The Far Side of Antarctica Continued
New Year's Eve: December 31, 2007
We entered a new time zone during the night. We were now an hour ahead of ourselves. Snow was falling by 9 AM and the sea was choppy.
Bob tells the story of Amundsen's and Scott's race to the South Pole wonderfully. He explains the disappointment and heartache, when Scott and his companions discovered that Amundsen had beaten them to it.
By lunch time the bar was festooned with streamers and balloons. There were just a few finishing touches needed before the festivities later in the evening.
The party began at 6 when Debbie served her cocktail of the day, the New Year's Cocktail. Most of us had dressed up for the occasion. Two ladies had pulled LBDs out of their luggage - little black dresses.
Since 1992 when I first traveled on theKhlebnikov I would rate the New Year's Eve Banquet served tonight as the best dinner ever. It was sensational. The chefs prepared an amazing six courses!
At 11:30 PM, Jonas called everyone to the lounge. Champagne was poured, while we waited for the countdown to midnight. Soon everyone was hugging and kissing and wishing Happy New Year!
As if the chefs had not done enough, at midnight they put on another buffet in the lounge. It was an incredible spread. They even served sushi as well as noodles and other Asian delicacies.
This was the first evening that we had proper darkness. It was sad in a way to realize we were getting so far north, but it did make for easier sleeping.
New Year's Day: January 1, 2008
At around 8 AM the ship started to roll. It was strange as the sky was clear and we had some sunshine between patches of cloud. Things in the cabin which we thought were secure began repositioning themselves, so it was a matter of firming up everything again.
We slept in. Instead of the usual breakfast, brunch was served. How the chefs could be up and cooking again after last night's supper and midnight buffet just amazed me.
At 9:30 AM we were at 57 S and I was amazed that we were still seeing icebergs. One particularly spectacular tabular iceberg was very large and stayed with us for some time. It allowed the photographers on board to take many pictures. I thought this iceberg might be the last, but no, soon there was a very pretty rounded 'berg ahead of us.
After lunch we had sunshine and many birds following the ship. We have already seen albatross, but have said goodbye to the Antarctic Petrels and Snow Petrels. The sea was completely open all the way to the horizon, so we put deck chairs out, and soaked up the sun as we soaked in the ocean and the sky.
High Tea was more serious than coffee and cakes - soup, sandwiches, bread, pasta and hot dogs, as well as cake and cookies. I'm proud to say I resisted temptation!
The afternoon continued to be sunny with just a gentle swell. We had more birds showing up and later a nice flock of Prions flew in gentle patterns around the ship, daintily skimming the service of the water. We even had another iceberg. Mike informed us that the Antarctic Convergence is slightly more northerly in this area, around the 53rd latitude, as it is just north of Heard Island.
Norm gave us an introduction to Climate Change, with numerous graphs showing the increase in greenhouse gases and sea levels, and the decreases in Arctic ice. Many of us continued the Climate Change discussion in the bar prior to dinner.