Day 7-10 Journey to South Georgia
There would be four days of sailing to South Georgia.
Day 7 (Sailing, Elephant Island)
The ship was set to sail alongside the tabular iceberg A-68a in the early morning before heading towards Elephant Island.
~5:30a.m: It was very cold on the deck and the faint line of the A-68a was visible under the grayish sky. It measured 5,800 square km when it broke off the the Larsen ice field in 2017.
It is about twice the size of Luxembourg, but in the form of a colossal mass of ice. While from afar it simply looked like an 'endless' block of ice, I still paced the deck to trying to get a nice photo of it. The outside deck was covered with a thin sheet of 'snow' and I discovered that they were blown from the surface of the iceberg onto the ship, and weren't simply bits of snowflake. 😲
It is about twice the size of Luxembourg, but in the form of a colossal mass of ice. While from afar it simply looked like an 'endless' block of ice, I still paced the deck to trying to get a nice photo of it. The outside deck was covered with a thin sheet of 'snow' and I discovered that they were blown from the surface of the iceberg onto the ship, and weren't simply bits of snowflake. 😲
I stayed on the deck still trying to photograph the A-68a, and caught sight of seals swimming near the ship, different birds flying alongside the ship and whales further into the horizon (they were identifiable by the blowholes - after they expelled water, they'd surface and I'd catch a glimpse of their back). Before long however, I hurried back into the ship as it was -4C and the wind seemed to be blowing from the iceberg - it was freezing cold.
After lunch, Cape Valentine on Elephant Island was sighted. Cape Valentine was the first sighting of Shackleton's team after they spent months drifting on ice floes after their ship sank. The weather was still foggy but the sun managed to emerge from behind the clouds occasionally and the landscape of Elephant Island with it jagged cliffs capped with snow, and the glacier beyond was a sight to behold!
There were also groups of penguins jumping out of the sea, and I saw another whale close to the ship. <<hmmm, maybe I really need a proper camera 📷instead of an iPhone?>>.
Although the day program was only to sail past Elephant Island, as the choppy waters made it difficult to operate the zodiac, a zodiac cruise was organized for Point Wild.
Point Wild was named by Shackleton. After two nights at Cape Valentine, they moved to Point Wild, west of Cape Valentine, a small rocky landing at the terminus of a glacier that offered better protection.
Unlike embarkation on sheltered bay/calm sea, the swell of the ocean made it difficult to step on the zodiac as it bobbled up and down by the gangway. Anyone could lose their balance when boarding the zodiac but fortunately nobody fell into the sea ;). It was a good cruise with the fine and sunny weather, the beautiful scenery, the still ubiquitous penguins on the rocky beaches with an opportunistic seal swimming closed to our zodiac.😊
A statue of Captain Luis Pedro, placed at the site of the Endurance crew's camp, stood overlooking the bay. He had sailed a tug from Puenta Arena at the height of winter, and rescued the men after they spent 41/2 months at Point Wild (It was Shackleton’s 4th attempt to reach the team).
<<The British government offered him a huge monetary reward, but he had turned it down, stating that he was simply fulfilling a mission assigned to him by the Chilean Navy. >>.
Day 8 (Sailing)
We had been reminded to adjust our time one hour ahead as we crossed to another time zone. << I forgot about it 😐>>
The entire day was to be spent sailing towards South Georgia. There were a few lectures and a mandatory briefing about South Georgia.
I read ‘At the Mercy of Nature' - Shackleton's story of endurance in the Antarctic. It was amazing how he managed to sail from Elephant Island to South Georgia through his careful selection of men amongst them to carry out their duty and the eventual rescue of the rest of his team.
<<Indeed an inspiring leader, especially in today's society?>>
All the windows were plastered with black plastic, and the curtains were drawn in the evening because there were a fair number of instances where the birds flew into light source and injured themselves.
<<Before I slept, I realized I had lost track of the days of the week and I looked for my phone to check, it was a Monday.>>Day9 (Sailing)
~6am: Temperature: 3C, Wind speed: 20 knots. It was another full day of sailing towards South Georgia. The ship was rocking more and the sky was grey. 
Today, I skipped the cookies and croissant, and instead had a coffee with me while I went to the deck for viewing. It was always the same type of cookies anyway and I needed variety. As I gazed out from my seat, I became conscious of the sight of the ship rocking from left to right against the straight line of the horizon. I suppose it was a one way to personally gauge the condition of the sea.
<< Different type of cookies were served after, maybe someone else gave feedback?>>
The day was filled with a lecture on earth formation, the geography and history of South Georgia and notes about its landscape. There was another bio-security check of the outer-wear and boots as South Georgia might conduct a inspection on board the ship before we could do our land excursion.
We then had afternoon lecture on photography in South Georgia which got me quite excited about the next land excursion, and then I 'slothed' till the lecture about sea ice. Time was ticking by slowly.
~ 5+pm: I went to the bridge to look out of the open sea. The screen showed that the ship was about 18 hours from Drygalski Fjord in South Georgia.
Time ticked by VERY slowly.
<<Other activities : Walking the deck and tiny souvenir shop, a bit of chatting with the other passengers, browsing through most books in a single-shelf 'library', meals, coffeeS, checking the time>>
Day 10 : South Georgia - Drygalski Fjord, Larsen Habour
~6:30am. Up to the bridge and from afar in the low horizon, the faint outline of LAND was visible. 
The ship was finally reaching South Georgia after almost 3 days of sailing :). The day's itinerary included cruising along the Drygalski Fjord and Larsen Harbour zodiac cruising. 
As the ship approached and sailed along the coastline of South Georgia, the rugged landscape came into view - a glacier was front and centre against the jagged edges of the mountains, which were sprinkled with snow while retaining greenery at their base. The weather had been volatile, and the sun shine brightly every now and then when it emerged from behind the clouds.
It had been snowing intermittently and the Argentinian patrol ship that was sailing ahead of us was in front of the Risting Glacier.
Despite the snow and cold, the glacier was impressive to behold with its sides flanked with small waterfalls and vertical cliffs.
The ocean swell made it difficult to board the zodiac as it lunged forward, and the icy water splashed onto the first two people at the front of the zodiac. I was the second passenger (Wet but the top coat held well, but not the supposedly waterproof pants that I bought in Ushuaia).
<<I need full-plastic pants without seams from decathlon or goretex pants>>
As the ship approached and sailed along the coastline of South Georgia, the rugged landscape came into view - a glacier was front and centre against the jagged edges of the mountains, which were sprinkled with snow while retaining greenery at their base. The weather had been volatile, and the sun shine brightly every now and then when it emerged from behind the clouds.Drygalski Fjord
It is about 1.6 km wide along the southeast coast of South Georgian.It had been snowing intermittently and the Argentinian patrol ship that was sailing ahead of us was in front of the Risting Glacier. Despite the snow and cold, the glacier was impressive to behold with its sides flanked with small waterfalls and vertical cliffs.
Larsen Harbour
We soon reached Larsen Harbour, which is a narrow long inlet, and a branch of the Drygalski Fjord. When the ship arrived, the snow had gotten heavier, and when the wind blew, the snow was being swept almost horizontally.The ocean swell made it difficult to board the zodiac as it lunged forward, and the icy water splashed onto the first two people at the front of the zodiac. I was the second passenger (Wet but the top coat held well, but not the supposedly waterproof pants that I bought in Ushuaia).<<I need full-plastic pants without seams from decathlon or goretex pants>>
It was stingingly painful when the 'almost horizontal' blowing snow hit the face as the zodiac moved with wind blowing hard against us. Although my fingers and toes were numbingly cold, the experience of zodiac cruising on a snowy afternoon surrounded by craggy peak with seals loitering by the shore was still unique and incredible, and worth the ordeal of snow constantly stinging our faces :| . 
The landscape had changed significantly with green tussac grass at the lower altitude, and then gray rocky cliffs before the snow capped mountaintops. There were seals amongst the grass and by the shoreline, with penguins mostly on the beach.
The landscape had changed significantly with green tussac grass at the lower altitude, and then gray rocky cliffs before the snow capped mountaintops. There were seals amongst the grass and by the shoreline, with penguins mostly on the beach.
[Tussac(tussock) grass is the largest, most abundant plant on south Georgia. They are usually grown and form a vegetation zone on raised beaches, low coastal area, and on steep slopes rising from the shore]
~1am: I tossed and turned unable to sleep which I did not think was attributed solely to my excitement at seeing the king penguin the next day but probably from getting my coffee from the caffeinated instead of the decaffeinated tap. 😒
Travel Gear and Luggage
Although I bought a new expensive 'graded' winter coat for the trip, I eventually did not bring it but instead brought my usual winter attire and layered where necessary. I was able to wear different outfits depending on the weather. In addition to the usual 'normal' weather wear (for the Iguazu trip) and other essential wear, toiletry, gadgets, etc - everything fit into the mid-size Uniqlo luggage bag, and the weight was under 20kg.
Useful: 'fingerless' blue-glove(impossible to take photo with the padded glove'; ~$7 sandal - non-slip, no problem when wet; small uniqlo sling/belt bag to carry iPad mini, etc
Useful: 'fingerless' blue-glove(impossible to take photo with the padded glove'; ~$7 sandal - non-slip, no problem when wet; small uniqlo sling/belt bag to carry iPad mini, etc
<<If only, a pair of seamless totally plastic and Gortex pants each instead of the bulky outer 'sort-of' ski pant, would have freed up more luggage space (I left both pair of 'waterproof' pants behind)>>
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Day 6 : Paulet Island, Icebergs and Danger Islands
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