winds and large icebergs surrounding it. I did capture a picture of the glacier on one side of it but we didn’t get to go around to see where Shackleton landed.
In the afternoon we played trivia and went to hear about the dancers on the ship and their backgrounds. They are all so young! But they love dancing on cruise ships, especially this one, since they only have 4 shows and it’s a 22 day cruise so they have plenty of time to enjoy the ship and it’s excursions. What a life!
After a little siesta we had another great dinner and afterwards listened to our two favorite piano players and made it an early night.
So now we’re crossing back over the Drake Passage (all prayers are welcomed!) on our way to the Falkland Islands. It will take us a day and a half to get there so tomorrow will be a sea day. Hope everyone had a great day! Hope to be able to post pictures soon!!
The Wandering Italian 