Dena's Birthday

Dena's birthday was very special for her for a large number of reasons. The morning started out with three humpback whales (which she adores) off the bow of the ship. They surface fed for quite a while allowing us to get some great photos. They were so close at one point that using the zoom was too close. It´s a very neat experience watching such a huge animal. They are quite graceful. It´s a little depressing to think that they were mercilessly slaughtered in the early 1900´s. After our whale watch stop we boogied over to the Enterprise Islands. We had a zodiac ride in the rain/snow and saw an old whaler wrecked on the rocks and the most spectacular iceberg ever. David (our naturalist and zodiac driver du jour) hung over the edge of the zodiac and grabbed a little bergie bit. He let all of us hold it and do our kodak moments. It was quite heavy. A silly thrill but it was fun.


Then off to Hydrurus Rock Island which is a seldom stopped at location as it is not well sheltered and the landing and swells can be quite challenging. The place was spectacular with many fur seals including a blond one which is quite rare. There were multitudes of chinstrap penguins all very close to us and blue eyed shags. Everyone on the island had babies. It´s so much fun just to watch all the drama in these penguin colonies. Our zodiac ride was adventurous both out and in. On the way to shore we had the Captain driving our zodiac. He´d never landed before on Hydrurus Rock so wanted to go check it out. He broke every rule in the book, driving us right up inside a U shaped berg that was partially submerged so we were litterally sitting on top of the iceberg. We then all got to touch it and have another kodak moment. Lots of those as you can imagine. Then he ran us up real close to the fur seals, another no no. But we appreciated all the fun for sure.
The way back to the boat the captain and the expedition leader got into a race and we roared back to the ship in 5 ´ swells with the bow of the zodiac flying all over the place. What a riot!

Dena´s day was topped off in fine fashion as the crew made tonight special. I had reserved a table for 8 and invited some of our newfound friends to join us for the celebration. (Henry and Nancy Geyer Philadelphia, Kathleen and Rachel McIntire Atlanta, Shannon Horner from Montreal, etc) The wine flowed and when it was time for dessert the stewards broke out the guitar and tamborine and sang 3 songs for her, one being Elvis's song, Fool´s Rush In

A day in life aboard Endeavor

7am wakeup call this morning. Our expedition leader Matt says in his soothing and calm voice, "Good Morning everyone. There are three humpback whales just off the bow and they are quite active. You may want to join us up on deck for a look". Scramble into clothes and then my parka, change lenses on the camera and run up 4 flights of stairs to the bow. There they are, breaching and blowing. It was a wonderful sight and we stayed on deck for quite awhile. Oh my, it's breakfast time, quick, run down four flights of stairs, deposit parka and then run up three flights of stairs for breakfast. Snarf down breakfast as the Zodiacs are being launched for a landing. Quick, run down four flights of stairs, put on fleece pants and top, waterproof pants, parka, life vest, waterproof boots, touques, hats, waterproof gloves, etc., move all camera gear to waterproof bags, change lenses, again. Run back up a couple flights of stairs and jump into a Zodiac for the ride ashore.

Ashore we marvel at all the penguin goings on and the other wildlife ashore, often attending a walk with a Naturalist. Oops, it's our turn to kayak, get back on the Zodiac for the trip over to the kayak launching platform. Leisurely paddle around looking at icebergs and watching the penguins jumping in and out of the water all around you. I've worked up an appetite, quick it's time to get back to the ship for lunch. Back to the room, remove all the stuff then dash upstairs. Lunch, quick, then a lecture by a naturalist which ends at 2 o'clock. Lisa comes on the ships intercome, we've arrived at our next stop and we'll be boarding in 15 minutes. Quick, run down four flights of stairs and put on fleece pants and top, waterproof pants, parka, life vest, waterproof boots, move all camera gear to waterproof bags, change lenses, again. Run back up a couple flights of stairs and jump into a Zodiac for the ride ashore. Are you tired just reading this. I am. Ashore more marvels and much walking and scrambling over rocks await us. Such a magical place.

Uhoh last boat to the ship is leaving. Quick, jump in. We were quite often the last boatload to leave the landing as we didn't want to miss a thing. Back onboard the Endeavor we'd quickly shower and get all prettied up for tea/cocktails then dinner. We'd often collapse in bed around 11 or midnight from exhaustion. If it wasn't for the morning wakeup call we'd probably sleep right through breakfast. Remember to scroll down as there may be more posts you haven't read for the day......Unfortunately, no pix until perhaps Santiago Chile.....

Dinner With Jay Dickman

Feb 10th Evening
We came back to our cabin to an invitation to dinner with Jay Dickman the National Geographic Photographer. We were certainly looking forward to this event and went back to the cabin to put on our best duds. We don't really have much in the fancy cruise ship dinner wear as our clothing choices focused mainly on warmth. But we found something. Dinner was wonderful with Dena being escorted to the table arm in arm with the first officer. We had a nice meal and more importantly some excellent conversation. Jay is a story teller and he certainly has many to tell. From Denengue Fever in Papau New Guinea to a war correspondent in Central America he's been through a lot and we enjoyed them all. The conversation eventually turned to good natured ribbing about how I broke my camera and how Canada is the 51st state, etc, etc. That's ok, Jay had spent months in the Yukon and couldn't say enough about what a beautiful country Canada is. We may be liberal in politics and be known as the country that is the party loft above a more serious USA but we are good people, we know how to have fun and enjoy life.