so this morning the captain aims not to play bumper boat with some icebergs

Day 8,  a full week onboard ship, odd it feels like it's been longer than that and then the feeling reverses and it all feels like its happened in a few days, all the memories tumbling over themselves like the broken ends of glaciers.

This morning is the Lemaire Channel which we were told we would hit (OK bad choice of words, not hit, arrive at) at around 6 and is known as Kodak Alley or Fuji Fjord.  So of course I had to see it! I willed myself to wake at 5:30, half an hour before the call. And it worked, it certainly doesn't hurt that it wasn't dark when I opened my eyes at 5:20. Got up and dressed in the light making it through the crack between the blackout curtains without waking MOM. Still in glasses with my knit brimmed hat on my head to cover a BAD case of bedhead, grabbed my loaded backpack and came upstairs.

Completely overcast, and WINDY, choppy sea but not the bad rolls and bumps,  just mild sea-sawwing. But out on the pool deck, breathtaking views literally because you when you move to the port side watch out wind gusts that could knock you back. I took the the pics of the looming tor with my hand holding my hat and my arm steadying the camera.

Still there were about 16 of us braving the bow of the ship watching it cruise into the channel, a channel that is known for it's icebergs. It was amazing to see them coming up at us, it sure looked like there wouldn't be room to get between them but the captain threaded his way through gracefully. The wind was so bad 70 knots we heard later! it was wiping up some wild williwaws which is like a spray of white foam that gets riped from the top of the water by the wind.

The channel is only 7-miles long but feels longer with the Booth Island and mainland Antarctica mountains looming over it. We couldn't see much with the fast moving clouds but every so often a break would show the tops which climbed to 2000 or more feet and were covered with snow and riding down between the peaks, massive glaciers.

When even I had finally had enough of the fierce unrelenting wind and wanted to head back in, I had to walk backwards to the closest door on the starboard side of the ship. Hard going. I was sure we wouldn't have the Zodiac tour which was slated for a few hours. But they announced that it was on, so I got decked in every single layer I brought. They did try to launch the Zodiac but as it was thrown around and almost tipped the driver in before it even hit the water, they had to give up on it.



It was wild going back also, this time almost everyone was up and out although most staying to the sheltered areas. Mom had come up without her coat, but as I was dressed for the Zodiac ride I wandered about in just my layers (with my hood up) and was actually OK, so way to go capilene!

It really is a staggeringly beautiful place. If it was more convienent it would be the equivelent of the Grand Canyon in people flocking to it. But it is still at the end of the world and probably only gets a dozen or so ships a year.

Now at 11:45 sitting in Wheeler lounge in our spot, with Kate and Gary and the other Brit Canadians and another Brit couple and Uri, an Isreali man one of the group who have been celebrating Hanukah. They are all reading, Gary is editing his photo's.  And at 12 will be the recap, but the weather is still rough with bad, bad gusts... 78 knot winds. So maybe no landfall this afternoon either. But the view through the window is of a glaciers broken face with too much mist or clouds to see the peak or the land it must be hanging off of. A normal sight here on the Minerva but extraordinary nonetheless.

Pictures to come when I get them downloaded.