Monday Aug 7, 2023
Hi Folks. OH MY GOD!! (I had to spell it out for the full effect!). Today we did two expedition excursions (our first ever!) and they were both amazing! I can now officially say we are “Bi-Polar” (with no drugs needed!). We did the South Pole to Antarctica this past January and now we’ve done the North Pole! Both of the “poles” are incredible.
Our first expedition we went out in the Zodiac boat and drove up very close to the glacier. This glacier was 17 miles wide! And it had several “cave” looking areas where the ice is melted and a sort of river flows thru it. We also saw and heard some “calving” which is when big chunks of the glacier crack and fall into the sea and create icebergs. There were also birds everywhere and it was incredible to hear the story of the Arctic Turn bird that flies all the way from here to Antarctica! That’s far!
The second expedition in the afternoon was even more amazing as we got on to land! We landed on the area called Gnalodden. The most striking feature of Gnalodden is a massive bird cliff called Gnalberget mountain where thousands of seabirds nest. There are mainly three bird species there, the black legged kitty wake, the Brunnich’s guillemont and the Northern Fulmar. It was a little misty up near the top of the cliff which made it even more mysterious looking. We really felt like we were walking on the lunar surface. Just like being in another world… so cool! We officially now feel like we are “expedition” people and are now ready to do Antarctica again but this time on an expedition ship!
After the expedition we did afternoon tea then went back to get ready for the evening events. We went to a debrief on today’s exhibitions as well as where we’ll go tomorrow. We attended the Captain’s Gala and met the Captain and all the officers. Then had dinner and played trivia.
It was a fun and exciting day! Tomorrow we have another expedition! Hope everyone had a great Monday!
PS: The internet has been spotty so I’m posting just the text portion first and then will try to post pictures later.
The Wandering Italian 